How It's Crafted: Char Cloth

Bumbling Bushcraft Comic: Water is for Fish

Let's Wrap It Up: A Review of the Shemagh

This week we will be reviewing the shemagh, a middle eastern head garb that is popular with the soldiers over there because it is very useful in keeping sand out of their faces. We talked earlier about the bandanna being used to cover your face in a dust storm, this item is actually better to serve that purpose. The bottom part of the wrap can be pulled up to keep the sand out of my face and the top can be pulled down to keep the sand out of my eyes. The tighter the shemagh is tied, the better I am prepared. Not only is this useful in a hot environment, you could also use this in a cold environment to help combat wind chill and basically use this as a second scarf. Of course you can wear it as a scarf simply by tying it around your neck.

To tie the head wrap you want to start by folding it diagonally into a triangle just like we did with the bandanna. You are then going to place the long length of the wrap over your head with 1/3 of the length on one side and the other 2/3 on the opposite side. Make sure that your head is cowled like a cloak before you tie it off. You then want to take the short end, wrap it around your chin and hold it in place. Then take the long side and wrap it around your chin in the opposite direction and around the back of your head to meet the end from the short side. You can tie one overhand knot here, but I found that when I did it this way the wrap tended to slip so I recommend two. After that all that is left to do is adjust. It may take you two or three tries, but just get something that is comfortable to you.

Other uses for this fabric? Well it's 42" x 42" of fabric, which means it is a square and can be used as a sling in case of an emergency. This shemagh is definitely bigger than the bandanna fabric that I showed you earlier so I am going to tie this similar to how I did that fabric. I'm going to make a self tightening knot, or a loop, on one end, take the loose end through the loop, place your arm and neck into the sling and adjust. To adjust, all you need to do is pull the loose end until your arm is resting comfortably where it needs to be. Then tie the loose end in an overhand knot around the sling to keep it in place.

I'm not entirely sure if the shemagh is 100% cotton, but I would imagine it is. The texture is very similar to the flour sack towels, but it is just a bit softer. Really though when we're talking about bushcraft stuff we aren't talking about the fashion trend, or how soft it is, we're talking about its function. In addition to keeping the wind and sand off of you, it can also keep your head cool. Back in the day I rocked a turban a few times, not all the time, just a few times. To tie it off, you start it in the back like you do a bandanna, bring the ends around front, tie it off again, turn the knot to the back and tuck in the ends. And there you have a simple turban. This would help my head to regulate temperature. The only downside is that the wrap is very dark. I chose these colors because I am in the eastern woodlands and these colors act better to camouflage me. This can also aid in hunting as a sniper's veil if you drape it over you. As a side note I could also clean with this, but it's not something I actually tested because the fabric is so similar to the flour sack towels that I am not worried about it.

This wraps up the final installment of cotton and also the last of the 10 C's. This is the end of our first arc, the 10 C's of Survivability, An In Depth Look. I'm excited to be done with this, not because I didn't have fun, but now I can bring you my own content that I have actually done my own research on. That won't be next week, but the first of April. I will also be doing a livestream tonight that is March 19th at 11:30 pm EST until 12:05 am. This will be our typical farewell to cotton livestream as well as a farewell to something else and you won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Out of the Water and Into the Fire: Utilizing Your Cotton as a Resource

This week we are still moving right along with our cotton series, but I feel that we are finally at the point where we can start testing things out. We are going to see which of these, between your everyday bandanna and the flour sack towel, would be better utilized in an outdoor situation.Utilization could mean  anything from wearing it, cleaning up messes, or first aid uses. I'm looking into what it can do when cut into strips. Specifically what I want to do is see if I can filter water with them, or turn them into char cloth.

What I have to test with is a jar of water with a nice layer of dirt down at the bottom. The water is still slightly discolored even though most of the dirt is down at the bottom. What I am going to do is test and see which between the bandanna and the tea towel will have the most water, and the cleanest water in a period of time. So what I am going to do is place the dirty water on a surface that is elevated above the two clean jars I will be filtering the water into. In this case I just placed a bread pan on my kitchen table, set the dirty water on it, and one clean jar on each side. I then wet the bandanna strip and the flour sack towel strip, place one end into the dirty water, and one end into their respective jars. I then wait about 5 hours and come back to see my results.

