Fire makin' fixins'

[rickevans]

I was at my in-laws this weekend and took advantage of the fire pit there to make some char cloth and also test some new tinder.  To make my batch of charcloth, I found my small tin with a wire handle and a hole inthe lid and stuffed it full of my cloth. Now the cloth I had was old dish towel/napkin cotton that I got at the Salvation Army thrift store. It looked heavy enough and of 100% cotton. I cut it into about 1" squares and packed my tin full, put the llid on firmly then set it all on the fire to cook.

In the mean time, I started unraveling a piece of 1/2" hemp rope for tinder. Let me tell you, it unraveled nicely and looked an awful lot like the hunk of flax tow I had in the fire kit. I found my striker (made in my coal forge from a star-drill bit) and tested my flint in preperation. Zoounds!! Good sparks from that striker!

Once the char tin had cooked I removed it from the fire to cool down. When it was cool to the touch, I opened it up and boy oh boy did things look good! Cloth was all blackened, not too fragile and not burned to a crisp.  I took my kit  and a new piece of this char cloth and struck steel to flint....

...only to be disappointed by the lack of sparks that the char would catch. If it did catch a spark, instead of an ember starting the chart to burn, it would just sort of burn away. Tried a couple different pieces with the same results.  

Bummed by this turn of events, I turned to testing the tinder made from a hunk of hemp rope and picked up a piece of char from my old kit struck the steel to flint again, caught a spark ,caught the ember and folded it into the hemp fiber birds nest.  Held it up a bit and blew some air into the nest. Lemme tell you, it looked good, lot's of hot reddness and plenty of smoke. Just. No. Flame. I like'd to pass out trying to get enough air into the nest to burst into a flame, but nothing doing. That hemp mess would just red-ember and refused to flame.

So...all in all not what I expected. But better to learn while in town instead of on the frontier.

Tell me what your favorite charcloth source is and which tinder is in your kit?

[SAWMA]

Best i've found for me is the military gun cleaning patches at the Army surplus store. Char good, and take right off with a spark!

[Riley/MN]

I had some nice tow that came from VanDyke's Taxidermy, but I don't think they sell it any more. Some of the rope/twine actually has fire retardant on it - not conducive to quick fires! I usually wind up using blue jean denim for my char cloth, just because I have so much!

[Bigsmoke]

Ditto what Sawma said.  WWII GI Cleaning Patches are great.  I had the good fortune to find a case of them many moon ago, and am still nursing along a few of the leftovers.
On twine/rope, like Riley said, some have built in fire retardent.  The rope that is greasy like will not burn with a propane torch encouraging it along.

[greyhunter]

Old denim, works great.

[rickevans]

Back to the thrift store...

[Buzzard]

All types of natural fiber ropes have a rot resistant chemical in them, it needs to be washed first! Macrame cord works well even if not washed, but better when washed.

[vthompson]

Speaking of playing with fire, my boy brought a "FIRE PISTON" to me Sunday and I have had a time messing around with it. It took me a little while to get the hang of it but now I am able to get a glowing ember just about every time that I use it.
 I had never heard of them let alone see one work so I read up on them and watched some YOU -TUBE videos learning how to use them. I learned quite a bit about them and now I can get a glowing ember just about every time that I play with it now.

[mario]

I used to use charcloth made from cotton or linen scraps. I now use tinder fungus or charred punk wood (both of which I can document).

For tinder, pretty much anything that is dry and "fibery". Grass, tow, hemp rope, etc.

Mario
PS- The fire piston IS 18th century (and earlier), but NOT used in North America, BTW.

[vthompson]

I was a little curious about the history of the fire piston, so I done a little reading up on it on the internet. I found out that a patent was granted in England in 1807 and I don't think that it is to far fetched to think that the device or the technology made its way to America from Europe. I was just wondering if anyone has ever come across any documentation of them being used in America in the 1800's.
 I have been playing with the one that my son brought to me to check out and it is really a neat tool. I have a glowing ember just about every time that I use it and it is a lot more dependable than the flint and steel. I am just stateing an observation and was just curious as to whether or not they could have been used in early America or possibly used as a trade item to the Native Americans.

