Someone was asking about it on Facebook a few days ago. I remembered making some a long time ago so I went and dug up the pictures.
- Find a small can, the kind that mushrooms come in is exactly the right size. Do not get a bigger can, it will only cause you sorrow.
- Get some cotton fabric. I used denim from an old pair of jeans because that’s what was used in the tutorial I found back when the rocks were still soft.
- Use the can as a guide to draw circles on the denim. You’re going to need a bunch of these, more than you probably think. You need to fill that can to the top. If there is too much air inside the can the cloth will burn, not char.
- Cut ’em all out being as constant as possible. They don’t have to be perfect, but they need to lay flat when you stack them.
- Go outside and start a fire. If I needed to tell you to go outside before you start the fire you stop reading this and find something else to do with your time ’cause making char cloth is not for you.
- Stack the circles in the can all the way to the top. I’m not kidding, all the way to the top so that when you put on the lid it compresses them a bit.
- Poke two small holes in the lid then wire it down tight. I’m serious, 2 shall be the number of the holes, not 1, not 3, but 2 and no bigger than an 8 penny nail. The top of the can should be flat and firmly held in place.
- Put the can in the fire. Make sure the top of the can sitting upright.
- Watch the can. As the heat builds in the can the cloth will start to char, converting to carbon. As that happens smoke will start to stream out through the 2 holes in the lid. When the smoke stops fish out the can.
- DO NOT OPEN THE CAN! I know you’re excited to see how it went, but if you take the lid off too soon it will catch fire and that will be no bueno. Just set the can aside and go distract yourself with something else for a couple hours.
- Open the cold can. Time for the big payoff! Carefully remove the char cloth from the can. It’s very fragile, you can’t just pry it out. Instead turn the can upside down and gently tap it.
- Store it in an watertight container. If char cloth gets wet it’s ruined, so don’t let that happen.
Congratulations, you have made a lifetime supply of char cloth. I still have some of the stuff that I made when I still had hair. As you get more experienced using it you’ll need less, so I hope you enjoyed the process and took lots of pictures because you’re only gonna need to do this once.
Unless you didn’t listen and opened that can too soon.
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know 
Takes me back to my scouting days. We had what I think was a canister for 8mm film and we just stuffed it full of scraps. But still worked. Sometimes if the char muse granted, the smoke coming out of the hole would catch file and we would have a jet of flame. When that stopped the char was done.
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So what do you use it for?
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Starting fires with flint and steel. All you have to do is get one tiny spark to land on the char cloth and it will start to burn slowly. You pop that into your nest of kindling (I like to use strands of hemp rope), give it a little air, and poof, FIRE!
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