As you can see from the picture on the left, that is as much water as I got from the flour sack towel after 5 hours. There was even less water in the bandanna jar. Neither of these did a great job purifying the water, and it took entirely too long. It would be even better to set up a simple tripod water purification system. The next thing we are going to do is try to make charcloth. I've cut a strip of bandanna and a strip of flour sack towel. The flour sack towel I'm sure will make great charcloth because it is 100% cotton. The bandanna I'm not so sure because it does have polyester in it, and I am unsure of how it will affect the composition.

Okay so now for the charcloth, I am again going to cut a strip of each fabric. I am then going to roll them up and place them in my Altoids tin. I would show you how I make charcloth, but I am going to save that for a "How It's Crafted" hopefully to premier in the upcoming weeks. Now as you can see, I have a larger piece of flour sack towel than I do bandanna. This shouldn't be a problem because if the charring process is working correctly you cannot over char.

Upon checking my cloth I notice that both have charred very well. I can tell which is which easily by quantity. But the flour sack towel is still identifiable by the fibers leftover from where it was cut, and the bandanna is identifiable because of how it got thinner as it was cut. Now to see how well each fabric catches a spark with a ferro rod. Both catch well. I will admit in the past that I have had trouble  turning bandanna into charcloth, but it worked this time which is all that matters to me.

I hope you guys are enjoying this cotton series, we are almost done. Next week we are going to be doing a review; it's going to be a pretty cool review and one of the last reviews we will be doing for a while. This will definitely be one of the last reviews for the 10 C's and you won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

More Than A Towel: Uses of Cotton in Camp

We are back again this week still talking about our cotton material. One thing I mentioned a lot last week that we will be talking about today are the uses of your cotton material around your camp. Real quick, there are a few things you want to be sure that your cotton material can do such as protecting the back of your neck from the sun, protecting your face from the element, or wearing it like a typical bandanna in case you did not have a hat to protect the top of your head.

Of course these tasks are easy to accomplish with a regular bandanna, so now let's see what we can accomplish with the flour sack towel. It is definitely big enough to wear as a mask and it's bigger than the bandanna so I can actually pull it up over my nose more and tuck it under my chin. With that being said I can pull it up and use it as a bandanna on my head and tie it around my neck to protect it from the sun. Another plus with the flour sack towel is that it is light colored which means it will reflect the sun and not draw it in.


Now when it comes to our last item, we run into the problem that it is just too big. So to even begin to be able to use it as a mask I have to fold it over and over and over. Even afterward, it's just too big and bulky. For that reason I am not even going to try to use it as a bandanna or wear it around my neck. It's just too big.



The next thing I like to do is to try and clean with my cotton material. What I have with me is an old tray and I am first going to try and clean it with the bandanna. I'm not going to use soap, just dip it in a bit of water and use a little bit of elbow grease and the spot I was scrubbing comes away clean. Using the flour sack towel the first thing I notice is that it absorbs water much better than the bandanna. That makes sense to me since that is what it's intended to do. Much like the bandanna it does a fine job cleaning, but it does come away much dirtier than the bandanna did. The large piece of material absorbed much like the bandanna did and still got the job done. The only difference is I have way more clean material to work with after the fact. Having the flour sack towel get dirty was probably the biggest down side, however if you don't mind your cotton material being discolored it doesn't matter anyway.

The next thing I need the cotton material to be able to do is to make a sling. Now with the bandanna it is a smaller piece of fabric so I will need two of them to create a sling. The first thing I need to do is create a triangle with one bandanna and fold two corners of the triangle together and tie them off. Then, I will create a triangle with the second bandanna, place it around my neck, and tie the two corners  around the knot of the other bandanna, and slide my arm through. The problem with this is that it is difficult to adjust, but it will work in a pinch.

Next we will try the large bandanna material. The easiest way to do this after getting a triangle shape is to tie an open loop in one end, one that will tighten as you pull on it, feed the other end through the loop and then place your head and arm into the sling. To adjust it, all you would need to do is pull on the loose end that is through the loop and tie it off where it is the most comfortable. Now we have mentioned before that this is such a bulky piece of material so I am really excited to see how the flour sack towel does.

So for the flour sack towel I am going to fold it into a triangle, and tie two corners of the triangle together into a sturdy knot. I now just have to place my arm in and put it around my neck. It's a little tight around my neck and there is no real way to adjust it, but I don't have to have more than one like with the bandannas and it is not as bulky as the big piece of fabric. It's a solid in between and experiments like this are what make me grow even more fond of these towels.

