Cooking char cloth

[kmanct3]

Made char cloth on the grill last night

[rishardh]

Looks charred for sure    I will be making some soon to test my new Vulcan fire piston.

[Grathr]

Let us know how it performes

[kmanct3]

I will , I'm making a homemade piston with my son , I'll post a pic of that later

[Gareth]

Nice job mate.  Can I ask how long you grill it for, and how likely is it my wife will want to kill me if I tried it in my kitchen?

[kmanct3]

Nice job mate.  Can I ask how long you grill it for, and how likely is it my wife will want to kill me if I tried it in my kitchen?

I already had the grill heated up ( Grilled Chicken ) It probably took no more than 10 minutes , I knew it was done when the smoke stopped coming out of the vent hole. And the answer to you're other question is Yes ! It gets very smoky 

[Gareth]

Nice job mate.  Can I ask how long you grill it for, and how likely is it my wife will want to kill me if I tried it in my kitchen?

I already had the grill heated up ( Grilled Chicken ) It probably took no more than 10 minutes , I knew it was done when the smoke stopped coming out of the vent hole. And the answer to you're other question is Yes ! It gets very smoky 

That's what I thought.   I'll try and remember to give this a go next time I have my fire pit lit up.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

I find that cotton balls make char that is much easier to pack into a fire piston...and stays in place better. I also use an old contact lens case as a holder for char and lube.

[kmanct3]

How does that piston work ?

[Alan K.]

You put a fingernail's worth of char cloth on the end of the piston and fit the end of the piston into the tube.  It seals in the tube, note the o-ring on the end of the piston.  Then you smack the piston, driving it into the tube, and the heat from the compression of the air in the tube (sealed by the o-ring) ignites the bit of char cloth.  You then have to remove the piston to expose the ember on the end of the piston, and transfer the ember to a tinder bundle and get a flame out of it just as you would if you created the ember from a bow drill or ferro rod or any other source.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

How does that piston work ?

If you're asking about the one in my photo...

It's the best and most reliable one I've used of the ones I own. It's a Wilderness Solutions Scout piston.

[kmanct3]

Thanks Spork , I should have phrased that differently , I know how they work  just wanted to know how well , What is the length and diameter ? It looks smaller than my UST and Numyth Vulcan

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

About 4-1/4" x 1"

[Alan K.]

Thanks Spork , I should have phrased that differently , I know how they work  just wanted to know how well , What is the length and diameter ? It looks smaller than my UST and Numyth Vulcan

My mistake. I misunderstood what you were asking.  In any case, someone may read this later who didn't know how they work.  The Wilderness Solutions Scout Piston does look well made compared to some I've seen. If Spork will update us to let us know how well it works for him over time I may have to get one.  Thanks Spork.

[kmanct3]

Thanks Spork , I should have phrased that differently , I know how they work  just wanted to know how well , What is the length and diameter ? It looks smaller than my UST and Numyth Vulcan

My mistake. I misunderstood what you were asking.  In any case, someone may read this later who didn't know how they work.  The Wilderness Solutions Scout Piston does look well made compared to some I've seen. If Spork will update us to let us know how well it works for him over time I may have to get one.  Thanks Spork.

Don't sweat it  I too might get one

[Poncho65]

I find that cotton balls make char that is much easier to pack into a fire piston...and stays in place better. I also use an old contact lens case as a holder for char and lube.

Good idea with the contact lense case Spork 

I think I may give char cloth making a try So just put a small hole in top of an Altoid tin then put cotton in and then cook til the smoking stops correct?

[Alan K.]

yes.

[Poncho65]

yes.

That's what I thought but thought best to ask Thanks for the speedy reply Sir

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

I don't use the standard Altoids tin for charring because they can't be plugged to prevent oxygen from entering when cooling. I generally use round tins with matching smoke holes drilled through the rim...holes lined up when charring...holes placed apart for storage. A twist of wire to keep the lid from popping open.

[Aloha]

I used the tin from my Thrunite T10 effectively.  I also used old jeans which I find to be very good material.  Its good to experiment with different tins and different materials.  I keep extra char in a air tight mason jar as I find over time the char cloth become "brittle" and crumbles easily.

This material was not jean material.     

[rishardh]

I made some tonight... with underwear 

[Aloha]

As long as its 100% cotton I don't see why not  .  Looks like it turned out great.  Now to spark it and see how it performs.   

[kmanct3]

Nice job ! Funny , I had a pellet container and never thought to use it 

[ducttapetech]

Nice job guys! Any of you tried using charred punk wood?

That's us mobile

[Gareth]

I made some tonight... with underwear 

Nice job mate.  I've got loads of old pellet tins kicking around so I suspect I'll steal that idea whenever I get around to trying this.


Has anyone done a comparison between cotton, linen and wool?  I only ask as cotton cloth was a luxury material for hundreds of years and linen and wool cloth would have been far more common.

[ducttapetech]

Not sure if wool will work. Might have to give it a try. You are right about cotton being a luxury. It was more common in the frontier to use charred natural material like fungus, punky wood and the such.

That's us mobile

[Aloha]

Those are excellent points about what was charred back when.   I've only tried Jute twine and cotton so far.  I thought the just was ok but next chance I get I'll char up some punk wood. 

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

I've had trouble with charred punk because the surfaces end up so smooth and the sparks bounce off. It is better if broken up a bit and the more traditional method of lighting used...left in the tin and sparks cast into it.

[ducttapetech]

I've had trouble with charred punk because the surfaces end up so smooth and the sparks bounce off. It is better if broken up a bit and the more traditional method of lighting used...left in the tin and sparks cast into it.

That's how I do it. Then I set the birds nest or feather stick in the tin and watch it burst into flame.

That's us mobile

[Poncho65]

This is some good stuff guys I am liking all the ideas I am seeing here