need help with charcloth

[pa woods roamer]

I use an old round Salve can with a small hole in the lid. Years ago my Uncle showed me how to make Char Cloth. He would dig a small hole and make it Muddy , stiff Mud, and when the smoke stopped coming out of the hole in the can he would swiftly put the can in the hole and cover it with mud, thus making the can airtight until it cooled. He always used old Cotton underwear and would always joke that the residual passed Gas would add to the firemaking process!

 

[TANSTAAFL]

The smoke emitting from hole is combustible gas, ignite it, when the flame goes out, char is done.

 

[paulvallandigham]

DOn't ignite that " gas " yes. its flamable, simply because there are oils that come out in the steam. However, the flame you light will get back down into the can and allow air to get into the can. That allows the cloth to burn to ash. And that is what you will get if you follow Tansvaal's advice- Ash. I spent two solid days demonstrating fire making, with flint and steel for my club, and made many cans full of charred cloth in front of crowds to be able to continue the demonstration. Between crowds, I tore up old cotton T-shirts to make square patches to char. I have made ashes, and I have made Charred cloth. If you get flame, it indicates that the inside of the can is so hot that air is now getting into the can. Take the can off the fire to cool, and put a flat blade, or spatula on the top of the hole to cut off the air supply. When the can cools enough, simply put it back on your fire to continue to steam. ( White smoke) When no more white smoke appears, leave the can on the heat for another 15 minutes to take care of the all the cloth in the center, that otherwise will not completely char, and will come out brown colored. You can expect charred cotton to come out opaque, and slightly reduced in size from the original cotton patch dimensions. The heat not only removes the moisture, and converts the cotton to mostly carbon, but in the process will shrink the cloth at least 10 %. This is important if, when you open the can, you find too much brown cloth, and decided to re-"cook " the cloth. You will need to add some more cotton cloth to the can to remove the oxygen that can now occupy the inside of the can along with the partially charred cloth. Stuff it tight to remove air. Then cook it again, until all the steam stops, and wait another 15 minutes. You should have 90% or better charred cloth in the can after the second cooking.

 

[Minuteman]

EVERY time I've made char-cloth the gases escaping out the hole have ignited and I've had perfect results when I used the proper material. Your response surprises me. :hmm:
How would you keep the gas from igniting anyway, its setiing on a bed of red hot coals?
I've also done some punk wood charring in a large sealed tin with no holes in it. The lid was a little hard to get off because of the cooked down maple resins and stuff but it worked fine.
More than one way to skin a cat?

 

[TANSTAAFL]

DOn't ignite that " gas " yes. its flamable, simply because there are oils that come out in the steam. However, the flame you light will get back down into the can and allow air to get into the can. That allows the cloth to burn to ash. And that is what you will get if you follow Tansvaal's advice- Ash.

Dang, after 40 years or so, you mean I have been doing it all wrong. I guess now I will just have to convince all that near perfect char, which lights up at first spark, it is naught but ashes. :blah:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I suspect this is all the result of not being able to describe the process properly in words. If we could be on the same ground, I suspect we both cook the cloth the same way. I just don't let it flame up.

 

[skunkskinner]

Paul, I'm not trying to start any thing here, but I must say that I disagree with every thing you said.

 

[Minuteman]

Same critter jus skinned it differnt

 

[chipper]

I have found that properly made char cloth will light with a single spark. The spot that lights should have the red ember run out in all directions just like a drop of blood wicking into the fabric. If the spot that lights runs up a single strand of fabric or in one direction only, the char cloth was probably over cooked. I put my 100 per cent cotton cloth into a tin and throw it into the fire. Before the smoke stops I pull it out with tongs and plug the hole with a stick sharpened on one end. When the tin cools down I open the lid and test the char. If I see brown, I throw it back in and re-cook for a while.

I hope that helps....
Regards
Loyd Shindelbower
Loveland Colorado

 

[J.D.]

If the spot that lights runs up a single strand of fabric or in one direction only, the char cloth was probably over cooked. I put my 100 per cent cotton cloth into a tin and throw it into the fire. Before the smoke stops I pull it out with tongs and plug the hole with a stick sharpened on one end. When the tin cools down I open the lid and test the char. If I see brown, I throw it back in and re-cook for a while.

In my experience, making char is a pretty forgiving process. All I do is loosely roll a coupla feet of 100% cotton or linnen canvas, or much less expensive 100% cotton denim from old jeans and place it in an old tin film canister.