Guys I've only shown you three simple and easy ways you can use these around your camp, but there are so many more uses like carrying things and using it as spare patching material for sewing. Really there are countless other ways you can apply it. Leave me a comment and let me know what you use your cotton material for or whether you carry cotton material or not and why. Next week we will still be working with cotton but we are going to see what it can do to help us purify our water and  you know you don't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Fashion in the Bush?: What to Take as Your Cotton Option

Last week we finished up talking about cargo tape which was our ninth installment of our 10 C's arc. This week we will be talking about the last of the 10 C's of survivability; the last C that David Canterbury has come up with. Today we will be talking about cotton. What I have with me today is just a typical cotton bandanna. You can get a pack of two at Walmart for one dollar making them fifty cents a piece. My older viewers will know that I used to wear a bandanna everywhere I went, however, after some testing, researching, and viewing some very informative videos I have learned that these little things are not as useful as I perceived them to be and they actually have a lot of problems. But we'll get into that another time. Just because bandannas aren't the best, doesn't mean they are the worst. They are easy to find, purchase, and maintain. I typically will fold my bandanna diagonally, drape it around my neck, tie it off, and turn it so the triangular portion is in front of me. It keeps my neck warmer in cold weather and keeps the sun off to prevent sunburn. They come in a variety of colors so I can easily match it to my attire.

The next cotton item I have I was very fortunate to find at Walmart. I have a 3 ft by 3 ft square
section of bandanna fabric that I purchased for $2.50.  This is actually the size that Dave Canterbury recommends you carry. Now it's not an exactly perfect square, but that isn't something that I can't quickly hem up later. Now if I try to wear it the same way I wear my other bandanna, it's way too long, however I can fold it over and wear it like a scarf. It's a little bulky and uncomfortable, but I could dress it up and add a handkerchief holder to it. And there I have my 3 ft by 3 ft square section of cotton that I can wear around my neck and have on hand any time I need it in the bush. And bonus, I look like I have a fancy bushcraft neck tie.

So if the smaller option isn't your taste and the larger option isn't in your taste, I may have a good in between for you. What I have here is a flour sack towel. They are $5 for a pack of 5 at Walmart. Even if you don't take them out side they are still great to use around the house. So these towels are 28" by 29", almost a perfect square and not nearly as large as the 3 ft by 3 ft section of bandanna. When I fold it over and wrap around my neck it is immediately more comfortable and lighter. Where the bandanna fabric is not 100% cotton and there is some polyester in it, the fabric is slick. These towels are not slick at all. I don't like that it is white because I think the appeal of wearing it into the woods is lessened, but I can store it in my pack or fold it up like a handkerchief and keep it in my pocket until I need it. This is definitely my favorite option so far.

I hope you enjoyed the blog this week. Cotton has so many uses around the camp and that is what we'll be talking about next week and you know you won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Survival Sewing: Testing Sewing Materials for Survival

Last week we opened into our homecraft sewing kit and practiced some very basic stitches that you can pick up and learn easily. This week we are going to look at sewing for survival in terms of making repairs by using different threading materials on different types of fabric. This way we will see which thread is best for which type of fabric.

To explain the parameters of the test, I am going to be using two different types of needle, a canvas needle and a sail needle, and use various different threads on various fabrics you may need to repair in a survival situation. The thread I will be using is the upholstery thread from last week (this will act as our control thread), the inner strands of paracord, a smaller strand of unraveled bankline, and some jute twine that will act as natural cordage. The fabric I have selected is the pillow sham we used last week, (this will act as our control fabric), denim, canvas, and supple and non-supple leather. We will be sewing the fabric together using a running stitch. If we are unable to perform the running stitch then we will attempt the whip or loop stitch. We will then be testing the strength of the thread and the fabric by trying to pull it apart.

After preparing all of my materials I am going to begin with the canvas needle, the upholstery thread, and the pillow sham. The running stitch with both the canvas and sail needle was very strong on the pillow sham as I expected of the control group. The upholstery thread performed well on the denim with both needles as well. I did have one issue when using the upholstery thread with the sail needle on the canvas. The stitches did begin to pull apart, but I do believe it was my sewing rather than the thread not being strong enough. I didn't have any problems with the canvas needle however. The leather I did not believe would hold the upholstery thread when I began to sew with the canvas needle so I didn't even try with the sail needle.

 Now we will go through the fabric again, this time with the inner strand of paracord. I was able to sew the pillow sham with both the canvas needle and the sail needle, however, the inner strand of the paracord was so strong and thick that when I began to pull it apart, it actually ripped the fabric around it. The experiment was also successful for both denim and canvas with both needles. The paracord was strong and held the material well. I was able to do a whip stitch into the leather with the sail needle. The difficulty I was having was getting the needle to pierce the leather. I would have had more luck if I had an awl. As for the paracord, it was able to hold the leather together.

