CountyComm makes a Modern version of an old South African means of making fire.
Hey folks,
I know, I know, I have been neglecting the blog, and I’m sorry. There have been reasons, including a long-distance move, a hurricane, a viral pandemic, the blog “broke” and some more personal issues. I’ll go into that elsewhere. Maybe.
I want to post this NOW, though, while the subject is still available. That is, I’m honestly trying to post this in a hurry. In my absence, they’ve changed the editor to something I have little idea how to work. Mutter, mutter…
There are some of you who have read what I posted about the South African Tonteldoos here and here. As far as I know the tonteldoos is the latest-surviving and most evolved form of the tinderbox, and there are innovations in the tonteldoos design not seen in any other form of tinderbox. The concept of saving prepared natural tinder is crucial to very long-term survival, especially in primitive conditions, and some sort of tinderbox has been key to the technique for at least hundreds of years.
Unfortunately, the few replicas of the South African tonteldoos that I’ve been able to find for sale aren’t quite right, not really faithful to the originals, so up until NOW your choices have been to buy one of those, make something similar from copper plumbing pipe and caps, or wait patiently for an opportunity to shell out real money for an original.
As of right now, that has changed. I had speculated some time ago about the possibility of updating the concept with more modern materials, and correcting some of its shortcomings- mostly in the area of water resistance, which I gather may not be a great concern in much of South Africa.
Whether by coincidence or not (it might not be, but I’m not claiming anything), exactly what I had envisioned has been created by CountyComm.com, a company that I’ve been buying from for decades.
It’s a machined titanium tube with screw-threaded titanium caps at both ends. Unlike pretty much anything else out there, it’s the perfect diameter and length to function as a tonteldoos. There are no internal barriers and it’s the perfect diameter and length so that you can uncap both ends ad push the tinder right out with a finger until it’s exposed, use it to catch a spark and blow into flame, then use the caps to smother the tinder and re-seal, leaving a partly-combusted surface to catch sparks on the next use. One end cap has a small eye on it that can be used to fasten a thin cord, wire, or maybe a chain link (note that the originals used a chain to attach a fire steel), and both end caps come with silicone o-rings (which should be heat-resistant to at least 400 degrees F), and it comes with two spare sets of silicone o-rings (red) and two sets of rubber o-rings (black). You might, for instance, want to save the silicone o-rings for the “fire” end, where the cap would be used to snuff the smoldering ember, and use the rubber for the other end where heat should not be a problem.
I just got mine, two of them, and I think they’re about perfect. Almost. It’s true that there is only an eye on one end-cap, but that also differentiates the “fire” end from the “non-fire” end by vision or touch, which is important for this use. There is no plunger… but the brass plungers on the originals functioned mostly to close the back-end anyway, and not in a very waterproof way. It will NOT be as fast or convenient to use as an original, since you have to unscrew both caps whereas on the originals you just pulled one cap off and stuck your finger in the other end, but I think the tradeoff is reasonable. Unlike the Boers, we’re not really anticipating using it as the sole means of making fire on a daily basis, even in non-emergency conditions, for long periods of time… and most of us ARE anticipating rain, sometime. Or even immersion. Unlike the originals, this thing really could keep your tinder dry even if you were just washed up on an island somewhere.
Personally, I would love to have an authentic replica of the original type, of brass with a press-fit cap at one end, a plunger at the other, and a chain between the two making the cap “captive hardware” and giving a place to attach a real fire-steel, one that you use with a flint.. but that’s not what this is about, modern versions of the tonteledoos are basically ways for outdoorsmen to explore the old concept and see how it can still be applied.
As I say, these are titanium, and NOT thin-walled, so they should be very sturdy indeed. The finish is “stone washed” (tumbled), so it should not show wear easily, and there are contoured slots on the barrel and turned grooves on the caps to improve grip. It is functionally exactly what I had envisioned, except the reality looks a lot sexier.
Not at all surprisingly, but a little sadly, they’re not calling it a “tonteldoos”. They’re calling it a “Dual Pass Through Titanium Cache”. They are, they say, selling an over-run of 250 for $29.95 each plus shipping. Not dirt cheap, but hey, it seems like a very good price for what you’re getting, especially considering how vanishingly rare something that meets these specs really is.
So, for a mere $30 or so you can be the first on your block (almost assuredly) to own an updated, waterproof, titanium tonteldoos! I’ve got mine.
POSTSCRIPT: I wrote this and did not post it at the time. Apparently sales of this thing, for whatever uses, were VERY popular, and it was gone, out of stock before I got it finished. All 250 were gone, I think, in less than two weeks.
As of right now, last night as of this writing, they are back in stock, another lot of 250, at the original price, and I’m pleased to be able to bring it to your attention. Personally, I’ve got two, and having gotten to know them a little I expect to order at least one more.
So, this is a SECOND chance to own something unique, something that’s never been available before… an updated version of a once-vital tool that could still save your life in the wild even today.
DISCLAIMER: Other than being a long-time customer I have no financial connection to CountyComm.com .