A small hole is drilled through the side of the lid and the side of the can, with the lid in place.

Rotating the lid to align the holes when making char, and rotating the lid so the holes do NOT align protects excess char in storage.

The tin is placed in coals and turned over a coupla times to insure an even char until smoke stops issuing from the hole. The tin is then raked away from the coals and allowed to cool.

In my experience, there is no need to pack in mud, plug any holes, or do anything other than let the tin cool.

I have never had any char turn to ash by allowing the escaping gasses ignite. Igniting the escaping gasses MAY have some effect on the quality of the char, but I don't know what it would be.

Opening the can before it cools completely WILL turn your char to ash.

Like Loyd, if there is any brown, I just throw it back into the fire for a while.

I very much prefer heavy fabric for char. I seldom attend rendezvous these days, but I do a fair bit of trekking in all sorts of weather and I want char that will hold a spark long enough to generate sufficient heat to dry slightly damp birdsnest material.
J.D.

 

[tx-hunter]

Thanks for all the replies yall.

I think i'm gonna hafta get a new steel. I think the one i have is not right. It only throws red sparks and they just won't catch on the cloth. I even made some new loth out of some 100% algodon. It won't catch the sparks off the steel, but it will catch the sparks off my ferro rod.

Thanks

 

[J.D.]

Try sharpening the flint. Good hot sparks require a sharp flint.

Do you have a flint gun? put a piece of char in the pan and klatch the lock. Same principal, but with a hopefully, sharper flint.

 

[J.D.]

Another thought, IF, by chance, a sharp flint still won't produce good sparks from your steel, you can reharden and temper that old steel yourself.

Not only will it save the expense of buying a new steel, if successful, but you will learn a little about heat treating.

All you need is a good hot fire in a BBQ pit. keep the air vent open and build a good hot fire using lump charcoal. Briquettes don't burn hot enough.

Build a mound of charcoal and place the steel on top. Rake hot coals on top of the steel and continue to heat until it turns bright red. Check with a magnet held in tongs. Plain carbon steels lose magnetism when they reach critical temp. Take the steel out of the fire by grasping the ends of the steel, and quench in hot water. Cold water will probably cause the steel to crack.

Immediately clean the fire scale off the steel and put it in the kitchen oven at 350 degrees for an hour. Turn off the oven and let it cool to touch.

Once the steel is cool, polish the metal with 100 grit or so sandpaper and run the flame of a propane torch over the ends of the steel. Heat the ends until they turn blue, let the color run up to about the middle of the curve. This will help prevent the steel from breaking when you use the those curved sections to sharpen your flint.

In the event you don't have a propane torch, lay the ends of the steel on the burner of your kitchen range and watch the colors as they run up to the curve.

Don't let the color run into the striking face of the steel. It will become too soft to make hot sparks.

Quenching in water, once the color runs up just beyond the middle of the curve, will stop the heat from continuing around to the striking face of the steel.
J.D.

 

[tx-hunter]

I didn't think about sharpening the flint. I'll give that a try.

 

[Bountyhunter]

I cut patches out of a leg of an old washed out pair of jeans and stuff them in a pint paint can, poke a hole in the top and throw it in the fireplace. The gas always burns and when the fire goes out, I have perfect char cloth.....flint? I just use what I pick up off the ground. Sharp is better. When I dont have no sharp edges left, I just bust me off another piece. I dont have any problem with the charcloth that I make that way igniting.

Just a second after I took this pic the smoke ignited and burned fiercely for a bit. Soon as the fire went out, I removed the can from the fire and poked a nail in the hole and let er cool. I didnt get ash, and it lights ok.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Sounds good as most ways of doing it, and better than some.

 

[bouncer]

Old fashioned GI cleaning patches....pure 100% cotton 1 1/2" square works great as char. I have wrapped it in aluminum foil, poked a hole to vent the smoke and cooked it. Better do this outdoors, 'cause wifey might not like the smell in the house.
Also could use a metal bandaid can with a small hole to vent the smoke, toss it into the campfire for a spell, cup a coffee, and it's done. Should be almost crumbly, catches a spark real quick.

Bouncer :thumbsup:

 

[tx-hunter]

I got a new striker from longrifle78 in the classifieds here on the forums. First strike with my old char cloth, I caught a spark and had a flaming ball of tow in my hands after a few puffs of air.

Over the weekend, I started one good fire and a couple of just-wasting-tinder type fires.

 

[spudnut]

there you go,Once ya get the hang of it..Mark