Char Cloth

Char cloth is used for multiple fire starting techniques, like flint and steel, or the fire piston.  It is easy to make and here is how you do it:

Materials
Altoid tin
cotton cloth or cotton balls

Tools
drill
1/8" drill bit
stove or BBQ grill

Take an empty Altoids tin and drill a 1/8" hole in the center of the top.  The bottom of the inside of the "O" is roughly center.


Place some small squares of 100% cotton cloth, or cotton balls into your tin.  Do not pack them in tight.  4 to 6 cotton balls is about right.  Place this on the stove or BBQ grill on low heat.  Better to do this outside, but I have a really good exhaust fan, so I did it inside.  After a while, smoke will start coming out of the hole.  After about 10 minutes, the smoke will stop.  When this happens, turn off the heat and let the tin cool.  That's it.


Don't do this without parental permission / supervision.

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