To make a large amount of char cloth, use a paint can or oatmeal can. Check that they’re 100% metal, with no plastic or rubber parts. For a can without a lid, wrap the top tightly with aluminum foil. [1] X Research source
If the hole is too large, air may enter the tin and set the cloth on fire, burning it to ash instead of char cloth. If your tin has a hinged lid, a little air can get in through the hinge. [3] X Research source This isn’t a disaster, but you might get better results if you enlarge one of the hinge holes instead of punching a new one.
Loosely woven fabrics (easy to light): cotton shirt, cheesecloth, rolled up cotton balls, linen, jute, hemp Heavy fabrics (long-burning): denim, cotton web belt, natural canvas, soft cotton washcloth, hemp rope
All pieces should be small enough to lay flat inside the tin. Rolled up pieces may not char evenly. [5] X Research source Bigger pieces will burn longer, which can be an advantage if your tinder is damp. Of course, you’ll get fewer uses out of a pile of large pieces.
Camping stove turned to minimum flame. Bed of hot coals from a fire (or from a grill) Grease candle — make your own with a jar, leftover cooking fat, and a wick. [6] X Research source
This can take anywhere from 5 to 50 minutes, but it’s usually done within 15. Larger tins and lower temperatures make the process longer. Keep the can upright, so the hole is on the top or upper side. Large cans sometimes have trouble heating all the cloth. Using tongs or a poker, turn them or roll them in the coals to make sure no more gas needs to be burned off.
Optionally, place your nail or other tool back in the hole to stop fresh oxygen from entering the cooling can. The newly made charcloth inside is burning hot, and may spontaneously ignite if you let too much oxygen into the tin.
If the cloth isn’t fully black, return it to the tin and heat again. Make sure there is no smoke leaving the tin before you take it off. If the cloth crumbles to dust when touched, then you left it on the fire too long. Try again with new fabric.
Char cloth is most useful during damp weather, when tinder is more difficult to light.
For cooking: Arrange a “teepee” of vertical kindling, then a larger teepee of firewood around it. For a long-lasting fire: Lay the kindling criss-cross, then criss-cross the firewood over the kindling.
Hold the flint directly over the cloth, angled downward. Run the steel downward across the flint so sparks land on the cloth. Or hold the cloth against a sharp edge of the flint. Run the steel along this edge.
