I do both You sand the surface of the call , and lightly sand me a nice flat spot on the side of the tip of the striker, then I will take a lighter and heat the tip of the striker works good on the glass calls and if you can find yourself a rosewood striker. But fall turkey are tough man you have to try and bust the flock up and if you can't make a kee kee call or kee kee run call, it's gonna be a long day.in the fall you are actually trying to call the flock back together.so make sure you are also set up near a food source and that will help increase your odds.