Altoids Kit

I would say add some kind of cord. Hootchie cord or 2mm kernmantle (rated static rope). If you can, leave some space; that gives the buyer the ability to customize it to their preferences. Focus on the things that people can't easily get for themselves.

Also think about a primary knife with sheath that this easily attaches to ;)
 
I spend a fair amount of time outdoors and unlike several here I find "tin knives" useful. I can't imagine trading one out for a razor blade unless I were putting together an ultra-small kit. Unless you are making money off of the extra components or it increases sales I would offer a bare bones type kit with the knife and firesteel or just the knife and a sheath. I have quite a few of these blades and the ones I carry/use the most have a sheath so that I can carry them in a pocket not in a tin. Do you do kydex work? If so I have seen kydex folded and attached to a similar knife allowing it to work as a friction folder so to speak and also giving a better hand hold.
 
I use a small Opinel folder in my Altoid kits; when opened, it has has enough usable blade (and handle for that matter) to be worth the space it takes up.

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I think the problem with selling tin kits is that they are geared towards an individual's specific needs and half the fun is putting them together. Maybe just sell your tin knives shipped in an altoids tin so people can build their own kit around it. Or list options they can add with the respective upgrade pricing.
I like tin knives.....

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pitdog said:
I think the problem with selling tin kits is that they are geared towards an individual's specific needs and half the fun is putting them together. Maybe just sell your tin knives shipped in an altoids tin so people can build their own kit around it. Or list options they can add with the respective upgrade pricing.
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I'm with pitdog. I'd prefer to just buy a knife and a tin, then fill the rest in myself.

Relative to the stuff in them however, I like to carry one of the Live Fire sports or whatever the small ones are called in my tin kit for a great tinder.
 
I have put together and sold , as well as given to friends a few kits now ..

I found two main kinds of people you meet doing it .. people want a kit ready made with everything theyre going to need .. but they dont know wtf to DO with it when they find themselves having to rely on it .. but its a fun toy in case ya know ...

and the people who DO know what to do , want a bare bare bones kit they can build their own from .. maybe a list of options to choose from .. these guys wont spend $50 on a kit .. thats way more than they could make it for themselves out of the dollar store ... then theyll turn around and buy individual components for $50 - $75 each without batting an eye about it because hey , your life might depend on it .. go figure ...


I ended up offering a basic kit for $55 .. mostly cheap stuff sourced from that online auction site , sold again , on the same site as a kit .. it covered the bases and was made out of stuff that would do the job . It was good value . All the gear sourced and checked that it was good , I used it myself camping or gave it tot he kids to see if they could destroy it .. if it survived it was OK for a beginner I figured . expensive items ( for here anyway ) were the knife , uco matches and kevlar cord .

I offered components as well , but not what was in the ready made kit , different variants of the same kind of stuff .. I didnt see the point competing with myself .. if someone had the brains to buy components , theyd likely want good gear so thats what I sourced and offered . if they wanted a cheap kit , I offered that , I never met a guy who wanted an expensive kit , not saying they dont exist just that I never met them .

I didnt do a altoid kit tho .. just a bumbag kit , my thinking was newbies would NEED more than a tin kit . It seemed to go OK . I stopped when feedback rules changed tho so its a while ago
 
So the OP is a knife maker, understood.

There in lies the opportunity to make the gold standard for a tin knife. Would buy a small tin knife that did the following:
- 90 deg edge for scraping and sparking
- arrow tip shape with holes for PSK lashing to pole - spear head / arrow head
- bow drill divot built into the handle
- necker kydex sheath - still fits in tin - neck cord acts as cordage
- lanyard (or at least lanyard hole) to get a better grip - xtra cordage
- high carbon steel
 
Eagle Scout said:
So the OP is a knife maker, understood.

There in lies the opportunity to make the gold standard for a tin knife. Would buy a small tin knife that did the following:
- 90 deg edge for scraping and sparking
- arrow tip shape with holes for PSK lashing to pole - spear head / arrow head
- bow drill divot built into the handle
- necker kydex sheath - still fits in tin - neck cord acts as cordage
- lanyard (or at least lanyard hole) to get a better grip - xtra cordage
- high carbon steel
Click to expand...

