Charred cloth

Awhile ago I made some charred cloth, so I thought I would show some pics Very Happy

It's easy to make. All I did was cut an old pair of boxers into circles (100% cotton).
And drilled a 1/16" hole in the top of a pellet tin.

Then you put it into the fire (I just put it in the hot coals):

Take the tin out ~3 minutes after the hole stops smoking:

And thats it Very Happy

eric

Very cool. How does it work as a fire starter? I was a little skeptical of the whole process when Les was explaining it, but really I thought the most difficult part would be to char a decent portion of cloth without just burning it. If it's as easy as putting it in an enclosed tin with an air hole maybe there's more to the whole thing.

There's nothing to it. Just don't put to big of a hole in it, or it might start burning.
And it's ok if the smoke that starts shouting out catches fire.
I think it took 30 to 45 minutes for the smoke to stop, because I put a lot of cloth in there Very Happy

It can catch a light from the smallest spark and is very easy to light with a mag. lens.

eric

Thats awesome turd good post, we havnt had any light shed on the charred cloth topic yet so its nice of you to bring it up Smile

Charred cloth is interesting indeed, i'mgoing to play around with it myself soon Smile

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"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

It's really fun stuff to play with Very Happy

Oh, and canola oil worked very well to remove the stickers from the tin Very Happy

eric

Here's two more crappy pics Very Happy

eric

Hey Guys...

Eric...

Nice job..

Only one thing I would add though...

You Must let the tin cool Completely before you remove it from the fire..

If you don't and open it too soon,, it will self combust and your entire batch will be lost

I lost a whole coffee can full of char cloth..
It took me over an hour to cut up a pair of 100% cotton blue jeans into 2" X 2" squares...

I removed the can,, let it cool to the touch and removed the lid..
Everything looked good and I set the can down..

Meerly by accident I went by the can and could feel the heat coming from it..

The entire batch was engulf in Hot coal..
Keep in mind that once the cotton is reduced to charcoal, it has No smell when it burns, just HEAT. It burns Very clean, and VERY hot!

It could easily started a fire if I hadn't caught it...

I suggest leaving the tin alone for at least an hour,, more if you are making large quantities.

A coffee can should be left overnight, outside,, somewhere safe. Inside a BBQ is perfect...

Nice Tut though for sure!

ttyle

Eric
O/ST

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	Normark wrote:
	Only one thing I would add though... You Must let the tin cool Completely before you remove it from the fire..

I had just a small pellet tin and I put it in the snow so it cooled down very fast. I opened it after it sat in the snow for 5-10 minutes. But yeah, let it cool completely before you open it Wink

	Normark wrote:
	I lost a whole coffee can full of char cloth.. It took me over an hour to cut up a pait of 100% cotton blue jeans into 2" X 2" square... I removed the can,, let it cool to the touch and removed the lid.. Everything looked good and I set the can down.. Meerly by accident I went by the can and could feel the heat coming from it.. The entire batch was engulf in Hot coal..

Thats to bad.

	Normark wrote:
	Nice Tut though for sure!

Thanks

eric

Just make sure you dont get any water in the tin with your cloth, or the whole batch will be ruined.

Is it necessary to put a hole in it? Confused

	flashlightfreak9 wrote:
	Is it necessary to put a hole in it?

Most definitely! I made some in those quart paint cans, and I didn't have enough holes in the lid, so it sounded like a jet engine. Next thing I know the lid blows off and all of my char cloth starts burning in the fire. Shocked

Luckily I recovered it. Laughing

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Thats not char cloth, thats letal cloth Laughing

Your contraption sounds like quite the widowmaker

_________________
"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

	Foxfire wrote:
	Very cool. How does it work as a fire starter? I was a little skeptical of the whole process when Les was explaining it, but really I thought the most difficult part would be to char a decent portion of cloth without just burning it. If it's as easy as putting it in an enclosed tin with an air hole maybe there's more to the whole thing.

this is how i made mine

it works very well and it only took me about 5-10min to make and i packed my tin with cloth i would just pull it out and check it and if it wasnt all black i would move it around and take the done stuff out and put it back in the fire but i only had to do that once.
here is a video i made with my crap camera but it shows how well it really works

Mystik Spiral wrote:

	flashlightfreak9 wrote:
	Is it necessary to put a hole in it?

Most definitely! I made some in those quart paint cans, and I didn't have enough holes in the lid, so it sounded like a jet engine. Next thing I know the lid blows off and all of my char cloth starts burning in the fire. Shocked

Luckily I recovered it. Laughing

I was wondering because I don't want a hole in my tin. I want to store the charcloth in it after I make it. Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it. Sad

Would an Altoids can work?

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	Colt wrote:
	Would an Altoids can work?

That's a common char cloth tin to use. With that the seams are loose so you wont have to put a hole in the container. And flashlight once you're done burning char cloth in you container you wont want to touch it much. It turns black and flaky, and is really messy. Film canisters, plastic bags, or altoid tins work good to store it in too.

Char cloth is my favorite firestarter, because you can't blow it out and it gets as hot as an ember in the fire. I set a peice on a log one time and blew on it, and it made a nice black mark in it. I find old jeans to work the best because it stays more rigid once you're done. Socks I tried because Woodsman did that. The elastic bands melt, and make it hard to light. Good luck, make lots!! Very Happy

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Great vid Bill. Is it ever green there ? Razz

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No, no it isnt Sad

lol jk

I read in a book somewhere you can use an open coffee tin on an electric hot plate. I was thinking of trying that. We don't have fires often, so... I don't think that would make the tin unusable.

I'm going to use old blue jeans. I usually disassemble old jeans and make stuff like pillows out of them, so I had plenty of it to use.

The tin is 4"x5"x1". A wallet came in it. That's where I got it. It seems sturdy enough to use. In fact, it looks the same as the one NH used. Smile

And I'm making lots. Wink

But would a hot plate work?

flashlightfreak9 wrote:

I read in a book somewhere you can use an open coffee tin on an electric hot plate. I was thinking of trying that. We don't have fires often, so... I don't think that would make the tin unusable.

I'm going to use old blue jeans. I usually disassemble old jeans and make stuff like pillows out of them, so I had plenty of it to use.

The tin is 4"x5"x1". A wallet came in it. That's where I got it. It seems sturdy enough to use. In fact, it looks the same as the one NH used. Smile

And I'm making lots. Wink

But would a hot plate work?

Not sure if a hot plate would work. One thing you have to do is bury the container after it's done in the fire. That's to cut off the air so it doesn't burn and turn to ash. If you take it out of the fire and remove the lid your char cloth will ignite, and you'll see it glowing red. It will burn until it's all ash too. If you try the hot plate it will probably take longer, and I'd let it cool down before you open the lid. BTW remember there's going to be smoke, so you'll want to do it outside. Happy char cloth makin'!!

I just remembered that I still have 3 small 12oz. coffee cans full of char cloth. Laughing

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