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Toothpick-Sized Swiss Army Knife Accessory Catches Fire on Kickstarter

October 16, 2017

Tortoise Gear is bringing out the Firefly, an aftermarket accessory for Swiss Army Knives that replaces the toothpick with a  durable fire starter. The product is riding the wave of a successful Kickstarter ahead of a full release early next year.

An avid outdoorsman, Tortoise Gear CEO Eric McCormick says the Swiss Army Knife takes top honors as his preferred bushcraft/survival tool but lacks one essential item. “The most popular tools people take into the wild are a knife and a fire starter,” he explains. “I wondered if there was a Swiss Army knife with a reliable fire starter – and there really wasn’t.”

The Firefly fits into the toothpick slot on the outside scale when not in use. It comes in two sizes to accommodate the varying sizes of Swiss Army Knives. “Any Victorinox with a toothpick slot will work,” says McCormick.

Even though it’s small and inexpensive, McCormick spent years developing the Firefly and didn’t scrimp on quality. “We’ve been able to tailor the sparking steel metals mixed in the Firefly to give it over twice the break strength of standard sparking material,” he tells us. Users can quickly generate large sparks by striking with a suitable tool on their knife – any with a sharp corner will do. Depending on the type of tinder used, a single Firefly can make hundreds of fires, and even as it wears down, it still holds snugly in the toothpick slot. The plastic tab is thoughtfully made in a glow in the dark fluorescent green to make your SAK easier to find if you happen to drop it.

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After the Kickstarter closes, production will begin late this year with shipments expected to start in January 2018. If you miss out on the Firefly through crowdfunding, it will be available on Tortoise Gear’s website and Amazon and eBay storefronts. If the success continues after the campaign, McCormick says he has other ideas for SAK accessories that he would like to develop. “Depending on how successful this campaign is, we definitely have some other ideas.”

You can join the Firefly Kickstarter here.

Knife featured in image: Victorinox Classic SD

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