Charcloth

[g4ghb]

I had a go at making some charcloth at the weekend and to say I ended up dissapointed is to understate the fact!:aargh4:

It looks / feels / seems ok - its black and fragile at least but try as I might I couldn't het it to catch a spark (with a firesteel!!!)

Any ideas / sugestions please - what am I doing wrong / what have I done wrong....

I tried 2 methods - first was catching light to the cloth then putting it out by smothering (not great i know but thought i'd give it a go.

the second was to put in sealed (bar small hole) tin and sit it in the fire for an hour or so

Help please! - i't must be something simple surely!.................

 

[Jeff Wagner]

What material did you make your char from? An hour is a bit too long. Once it stops smoking, its done. Just like my ex-wifes cake....

 

[oetzi]

http://bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=10049
Thats an excellent tutorial.
Also it pays to take only a few pieces of cloth ( I put in a 0,5l tin five pieces ca 8x8cm) and use thick cloth, like from a Jeans or other heavier trousers.

 

[g4ghb]

What material did you make your char from? An hour is a bit too long. Once it stops smoking, its done. Just like my ex-wifes cake....

was cotton (I beleive) - was old 'dribble' cloths we used when the girls were small

To be honest I never saw it smoking at all, though havings said that It was in the garden incinerator and I wasn't watching it!

 

[Goose]

Might have nylon or somesuch in it, I have made cahrcloth using jeans material and yellow dusters,both worked fine but an old piece of tent didnt work, it looked ok while being made but wouldn't take a spark. Not sure if it had a flame retarder or was part nylon.

 

[rich59]

Old cotton washed many times in a hard water area is no good - at least for me. And at least part of Wiltshire is reported to have some very hard water! The only material that works well for me is new, unused cotton. Your dribble cloths sound well washed!

Get something cotton from the pound shop, or some springy bandages from the chemist I would advise.

The easiest and most reliable test I find for the quality of my char cloth is to put a match to it. If is glows and the glow spreads easily then it is fine.

 

[falling rain]

Being babies accesories the cloth you used maybe flame retardent.

I once used some old Japanese cloth place mats. It looked and felt like cotton and charred in my tin but same as you I couldn't get it to take a spark. There were labels on the place mats but it was all in Kanji (Japanese writing) which I couldn't read. I can only assume that the mats were fire resistant.

Try yellow dusters and you'll have no problems

 

[oops56]

Here is my best char cloth get some kerosene wick 3/4 wide cut into sq. it works great good and strong

 

[g4ghb]

pretty sure there is nothing on it - just plain cotton - seem to remember the wife running them up from fabric she bought. However as also sugested they are well washed and we do have v hard water in our area so that may be it?

Think i'll give your 'match test a go though Richard!

Think i'll buy some cheap cotten and have another go!

 

[Jeff Wagner]

I dont use charcloth personally but I do include a roll with every fire piston sent. I use a large round cookie tin and make 50 - 75 rolls at a time. In the winter, I pop the tin into the wood stove and let it cook. All the stink goes up the chimney along with the wood smoke. After 15 minutes or so the tin has stopped smoking and the flames around the lid are gone and I know its done. I use the legs from old demin jeans for my material.

 

[Brian Curnel]

G-4

Take a regular tee-shirt cit into a 6 inch to 1 foot strip and roll it. Place inside a metal airtight container, and punch a small hole at the top (small nail) when it begins to quit smoking it's ready.

 

[oops56]

Yep thats one use for old jeans but i use the legs for bags for my camping pot tie both ends with string plus the back pockets makes small pouches and if cut right can have a flap

 

[Lucy Cassidy]

Graham, if you get really stuck (or bogged off with trying!) you can always buy it off E-bay....... £2/bag....... I think they've stopped listing it for the winter but if you're interested I'll dig out the name of the seller for you.

Lucy