Charred Cloth

[foxy]

Ive recently been experimenting with different types of 100% cotton cloth to catch sparks. Not to scientific standards though. :-?

I found that there were tremendous differences between the cloths. The worst I used was a cotton dress shirt which was thin but good quality cotton. It would catch a spark but was irregular and not reliable. :-(

The best was a cotton tea towel. It seems that the more fibrous the cotton the better. It is regular as clock work. :-D

Another tip is that when you make your charred cloth don't cut and throw the brown patches away. When you have made your ember you can wrap the brown cloth around this giving you a bigger and hotter ember.

[Gary]

Fluffy towels work well I used one of these (an old army one pre-charred) for fire lighting scene the king Arthur programme.

Another good material is Yellow duster.

[ESpy]

I quite like using denim - probably because that is what I have to hand...

[Ed]

The best was a cotton tea towel. It seems that the more fibrous the cotton the better

Yes, I found that too.... Thick fibres like towels and terry nappies work a treat. Cotton t-shirts work fine (its what I normally use) they do the job, but very thin cotton shirts make very delicate char which easily breaks apart if over cooked.

:-)
Ed

[Gary]

Another thing I fine is cheap cotton works better - hence the tea towels and dusters and I suspect this is due to the loosness of the fibres in the weave.

[Adi007]

Three things I've learnt about making charcloth:

• Tablecloths make good charcloth
  Don't use cotton that's been flame-proofed (kids clothing has usually has a fire retardant finish)
  Don't use tablecloths ops:

[Stew]

Anyone got any scraps of Ventile to try out?

[Adi007]

Anyone got any scraps of Ventile to try out?

Silk's what you want to try!
Is that Kath's sleeping bag liner I can see over there!

[Lithril]

:rolmao: lol, I think those castrations rings for the tracking stick that kath wants is going to get a more formal use..... :shock:

[maddave]

Three things I've learnt about making charcloth:

• Tablecloths make good charcloth
  Don't use cotton that's been flame-proofed (kids clothing has usually has a fire retardant finish)
  Don't use tablecloths ops:

:rolmao: It the doghouse again Adi ?? ROTFL !!

I think the quote is "Don't use Kath's Best linen tablecloths......hahaha
(although that charcloth you had at the NEC worked great...Was that the tablecloth in question?)

[Adi007]

(although that charcloth you had at the NEC worked great...Was that the tablecloth in question?)

Yep!

[Strider]

I just made a batch a couple hours ago in the garden. It wourked alright, ive made char-cloth a couple of times, and never had failure... however the stuff I just made(and tested) takes a spark and embers, with encouragement, but it just dusn't seem great.
My question is, in your more extensive experiences, is it beter to 'cook' it for aeges, or to leave it so that there is still something left in it to burn??
Cheers,
Lawrence.

[Adi007]

I cook it until the gas given off starts to ease off ... any more and I find that it it is harder to light too! I did some a while back that I used to take pictures of the process and baked it too much and it wasn't as good as usual.

[Strider]

Cheers Adi,
thats what i was thinking, that I'd burn't everything out of it.
Live and Learn... :-D

[Kath]

Silk's what you want to try!
Is that Kath's sleeping bag liner I can see over there!

Anyone know if an Arktis smock makes good charcloth? :-P :twisted:

[Adi007]

Silk's what you want to try!
Is that Kath's sleeping bag liner I can see over there!

Anyone know if an Arktis smock makes good charcloth? :-P :twisted:

Nope ... it's a 50/50 polycotton which means it has a lot of polyester in it that will look like a melted carrier bag when charred ... :-D

Whatever you use needs to be 100% cotton (or silk :wink: ).

[jakunen]

Why can I hear the sounds of someone digging their way to Oz? :-D
BTW Adi, what's Kath thinking of cooking for YOUR birthday??? :twisted:

[Kath]

Why can I hear the sounds of someone digging their way to Oz? :-D
BTW Adi, what's Kath thinking of cooking for YOUR birthday??? :twisted:

I don't know - I haven't thought about it yet. But you can bet your boots the table will be beautifully laid with ... charcloth!

[qweeg500]

The best charcloth I've made was with a roll on the white cotton car polishing cloth you get in Halfords.
It takes a spark like nothing else.

Matt

[Adi007]

The best charcloth I've made was with a roll on the white cotton car polishing cloth you get in Halfords.
It takes a spark like nothing else.

Matt

Thanks for that info Matt! :biggthump

[ESpy]

Cotton scrim?

[qweeg500]

Aha! I knew there was a proper name for it.

[ESpy]

When I can't work out where I've put it, there are rapidly some improper names for it...

[jakunen]

Anyone ever tried making it with cotton wool???

[Adi007]

Anyone ever tried making it with cotton wool???

Did think about it but haven't gotten around to it yet ... I would imagine it's going to be spectacular or just burn in the tin.

[Stew]

Anyone ever tried making it with cotton wool???

Interesting idea but surely it would make it more of an effort to light as you get instant flames from normal cotton wool.

[jakunen]

Not from the stuff I got from Asda's. It doesn't seem to want to catch from sparks so I ended up using my permanent match... :-?

[Stew]

Not from the stuff I got from Asda's. It doesn't seem to want to catch from sparks so I ended up using my permanent match... :-?

Strange.

Is it pure cotton and did you "fluff" it first?

[jakunen]

Yeah I did fluff it. Will have to check the bag when I get home but think it is pure cotton. They were doing a deal on it in the babycare section...

[bushwacker bob]

I had similar problem with poorly combusting cotton wool, It was the coloured balls, did burn when fluffed up, but it was harder to light than the usual white stuff. That'll teach me not to raid my daughters cosmetic bag! ops: