Finally there is a second episode of my 'making a survival kit' which I started
here. Today it will be about one of the most important parts of every set - tin or other container wher all the stuff is stored.
I didn't found any comparison of standard size survival tins in the Internet so I had to make my own reserch to choose the tins for my projects. I have focused on the most popular, easy tu buy types.
1. ORIGINAL ALTOIDS TIN. The first one I bought was of course a legendary Altoids tin. It has two hings and the dimensions are perfect for use as a personal, EDC survival tin. It is also small enough to be carry on a sheath of a large knife. It is a very good, practical tin and a great comparison to other products in size and quality. The biggest disadvantage of the Altoids according to me is that it is not flat and the whole tin is printed. I personally don't like that but I am pretty sure, that there will be many who likes that original Altoids look. Also Altoids mints are pretty tasty ;) It is corrosion resistant but not waterproff, so a ranger band around the tin is a good idea.
2. SILVER TIN. Second one was a copy of altoids tin, which I have bought in an electronic store. All the surfaces are galvanized and shiny so I will call that tin - a silver one. Dimensions of the tin are identical to the original Altoids. The only difference between them is that the silver tin have no embossings and there are no paintings at all. It is simple, useful and beautiful ;) It also the cheapest and easiest tin to buy.
3. GOLDEN TIN. Dimensiuons of next tin (I will call it golden one) are slightly different. This tin has no hings, so the cover and the base are two separate parts. All the tins in the comparison are corrosion resistant but this one is also waterproof. It has a seal located on the inside of the cover and it works pretty well. With a rubber band around the tin it should be completely waterproof. The tin like this is used in a very popular BCB survival kits. I don't know why, but I have found this model only in 'golden' color.
4. MINI SILVER ALTOIDS TIN. The last type of tin I have is a mini silver altoids tin. I also bought it in the electronic shop. It is made similiar to the silver one, by the same producer, but is just smaller. There are also two hings, but what I don't like is, that the cover is not flat, so it would not fit in some of my projects. What I like - it is slim enought to be attached to a medium size or even small knife sheath.
For other 'maniacs' like me I attached a dimension drawings of all the tins. Dimensions are in mm. I believe that it can be very useful for people trying to create their own survival tin set or other projects containing Altoids tins.
Of course there are tins in many different sizes, but currently I will concentrate on tins with size simillar to the original Altoids that suits almost all of my projects. In the near future I will show you my first custom leather pouch for survival tin, and after that some of my project of custom knives small enough to be carry in the tin. Stay tuned!
In the end of 2014 I got a special request for a set of my Tactical Fish Bootle Openers. The prototype for this model was shown here. I made a couple of changes to my prototype design, and made each fish different. All of them are made of Ti-6Al-4V titanium. I have used almost all the surface finishes I know for titanium to make them: polishing, beadblasting, stonewashing, heat and voltage anodizing. My personal favourite is the skeleton fish, so next one will be also made raw-boned.
