Make Char Cloth

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Make Char Cloth http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Char-Cloth/?ALLSTEPS

1 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

In this entry I will show you how to make char cloth which will aid you in firestarting the primitive way.

Step 1: Make the char tin

You need a tin of some sort it just hast to be a closeable tin that is kinda air tightlike a tin of mints or maby a altoid can. When you get your tin you need to puncha small hole in the top with a small nail or 4-5 cm, but dont make it to big nobigger that 1cm . this must be done or you risk the chance that the gasespresurize the tin and it will explode.after that you are ready to char some cloth.

Step 2: Put the cloth in the can

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How to make char cloth.(/id/How-to-make-char-cloth/)by nattyclem (/member

Make Char Cloth Easily atHome! (/id/Make-Char-Cloth-Easily-at-Home/)

Easy Char Cloth (/id/How-To-Make-Char-cloth-1/)by survivorman371 (/member/survivorman371/)

Pocket Survival Tin(/id/Pocket-Survival-Tin/)by tomsweet65 (/member/tomsweet65/)

Altoids Survival Kit 2.0(/id/Altoids-Survival-Kit-20/)by BudgetBugout (/member/BudgetBugout/)


2 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

you must not pack them in tight or by just throwing them in you should placethem in gently like I did in the picture. Then put the cap on. also you must use100% cotton for the cloth this is readlly avaliable by using a old tee shirt which Iuse and it works fine, but remember 100% cotton!

Step 3: Put it on the fire

now just start a fire not a blazing inferno just a calm fire or you can use theembers (lots of embers, this usaly works much better) set it some where in thefire where it will not fall over and watch it you will eventualy see smoke billowing

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3 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

out or it might start on fire. dont freak out just let it burn itself out and when thereis no more smoke coming out take it out. what ever you do DONT! take the lidoff right away just wait a little while for two reasons. one it is probaly really hot!and two if you open it before it cools, the oxygen will rush in and might start thewhole thing on fire. then you run the risk of getting burnt and you will have tostart over because the cloth is all burnt away.

Step 4: Remove the lid

Remove the lid :] if your cloth looks like the picture where it is brown then dontworry just cover the tin back up and put it back on. if it is very starchy orcrumbles when you tuch it you over cooked it and will have to start over. but if isknida soft completly black and is not very fragile then it is perfect. then youshould take it out of the can and seprate each piece gently like I have done

Step 5: Light it up

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4 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

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2(/member/DieCastoms/)

5 years ago Reply (C5GWVMUFI36FTNU)

now all you have to do is let anykind of spark fall on it and it will glow red with ahot ember but no flame or for all those teck freaks you can just use a lighter butit burns it up fast. for all you primitive and medieval people like me this is theexact way the people back then made char cloth

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DieCastoms (/member/DieCastoms/) says:

This comment is a little long, I apologize. Hopefully some will find it useful. I wasa member of the Wachussett Mountain Men, the Leominster Sportsmans'Association, the N.M.L.R.A. and am a continuing reenactor and supporter ofLiving History. My Mountain Man name is Little Coon because as a child I was"always chattering and always getting into things". My father is a Rev.War periodcorrect blacksmith and has made many fire starter kits. if you are interested in akit, feel free to contact me. When making your charcloth, again, I must stress,ONLY 100% cotton will work. Anything synthetic will MELT instead! If you playwith the size of the hole in the top of the tin, and get it small enough that youhave a good steady flow of smoke, you can actually light the smoke itself. Thecan will not explode, because there is no oxygen in it, that's the whole point ofdoing it in a tin can. If you light the smoke you will get basically a candle flame. 9out of 10 times, when the smoke finally burns out and will not re-light, the cloth isdone. If you keep your char cloth, flint and striker and some rope fibers or DRYgrass and a thin piece of leather in a TIGHTLY SEALING tin, you will always havewhat you need. Half bury a piece of charcloth in a 'bird's nest' of the grass orfibers and lay that on the piece of leather. Either hold the striker in one hand andhit with a GLANCING BLOW of a sharp edge of the flint, or hold the flint andswing the striker. One way will most likely work better then the other for you. Tryto get AS MANY of the sparks to land on the charcloth as possible. Once youhave embers burning in the cloth, pick the entire pile up using the leather like apot holder and blow through the fibers gently like if you were cooling off aspoonful of soup. Once the fibers catch flame, place them into your kindling to

