Survival Instruction: A Complete and Comprehensive Guide to Char
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
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Stay in the Woods,
Dan
FINALLY! A vid about the name of your channel, running char as a soil amendment for 10 years. Thanks!
As a small child, grandpa showed me a piece of flint and how flint and steel worked and explained that you caught the sparks in char cloth to make a fire.
Noticing that I was a little too good at making sparks, he pretended char was a rare and difficult thing to obtain.
Disappointing as a child, but very understandable in hindsight.
My wife saves the lint in the dryer and stuffs them into an empty toilet paper tube and fold them on the end. Awesome fire starter. Additionally, bring a small tube of hand sanitizer - excellent fuel for a fire and it burns like a fast sterno. All of these are light weight and the sanitiser serves a dual purpose.
Thanks Dan, for both the information and the personality. You're obviously a good natured bloke who is able to make learning fun. Cheers.
From an old Boy Scout, Vietnam veteran, and Boy Scout leader, thank you.
I love to use old denim work shirts or jeans. 100% cotton t-shirts work well too. Some people think that you need very thin very delicate char cloth. If that's what they want to use then more power to them. I like char cloth that is not going to fall apart if I just look at it. I have never had a problem with char cloth made from denim work shirts or jeans catching a spark. Think about it. If you can char punk wood or plant pith or dry dead mullein leaves and end up with perfectly viable char you can understand why chared denim works great. I too like terry cloth towels or washcloths. Works great. If you like your char thin try some thin linen cloth.🎉
I also like to use denim for char cloth I have a pair of old work pants that I cut up and use like you said it doesn't fall apart when you look at it!! Works awesomely!
That's funny, I've used cotton washcloths before but never denim. Thanks for the post, now I'm gonna try denim char! Thanks again!
Me to I hate it when it when my char falls apart
Same here. Denim works awesome. I do use cotton but my go to is an old pair of jeans
I recently saw a video on using cotton rope. I picked up some 5/8 inch cotton rope at Fleet Farm, and made char rope. That stuff works great !
One easy option 😂
I went to neighborhood 'dollar store'. I bought one package of First Aid Cotton Rounds. The second purchase was food section tin of cookies. The size of the bottom rounds.
👍🏻😎.
Ate the cookies. Punched a small hole in tin top. Filled empty modified tin with as many cotton rounds as I could. And placed in my wood burning stove. Took out the tin when the little flame on top of tin went out.
Awesome CHAR ❤❤
I tried those Dollar store rounds, too. They would easily take a spark, but were too thin to produce enough heat to catch anything else.
@@bretjohnson6188 I had no trouble with mine. But my cotton rounds were old from rotating open backpacking stock. When I bought new rounds, they were from different country.
Btw, when I buy $Tree candles (India), they seem "unwaxy ". Sorta like they have plastic in the mixture. Maybe the same for "uncottony" 🤣🤣🤣
Definitely the most comprehensive char cloth video I have seen!
Charred stuff is he most fun way to start a fire, just because you get to start from the tiniest amount of energy and grow it into an actual fire
Matches and lighters were just invented out of the necessity of guaranteeing fire and saving precious time throughout the day.
All cotton gun cleaning patches. 👍
I was just gonna say that. Great minds. 😆. 45 acp patch seems like a nice size . Shoot straight & shoot safe brother. ✌️
Great video for newbies! I watched to see if I could learn anything. I didn't but I still love it!
Ah, ah, ah...no tacky crap about the elderly sonny. One day you'll be one of us. I could teach you enough to make a whole video....lol.
Here in France, I carbonize the wick of the kerosene lamp in a round box. It works very well and because the wick is thick it lasts longer and gets hotter. Of course, I have to buy it, but the “Chinese” sites sell it cheaply (no matter the quality of the cotton, it is made to burn). The wick of the kerosene lamp is 2 meters long and 1.5 cm wide (5.08 inches X 3.81 inches). I can make many fires with it. 👍👍👍 Nice video !
I use a at the time a brand new never used, one quart paint can and yes you need to punch a hole in it or else boom. FYI I tried a harbor freight terry cloth rag that was labeled as 100% cotton and after charring I had nothing it was a blend of something. As for how long to keep it in the fire I go for five-ten minutes after it stops smoking/gassing off.
from my experience, you can tell it's done by looking at the gas coming out of the container.
if the gas still come out, it's not done yet.
it's done when nothing come out anymore.
