Who knows what this is?

[Joe SA]

 

[jimLE]

my first thought,is a match or snuff holder..but i gotta ask.whats the rectangle object next to it?and what is that under the tube? they look like glass rocks,or what ever..

 

[Joe SA]

Here is a hint.

 

[Joe SA]

It's called a "Tonteldoos" or tinderbox this is how our great grand daddies made fire, the square thing is a piece of file the rocks are quarts the wick inside is pure cotton or you can use rolled up lantern wick you just scortch the top of the wick with a lighter to get it charred you put out the ember by replacing the cap. The trick is to get the spark you create by stricking the quarts with the piece of file to fall on the scortched wick, when it does you've got your ember to create fire.

 

[Brent S]

It's called a "Tonteldoos" or tinderbox this is how our great grand daddies made fire, the square thing is a piece of file the rocks are quarts the wick inside is pure cotton or you can use rolled up lantern wick you just scortch the top of the wick with a lighter to get it charred you put out the ember by replacing the cap. The trick is to get the spark you create by stricking the quarts with the piece of file to fall on the scortched wick, when it does you've got your ember to create fire.

This is interesting as I have Quartz all over my property. I didn't know you could get a spark from Quartz. What kind of file is it, metal?

 

[Rob Painless]

Pretty cool, Joe! I knew what it was, or at least what it's for, but I've never seen one quite like that one. And I never knew there was a name for it. I've seen something similar that was said to have been used by primitive peoples, except it was used for carrying a live coal/ember from one camp to the next to use for starting the next fire. It was made of bark (if I remember right) with a woven material coated with clay or mud to hold the ember surrounded in some dry material buried in ash so no air can get to it. Kind of like stirring through the ashes of your campfire the next morning to find a live coal to start a new fire with. Now I want to make one like your great-granddad's in the picture.
Brent, my first (and one of my best) flint & steel kits was just a piece of a busted shop file and some pieces of flint/quartzite fragments. It threw sparks like crazy! Took a while to wear down the grooves on the edges to where it wouldn't grind the rocks as fast, but no big deal even before.

I LOVE makin fire! I may be part pyro.

 

[Brent S]

Pretty cool, Joe! I knew what it was, or at least what it's for, but I've never seen one quite like that one. And I never knew there was a name for it. I've seen something similar that was said to have been used by primitive peoples, except it was used for carrying a live coal/ember from one camp to the next to use for starting the next fire. It was made of bark (if I remember right) with a woven material coated with clay or mud to hold the ember surrounded in some dry material buried in ash so no air can get to it. Kind of like stirring through the ashes of your campfire the next morning to find a live coal to start a new fire with. Now I want to make one like your great-granddad's in the picture.
Brent, my first (and one of my best) flint & steel kits was just a piece of a busted shop file and some pieces of flint/quartzite fragments. It threw sparks like crazy! Took a while to wear down the grooves on the edges to where it wouldn't grind the rocks as fast, but no big deal even before.

I LOVE makin fire! I may be part pyro.

I'll give it a try tomorrow!

 

[Joe SA]

This is interesting as I have Quartz all over my property. I didn't know you could get a spark from Quartz. What kind of file is it, metal?

Yes, metal the older the better apparently its got something to do with the carbon content of the metal the higher the better.

 

[Gazrok]

I prefer the more modern fire strikers myself:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ultimate...BlQrHrOQ4o5GFr4DAuQpkaAs0U8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Can even use them one-handed, which is "handy".....

 

[Brent S]

I prefer the more modern fire strikers myself:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ultimate...BlQrHrOQ4o5GFr4DAuQpkaAs0U8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Can even use them one-handed, which is "handy".....

Those are cool, but I still like the large pack of good ole fashioned buck lighters! Seriously, I will probably get one as I prefer having multiple options for something as important as fire. I even have a magnifying glass as a backup, along with a block of magnesium.

 

[Maverick]

My flint and iron been with me for twenty years and used it quite a bit, I don't think a bic lighter would last 20yrs in a shtf though at first I would use my bics till I have no more but at least I still have my tried and true fire starting tool also keep in mind these old flint and iron will out last a bic lighter and ferrocerium rods I keep all three methods in my kit.

 

[Maverick]

Yes, metal the older the better apparently its got something to do with the carbon content of the metal the higher the better.

I generally buy older long handle files 6"+ handle, let set out on a stump for a few month to weather (if need be), cut the handle up to the file, heat it with a torch and bend into a C. between weathering the steel, heating the metal then bending (stretching) once cool I'll mar the strike surface of the iron striker until it shines makes perfect iron for quartz. FYI, flint is an microcrystalline varieties of quartz same for chert

I'm not sure how much iron is in newer files, I purchased new files in the past, it took for ever to rust the way my older files have had nor last as long using in and around my shop.