Nowadays
when we use the word “tinderbox” we are usually speaking metaphorically. To
many of our ancestors this meant something more sophisticated than a simple
container of tinder. I suspect some of our ancestors would have had a good
chuckle at the performance some outdoorsman make of using a flint and steel!
Essentially
the box has two compartments. One compartment contains a flint and steel and a
number of sulphur matches. The other compartment contains a pad of charcloth. A
wooden damper fits into the second compartment. In some example the tinderbox
only holds the charcloth and damper, the other components being kept
separately.
When
fire was needed the flint and steel was struck so that sparks landed on the
charcloth. Charcloth has a very low ignition temperature so is well suited to
use with flint and steel. Once the charcloth is burning it is used to light one
of the sulphur matches. The match is used to transfer the flame to you
kindling, clay pipe or wherever else you need it. The damper is used to snuff
out the burning charcloth until it is needed again. In some examples replacing
the tight lid may have been enough to extinguish the flame.
An
interesting component of this system were the sulphur matches. If you look at the
boxes of some brands of modern matches you may still find the statement that
they are “self-igniting” or similar. This is because matches as we know them
are a relatively new invention. For centuries the word match meant something
like the burning cord of a matchlock or the sulphur matches in a tinderbox.
Sulphur
matches were also known as brimstone matches or spunks. They are simply strips
of wood with each end dipped in molten sulphur and allowed to dry. Commonly
they were made and sold by street vendors. Below is a nice video on making
sulphur matches.
