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- Feb 28, 2007
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This has been reviewed before, but I wanted to add my two cents to the pot. I purchased the KSF fire wallet last week. The Fire wallet is wallet type pouch that snaps around the belt. The wallet contains a hardened carbon striker, flint piece, some char cloth and jute twine.
The whole piece is rather attractive and unobtrusive for belt carry. The quality of leather is excellent with nice even stitching, it is just the kind of thing you would expect from sharpshooter sheath systems.
You'll also notice in the opened up wallet two grommet holes that can be used to lash the wallet or carry it neck style if you like. Here are the kit contents
The striker is comfy to use and the supplied flint very effective at generating sparks. The flint piece supplied was a bit larger than I would like but that is okay. It is well shaped with plenty of surfaces for striking. The flint piece will clearly last a considerable amount of time, if not indefinitely!
The supplied char cloth and jute twine are adequate for starting several fires. If you are conservative with the char cloth, I'd estimate you can start about 20-30 fires with what is provided. Of course, char cloth is relatively easy to reconstitute which is why the method is so popular.
The twine supplied is good for fire starting, but not my preferred thickness. I like the 48 lb fuzzy stuff much better and will probably replace the supplied bundle with my preferred twine. The kit comes with enough twine for about 15 fire starts or so. Less than the char cloth, because you need more of the twine during starting fire. About the minimum I can get away with is a 4" cut piece.
I immediately put the kit to the test. Started off by making my tinder basket.
Then pinched a small piece of char cloth between my thumb and the flint piece. You want the ruffled edge of the char cloth to sit right at the edge of the flint so it can catch a spark.
It took me about 5 strikes before I caught a spark with the cloth. Admittedly, I'm not the best at this yet. However, it was by no stretch what I would call difficult to do.
Once the coal is captured above, I folded it into the tinder bundle, and blew into flames. Easy as pie!
I did get a bit cocky. So on a lark, I tried using PJCB instead of charcloth. I got the sparks to land and even cause a bit of smoke on the PJCB strands, but couldn't get a coal to form on it. Not hot enough I guess. I thought I was going to impress you with my ingenuity, but I didn't get anything to show for it, other than learning by deductive reasoning.
Overall impressions. This is a good looking little kit with a pretty novel retention feature in how it fits around your belt. It takes up very little room, is comfortable to wear and people friendly. Most people will assume you have a cell phone or something on your belt. The components provided are plentiful and you can grab the kit and take it for a weekend camping without adding anything more to it. I especially like the added grommets for alternative carry or lashing. Nice touch!
The downside of the kit is that there isn't a whole lot of room to stuff anything else in there besides the supplied material. You can probably slide a 1/8" fire steel blank in there but that is about it. You won't be able to get much more kit contents in there other than a bit more twine and perhaps some extra char cloth. You can't fit a mini-bic inside the wallet. This is probably asking more out of the wallet than it was designed to do. Part of the convenience of its small package and easy of carry is a compromise in storage space.
Overall, a very nice package for $35. I would certainly recommend it to others who are interested in a leather style flint and steel fire kit. The beauty and functional simplicity of the wallet itself is worth the cost.
Good product!
The whole piece is rather attractive and unobtrusive for belt carry. The quality of leather is excellent with nice even stitching, it is just the kind of thing you would expect from sharpshooter sheath systems.
You'll also notice in the opened up wallet two grommet holes that can be used to lash the wallet or carry it neck style if you like. Here are the kit contents
The striker is comfy to use and the supplied flint very effective at generating sparks. The flint piece supplied was a bit larger than I would like but that is okay. It is well shaped with plenty of surfaces for striking. The flint piece will clearly last a considerable amount of time, if not indefinitely!
The supplied char cloth and jute twine are adequate for starting several fires. If you are conservative with the char cloth, I'd estimate you can start about 20-30 fires with what is provided. Of course, char cloth is relatively easy to reconstitute which is why the method is so popular.
The twine supplied is good for fire starting, but not my preferred thickness. I like the 48 lb fuzzy stuff much better and will probably replace the supplied bundle with my preferred twine. The kit comes with enough twine for about 15 fire starts or so. Less than the char cloth, because you need more of the twine during starting fire. About the minimum I can get away with is a 4" cut piece.
I immediately put the kit to the test. Started off by making my tinder basket.
Then pinched a small piece of char cloth between my thumb and the flint piece. You want the ruffled edge of the char cloth to sit right at the edge of the flint so it can catch a spark.
It took me about 5 strikes before I caught a spark with the cloth. Admittedly, I'm not the best at this yet. However, it was by no stretch what I would call difficult to do.
Once the coal is captured above, I folded it into the tinder bundle, and blew into flames. Easy as pie!
I did get a bit cocky. So on a lark, I tried using PJCB instead of charcloth. I got the sparks to land and even cause a bit of smoke on the PJCB strands, but couldn't get a coal to form on it. Not hot enough I guess. I thought I was going to impress you with my ingenuity, but I didn't get anything to show for it, other than learning by deductive reasoning.
Overall impressions. This is a good looking little kit with a pretty novel retention feature in how it fits around your belt. It takes up very little room, is comfortable to wear and people friendly. Most people will assume you have a cell phone or something on your belt. The components provided are plentiful and you can grab the kit and take it for a weekend camping without adding anything more to it. I especially like the added grommets for alternative carry or lashing. Nice touch!
The downside of the kit is that there isn't a whole lot of room to stuff anything else in there besides the supplied material. You can probably slide a 1/8" fire steel blank in there but that is about it. You won't be able to get much more kit contents in there other than a bit more twine and perhaps some extra char cloth. You can't fit a mini-bic inside the wallet. This is probably asking more out of the wallet than it was designed to do. Part of the convenience of its small package and easy of carry is a compromise in storage space.
Overall, a very nice package for $35. I would certainly recommend it to others who are interested in a leather style flint and steel fire kit. The beauty and functional simplicity of the wallet itself is worth the cost.
Good product!
