Char cloth

[nephilim]

OK...so I've made char cloth a couple of times using old muslin cloths I've had from when my eldest was a baby. It always seems to break apart at the lightest of touches, so becomes difficult to hold together compared to other people's char cloths which I've seen in action.

What material makes for a sturdy char cloth that will still take a low heat spark such as from flint and steel


Also if you can recommend a good steel striker, I'm all ears as I've been. Using iron parites for a while now and it's incredibly hard to get sparks, and I'm not even sure if I've been using good quality flint as it chips away when striking....that or I'm not doing it properly. Lol

 

[Bishop]

Lampwick is worth a look as is cordage like jute garden twine that can be unravelled then fluffed up. For something a little more advanced soaking twine in a potassium nitrate then allowing it to dry, this will catch even the coolest of sparks.
[video]https://youtu.be/lZlhcAO2J4o[/video]

 

[dewi]

Cotton tea towels from the £1 shop??

 

[Dave]

An old pair of jeans.

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

My best char has come from a pair of Asda jeans at £4.
Stays thick and holds together well and takes a spark really well.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I use off cuts of linen from where I've been sewing. Seems to work OK. No char cloth is very durable, tho obviously some are more durable than others.

J

 

[Limaed]

Old jeans for me to, or some old oven cloths. If you're using rocks the only thing I have found that works really well is prepared Amadou. Marcasite might be worth a try over pyrite if you can get some. The sparks are quite hard to direct so your tinder needs to be very close to the striking edge if that makes sense. Have a go in a place with low light so you can see where the Sparks are going.

 

[nephilim]

I understand no char cloth is durable, but some I've seen just seem to hold together better whereas muslin just seems to fall apart at the lightest of touches.

I'll pick up a pair of jeans from asda tomorrow or Monday, and get to cutting. They do a pair for £4 so it's a worthwhile investment.

I'll see if I can find some amadou or marcasite...probably not any near me, but I know a chap that does stone works, so he may know where to go.

Thanks for the advice guys. Next up...where to get a steel striker. Any makers on here willing to show me their wares?

 

[Stevie777]

Place the char cloth on top of the flint right near the edge and strike down...btw i use jeans mostly for my Char Cloth. one leg should last you a lifetime.

 

[nephilim]

Awesome. Good to know.

 

[Goatboy]

Old jeans and tee-shirts here for me too.
As to steels the one I got from Shark Designs/Beaver Bushcraft is very good at throwing reliable sparks.
Though I've net had a chance to use any I've heard some of the makers on here like John Fenna make some good steels too. Clouston98 would be a good chap to ask as he seems to collect more steels than anyone I know of.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Zingmo]

I can recommend Milius' firesteels. He may have some in stock.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126802

Z

 

[Limaed]

I put the fluffed up Amadou on my knee (when seated) then 'peck' at the marcasite:

 

[Stevie777]

I can recommend Milius' firesteels. He may have some in stock.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126802

Z

Yip...work for me.

 

[Chris the Fish]

+1 for beaver bushcraft, very friendly and good quality kit


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[Chris the Fish]

Oh and as for the op, I found an old tea cloth the best for the trade off between durability and catching a spark


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[Whittler Kev]

I understand no char cloth is durable, but some I've seen just seem to hold together better whereas muslin just seems to fall apart at the lightest of touches.

I'll pick up a pair of jeans from asda tomorrow or Monday, and get to cutting. They do a pair for £4 so it's a worthwhile investment.

I'll see if I can find some amadou or marcasite...probably not any near me, but I know a chap that does stone works, so he may know where to go.

Thanks for the advice guys. Next up...where to get a steel striker. Any makers on here willing to show me their wares?

Unless you want something fancy, get down to your recycling centre or Sunday market and buy an old knackered (or not) file (preferably with a smooth edge) for pennies. Snap a lump off the end and bobs your dads brother. If it bends and doesn't snap it will probably be no good. It will send shards off so wrap if possible and wear protective gear. Don't try hacksawing or grinding it off as you'll wear out blades like nobody's business and the heat from grinding will destroy the temper/hardness. I've made and sold loads of fancy ones.....all made from old files

Charcloth - Has to be 100% cotton (don't believe the labels in clothes)
Best - Old jeans or dishcloths or tea towels

 

[forrestdweller]

Charcloth - Has to be 100% cotton (don't believe the labels in clothes)
Best - Old jeans or dishcloths or tea towels

i can second that advice: i have 2 t-shirts labelled as "100% cotton" but if that's true indonesians have invented synthetic cotton- it's amazing how many synthetics or mixed fabrics marked as "100%cotton"" i encountered over the years...

as others already wrote before me: old jeans and towels are what i normally use; alternatively you could try (partly) charred punkwood (bit more bulky to carry and it has to be the right consistence) or various tree funghi charred on one end... . i use the same method as stevie 777

 

[tombear]

Thick flax linen is absolutely the best stuff for char cloth, just about any charity shop will have tea towels made of it ( it will be printed on the bottom edge usually ) or table clothes, one of those will last you a life time. Charred it's tougher than cotton, takes a spark better and if you want to you can soak the pieces in a strong potassium nitrate solution, leave them to dry and they will take the weakest spark. Unfortunately you then have to be even more careful about keeping the stuff bone dry.

I've found the main reason folk have trouble isn't what the cloth is made from but keeping it absolutely dry. I store mine on a radiator. Back in the day folks would have fires going pretty much constantly so it could be kept dry near them and would be used up relatively quickly anyway.

Nowt wrong with cotton but it's not much harder getting flax, also they tend not to adulterate it as much as cotton .

ATB

Tom

And if you don't have KNO3 just dip the bits in pee and let them dry, possibly repeatedly or collect the crystals that form on the edges of middens. I've never actually done it but you can evaporate urine to get the stuff, I keep meaning to but never quite get around to it.

 

[nephilim]

My mum gave me pair of jeans, so that's what's going to be char cloth for me. I have a large tin for me to make it in. So when it's stopped drizzling, I'll give it a go

I'll pm the chap that dies flint and steel in the post listed somewhere above this, and see if he is willing to do one on a buy now pay later.