altoid tin kit tips

I am assembling my first Altoids PSK (should we just abbreviate it as an APSK??? <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />) and have found a couple things which may be of interest...sorry if they've been discussed before, I love reading all the old posts here, just don't feel it'd be appropriate to post to one too old.

Keep in mind that I have larger kits that I maintain and this is the first time I've actually saved an Altoids tin! (One medium sized first aid kit, one belt pouch/shoulder strap PSK, and 2 car kits for 1 car <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

Options or Suggestions:

1. Break a hacksaw blade to fit the length of the lid without interfering with the lid closing, fasten to lid with two small pieces of electrical tape. The blade could be attached to another object to make a small saw or could be used with one's hand.

2. If including safety pins or paper clips, wrap 4 - 10 feet of dental floss around one of them. The pin/clip makes wrapping easy to tie off and the floss is good for flossing and sewing.

3. Try to fit as much as possible into the lid. I have hacksaw blade, razor blade, and 2 sewing needles attached with electrical tape.

4. Butterfly bandages take up a minute amount of room, include at least 2 in your kit. They can fit along the side of the tin.

5. Include at least 1 of each of 3 different size buttons. I feel sewing kits (however large or small) are extremely important in any situation. I've picked one BDU pant button, one reg shirt button and one small shirt collar button.

One thing to keep in mind is that I view a small PSK as a supplementary unit. One really only has what is strapped and physically attached to one's body. Anything can fall out of a pocket. Please feel free to give any congrats or criticism to these ideas.

It has been very interesting trying to work out the logistics to packing a kit this small, but I continue to find more room to add more things. I just started this evening, so it is not close to being complete or full yet, but these are some things I noticed that I hadn't seen mentioned before.

I also had one question, how would a body go about polishing one of these fine tins?

Thanks everyone, it's nice to be able to participate in a forum/board that is mature , intellegent, and helpful! <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

BlackOps

How about either a reciprocating saw or jigsaw blade, both are small and a bit thicker than a hacksaw blade to they don't bend as easily (I do have a mini hacksaw in a couple of my kits, Ace/Truevalue hardware has a UA made plastic $5 lightweight handle that the hacksawblade slides into and 1/2 sticks out, very nice, but hacksaw blades do bend quite easily as they are intended to be used under tension by the ends)
I hadn't thought about the buttons. I've started including my clothing in my thoughts about EDC gear and have started standardizing on a few items in an almost uniform like fashion so I only have a couple types of buttons.
I don't have any altoid tins. I have tried some from co-workers and have found that they all have sugar substitutes which give me a bad headache (diet cola/pop does the same). So I've had to build my kit around something else.

Good point about the saw blades, the hack blades were just what I had lying around, and I was very suprised at how easy it was to break and fit in the tin. I figured the blade would need to be bent a few times before it broke, but instead it just snapped in half.

Also, even if you can't eat the candies, $2 for a fairly secure tin isn't that bad of a deal. Most things are made out of plastic or paper nowadays anyways. I still remember my mom bringing home the groceries and she'd have that nice big tin containing the saltine crackers!

Thanks for the reply! <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

BlackOps--

Search the forum for "hacksaw blade"--just remember to set the date range to "all". There are several threads.

I remember seeing one idea (including photos) of a modification to an Altoids tin, which permitted using the tin as a handle for a jig saw blade, but I can't find that thread at the moment.

It consisted of a small slot in the end of the tin, sized for a tight fit on the shank of the blade, and a small screw & nuts to pass through the shank & tin, to secure it. Don't know how practical it would be, nor how strong, but, 'tis an idea, at least.

David

not the post, but a link from a site with that: http://www.survival.com/best.htm

Hi,

Do you mean something like this?
Tin & saw

Greetings,

Sir Vivor

An uncommon but potentially disastrous gear failure is the zipper on a sleeping bag. Larger safety pins can be used to stitch the bag closed. Then take some cordage and lace through the eyes. If your going to include a hacksaw blade, a metal match is a natural pairing. My recent hand injury has me again practising with and appreciating Sparklites. Firemaking should always be redundant, even in a minimalist PSK. A Sparklite for one handed use, metal match for longterm, all weather and simple strike anywheres. Everyone understands a match, and the trained survivalist could very well be the incapacitated member in a party.

BlackOps,

Just a quick thought on the hacksaw blade. Check out the LENOX / HACKMASTER brand of bi-metal type blades. I've posted about these in the past here on ETS. In a nutshell, they can be literally bent and tied into a single knot, then released and used extensively. I see that another poster has mentioned setting up the search all dates, the search function here normally seems to default to the last week or so, my experience is that you probably need to reset it on a regular basis. You will be amazed at the things you can find on ETS forums with keyword searches. Welcome aboard and please feel free to jump in...

Regards,
Comanche7

Test the blades on your MFS. Not all metals spark the same, some are far easier than others.

Integrated Hacksaw in the altoid's lid ... interesting

http://lynx.dac.neu.edu/m/mbennett/minikit.html

Yep, that was it!!! Thanks. David

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'm also not too sure as to the strength or effectiveness of attaching the blade to the altoids tin.

#1 Seems like the extra screws and/or metal plate would take up needed room in the PSK

#2 I'm not sure if I would want a hole cut into the tin as it may not be waterproof anymore. Sure you could wrap tape around it, but the "stickiness" of the tape will eventually wear out in the field, meaning it can't be sealed. The tin is pretty water tight when closed unless dropped in a lake or river, so if I'm caught in a rainstorm I'm not sure I'd want to leave it sit outside of my pocket if a hole is in the side of it.

Minor issues yes, but I will have to try using the tin as a saw handle to test it. I was originally thinking more along the lines of making a field expediant wooden handle for the saw blade.

Chris thanks for replying, indeed safety pins are a must in any kit, and once I get mine finished I may post its contents. I was wondering however, what exactly is a "metal match"? Is it just a piece of flint to complement the steel hacksaw blade, whereas 2 pieces make one "metal match"?

Thanks again everyone. I may also check into placing a different type saw blade into the kit, as the hacksaw blade seems too fragile.

Blackops,
A metal match could be either a BSA Hot Spark, a ferrocerium rod, or a magnesium firestarter which you would strike with the piece of hacksaw blade to make sparks. It works where wet matches don't work. I learned the hard way. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Thanks Joe, looks like I have some purchases to make this weekend. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

... something like this :

metal match

Alain

That's cool! Cheap, too, but what do I do with the other 4,999? <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Hey, don't be fussy !!!! <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

On this forum, redundancy is the key word !! <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
_________________________________________________

Na, I was just in a hurry and had no time to find another picture of that kind of "metal match". So I put a link of the first web site I found.

Anyway, maybe we could ask Doug to order a batch with ETS logo .... <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />


Alain