Similar to when I sewed the pillow sham with the paracord, the bank line was so thick and strong that it caused the fabric around it to rip. Unlike the paracord, I am able to break down the bank line into finer strands. This may be more compatible with the pillow sham, but that is an experiment for another day. I had great success with both needles, the bank line and the denim. Unfortunately when using the bank line with the canvas, it ripped with both needles. Again I believe that if I broke the bank line down into finer strands I would have more success, but for this test I would consider this a fail. The canvas needle was able to do a whip stitch with the bank line and it held the leather well.

The jute twine was so thick that I was unable to pull it through any of the fabric, including the leather, with either needle. I did attempt to unravel the jute in the beginning into finer strands, however, the finer strands by themselves are so weak that they will break if you pull on them.

After finishing the test I compiled a chart with all of the data. On the left side of the chart is my fabric material and at the top are the thread materials I used. Each box has a section for the canvas needle and the sail needle. Basically if the combination of needle, thread and fabric was a success I marked it with a check. If the combination was a failure, I marked it with an X. The winner between the two needles was definitely the canvas needle since it was able to make a hole in the leather as well as use all of the same materials as the sail needle even though it was narrower. And the upholstery thread was definitely the handiest of all of our threading material since it was able to sew and hold almost all of the fabric material well.

Next week we will be looking at our needle not just as a sewing tool, but as a  multipurpose tool. What else can this sewing needle do for us in a survival situation? You won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Leaving You in Stitches: Simple Sewing Stitches You Should Know

This is the first blog of 2018! This year we are going to be picking up with another C from David Canterbury's 10 C's of Survivability. In the last blog we ended on candle, and this year we will be picking up with canvas needles. To start this off, I have purchased Dritz Homecraft Needles, European Quality with 7 needles included. This kit cost me about $1.75 at Walmart. Included in this kit are sail, sack, canvas, carpet, leather, and two upholstery needles. A total of 7 needles.

The sail needles can be identified by having a slight bend at the tip of the needle. The sack needle has a large eye and a blunt tip. The upholstery needles are both C-shaped, I have a large one and a small one. I can identify the canvas needle by its triangular shaped tip. With the two that are left I know that the smaller needle with the larger eye is the carpet needle and the one that is slightly bigger is the leather needle.

Let me begin by saying that if you are going to sew anything for your survival needs, I highly recommend that you use upholstery thread. It is thick, stiff, and very durable. It's thick enough that when I begin to thread it through the eye I do not need to lick it to make it straighten out. All I am going to do is feed the thread through the eye about an inch or so, fold it over onto the tail and pull. If the thread doesn't separate from the needle, I know that it has been successfully threaded. Now I am going to draw out the tail about 18" and tie an overhand not near the end of the thread I will be sewing with. Now we are ready to sew.

The first stitch we are going to talk about today is called the running stitch. To begin I am going to insert my needle through both pieces of fabric and pull it all the way through to the knot. I am then going to go back through the fabric in the opposite direction leaving a bit of a loop. I am then going to go from the underside of the fabric on top of the stitch and through the loop and pull it tight. I have now locked my thread in place. After going through the fabric I am going to lay my needle flat, judge an adequate distance (about a half inch or so) and push it through the other side of the fabric again, repeating the process. Once I have gotten all the way to the end, I am going to stretch the fabric taught  and make sure there is no slack in and then I am going to lock the thread like I did in the beginning.

The second stitch is called the whip stitch or the loop stitch. This stitch is not going to weave in and out of the fabric like I did before. This time I am going to be going in one direction in one continuous motion. First I am going to lock into the fabric, then letting the thread rest on top, I am going to go behind the fabric and pull it through. Then I am going to repeat by bringing the thread around to the same side I just went through and pulling it through again in the same direction.

The third stitch is called the blanket stitch. After locking it in you will go through the back starting off much like we did with the whip stitch. Only this time instead of the loop being in our way, we are going to incorporate it by pulling our needle through the loop and repeating the process. Again this is very similar to the whip stitch, but we are going through the loop instead of pulling it down. I like the blanket stitch because it is a very strong stitch and is good for rounding corners.

