Char cloth

[Wood Goblin]

Hi all,

Finally got round to producing a couple of batches of char cloth last night. I used a domestic wood stove, and an old pop-top shoe polish tin with a hole knocked in the top and a screw to close it, and cut up jeans for the cloth. Really pleased with how it turned out, catches from the flint and steel really easily and burns just like a flat section of King Alfred's Cakes/Daldinia Concentrica. Thoroughly looking forward to getting used to using it as a primary way of making fire.

My question is, how commonly do people here use char cloth as opposed to other methods?

I am planning to use it as much as possible this year, as a developmental step in learning better firecraft . . . friction next!

Cheers,

George

 

[Monikieman]

Not sure but I sppose a lot of folks use it often. There's probably more folk make it for the challenge and know-how than use it constantly. Part of your skill set.

 

[Robson Valley]

Other than railroad flares and petrol lighters, I suppose it's good to have several fire-starting techniques up your sleeve.
What sort of waterproof container will you keep the char cloth in? Is it brittle > smaller and smaller pieces?

 

[Toddy]

I make it to demonstrate firelighting usually. That said, I have a friend who lives 'off grid' and she takes any that I make because once it's glowing it's a start that doesn't go out while she footers around getting her fire going.
If she gets the char going, and then gets it agin a bit of fomes then she has plenty of time.
M

Edited the thrice damned predictive text. The English language is incredibly rich, why is predictive text so limited ??

 

[Wood Goblin]

It is sat in the tin at the moment, so may stick it in a plastic baggy or something. It isn't too brittle actually, though I think I will keep it in a tin, plastic bag or not.

I have a suspicion railroad flares might be one of those things we don't generally get access to in the UK, like our cousins across the pond. I tend to prefer cheap refillable butane lighters, generally.

 

[Wood Goblin]

Aye makes sense Toddy. Having not actually lit a fire with it yet, I am interested to test the thought that it is well used with damp/otherwise not ideal tinder, as the smouldering char can dry it out.

 

[Toddy]

If it's charred and not burnt to crumbly fibres, it's pretty robust. It takes the abuse of holding it firmly on top of a bit of flint and hitting it with a steel, put it that way.
The only thing I have found that takes a spark better than it when both are damp, is chagga.

M

 

[Wood Goblin]

Aye, it certainly doesn't fall apart too easily!

I have never played with chaga, can certainly confirm trying to light anything with damp King Alfred's Cake is not a route to happiness, or fire.

 

[Hammock_man]

Not sure if old jeans is true bush craft but it is still a very good material to use. Gives a good firm cloth when cooked and one which glows for a good while. Makes it easy to light a sulpher match.

 

[Wood Goblin]

As I understand it, char cloth of any kind, as opposed to otherwise unprocessed and then charred natural tinders, is stretching bushcraft a bit! You are right though, seems to be a good material. Had a play with some lamp wick I had kicking round too, which also seemed to work well.

 

[Toddy]

On that note though; TomBear posted a long thread (and I'm sure British Red did something similar too, maybe Wayland ?) on making sulphur spills....does anyone actually have access to a natural source of sulphur ? I know at least three people who would happily barter for it

M

 

[Robson Valley]

Check a big horticultural supply place. Here, sulfur is in the mix for dormant spray on apple trees.
Something to do with scale insect infestations, also.
Natural sources at the surface should include volcanic fumaroles if you can hold your breath for long enough.

 

[Toddy]

We don't have active volcanos here, but there were volcanos and old spa towns often have sulphur waters. I wondered if someone had actually sourced any native sulphur.
The old Victorian mineral surveys show them to be relatively widespread, but subsequent exploitation means that access sometimes means mining.

M

 

[Monikieman]

Your char cloth will love a magnifying glass. If it's a sunny day it's almost instantanious. I remember one day in Scotland, two summers ago and it was sunny for half an hour

 

[Toddy]

Yeah, I know that feeling

I saw all the posts a while back about using everything from polybags to ice to make lenses to make fire, and they all fail dismally because we can't rely on the sun to make an appearance

Now if we could figure out a way to make fire from rain, we'd be onto something awfully clever

M

 

[Bishop]

Now if we could figure out a way to make fire from rain, we'd be onto something awfully clever

The Kelvin water dropper, invented by Scottish scientist William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) in 1867 aka Kelvin's Thunderstorm.
Creates an electrostatic spark from falling water...

 

[JohnC]

Ive make the sulpher spills from sulpher from the garden centre, its in granules and melts well, with a bit of care and ventilation, works fine in conjunction with charcloth. I got some old army surplus cigarette tubes to keep them in. The main issue is it seems to have an almost invisible flame (initially) and if there is too much sulpher on the match, it can drip.
Id like to try charring other plant materials a bit more and see how that goes.

 

[Wood Goblin]

That's a great shout about the magnifying glass. Finally something to do with that little fresnel lense!

Fire from water eh, what a world we live in.

 

[Hammock_man]

Add a pinch of boring table salt to the sulpher powder, just colours the flame.

 

[Wood Goblin]

Could someone kindly enlighten me, what on earth is a sulphur spill?

Google just throws up industrial accidents . . .