How to make charcloth.

Charcloth is a handy resource for catching sparks from your Swedish Firesteel, or being focus of the beam from a Fresnel lens or convex glass, and it's fairly simple to make. Most of the items you need are easily available, I use Cotton Patches because they are already pre-cut, and in bulk, however any 100% cotton will suffice. My first couple of batches were from an old cotton undershirt. Most of the tins you can get from a local thrift stores but I've also ordered some Cookie Tins because the stores I frequent sometimes don't have the size or shape I need. As you can see from the first image, my tin is used regularly, I would advise you to cook off any paint on the can prior to beginning your charcloth cook. This will help with keeping the tin at an even tempeture. Make a small hole in the top of your cooking tin. As you can see the stick in the top of the can is just to highlight the hole, it doesn't have to be a large opening, just enough for the smoke to escape. Once you have your tin ready you can start the cook.

List of needed items.

1. Cloth squares approx. 2x2"
2. Cooking Tin
3. Something to remove the tin from your fire
4. Tin/alunimum foil

The next image is what I call my cooker. It's basically an old tin that I fashioned into a burn box. I made this because I like to be able to control my heat and add/subtract fuel as necessary. I've used it to cook with a pan, and in the future I plan to add some slats to make a grill. For now this serves me well.


To start your Charcloth cook, make a small fire. Either by making one from wood or using an Alcohol Burner (see previous post). While the fire is heating up, grab your cloth cooking tin and start placing in your cloth squares. If you followed my earlier guidance about cooking the paint off your tin, make sure that the tin is properly cooled before touching it. Also ensure that the hole isn't plugged.

I've found that about 6 patches work well in the tin that I use, you might have different results so for the first few cooks change the batch size. Once you have placed the desired amount of cloth, seal up the tin and place it over your fire. You should see smoke start to rise out of the hole in the top of the tin. That's your signal that all the "magic" is working inside your cooker. Wait for about 10-15 mins and you should see the amount of smoke reduce until it finally stops completely. Once this happens remove the time from the fire and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Let the tin sit for a few minutes to allow it to cool.

As you can see in the picture I have some Charcloth stored in a tin that I keep in my truck's survival kit. As always feel free to comment/critique my post.

Enjoy,

Eric@TCS