Medieval Flaming Torch?
- Thread starter TrickyT
- Start date
-
Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
I'm guessing here; but for longevity of the torch you'd be better using pitch or tar, and the torch itself made by wrapping the stick with a cloth if natural fibres before soaking in the aforementioned.
Hth.
Hth.
instead of clothe i would suggest a very thick cotton rope say 15mm thick and wrap it tightly around your stick as a burning wick, as above oils will burn off to fast we would need some thing thats harder longer to burn, pitch, tar spring to mind i am not certain an animal fat would work but worth a try.
also may be a splice of two timbers would do it say a pine resin type timber a foot long ontop of a hard wood stick, then the rope top would in theory hold back the flames rather than be a wick to it.
how cruesome do you want to go?
what sort of large flamable animal can we use? pig skin fat wrapped around the stick top as a fuel bound with clothe/rope as a wick
the tv ones are easy to make , all they are is a stick, a material rope wrap on the top with a couple of nails in it to hold it in place and the fuel is fire gel, light a replenish as the director needs, max burn time is around half to one hour. most sceane shots run from five to ten mins and the props department would have a dozen ready to swap if needed
also may be a splice of two timbers would do it say a pine resin type timber a foot long ontop of a hard wood stick, then the rope top would in theory hold back the flames rather than be a wick to it.
how cruesome do you want to go?
what sort of large flamable animal can we use? pig skin fat wrapped around the stick top as a fuel bound with clothe/rope as a wick
the tv ones are easy to make , all they are is a stick, a material rope wrap on the top with a couple of nails in it to hold it in place and the fuel is fire gel, light a replenish as the director needs, max burn time is around half to one hour. most sceane shots run from five to ten mins and the props department would have a dozen ready to swap if needed
sorry forgot to mention the reason why EVERYONE carries them at an angle of 45 degrees is to stop the red hot burning oils fats running down into you hand, every one holds them bolt upright ONCE!!
I seem to recollect that there was a thread quite a while ago about medieval torches
You're not thinking of doing a
You're not thinking of doing a
I used to make an eco friendly torch when I was a kid. I used old engine oil and strips of rags, soaked in said oil and wrapped around a big stick. Experience taught me that some wire worked well to stop the burning rags from falling off and setting fire to my dads shed and my trousers. Heaven knows what I was thinking of back then. Great fun though. Oh and as in a previous post, you learn to carry them at 45 degrees after a short while.
Sent from my battledroid.
torch when I was a kid. I used old engine oil and strips of rags, soaked in said oil and wrapped around a big stick. Experience taught me that some wire worked well to stop the burning rags from falling off and setting fire to my dads shed and my trousers. Heaven knows what I was thinking of back then. Great fun though. Oh and as in a previous post, you learn to carry them at 45 degrees after a short while.Sent from my battledroid.
Er I've still got mine, sat up on a beam gathering dust. Not had any half decent reason to light it.
One thing though, that liquid hoof tar I used takes about a year to dry out so it can be touched without it covering you.
You just don't get the mobs like you used to, sniff
ATB
Tom
One thing though, that liquid hoof tar I used takes about a year to dry out so it can be touched without it covering you.
You just don't get the mobs like you used to, sniff
ATB
Tom
This paper by Janne Harjula describes a late 14th or early 15th century torch found during archaeological excavations at the city of Turku. The torch is compromised of two wooden staves, 340 and 290 mm in length, which are wrapped with (linen/hemp?) textile at their upper ends. The textile had been coated with pine tar.
robin wood
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
This is all you need to know as medieval ones as far as I can see didn't exist. Never seen one in an early illustration, only in Hollywood movies. Folk used various methods of light production lanthorns being the most sensible and common for outdoors as seen in Bruegal paintings etc.
It's something regularly practiced up here in Scotland usually at Hogmanay. The next village along Comrie do it and it's known as the Flambeaux. I understand that the torches are left soaking for weeks if not months before they're used, hopefully I'll make it this year.
Find a branch that splits out kind of evenly into three twigs. Take some clay and mould a kind of nest in amongst the branches. Don't clean up the clay first, this is crude pot and you don't want it to crack, so the little bits of debris and grit are actually good things.
Gather resin and dried moss, add scraps of wax, if you have some, and fill the nest with these. Light torch and it works fine. Eventually the wood burns but the resin and wax flares quite effectively for some time
It's a lot safer, especially if you're going to move it around, with a bit of chicken wire wrapped around the outside of the clay and moss nest; just makes sure it stays on the branch.
Fat and oil runs far too easily. Resin and tar runs but will soak into the moss, or scraps of rags, and burn there rather than dripping. If you do it traditionally it was two sticks, or a small bunch, the original faggot, held together with the cloth and resin trapped in the middle.
There is another way, again with the faggot of rods, but willow or elder this time. Poke down the pith in a handful of rods and pack the opened cores with resin or wax. Bind the rods together into a torch and wrap around the top near the edge with a bit of linen. Dip the tops into resin or tar and light. It's effectively lots of small candles all burning together and it gets very hot.
