What do you carry your fire kit in?

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I'm working on my kit for trekking. My time period is 1800-1815 when David Thompson discovered and travelled through the Howse Pass. My current stomping ground. What would have been reasonably PC? would it have been just some type of leather pouch, or heavy canvas? Not waterproof for sure but an oiled pouch in a haversack might be? Thoughts?
(Joke) A Zippo!:pSorry, couldn't help it!!
 
An old Altoids tin, (the kind made before the word Altoids was stamped & raised) fire blued. The hinges are probably not correct. I guess that box should be replaced, even though the size is ideal.
This is the raised Altoids tin. I beat the lid with a ball peene hammer then I hit it with a propane torch. Can’t even tell it was a altoids tin.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0397.jpeg
    IMG_0397.jpeg
    2.8 MB
  • IMG_0398.jpeg
    IMG_0398.jpeg
    2.7 MB
I carry the striker, flint, and a small altoids-like tin of tinder in a small cloth bag with a leather drawstring.
 
My tinder box is in a small leather pouch with a button flap, and that rides in my rifle bag

LD

Much the same as myself, I have a Ted Cash oval shaped Tinder box (with capped magnifying glass) in which my char cloth, bulls wool with steel and flint are housed, that goes into a belt pouch with some cleaning cloth to prevent rattling noise.
 
Last edited:
I used to be heavily into bushcraft before switching over to the historical stuff. Right now I'm using a tinder pouch I made several years ago. It contains some fatwood, tinder fungus, a flint striker and a good size piece of flint. Should I decide to go modern I add a fire lens, Ferro rod, and a mag block fire starter. I don't know how historic this pouch is but I'm pretty sure this design was being used in Mayan times. I'm making a new pouch for my 18/19 century kit but couldn't find it in the shop to take pics. The pictured tinder pouch is made from old Italian goat skin garment leather. It is thin but very durable.

Its suddenly dawned on me what highland Scots really used Sporrans for !
 
Hmmm
We have belt bags that have survived from the past. But in paintings cartoons and descriptions of clothing extra bags don’t seem real practical to the old timers.
Cr 1750 coats and waist coats came with big pockets. They decreased in size as time went by.
I suspect many stuffed their pockets full of stuff
Rifleman shirts and just plain over shirts and smocks were seen belted and we hear of things stuffed in a shirt, the space is correctly called the sinus of the shirt.
Men in the wild kept gun and bag close. Miller shows men relaxing with rifle and bag in hand reach.
Even when coats and waistcoats got short there were breast pockets and tail coats had a pocket in the upper part of the tail.
I’ve got too many belt bags, but I THINK they are more popular today then ever in the past

Some years ago I realised the scale of ML and 18th century gear and accesories I'd collected over decades, and felt good about it all.
IMHO collecting those period items is another joy in itself, along with allowing my 10 year old grandson discover those things and ask "whats that for" ?
Its sure proven to be the right "bait" for getting him bitten by the bug.
 
Not to take this topic on a tangent but maybe add to it, but would something like a belt pouch be an appropriate carrier for a fire starting kit? You'd always have it on you whether or not your shooting bag was on you.

I have a leather belt pouch but dont always wear it, it can clutter belt space when you're shooting /hunting so best to wear it for fire starting competitions or around camp. Otherwise keep it handy close by in a bag or pack.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top