[mario]

I found out that a patent was granted in England in 1807 and I don't think that it is to far fetched to think that the device or the technology made its way to America from Europe. I was just wondering if anyone has ever come across any documentation of them being used in America in the 1800's.
 I am just stateing an observation and was just curious as to whether or not they could have been used in early America or possibly used as a trade item to the Native Americans.

It's been discussed on other boards and in my own research, the answer is no. Simply because an item was in use in Europe, Asia, etc does not automatically mean it was probably or likely used in NA.

As far as it being a trade item, a look at the hundreds of trade lists will tell you no.

I have a glowing ember just about every time that I use it and it is a lot more dependable than the flint and steel.

Is it more dependable because you not very good with the flint and steel yet?

Mario

[Fort Greene Ville]

All types of natural fiber ropes have a rot resistant chemical in them, it needs to be washed first! Macrame cord works well even if not washed, but better when washed.

Just to add to Buzzard here, most all natural rope and cords today are treated with fire retardant.
Best to check before you buy!

FGV

[Kermit]

I find most cleaning patch material (flannel) is too light for good charcloth. Ticking and denim are about the best. Be sure it's all cotton, no other stuff. Do the Bic lighter test on a raveled edge and look to see if anything melts. Sure sign of dacron, nylon, or polyester. Get rid of it.

I cut the fabric (scraps, remnants, or thrift store stuff) in strips about an inch wide. You can even cut it into 1" squares--I do. I have a couple of old tea tins that look like little paint cans--tight fitting lids. Woodstain and such come in little cans like this. Save a couple, burn off the label and whatever is left inside. I stuff the cloth into the can pretty loosely, not packed in. But I fill it right up. There's a nail hole in the lid. I toss the can into the fireplace embers or a dying campfire. When "smoke" starts to make a steady jet coming from the hole, I make sure these gasses are lit to make a wee flame, sort of like what comes out of a carbide miner's light, if you've ever seen one. When the flame dies, all the gasses are driven off of the cloth. Take the can out of the fire and leave it til morning. DO NOT open it while it's hot.

Folks seem to buy largish flint chards to use with their steel. I seem to have a steady supply of used rifle flints. Small, convenient, free. Percussion shooters: befriend a flint shooter. I lay a square of char on top of the flint with the edges aligned. Then I strike the steel across the edge of the char and flint. I can almost always catch a spark on the first strike.

I use unspun linen fiber called  "tow" for my tinder. I carry several tightly coiled "bird's nests" of tow, and fluff one up into a loose nest before I strike a spark. The glowing charcloth goes into the middle of the tinder and I hold it above my face and blow upwards into the tinder until it flashes into flame. When it does, I have a fire  laid or a candle handy to catch the flame.

A trick I learned a bunch of years ago is to carry a "hair pipe" as part of my kit. Those are those long white bead-like things you can find on trader's row. They come in many lengths. I bought one that would fit in my fireworks container. I put that in my mouth before striking a spark and then use it as a blow tube to direct a jet of air into the tinder with the glowing char in the middle. It really helps keep the air where you need it and saves a lot of huffing and puffing. Next rhondy, get you one.

Just the way I do it. Works for me, and I'm getting too old to go experimenting to seek some minor improvement. Fire piston? Newfangled gadget. Never catch on. Parlor toy at best.

[greyhunter]

I made a fire piston last year just to see if I could. It is a neat gadget, and it works, but I can get a spark in char cloth faster with a few hits of my steel on flint. A piece of char cloth in an unloaded flintlock works too, with less danger to my digits! Whether or not  fire piston use was found in the settling of america or not, it was made by primitive peoples around the world at very early dates. Which in my opinion qualifies it as a primitive fire starter, right along with the various friction starters made of wood. It's certainly more entertaining than a Bic lighter. Unless someone has read every document ever written, every supply list, of every early american, I don't see how one can say with absolute certainty, they did not exist. But then again, I'm not a student of early American history, so what the Harry do I know. I just never say never. Regards.

[Riley/MN]

Found this last weekend.....
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