Modern torches use kevlar soaked in petrol derivatives, like paraffin, or the firegels.
If you look up fire poi you'll find all sorts of suggestions.
Be safe
M
Gather resin and dried moss, add scraps of wax, if you have some, and fill the nest with these. Light torch and it works fine. Eventually the wood burns but the resin and wax flares quite effectively for some time
It's a lot safer, especially if you're going to move it around, with a bit of chicken wire wrapped around the outside of the clay and moss nest; just makes sure it stays on the branch.
Fat and oil runs far too easily. Resin and tar runs but will soak into the moss, or scraps of rags, and burn there rather than dripping. If you do it traditionally it was two sticks, or a small bunch, the original faggot, held together with the cloth and resin trapped in the middle.
There is another way, again with the faggot of rods, but willow or elder this time. Poke down the pith in a handful of rods and pack the opened cores with resin or wax. Bind the rods together into a torch and wrap around the top near the edge with a bit of linen. Dip the tops into resin or tar and light. It's effectively lots of small candles all burning together and it gets very hot.
Modern torches use kevlar soaked in petrol derivatives, like paraffin, or the firegels.
If you look up fire poi you'll find all sorts of suggestions.
Be safe
M
We had a go at making a torch earlier this year, not the type with the rags mind you but we used a thick branch, quartered it down to a certain point, added a mix of birch bark, small twigs and the main thing was pine resin.
It burnt nicely and brightly for quite a while I seem to remember.
I wonder how rags would work covered in pine resin and whether it would be slow burning as well.
It burnt nicely and brightly for quite a while I seem to remember.
I wonder how rags would work covered in pine resin and whether it would be slow burning as well.
Heres a pic of the dug up torch from the 14th / 15th C, realy wish i could read the text!
http://utu.academia.edu/JanneHarjul...o_Akademin_paarakennuksen_tontin_kaivauksista
Thanks for the lead Martti!
ATB
Tom
http://utu.academia.edu/JanneHarjul...o_Akademin_paarakennuksen_tontin_kaivauksista
Thanks for the lead Martti!
ATB
Tom
robin wood
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Thanks for that Martti, very interesting for me to see the turned bowl, I have seen similar from medieval Stockholm just over the water from Åbo Akademi.
I would be interested to see evidence of torches further south in Europe, resinous pine splints were common forms of indoor lighting in Scandinavia and Russia into the early 20th C where we used rush lights and candles but then we didn't have the resinous trees (Scots pine was localised in highlands before being planted across the UK in the last few hundred years)
The torches that I've seen being prepared by the bonfire Society folks down here in Lewes, Sussex, for the big Guy Fawkes celebrations in the town are prepared weeks in advance. As far as I can tell the torches are made with old fashioned Burlap type sacking wound tightly round a length of timber, secured with wire and then left soaking in old oil drums for days before the big parades. On the day they are taken out and allowed to drip-dry for some hours before being used in the evening.
We have pine splints from Scottish sites dating back to the Bronze age Robin. Turned bowls (well, they found the wasters ) too. Fearnan on Loch Tay. c500bce
I'm not sure if they found some at Loch Olabhat too. I could check ?
cheers,
Toddy
) too. Fearnan on Loch Tay. c500bceI'm not sure if they found some at Loch Olabhat too. I could check ?
cheers,
Toddy
Where can you get hold of big lumps of pine tar, pitch etc? I've had no joy trying to collect it and the hoof pitch I got was both expensive and took forever to dry. I'm assuming it is still made commercially for brewers and traditional boat builers etc?
Pitch from birch bark would have been available all over Europe I guess but is there evidence of it actually being made in the UK back in the day? I know they were importing it and pine tar into places like Hull which implies they weren't getting it from local sources?
This is great stuff folks, cheers!
ATB
Tom
Pitch from birch bark would have been available all over Europe I guess but is there evidence of it actually being made in the UK back in the day? I know they were importing it and pine tar into places like Hull which implies they weren't getting it from local sources?
This is great stuff folks, cheers!
ATB
Tom
Stockholm tar is easily available. We use it by the gallon in the boatyard..........sticks to everything too
I've a jar of it in my shed just now. No idea how I'd post it to you, it'd be a nightmare if it spilled.
Pine resin we gather quite easily too......couple of ounces on a walk every day for a week and there's enough to do something with but you can buy tubs of Swedish pitch too.
Link ;
http://www.tradboats.com/gluestarandpitch.htm
cheers,
M
I've a jar of it in my shed just now. No idea how I'd post it to you, it'd be a nightmare if it spilled.
Pine resin we gather quite easily too......couple of ounces on a walk every day for a week and there's enough to do something with
but you can buy tubs of Swedish pitch too.Link ;
http://www.tradboats.com/gluestarandpitch.htm
cheers,
M
Similar threads