OK, so perhaps I should just focus on the knife with a good kydex sheath as has been mentioned. I really like the idea of a folding kydex sheath.

I made three of these knives and they are all the same with the exception of the holes in the tang. These were surprisingly hard to design within the limitations of the size. And then they had to be even smaller because of the room that the sheath takes up. Please critique my design and let me know what you would change about it.

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It does have a 90 degree spine. 3/32" 1095 carbon steel. Holes for lashing to a pole as suggested. It does have a kydex sheath that could go around the neck.

The only thing it lacks is a bow drill divot and the only way I can think to make that is to put on scales which would make it thicker and take up more room in the kit.
 
I wouldn't worry about the bow drill divot in the knife. Perhaps in the fat wood or the tin itself though.
 
jawilder said:
OK, so perhaps I should just focus on the knife with a good kydex sheath as has been mentioned. I really like the idea of a folding kydex sheath.

I made three of these knives and they are all the same with the exception of the holes in the tang. These were surprisingly hard to design within the limitations of the size. And then they had to be even smaller because of the room that the sheath takes up. Please critique my design and let me know what you would change about it.
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It does have a 90 degree spine. 3/32" 1095 carbon steel. Holes for lashing to a pole as suggested. It does have a kydex sheath that could go around the neck.

The only thing it lacks is a bow drill divot and the only way I can think to make that is to put on scales which would make it thicker and take up more room in the kit.
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Personally I would not want scales on a knife of this size nor a divot. If I were to change anything with this kit I would replace the cord with 7-strand paracord and experiment with reducing the firesteel handle. If these were offered in two versions one being the tin and kit and the other being just the knife with kydex I would go for the knife with kydex. Overall I think you are on the right track:thumbup:
 
Chris Larrikin said:
I wouldn't worry about the bow drill divot in the knife. Perhaps in the fat wood or the tin itself though.
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Looking at this again, would have to agree. Such a small package, can't do it all.

To answer Jason's question about the kydex sheath - does the sheath need to fit in the tin on the knife? Maybe it gets banded outside under the rubber when not in use allowing the knife itself to be as large as possible?

Personally, I like the shape of the knife - which is what got my attention to this thread in the first place. The existing hole pattern would make it possible for a DIY scale project or lash it to a piece of wood. Would it also be possible to cord wrap that handle using the existing holes?
 
For some lightweight and compact cordage, throw in some braided fishing line (50lbs or more). Maybe a sewing needle or two, can magnetize them so they can be used as a compass. Some fishing hooks and some safety pins would be useful too, and they don't take up much space.
 
I wouldn't worry about the bow drill, if you have the skills, you should already have a bearing block, and the ferro rod is a much more effective firestarter most times anyway.
It looks good, I think pitdog had a thread on field expedient handles that might give you some ideas on how to facilitate that with the design.
 
In Alaska some years ago I would carry around the following items in a 14 oz mini Nalgene bottle:
Coghlans 3" survival tool ( very basic plastic tool that has a button compass,whistle, thermometer, signal mirror, small magnifying glass and little push button light. Some wind and water proof matches, five to ten Cotton balls coated in Vaseline and then vacuum sealed as small as possible. A UST Combo Flint based bar with carbide striker( small and light ) a mini bic ,some water purification tabs, some fishing line and a few hooks and some pieces of riggers tape twisted up. All that said I had a lot more stuff in my pack and on my body.This was just a small survival kit. The mini Nalgene had the added benefit of being waterproof/ holding water if necessary.Never ended up in a position to need the kit but the main theme was cold weather survival with fire being essential and challenging to start surrounded by wet tinder or snow.
 
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Caveat to the last post, I never had to use the kit in an actual emergency but did intentionally use it for both 24 and 48 hour periods to make sure it was sufficient. Like all things I'm sure it could be improved upon but it served it's purpose in the case it's all you were able to use.
 
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