How to Make Charcloth: A miracle material for catching sparks and making fire
Catching a spark and blowing it into a flame is a skill that can save your life. Charcloth is a material that has been “cooked” like charcoal is at high temperatures until it becomes black. Properly-made charcloth will easily catch a spark and grow into an ember. This ember can be transferred to a tinder bundle and blown into a flame.
Put the pieces of 100 percent cotton cloth in a tin with a hole in the top for ventilation, then heat it until the smoke comes out and ignites.
by Leon Pantenburg
Once you discover how easy it is to make charcloth, you’ll never have an excuse for running out, or not having some in your survival kit. This is the method used by Boy Scout Troop 18 in Bend, Or.
Every scout is expected to know how to make and use this material, and charcloth is part of every survival kit. It should be part of your kit, too!
Here’s the items you need, and what you need to do:
Materials:
A regular-sized Altoids or other brand of mint tin, with a small hole punched in the top. The photos show a larger tin can for increased production.
Blue denim from old Wranglers or Levi 501s or work jeans works very well as the material to be charred. Other 100 percent cotton items and some organic materials can also be used. Another favorite material is 100 percent cotton insulated underwear. We favor denim because there is never a shortage of old jeans in any group of growing boys!
Also, if you ever need to make charcloth in an emergency, chances are somebody will be wearing jeans! And don’t forget that a 100% cotton bandanna can provide lots of charring material. (But test every batch before including it in a survival kit – you never know when some charcloth might not work!)
This charcloth is undercooked and needs to be put back in the sealed tin and cooked longer.
A source of heat – campfire coals work well, and so does a backpacking or camp stove. You can use a barbecue grill or propane heater in your backyard. Charring is a smoky process, so make sure you go outdoors. (Check out this video! Making charcloth)
Once these items are assembled, tear up the denim and pack it loosely (so the contents have some spring to them) to the top of the can.
Place the can on the heat source and cook.
Actual cooking time will vary, depending on heat intensity, outdoor temperature etc. The heat should be high enough that the can starts to smoke through the hole in the top.
At some point, in about five to ten minutes, the smoke should ignite. Then adjust the heat, if possible, so the flame stays about two-to-four inches high. When the flame dies down, and the smoke lessens, take the can from
Finished charcloth should be completely black, but flexible and not brittle.
the fire and let it cool completely. When you open the can, check the charcloth to make sure it is completely black and somewhat flexible.
Denim jeans can be used to sew many things. I save all our old/outdated jeans and cut them into strips to sew projects later. Even the women’s jeans that have a little stretch in the denim can still be reused, but you should not mix the pure cotton with the stretch denim in the same project. The strips can be sewn together to make straps to hold sleeping bags or mats. If you have a skinny or thin camp mat, sometimes a cutt-off leg of denim jeans can be used to hold or pack a camp mat. You can also sew enough denim together to make a sturdy laundry bag for camp. Denim strips can be sewn to make pillow cases with a pocket placed strategicly to hold your mp3 player, or phone. If you shop at thrift stores, finding a great big fat person’s 5x jeans is a treasure, as they have more fabric. Denim can also be used to make pouches to hold each individuals cutlery and or cup and bowl. Because the denim is breathable, the dishes won’t get moldy if you had to pack up when they were not fully dry. A smart crafter can find many fabric-laden projects at camp that could be made stronger by using denim. These denim items can take a lot of abuse, washing, sun drying, and serve you for many years.
All videos on youtube telling how to make char cloth come up with errors. Here’s guessing they have purposely removed them!
[...] Leon graciously offered his advice and assistance in teaching me how to build and maintain a fire. Yep, I admit it. If there is one thing I struggle with it is maintaining a camp fire. Jeesh. Since talking with Leon and learning some of his tricks, I am happy to report that I have made great progress with my fire making skills. Check out this article Survival Kit Necessity: How to Make Charcloth. [...]
I look forward to meeting you! And you folks who insist on living on the San Andras fault should be VERY interested in survival!
Hi Leon,
I’m a good friend of your friend John Nerness and I’ve heard plenty of stories about you over the 30 years that I have known John. I love this site you have created and have sent it to a new friend of mine who wants to start DO cooking. I’ve been doing for some years now and love it. It’s the best food I’ve ever ate.
Next time you are out visiting John, I must meet you and shake your hand. I love survival stuff and can hardly wait to read what you have to say about it.
I’ll stay tuned to your site. Love it. Best of the best.
Margo