Making Char cloth...

Not sure if this goes here in this section...so sorry if off topic.

A cheap and easy way to make char cloth for your tinderbox / fire making gear is :
When you are having a BBQ...
Take a old 100 % cotton tee shirt , cut it into strips...
Pile the strips in a aluminium foil wrap...
Place wrap on coals , while you cook....
Check when done cooking your meal...
Presto...your char cloth , should be done as well.
Andy

 

@AndyinEverson do you have a real tinderbox or just use an Altoid tin? Just curious.

 

I have two "real" tinderboxes...
One of the so called HBC pattern ( it has a covered burning lens in the middle of the lid )
And a oval shaped one with a hinged lid.
Both are brass and made by the Ted Cash Company.

Both work well and keep the tinder and char cloth dry....not saying to go swimming with them mind you...
I carry a iron striker , flint chard or a musket flint or two , various tinder and char cloth in mine
The oval one is in my Brain Tan Elk skin jacket....or hunting pack depending on what I am wearing at the time...
The HBC one is usually on or in my antique rifle display.
Both are not shinny any longer and have a nice patina.

All that said...a Altoid tin will work real well for most folks....but not soooo much for us Daniel Boone / Kit Carson types at Rendezvous....

looks like I'll have to post a picture or two of them later if any one is interested....
Andy

 

I like pictures.

 

Please, Pictures!

 

Andy, Your B.P. and shooting pictures are always a welcome addition to every place you visit, and were all excited to see the latest 1830's tech you come up with! As a fan of the Holy Black, i'm highly biased! Besides, we should appreciate our past history to understand where we are today, and to look at the past to understand the future!

 

I agree with @Ura-Ki. Some people may have acquired a BP gun and need to learn some more about them.

 

As promised here are some pictures of my tinderboxes and fire making items....
Sorry so late in getting them here.
Andy

 

What I have in each tinder box is :
Flint...
Fire striker "Steel"...
Char cloth...thats the black "stuff" in the bottom of each box....
Some Jute...this works best if "frayed"...
Some cedar and or pine wood shavings stolen from woodshop class....

Two "burning lenses "....one homemade by me ( the one in the blue case ) ...the other won as a shooting prize...
Andy

 

I am a bit lazy
Vaselene and cotton.
Kept separately they are useful tools ,
Combined they are an more effective accelerant for fire than char cloth, and are not as frail, nor vulnerable to moisture, or crush .
Char cloth is for fun ,and teaching the young. I use to keep some my EDC bag but space and practicality are at a premium .
V&C is for when things are serious.
If I am building a fire, things are serious.

 

Yep all of the above is very true...but not really rendezvous approved...
Which is mostly where I use my tinderboxes...mostly , but they also go along with me when camping , hunting and hiking.
I would and do trust my fire starting materials to start a fire if things got serious...
After all they have worked for centuries...

Edit to add:
Please note that I am not saying that I am "right" and you are "wrong"...nor that my way is" better"...
What I do and how I do things is" right and better" for me....but maybe not for someone else....
Andy

 

Try a tinder tube too. Everytime you use it, you get char ready for the next time.

 

I think that I were leading scouts again I might go through the whole process with them as a hands on making char cloth and using fat wood if it's available ,and building the fire making materials with them then using a hand drill or bow drill and so on.
Ferro rods are certainly more advanced method of fire making ,not like one is seeking out flint . However that too would be a good exercise ,as valued as knowing eatable pants from inedible .
Sometimes we do get in a bit of a hurry doing things hence the bic lighter was invented .
Another valued skill is patience and determination, doing any thing in the woods/ in life .

 

I like the Iroquois fire pump drill better.... but the Indians from our area in NC where members of the Iroquois nation..

 

And if you want to go big... Napalm was invented... but I stray from the topic...

 

I had to look that one up. Have you made one?

 

one similar to the illustration on the right but I used a wooden disk for the weight...

 

Pump drill is on my list to work on this week. Very interesting device.

How do you like the hinged lid tinderbox?

 

I like the hinged tinder box better than the oval one with the burning lens...
The hinged box fits better in my jacket pocket...it is a tad smaller and seems to " carry" better , both in terms of the box itself and in keeping the items inside from rattling around....
Plus it fits in with more historical eras and places than the "HBC" pattern one...if that is a concern.
Andy