Just made char cloth for the first time

[spamel]

Well, due to poor light in my man crap room, these pictures are a bit blurry as the exposure was a bit longer than I'd like, and no tripod at hand so anyway, you'll get the idea! The board is lime, drilled through with a bow drill spindle, hence the fact that I know the smoke from lime smells like cow poo! Spindle is hazel and flywheel is a reel of fine purlon! It works though!

 

[Big Bad Stu]

These pump drills look like cool contraptions!

I will have to give one a try one day.

Well it tipped down with rain last night and it isn't windy so I will have to gather some bracken and dry it at home for my attempt to get fire from my char cloth ember.

I have seen Raymond do it a hundred times on his programs, he makes it look easy, so it is probably hard. Anybody got any tips.

Ogri, I will gather some grass at the same time. I may bet up there (bearing in mind it is about 250m higher above sea level than home) and find it all dry and crispy. I will take my flint and steel with me, it seems to permanently live in my pocket at the moment anyway.

Regards

Stewey.

 

[spamel]

Keep your back to the wind, or near enough, so that the wind blows the smoke away from your face! A simple thing, but often overlooked. I found that bracken can be quite acrid so it really is best to make sure you don't breathe that stuff in or you'll be barfing a lung up! Also, watch out for the hot ashes that come off as well, they can give you quite a sting. If the bracken is slightly damp, put it in a pocket for a while inside your clothing to dry it out. Buffing it up will help too! Chuck a few birchbark peelings in the centre with your ember and you're sure to get a good blaze!

Good luck!

 

[Ogri the trog]

I have seen Raymond do it a hundred times on his programs, he makes it look easy, so it is probably hard. Anybody got any tips.

Ogri, I will gather some grass at the same time. I may bet up there (bearing in mind it is about 250m higher above sea level than home) and find it all dry and crispy. I will take my flint and steel with me, it seems to permanently live in my pocket at the moment anyway.

Regards

Stewey.

If you try making three or four attempts at blowing your coal into flame, changeing a few parameters each time, then in a few months you'll be in a position where you'll have practiced hundreds of times as well - so you can make it look easy to someone else who is only just starting their firemaking journey. So 3 bundles, one all grass, one all bracken and one that is a mixture .

....make sure you don't breathe that stuff in or you'll be barfing a lung up!

Spam,
Give us a little warning next time,
I've gotta clean the keyboard agin now

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Big Bad Stu]

Well I gave it a go at lunchtime and tried two different tinder bundles, the first was a mixture of dry grass and dry bracken. It went like a dream after about 40 seconds of blowing (and a lung full of the smoke - despite Spamel's warning).

The second time, I repeated to prove to myself that the first time was not a fluke, I just used bracken, it went after a slightly longer time.

Orgi I will use the practice technique you suggested.

I found it hard not to panic when you have caught a spark, I forced myself to put things away in pockets so I didn't loose them prior to transferring the ember to the tinder bundle. I also seemed to make sense to have everything to hand before you start.

Here are some pictures.

I feel strangely elated by the whole thing.

Stewey.

 

[spamel]

Nice one, you don't know it yet but the confidence it will give you outdoors is massive. Knowing that if it all went wrong you could start a fire to keep you warm is a massive weapon in the armoury of survival and/or bushcraft.

If you notice, many of the programmes on TV show the person breathing life into the ember waving the tinder bundle down and then up again between breaths. This makes sure the smoke keeps away from you as much as possible, you're not breathing it in, and also adds a waft of oxygen to the tinder bundle as you breathe in again. Try and incorporate it into your technique as it does make a big difference.

 

[rich59]

I feel strangely elated by the whole thing. Stewey.

Ah, that'll be the effects of smoke inhalation then.