*Most epic intro my dude! Great tutorial thank you! 🔥🔥*
Ive watched other how 2s on this subject n was left scratching my head cuz stuff was left out . Watched this once n was making good char . Thnx much ! No worries n va.
Thank you brother!! Love your channel
I've done char cloth, and my gifted empty Altoids tin vented fine vs added hole. ~ o're hill 'n dale I struggle to find worthy flint-like, and my dang brass knuckle, smithy made steel broke.
~ I set my sights on punkwood 'n ferro rod, 'n found dandy punkwood..choice pieces cooked up fine...quit shortly after the tin quit smoking and turned out great.
~ Light ferro into the tin fulla charpunk and I can pick out the smoking piece with whatever point, even smother with finger if two caught to ember.
First char cloth/flint/steel was a kit from some re-creation gathering some smithy made.
It was crazy fun/satisfaction of first flame, even though near burnt eyebrows huffing nest to flame. (yoiks!)
The small chuncka flint-esque didn't last long being a rookie...heat treat of steel that broke makes me wonder...sharp edge, round edge..at the time I didn't know it was the steel making the spark.
As a lad I banged two hard stones looking as flint and didn't get a spark...back to the swamp fun.
Hey Dan Mister Know It All here. A good way to tell when the char is done is no smoke will come out of the vent hole. That means that everything inside the tin has burn up and only charred material remains.
A small magnet attached to a stick will get the tin out of the fire nicely.
I had to rewind the opener a few times just to hear the geekspeak!! Couldn't believe what I'd heard, good one Dan!! I knew you were smart, but wasn't sure if you spoke the language!!
Great video sir. Maybe all that detail will will help some people over the hump! 👍❤️👍
I've been making char for years and really enjoyed your commentary. Especially the cut camp vs. the large piece camp on the field of battle.
By the way I was feeling retro and went back through your early videos. I forgot how much content you have it there. So much great stuff. Your production quality has come so far. So glad to see the progression though the early stuff has some great info. I've really come to appreciate the quality content of your channel. Thanks Dan!
Thank you Dan!!!
Another excellent video
Punk wood also works. The soft, spongy stage of decomposing wood. If you find yourself in the wilderness and run out of cloth or need cloth for other purposes.
Thanks Dan. Take care 😊
Thank you for sharing this information
Good one!
Well said. Thanks for the advice.
Great content Dan!! I love flint and steel when it comes to fire making!
Great info. Could save a life
Well done Sir. My first love is char cloth that I make from denim. I’ve since gravitated to char punk but you’ve inspired me to make a batch of cloth this afternoon. When is it done? I watch for the steam, then the flammable gases, then no out gassing. It’s done. I bought an Altoids tin especially for this task but then someone gifted me some fudge in a larger tin of the same design. Works great especially for making char punk. And let us not forget about solar ignition. A reactive piece of char will become an ember in a couple of seconds even in the winter. Keep up the great work.
That was fun😊
Excellent tutorial. Thank you.
Really good watch always good to recap skills
Very good explanation 👍
Old skool shop rags rock. Bigger fibers like you spoke about. Made cheaper so loser knit. 🙏✊
Awesome! Thanks for the A-Z. I got some curiously strong mints just for this purpose. I was debating with material to use. I was going to use t-shirt and denim to figure which one caught a sparke easier. Definitely going to compare them with terry cloth.
Char. 🤘
I know the first time I made char cloth the atmospheric pressure wasn't right I didn't have enough plutonium in the flux capacitor once I got that fixed it made great char cloth. Great video so many people have known idea how to do this stuff any more we need more people learning all the old ways before they are lost forever. I always use old blue jeans from garage sales or Goodwill. Stay safe brother
Really good video my wife watched it with me she still had a million questions🤣
woodsmen know that the worse you need a fire the harder it is to make...still there are many fires built on bluebird days
I keep a tiny magnifying glass (1/2") from plastic toy binoculars in my char tin
you should try it
on the right day it works GREAT 1st time every time
Great Char guide, Dan. I'm still trying to get my mind around the pink terrycloth underwear though...
