How to Make Char Cloth

Last Updated: September 25, 2022 References Approved

It's not easy lighting a fire with flint and steel, especially if your tinder is scarce or damp. Char cloth makes the task much easier. Making it takes about ten minutes of work, less than an hour of waiting, and uses supplies you probably already have.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Making Char Cloth

1
Find an empty metal tin. Many people use breath mint tins, but any clean, metal container will do. Clean the inside.
- 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]
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2
Punch a hole in the lid. Stab a hole in the top with an awl or a nail and hammer. It should be about large enough to stick the tip of a pen through, but not the whole pen. Gases and hot air will escape through this hole, preventing the tin from exploding.^{[2]
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- 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]
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  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.
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3
Choose natural fabric. An old, clean 100% cotton T-shirt or pair of denim blue jeans are good options. White cloth is best, since it's easy to tell when it's charred and there's no risk that dye will interfere. Most dyed cloth will work fine, but never use cloth that contains synthetic material. Here are a few more suggestions:
- 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
4
Cut the fabric into pieces. The fabric will shrink during charring, so 2 inch (5 cm) squares of fabric will leave you with a small but manageable piece of char cloth.^{[4]
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Research source} There's no need to measure exactly or get even edges. Just eyeball the size and cut up the fabric with a pair of scissors.
- All pieces should be small enough to lay flat inside the tin. Rolled up pieces may not char evenly.^{[5]
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- 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.
5
Fill the container. Drop the fabric squares into the container, keeping them mostly flat. You can leave space in the tin or nearly fill it, as long as you don't tamp down the fabric.
6
Put on a ventilated heat source. The charring cloth will let off bad-smelling and potentially toxic smoke. Set up a heat source outside over non-flammable ground. If you do this indoors, make sure the area is well-ventilated and fireproof. Here are some options you might have available in a camping or survival situation:
- 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]
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7
Wait until it stops smoking. The cloth inside the tin will partly fall apart into gas and ash, leaving ready-to-light carbon behind. The smoke and fire (burning gas) leaving the hole is a good sign. Just leave the can until these die down.
- 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.
8
Let the tin cool. Remove the tin from the fire or coals. Place it on a fireproof surface. Wait until it's cool enough to touch.
- 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.
9
Inspect the cloth. You should end up with completely black charcoal, with the fiber patterns still visible. You should be able to pick it up and transport it without it falling apart.^{[7]
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Research source} Peel apart the pieces and store them in a waterproof bag for emergencies or camping convenience.
- 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.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Char Cloth

1
Gather firewood, kindling, and tinder. Char cloth won't burn hot enough to light a log all by itself. Just like any fire, you'll need tinder (dry grass, bark shavings, newspaper), kindling (twigs and small branches), and of course the logs themselves. Char cloth makes it easy to start this chain and light the tinder.
- Char cloth is most useful during damp weather, when tinder is more difficult to light.
2
Build a Fire. Find a fire pit or a large dirt area cleared of all vegetation. Avoid areas with overhanging branches. Stack your kindling, then the wood on top of it, allowing plenty of room for oxygen. Here are a couple straightforward methods:^{[8]
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- 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.
3
Lay the cloth on your tinder. Place one square of char cloth on top of a bundle of tinder. Be ready to pick up the tinder and shove it underneath the kindling once it's alight.
4
Light the char cloth. You can light char cloth with a flint and steel or other portable sparking device (including a lighter that's run out of fluid). As soon as a spark lands on it and forms a glowing red patch, you're good to go. There are two common ways to aim the spark:^{[9]
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- 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.
5
Spread the flame. Blow on the glowing char cloth to get the heat to spread across it. Pick up the tinder bundle and gently push the sides up and over the cloth, until they start burning.^{[10]
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6
Place the tinder under the kindling. As soon as the tinder starts burning, place it and the char cloth underneath the kindling. The fire should now spread to the kindling, then the wood.

Community Q&A

Question

Can you do this on an electric range?

Community Answer

No. You need a flame.

Warnings

Never use synthetic fabrics like polyester. These give off toxic fumes and end in a gooey mess.

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Make sure the can is cool before opening. If you open it too soon, besides burning your hand, you may ignite the char cloth with a rush of oxygen.

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Things You'll Need

metal tin or can (with lid or aluminum foil)
100% natural fabric, preferably white and well washed (see instructions for advice)
Heat source (camping stove, hot coals, or fire)
Hammer and nail, or awl