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5 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

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get it lit, and retrieve your leather. Once your fire is going good, why not replenishyour charcloth? Remember 100% cotton will dry if it gets wet, but charcloth willDISSOLVE if it gets wet. Carry cotton and make charcloth as you need it! As arandom extra story: A demonstrator came to my school when I was in 2nd gradeto show us about "Primitive living". While there, he showed how to start a flint andsteel fire and although I do not remember what he did wrong, many peopleremember what happened. I corrected him, and of course since he was theteacher and I was the student, he was infallible and I was certainly wrong. Whenhe made the comment "If you're so smart, come up and show us how it's done." Iset the teachers desk on fire. Had he ASKED me, I at the time held my group'srecord for flint and steel fire in under 7 seconds! Remember, I was 7 years old!My parents were called and when told exactly what happened, dad told thePRINCIPLE to bugger off because of the demonstrator's attitude to me. In thefollowing years, DAD was the demonstrator!!!! I hope my post is helpful and hasnot stepped on any toes. DC

peapeam (/member/peapeam/) in reply to DieCastoms

As I've understood it, this is notcorrect (check Wikipedia article). Thepoint is that it has to be a vegetablefiber. So not only 100% cotton willwork, e.g. linen will also work or e.g. amix of linen and cotton. Synthetics areof course excluded.

waykno (/member/waykno/) in reply to peapeam

Wikipedia? I can change that. Wikiwould not be my "go to" source.

DieCastoms (/member/DieCastoms/) in reply to peapeam

You are correct, thank you forpointing that out. Any 100% naturalcloth will work. Anything syntheticwill melt and smoke and not ignite. Ihave never tried to use anythingother than 100% cotton, mostly fromold t-shirts.

Sir Crapton (/member/Sir+Crapton/) in reply to DieCastoms

I had a medieval-era style blacksmithteach me how to start fires and makechar cloth last time I was at aRenaissance Faire. Its a lot of fun.

Aklash, The hunchback (/member/Aklash%2C+The+hunchback/) in reply toDieCastoms

One can use linen as a substitute for cotton (why one would have linenbut not cotton I don't know) but both wil work fine.

Lithium Rain (/member/Lithium+Rain/) in reply to DieCastoms

Holy massive paragraph Batman.

franklinonline (/member/franklinonline/) in reply to DieCastoms

wow the instructor. He could alwaystry yours, see it works, then aplogiseand say hes human and wrong


6 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

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sometimes. But he bes a looser and stuff.

askeladden (/member/askeladden/) says:

You can also do this on the BBQ.

kInstructor (/member/kInstructor/) says:

This also works fine with aluminum foil as can and kitchen paper as cloth.

Eleniel (/member/Eleniel/) says:

umm.. is the can just in/on the fire. or is the fire IN the can ?

gearskin (/member/gearskin/) in reply to Eleniel

The principle at work here ispyrolysis, in which you separate anorganic substance into a solid and agas (or multiple gases) by hightemperature in an environment free ofoxygen. You'll want the fire on theoutside of the tin - what you wantinside the tin is a whole lot of heat,and a way for the gaseous byproductof pyrolysis to escape. This is alsowhy you can "overcook" in this recipe- once the gaseous byproduct isdriven off, oxygen can reenter the tinthrough the hole in the top.

Graywolf (/member/Graywolf/) (author) says:

i hope yall enjoyed this and it worked for yall please give me feed back and tellme if ther is any thing i can do to improve, also i will eventualy show yall how tomake fire with a spark and eventualy with sticks

Top feeder (/member/Top+feeder/) in reply to Graywolf

That's is very similar to makingcharcoal for BP and fireworks whichalso happens to be fun.