😂😂😂😂 😱😱 woke bushmaster 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Hay Dan, good video . A small cookie tin is great to make char for per season work day. The small tin is what I carry on one or two day scouts. Keep your powder dry.
Please do a video using punk wood.
You do it exactly the same just use punk wood to char find some good almost rotted wood that is soft and spongy when you mash it between your fingers that's (punk wood) then same process as cotton 👍
One time, I left the altoids in there and threw it in the fire, and it came out with some interesting results
Great video and I know you said this is a basic how to, but may have been nice to cover punk wood too?
I like rolled denim, never tried the wash cloths, might need to sacrifice a dog towel...
I have a Band-Aid tin 😂 it works great. And 15 on a BBQ works so I always just set a timer for 15 hahaha, on my watch or phone.
Great quick introduction to char... and your intro made me laugh because bushcrafters are well know for their educational prowess! Book smart and bushcraft vs common sense bushcraft... the war of the world's!
I cut up a pair of jeans that I didn't want anymore. Took me forever. Lol. But I got so much material from them.
(I know you said denim but I'm just telling what I do)
Hey Dan, do you want to laugh? I did some char cloth in my garden. My neighbors called the fire dept because of the smoke and of the smell of burning. I had to stop short. Today, i do it at 3:00 am. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great scientific explanation at the beginning professor Wowak. But for real the best explanation on making char I have ever watched, and I have been making it for many year's, you da man Dan!! I used an altoid tin for many years still have it kicking around someplace they just work real well and definitely great for beginners. Is that a new Coalcracker hat I see? When will they be available? You know I'll get one. Another awesome video as always brother 👍😊 💪
A new game... Dan used "Survival Instruction" in his video title... Everyone take a drink!
:-)
The rubber gasket isn’t that big of a deal. It will burn off the first time in the fire. It doesn’t even seem to effect the first batch of char.
Also, I like the cotton cosmetic pads. They’re really cheap, already the right size and I haven’t found a better material yet for pretty much instantly taking a spark, if you tear them in half first and expose the torn edges to the sparks.
Of course, the downside is that I practically never find a bag of cosmetic pads in the woods. I’ll need to start working with punk wood.
Hi Dan, love the content you provide as always. I just have a couple questions. How do you feel about using old holey socks? (100% cotton of course). And no matter what I do I can not produce an ember from a fire piston. Some people say that char cloth immediately starts wicking any moisture in the air once it's introduced to the open air. Am I just simply not storing it well enough?
You can chew char as a toothpaste we tried that once camping with a church group.
A lot of times mine disintegrates.
How do you store your char in the bush.
Great video!
I store mine in a old crossman tin that had pellets in it lid screws on works great
Aluminum foil works just fine if don't have a ridged container thingy. Poke a hole so it don't expand to the point where O2 gets in.
Terry cloth is the feather stick of the char world.
but you can bash some cotton stuff on a rock with a stick and make it even better :)
Denim
Can I make char cloth using an alcohol stove?
I think I would wait until the flames quit burning on the outside of the tin before pulling it out of the fire, as this is an indication that the gas emissions and char process is complete.
Any reason not to gather a handful of left over small, dry, cool coals from yesterday's fire, throw them in your tin, and use those in place of the cotton char?
Okay...so terry cloth is the item... dishcloth fresh out of the dryer!
I guess you could tie the time together with some wire to prevent it from opening????
I have a 100% cotton shamage and an empty SSteel box I bought from Temu. Not recommending them... I was told to use dryer lint...true or false.
Like to use 100% cotton rope
I like yo use my CHARDboard 😉
I prefer to char cotton rope. Makes a ton of tinder in one shot.
But why is char cloth better than cloth?
Regular cloth want catch a spark and ignite char cloth just needs 1 small spark and it's burning
Couldn’t I just sample a piece of my material with a lighter or the fire to make sure it’s 100 percent cotton ?
I often have beat up old towels that I've already cut into washcloth size. Your wife won't kill you for swiping a rag!
You cut up your bed sheet? Your wife is gunna kill you. Enjoyed your vid's, will miss watching them!
Listening to you talk makes me feel out of breath. 😮
Dan, I almost fell out of my chair laughing. If you had looked and closer, you would need medical help getting it out of your face. Find some way to do that every episode.
Cheers to char in our tins! 🏔🌲