a lot of torches were oil bowls or jars with wicks in from quite early on so a jar with a lid full of oil, hole in lid shove lampwick in there. again smokey but traditional 
old fashioned burning torches
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a lot of torches were oil bowls or jars with wicks in from quite early on so a jar with a lid full of oil, hole in lid shove lampwick in there. again smokey but traditional
I did somthing similar with a kind of dish filled with oil and some burlap strands soaked in oil. The simplest are the best.
The movie The Fast Runner shows Innuit/Eskimo people using traditional seal oil lamps for light in their igloos - also for cooking over. The movie is a great look at their culture/tools/livestyle just before being changed by European/modern culture (snowmobiles, electricity, houses, etc.).
The problem with any open flames for lighting is the weather around you. They are affected by any breeze/wind. The smaller the flame, the more it is affected - or blown out. And carrying around bowls/jars of oil with a burning wick in them presents its own problems.
The other thing to keep in mind is that torches are a SHORT-TERM TEMPORARY light source! They only give off usable light for a few minutes - like 20 to 30 minutes if you are lucky. And they are also a ONE-TIME light source. Once lit, they usually aren't worth trying to put out to save and reuse again.
So you have to think about them in a different way than most people are used to.
Just my humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.
Mikey - yee ol' grumpy blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
The problem with any open flames for lighting is the weather around you. They are affected by any breeze/wind. The smaller the flame, the more it is affected - or blown out. And carrying around bowls/jars of oil with a burning wick in them presents its own problems.
The other thing to keep in mind is that torches are a SHORT-TERM TEMPORARY light source! They only give off usable light for a few minutes - like 20 to 30 minutes if you are lucky. And they are also a ONE-TIME light source. Once lit, they usually aren't worth trying to put out to save and reuse again.
So you have to think about them in a different way than most people are used to.
Just my humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.
Mikey - yee ol' grumpy blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
Dry rolled birch bark makes a quick, easy and impressive torch
http://wwmag.net/barktorc.htm
I find they burn at about 3ft/hour and a good way to hold scraps that don't readily support themselves is to pin them between a green split stick.
http://wwmag.net/barktorc.htm
I find they burn at about 3ft/hour and a good way to hold scraps that don't readily support themselves is to pin them between a green split stick.
Errrrm, call me Mr Picky, but aren't jars filled with oil and a lit wick also known as Molotov cocktails? not quite the lighting effect you're looking for, unless a night in casualty with a young nurse and cling film floats yer boat.
Oil does burn for ages, thats the advantage.
Iv seen those seal fat burners. Long kind of tray on legs I beleive? About 24-28" long and 12" wide. Awesome stuff.
My mate once set candlewax itself alight...that wasn't very funny. I jumped 2 feet in the air and rolled backwards off the GI bed I was sitting on. God knows how he accomplished it.
I think in India they light oil lamps for Diwali.
Iv seen those seal fat burners. Long kind of tray on legs I beleive? About 24-28" long and 12" wide. Awesome stuff.
My mate once set candlewax itself alight...that wasn't very funny. I jumped 2 feet in the air and rolled backwards off the GI bed I was sitting on. God knows how he accomplished it.
I think in India they light oil lamps for Diwali.
Petrol is very volatile, whereas oil generally must be aerosoled or very highly heated to burn.
that makes also a nice glue!(taught to me by aborigines)
"disappointed by the monkeys, god created man. then he renounced to further experiments." mark twain
When I've used that method, I've used about 50ml of oil per hour, which is about 4p.
However, you could just get waste veg oil from chippies, that would be free.
hi,everyone not been active for awhile and im still half asleep as i read this thread,but in william cobbets cottage economy,he used rush torches.when the rushes are at full height but still green, they cut both ends off leaving about 18",then take the green skin off apart a small piece along the length that holds the pith together.then their led down into a container thats as big as they are and has melted grease in it.when the grease is soaked in they are led out on a piece of bark,[think this was individually]and the bark was wrapped round it to keep it all together,and fixed to the wall via straps.also they used metal stands to hold them in.hope this gives you some ideas.
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