Tag: fire kit

Flint and Steel

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

This will be the last one for a while as I have other projects in the hopper.

Two-toned 7 oz. leather.
The complete kit will get you started and, if frugal, can start several fires.
The strikers are custom made by my friend Eric at Colonial Iron.
A bundle of juniper bark and ample charred cloth will spark up readily.
Everything packs neatly in the purpose built bag. However, the belt pouch is great on its own if the kit is kept in the rucksack.
If you are an outdoors person or just interested in history, it can be very rewarding to carry and use a traditional flint and steel fire kit like our ancestors have done for millennia.
The loop accommodates a belt up to about 2 1/2 inches.
Double needle saddle stitching, full grain veg tanned leather, and a vintage button should all age beautifully and last a lifetime.

This is available at our online shop Lost World Crafts where you can find a more detailed description of the kit.

Please check out the shop and consider following us as things are constantly being added and sold.

Enjoy! https://www.etsy.com/shop/LostWorldCrafts

Catching Up

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

I like to add a little character and variety, even if I’m just making the same thing again and again. I want to believe that this is what my ancestors would have done, toiling away in the craft to make a living. It keeps things interesting and more human than the soulless, mass-produced consumables.

Here’s the most recent fire-kit with another beautiful vintage button. This will be sold through the Etsy shop at LostWorldCrafts: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LostWorldCrafts
Made from 7 oz. Hermann Oak leather drum-dyed for the brown part and natural for gusset.

Thanks for looking. If you are interested, these generally don’t last a day on Etsy so check it out soon if you want one. Please follow the shop if you would like to keep up with the latest offerings.

Happy Camping!

A Touch of Color

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

Colored saddle thread was on sale at my supplier last month so, guess what? I’m going to try it out on some upcoming projects and see what the reception is. Nothing too flashy, just a bit of red, yellow, or blue on the horizon.

Since I’m also a fan of mixed materials, this next bag is two-toned; Hermann Oak natural and drum-dyed in brown. To my eye it is a good match.
I think this combination will age beautifully and settle into a nice two-toned patina.
Stacey found this nice pewter vintage button for a closure. The photo above shows it on the workbench stuffed with a rag an drying after wet-forming and burnishing. Tomorrow, it will be time for a coat of dubbin and off to market.

Fire Kits on the Production Bench

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

The shop has been a little slow with outside projects and day work taking over my hours. However, I do get a few things done along the way and some projects are coming to a completion. I have a load of FLINT & STEEL fire kits on the way for late winter purchase and have put the first up in the shop today (https://www.etsy.com/shop/LostWorldCrafts). There are a surprising number of steps to getting even a simple composite toolkit like these together from the metalwork, leather cutting, dying, sewing, adding the findings and closures, and finally photographing to get them posted in the shop.

Fire Steels from Eric Bartch of Colonial Iron.

I had already designed the pouch style early in the summer and a few sold quickly so my next step was to get some high quality fire steels from within my Maker Family. I put in the order with my old friend Eric and he produced these extremely beautiful strikers for the project.

Simple pouch design that I feel is perfect for my fire kit.

I decided to sew up this round without measuring or marking the stitch line to give them a rustic look. I have mixed feelings about this so I may go back to the more uniform looking stitch marker for the upcoming bags. Each bag will be a little different, with variations on the closures and any added features as whimsy strikes me along the way.

Recycled tinderboxes are an affordable and sturdy option.

If you aren’t familiar with flint & steel fire-making the tinderbox serves a two-fold purpose; to provide a chamber to make charred tinder and to hold and protect the tinder from moisture over time.

The striker doesn’t have to be this beautiful to be functional but to have both form and function makes for a loved tool.

To up the ante, so to speak, on this kit I included a flint from Knife River North Dakota. Some real primo stuff. Needless to say, the high carbon steel strikes very well and produces great sparks. A kit like this will become an heirloom and will only improve with age.

Form and function.

As always, my designs are informed by 18th Century style and are designed for hard use in the wild. If you are interested, wander over to the shop or follow the blog to find out when the next round will be in the market.

All the best to you and thanks for stopping by!

Action Photos

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

Just a quick follow-up from yesterday’s post…

The sporran is complete and ready to go so, of course, I had to model it to show the size and wearability.

Here is the Maker in his workshop sporting the new bag.  I didn’t bother to “kilt up” but that is the belt I frequently wear when kilted.  Overall, this design is great and I’ll probably start making a few more right away.  I like this one better than my own day sporran so I guess I’ll need to make one for myself as well.  I should note that a truly traditional sporran would be ornamented with leather or hair tassels.  I pondered this addition, but it isn’t really my style.  Maybe on the next one.