What I saw was a brown leather drawstring pouch. Upon opening it, I discovered none other than a strip of metal like the one I saw back in the day. Taking a look a the rest of the contents, I was sharp enough to guess what it was - a real traditional fire lighting kit.
The mystery was solved. I now had everything I needed to go into the woods and make a campfire with my grandson. We had never bothered with making a fire on our walks when he was really small, but now it was surely time to give it a go. Better late than never, after all.
Apart from the steel striker, my fire lighting kit contained three pieces of flint stone. They were rather large and fit well in my hand. I could already see where this was going, as if all the puzzle pieces had come together in one instant. There was also a little box with small, black squares of fabric, what I now know is char cloth tinder. A great big bundle of twine was included as well, so we could make a nest of fibres to start our fire off.
I have to say, I was amazed with the quality of the kit I was given. I never expected something handmade to look so good. More importantly, when we finally found a site suitable for a small campfire, I was shocked at how quickly we got a fire going. I don't think it took more than about five minutes in total.
I had Andrew unravel the twine while I got to grips with the instructions. Once we had everything in place, the step-by-step approach seemed simple enough. It took a few goes to get the technique right, but we were soon both getting a whole load of sparks from the steel fire starter and flint.
The most impressive thing was the char cloth. Neither of us expected that it would catch a spark so quickly. Though a bit chilly, it was a dry day so we had no trouble gathering plenty of firewood in advance. Before long, we had a decent enough fire going that would could sit and enjoy the warm and bright flickering of the Flames we had breathed into life.
In short, I want to thank Mikhail and his team for making such a high quality fire making kit. That's not to mention my gratitude for helping to solve a childhood mystery and bringing my grandson and me closer together again. Both Andrew and I wish you all the best with your endeavours in the future.