Believe it or not I have made slate calls from a Skoal can and a piece of slate (chalk board) I bought from Wal Mart. I just cut the slate to size and fitted it in with some glue. I drilled a hole in the side of the skoal can and believe it or not it has called in turkeys before. I made my striker out of a piece of cedar I ut from a cedar tree. Just get a straight limb and wittle it down almost to a point and sand it round and burn the tip a little bit then sand the charred tip off. Chalk does help on the slate when calling...