Making Charcloth

A great little article from Mad Dave showing just how simple it is to make some charcloth…

Hi Dudes and Dudesses

This tutorial is just a quick one on making charcloth as I was making some today and the camera was handy, so I thought it may be of some use.

First of all you need a fireproof tin with a tight fitting lid and a hole in it that you can plug with a peg or nail etc similar to the one below, although the hole on this one is a bit larger than neccessary.

Then you need to pack your tin nice and snugly with natural cotton material cut into about 4″ squares (or a size that will fit your tin). Denim is good and linen which I have used in this example.

Next put the lid back on nice and tight, leaving the hole open. This tin contained boiled sweets originally. (A screwtop tin is better if you can find one)

Now carefully put it on the fire (or barbecue in this case) and wait… Soon smoke will begin to pour from the hole. This is the crucial time and you cannot leave the tin unattended at this point.

When the smoke coming from the hole stops or lessens dramatically, plug the hole with your peg or nail to stop oxygen entering and remove the tin from the fire ***This will be very hot*** and set the tin aside. Don’t be tempted to open it up as the charcloth can still spontaniously combust ruining your hard work. Leave till cool to the touch !

When the tin has cooled lift the lid and there you have your charcloth. As you can see in the pic, occasionally the top bit sometimes doesn’t quite burn off right. Don’t worry though, the cloth underneath should be fine.

Now you have a batch of charcloth !! Get a few ziplock bags, separate the cloth into manageable bits, and bag it up !!

So there you have it. Simple and easy to make and will take the smallest of sparks.

***Note*** The smoke given off during production is quite voluminous, so don’t try making charcloth in the house…. If you do, you’ll only do it once LOL

Cheers Dave

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