Shilloh777 (/member/Shilloh777/) in reply to Graywolf

Spell check would help. No offensemeant. Some comic slang is okay,but it helps me if I understand you. Ihope you didn't mean to make fun ofsoutherners or the way they speak.

scoutmastermike190 (/member/scoutmastermike190/) in reply to Graywolf

thank you graywolf. I am teachingthis at a boy scout camporee thisweekend

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7 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

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i make my char cloth in aaltoid tin on the charcoalafter i am done cooking.

nutsandbolts_64 (/member/nutsandbolts_64/) says:

weird question: could you use cotton balls?

beehard44 (/member/beehard44/) in reply to nutsandbolts_64

charred balls? sounds awfullywrong

Eleniel (/member/Eleniel/) in reply to beehard44

ROFL!

nutsandbolts_64 (/member/nutsandbolts_64/) in reply to beehard44

lol. To other iblers out there: DONOT use newspapers. I repeat, DONOT use newspapers. If you attemptto turn it into charcoal, the end resultis some pretty flammable paper, butit would be extremely smelly (I meanpotent to the point of irritating andcausing a sort-of burning sensationto your nose).

LOOPDOP (/member/LOOPDOP/) says:

I think you mean 4 to 5 mm (millimetre). Am i correct?

peapeam (/member/peapeam/) in reply to LOOPDOP

Yes, looks like a typo. It must be4-5mm, since it is to be no biggerthan 1cm. A 4-5cm (appr. 2") hole ofcourse would be way too big.

minime12358 (/member/minime12358/) says:

Fun and useful thing to do- light the smoke on fire. it will stop burning once it isdone. the smoke is flammable.

StickStoneBone (/member/StickStoneBone/) says:

Char cloth, excellent... do know what worksnearly as well? Raman Noodles.

technodude92 (/member/technodude92/) says:

do you need to use a fire? can you char cloth on a hotplate/gas stove? and aprox.how long does it take to char cloth?


8 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

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Aklash, The hunchback (/member/Aklash%2C+The+hunchback/) in reply totechnodude92

a grill will work great

sharlston (/member/sharlston/) in reply to technodude92

no it wont get hot enough

dscroll (/member/dscroll/) in reply to technodude92

yes you can use any heatsource(not sure about hot plate)but do it out side.

technodude92 (/member/technodude92/) in reply to dscroll

thanks i just might do this

pyro13 (/member/pyro13/) in reply to technodude92

hot plate will most likely work, justturn it up on high

Evilrick (/member/Evilrick/) says:

Just some added information, you can use any type of tin, including a soup,bean, tuna, or any other can. Use heavy duty aluminum foil or several layers ofregular weight foil for a top/ lid. I have done this many times, I have also usedthin flexible wire (bread ties, snare wire, a few strands from a lamp cord) wrappedaround to hold the foil tight to the sides of the can, not absolutely necessary, butit does help keep the can sealed. Be sure to let the can/tin cool completely beforeopening or the char may ignite when you open it. The thicker the cotton, thebetter, cotton rope works great and is less brittle. I also use one of the cheepround plastic waterproof matchboxes to keep my char in. Keeps it dry, and willhold enough char to start many fires. It's always in a pocket and a fero rod isalways on my keyring.

lillady09 (/member/lillady09/) says:

Graywolf, Great instructable and correct for period reenactors if I might add tokeep your char-cloth dry try applying a drop of melted candle wax on the hole inyour tin. I always carry a small beeswax candle in my rucksack.

sharlston (/member/sharlston/) says:

will this work for rags like dusters?

sharlston (/member/sharlston/) says:

will this work with them material dusters for cars?

rofus (/member/rofus/) says:

char cloth is very useful to me because it takes the tiniest ember and startssmoldering. its a good idea to make it when its easy to make a fire or your out of


9 of 11 2013/12/11 04:51 PM

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Post Comment

luck. one more thing, denim jeans works better.

Gramps (/member/Gramps/) says:

Like your imput on how you guys carry the Char Cloth while in the field, i.e. Howdo you recommend carrying it and what amount. I just like to get other folksIdeas. Appreciate your response. Thanks

Graywolf (/member/Graywolf/) (author) in reply to Gramps

in something waterproof i use a peiceof electral tape to cover the top holeand then seal the side with a lengthof electral tape. carry as mush as youthink you need, if your good youcould start a fire with one peice

Trans_Am (/member/Trans_Am/) says:

Whatever those handheld sparkers are made of. I can never get flint to work.

FrenchCrawler (/member/FrenchCrawler/) in reply to Trans_Am

If you're refering to the sparkersthat are kind of like tongs with aupside down cap on one end thatare usually used in scientificclasses, they use flint (at least theones I had did)...

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Make Char Cloth