# Survivalist 101: make and use char cloth



## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Char cloth is a great way to get a fire going. All you need to make it is a piece of 100% cotton cloth, a fire and a vessel to char it in. The easiest method is to use an altoids tin. But you can use other containers as well. The key is to cut oxygen out of your fire triangle. This stuff is super flammable and can be started easy with a ferro rod, magnifying glass / fresnel lens, or just about any spark. This is a good and easy thing to learn. The same method can be used to make char rope as well. Sub a lamp wick or natural fiber rope for your media. Poke a hole in your altoids tin and put your cloth in. Then throw it in the fire. Soon you will see smoke coming from the hole you poked, when that stops pull it off the fire and allow it to cool. Don't open the container until cool or you will ruin it. That's all there is to it.

Here is a video demonstration


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## Moonshinedave (Mar 28, 2013)

Thanks for the post. I made some a couple years ago, i need to make some more. Thanks for the reminder.


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## Grim Reality (Mar 19, 2014)

If the idea of charcloth is of interest to you, you might get a small thrill out of "Woodgas".

I have a piston system for igniting charcloth...it works well, but it can be a little tricky to
get good ignition. Perhaps what I need is a new system...but I digress.

Woodgas can be used as a fuel to actually run a combustion engine. It works just like the
way you make charcloth in the Altoids tin. The smoke that comes from the tin when it is
in the fire is really a combustible fuel gas. I have seen a barrel of wood burned with the
presence of reduced oxygen and the gas ran a truck! This is not a joke.

I just wish I knew more of the details about it! Lots of potential. When gasoline is gone
I can imagine how important having a running vehicle might be some day.

Grim


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## Medic33 (Mar 29, 2015)

unless you know what you doing from my experience that wood gas is some angry stuff.


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## TacticalCanuck (Aug 5, 2014)

The oil soulution has been around for a long time. But try changing things. Its highly complex. And the control scheme of the oil controllers would be gone. 

After all this cheap oil there will be a shortage.

Wow this was so the wrong thread. 

Sorry!

Char cloth rocks and works great thanks for post and video.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Arklatex said:


> Char cloth is a great way to get a fire going. All you need to make it is a piece of 100% cotton cloth, a fire and a vessel to char it in. The easiest method is to use an altoids tin. But you can use other containers as well. The key is to cut oxygen out of your fire triangle. This stuff is super flammable and can be started easy with a ferro rod, magnifying glass / fresnel lens, or just about any spark. This is a good and easy thing to learn. The same method can be used to make char rope as well. Sub a lamp wick or natural fiber rope for your media. Poke a hole in your altoids tin and put your cloth in. Then throw it in the fire. Soon you will see smoke coming from the hole you poked, when that stops pull it off the fire and allow it to cool. Don't open the container until cool or you will ruin it. That's all there is to it.
> 
> Here is a video demonstration


Got a tin full in my pack. I also carry cotton balls (dry). On a spring bug out we tested the char cloth against a cotton ball (dry) not vasoline soaked. The shredded cotton ball caught the spark faster and did light the fire better than the char cloth. But the nice thing about char cloth is you can make it out of anything you can srounge up. Kinda to hard to make a cotton ball.


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