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The Tinderbox is made up of 5 parts.
1) The Tinder
The tinder can be made of a number of materials: rotten elm wood is good, although many different timbers seem to work. Collect the soft inside of the tree that has been worked on by fungi and is very crumbly. Put this inside a tin with a lid and wire the lid shut. Place the tin in a bonfire and after 20 minutes or so the tinder will be done. (When cool!)
Linen placed in a tin and treated as above works but not as well as the wood.
2) The Flint
A sharp piece of flint, about the size of a coin.
3) The Strike Alight
Piece of hardened steel to strike the flint against.
4) The Spunk
A spunk is a small pointed stick, a little longer than a match, which has a spot of sulphur on the end. The sulphur needs to be melted carefully in a tin over a candle then it will stick to the end of the piece of wood. Chemists will not sell you sulphur because once a man named Guy Fawkes used it, with two other chemicals, to make gun powder and then failed to blow up the King of England! But garden shops have not heard of the "Gun Powder Plot", so will sell it to you quite readily as "Flowers of Sulphur".
5) Method
Strike flint onto steel so that spark falls onto tinder.
When tinder starts to glow use sulphur tip of spunk to get flame.
Light candle.
6) Box
The box should preferably be made with inlaid silver and studded with emeralds but mine is of oak and has little compartments to hold all the bits. A collection of tin boxes would work. If you are going to use it with the story it should look old and mysterious.
7) Warnings
Wear safety glasses; flints can damage eyes.
Do not breath the burning sulphur, the smoke contains sulphurous acid
(not good for you!)
Take care; burning sulphur can drip and set fire to things therefore use just a tiny spot on each spunk.
In my experience setting fire to schools can seriously damage your chances of ever being invited back to tell other stories!
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