The artifact was found on the territory of the Razdolye farm in the Kurchatov district of the Kursk region during archaeological surveys conducted by the Middle Seym Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The surveys took place in 2008–2009 under the leadership of Oleg Alexandrovich Radyush. The fire steel is forged from iron and has a chisel-like shape. It consists of a striking part with a widened end and a tang, onto which a wooden handle was attached.

The item is dated to the early 5th century. A fire steel is a component of a fire striker, a tool used for producing fire, which also includes flint and tinder. The Russian term for “fire steel” — “kresalo” — comes from the verb meaning “to strike” (to produce sparks, to strike fire from flint); another name for it is “ognivo” or “plashka.” A fire steel is a strip of hardened steel with very fine grooves on its surface. When struck against flint, small shavings are chipped off from the fire steel, reaching high local temperatures of 900 to 1100 degrees. These shavings ignite immediately upon contact with the oxygen in the air.

In many ways, this process is similar to grinding a steel object on a grindstone. The resulting shower of sparks lands on the tinder, and the smoldering tinder is then “fanned” into flame. With good quality tinder, the flame ignites immediately. The first fire steels appeared in the 3rd–2nd centuries BCE, and this method of producing fire became most widespread during the Middle Ages. Such items were an integral part of daily life in medieval towns throughout Eurasia. Fire steels are among the most common archaeological finds.

The appearance of this tool has changed over the centuries, taking on various shapes from flat plates to rounded, rectangular, trimmed, knife-like, croissant-shaped, bullet-shaped, sculptural (in the form of an animal), bimetallic (with a colored metal casing), and so on. Fire steels were often custom-made, decorated with carvings and engravings, giving the items an individual form with a distinctive ethnic flavor. They served not only as household tools but also as decorative elements and a part of festive national costumes. Fire strikers were a common product of the ironwork industry and were used until the 19th century, while in some areas of Europe, they remained in rural households until the early 20th century, before being replaced by more convenient matches.