Fire starting...char cloth, tender and kindling

In another post (https://christianhomesteader.forumotion.net/t3964-fire-starting-devices-review#31394) I talked about charcloth (char cloth, or charred cloth) being essential to starting a fire with the old flint and steel. I also said that in my tests the char cloth made it much easier to catch the spark of modern fire starting spark devices.

The purpose of char cloth is to catch a spark, and smolder from that igniting the cloth. This is then placed into some tender like dried grass where a flame can be created by blowing on the glowing area of the char cloth. The interesting thing is you have lots of time to position the cloth in the grass since the ember will not just go out until the cloth is completely consumed.

So actually getting a fire from the little bundle of grass to a burning log requires ever larger pieces of fuel. I've had really good luck using dried leaves and twigs followed by more and slightly larger twigs and small sticks. These then begin to form coals, which will light larger sticks which form more coals that can light more and more and larger and larger sticks, until you finally get to small logs followed by larger logs. The time needed depends on how much of the really small stuff you get lit first, which depends on how much tender you light with that first little flame.

The key is to apply sufficient heat over a long enough time to get the next larger piece lit.

Starting with char cloth it is simply a charcoal made from cotton cloth. To do this scrap pieces of 100% cotton are cut into pieces about 2" square. These are then placed inside a metal container that has one or two small vent holes, and placed in or over a fire for several hours. It is done when it is black, and frail.

More to follow.

Use caution the gasses that come out of the vent holes are very very flamable, and burn very hot and violently.

I use altoid mint cans to make char. The hinge holes in the tin are enough to vent the gasses. No need to make another hole. O then use the tin as a kit to hold my fire starting supplies.

another tip, thin cloth lights easier than thicker cloth. A canvas or denim can make char cloth, but thinner lighter weight materials like muslin make it easier to catch that spark. The canvas and denims burn longer though.

I think in wet conditions the heavier cloth might be the better choice