How To Make Reactive Char Cloth And Charred Punk Wood

Thank you for these information I have a question: Should I take the can out of the fire as the flame burn out of it And keeping the can over the coal or fire after the flame burn out could affect the reactivating of the char cloth?

I've used a Kiwi shoe polish tin for a little more than 35 years. I have two spares, but I'm still on my original tin. I've never tried lining the bottom, since the tin is so shallow. The hole in the lid is somewhere around a 1/16th inch, the size of the tip of the vent pick I use for my musket. I usually make char at the edge my fire more on the coals than in the flame. I light the jet of gas coming from the hole. It's like a little blow torch. When the flame goes out, the char is done. I've never had a problem. The char always comes out fine. I use my worn out cotton shirts for rags, gun patches and char cloth. My credo is, keep it simple.

I agree with a buffer and larger hole diameter. A buffer definitely helps with the brittle issues and you don't need an air tight container. As you said, you want the gas and resisins to burn off and not make everything gooey. I've had that with moist material. Great tips! I swear I'm the only one who gives you likes. I've learned a lot from you and it directed me to experiment on my own to find better ways. Keep it up!

thanks, David - I am learning things I didn't even know I needed to know 😁🤔🔥 but I get more and more inquisitive about fire making - that I had never thought about or tried before - the more I watch your videos. This char cloth stuff is really fascinating. I love the info you teach and love trying to duplicate it. I had always used just two or three traditional methods to start fires, now I am trying to find at least 5 or 6 additional methods that I can master and your channel is really giving me a boost in doing that. I also had never heard of fire roll boarding until I started watching you about 7 or 8 months ago.

I like putting the hole down into the fire. To hear and watch the gas burn..... Just remember Do Not open can until it is cool. Thanks... Great video.!!

Mr. David , I never thought of reverse wrapping cotton balls...Sir you are a genius....Thank you!

I won't be worried till you can't make fire David! Thanks for the pointers and another delightful video!

Great video. I have a similar setup for making char cloth. I have an old musket cap tin that I used for my makings. The only difference is I didn't punch a hole in the lid. When "cooking" the char cloth the gases will vent from under the edge of the cap, and smoke then ignite. Once the flame died, I pull the can from the fire using 2 sticks and set it on a nearby rock. Once cold, the char cloth comes out perfectly supple and catches a spark quickly. Works every time. I use 100% cotton gun-cleaning patches that I bought at local gun stores. They cost about $0.50 for 500 patches in a bag. They are old-style military cleaning patches and have the same texture as denim. Never used punk wood as a liner on the bottom of the tin but I'll have to give that a try. About 40-45 years ago, I was into the Mountain Man Rendezvous meets in New Mexico. Still have my Plains Rifle and fire-making kit. Used to show students how to light a campfire with flint, steel, char cloth, and a big wad of dry grass while on field trips. Lit the fire faster than they did with their matches (the wind kept blowing the matches out 😂😂😂). The professor on one particular trip who was a former Marine thought I was lying. He was shocked when I lit that fire. I showed him how it worked and he was very grateful. He said he had tried and tried in Marines and could never get it to work. Useful skills in a pinch.

Really terrific skills, and very clear explanation / demonstration. A++ !!!

I watch your videos. Every chance I get in I will be honest with you. I learn something new every time. So the best thing I can say to you, sir, is just keep doing what you’re doing. You were teaching a very valuable skill.

Another great video. I live in a place called 'Chislehurst' which in Anglo Saxon means 'Flint Wood' so I got flint in the woods, just got to make my steel and char cloth. Everyday is a school day and I've learnt so much from you, many thanks.

Just stumbled onto your channel recently and I am obsessed with it. Nothing fancy, just a ton of great info. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, David.

Hey Dave, thanks for reaching out to us how to. Great video 😊

Your char cloth has to be clean and supple to be the most reactive to a flint and steel. All char cloth comes out of our char tins with a certain amount of smoke residue on it. That residue will make it slightly less reactive. The real culprit, though, is char cloth that comes out brittle. That will make it from... only slightly less reactive to completely unignitable. I know the big controversy over having a hole vs having no hole in your char tin. Let me just say this. It is a REALLY bad idea to not have a big hole in your char tin. I use a 1/4". A big vent hole allows gases, deposits, and smoke residue to easily exit the tin... not allowing them more time to linger and coat the char materials. The best way to keep the batch of char cloth from becoming brittle is to protect the hottest part of the char tin from contacting the fabric. While I was experimenting with ways to keep the red hot metal of a char tin from the fabric (see my double walled char tin video below) a subscriber, Richard Solomon, recommended using punk wood on the bottom as a buffer. He was right. That simple fix, for me, made brittle batches of char cloth a rarity. Come see this very easy technique, see me make a new char tin from a hair products can, and see me build a grease lamp to use that hair product in. Please follow the LINKS below and SUBSCRIBE. Thank you! A Double Wall Char Tin Might Make A Cleaner More Supple Batch Of Char Cloth. Let's See! https://youtu.be/bqFHgL4WmP8 A Double Wall Char Tin Tweak Made Very Clean Char Cloth But 10% Of It Was Crispy Again. LOL! https://youtu.be/MFx4nRqqkp8 Cha Cloth, Charred Punk Wood Playlist youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkoXX8XsMW3nfHvlf-YghwF… Grease Lamps and Fat Lamps Playlist youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkoXX8XsMW3k7cP1F4wShxq… Flint And Steel Playlist youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkoXX8XsMW3mFf5FgLtam1a…

Wonderful! After doing flint and steel demonstrations for 10 years I learned something about it.

Just goes to show you that even an old hiveranno like me can learn something new. I’ve been making fire with flint and steel since I was 8 years old (that was 1968). It’s my go-to fire making source no matter we’re I am or what the weather is. It has never failed me. I have never heard of using punk wood to buffer the cloth in the tin. But I will say this, I’m gonna do it from now on. Thanks for this. It’s rare that something comes up that I haven’t heard of, or tried. I’ve subscribed to your channel for a long time and don’t know why it took so long for this video to come up in my feed. 👍🏼👍🏼

Very interesting find you made for charred material making with both materials. Great info. I’ll have to try making a hole bigger on my tin can. Thanks.

Thank you for the great video. I learn something new almost every time I watch one of your videos. Thank you for sharing.

I accidentally made a great batch of char cloth. A cotton hand towel apparently got buried in wood chips and bark by our wood splitter, we moved the splitter for the winter and burned the chip pile. When I raked the ash pile out the next day there was the charred towel. We tried striking with flint and steel and it works great!

I always learn something from your videos! Keep them coming, I love all of them. God Bless!