The last stitch is called the hidden or ladder stitch. This stitch is good for mending tears in your clothes. I am going to lock in below the tear on the inside of the fabric and as the name suggests this stitch is going to resemble a ladder. I am going to go through one side of the rip and leave a loop then pull through the loop. I am then going to go through the other side of the rip and repeat. I am going to go back and forth like this down the length of the rip until I get past it. At this point I am going to go through the fabric and pull until the tear cinches shut. This just leaves a fold on the outside of the fabric so no stitching shows through.

If this got a little confusing to read, I do have a corresponding video on my YouTube channel Backpack Bushcraft. If you take nothing else away from this video just remember if I can sew, anyone can sew and probably do a better job than I did. Next week we are going to look at different materials to sew or mend in a survival situation as well as different thread materials that you may have to sew with. You won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est) or Wednesday 12pm for our new Comic Bumbling Bushcraft. If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.

Cloth Roasting on an Open Fire: Creating Char-Cloth and Explaining the “Next Fire”Mentality

So, I made char-cloth. I went through a whole lot of trouble just to char some lousy bits of an old t-shirt. So here is my question to you guys: Is it worth it?

Let’s see what Dave Canterbury has to say on the matter. In his book, Bush Craft 101, on page 124 he says:

“By quick ignition of charred materials, you will have a guaranteed ember to provide needed heat for ignition of a bird’s nest.”

Remember when we talked about fuel in my last blog?  We talked about tinder or the material used to catch a spark, like the website. Tinder can take a flame very easily and even primitive fire methods like a bow/drill set can produce an ember to be placed into the tinder or bird’s nest. Then, provide oxygen and you should be good to go. However, using flint and steel can be difficult to get tinder started and a Ferro rod too if conditions are bad enough. The same goes for the magnifying glass. However, char-cloth can and will aid you in ember formation using a spark or the sun.

So let’s talk about how it’s made. When googling about what char is I get this phrase a lot: “The incomplete combustion of certain solids.” You can click here for where I saw it first. But incomplete is the key word here.

If you recall from my last blog, fire need three things: heat, oxygen, and fuel. If you take away the oxygen completely you have that incomplete fire. Now all we have to do is heat our fuel without any oxygen. However, oxygen is everywhere and you need this cloth for your next fire. Well we can fix that.

In one of my first blogs I showed you all my char tin. Now I’m not sure how in-depth I was about it, but the basics are a stainless steel container either with a stainless steel lid or cover to allow the gases to escape. You don’t want a 100% seal because then it could blow up. Some people even use their water bottles completely dried out and a flat rock to cover the hole.

The idea is the container will be heated and the fuel inside will heat up too. Without oxygen in its presence though, it won’t make a flame. A very important part is making sure that the fire doesn’t get into your container. This happened to my first ever batch and I got a pile of ash. A lot of people poke a hole in their tins to let out the gases, but something like an Altoids tin with hinges are enough. But enough of this, right? Let’s get to how I made it.
So about a year ago when I first started bushcraft, I took an old T-shirt that was more ragged than regale. I cut it up into squares about the width of my palm and length of my forearm. Then I just rolled them up to save space in the container. You can see a pretty good example on the left of what they looked like when rolled up. On the right, I unrolled one to show you the length. I know some people prefer them in squares, but I like to rip off what I need. Either way you do it I’m sure will be just fine.
I have made about 32 of these. I make about 6 at a time and keep them in my Char tin at all times. The ones that are waiting to be charred will remain in a plastic bag that I keep in the house until needed.
The next step is to get them into the tin for charring. Like I said I roll them up and place them at the bottom of the tin. It won’t matter if they are packed or not just be aware of how much is going into it. Normally, my
char cloth isn’t made under survival conditions. I will use my last piece of char cloth to make a more char cloth. If I didn’t have them with me then I would consider using a bandanna or the clothing I was wearing. It is all about the next fire mentality. Just like in chess, you need to plan and prepare ahead. The next part is pretty important because this will make or break your char cloth. You need some sort of cover. As I said before the cover needs to not be air tight, however it must not allow oxygen to get into the container. So what do you do?

Put a lid on it. No, I’m not telling you to shut up, just cover your mouth. Of the bottle, that is. By punching a hole on the top of your container you allow gases to escape during the carbonization process. Now something common that may happen is the gases catching fire as they escape.
This isn’t a big deal as long as the fire doesn’t go down into the container itself. If it does happen, use some fire-proof gloves or two sticks to move the char away and let the process stop. Now if something happens and all you end up with is just your stainless steel water bottle then you are still in the game. Just place it in the fire WITHOUT anything inside. This will allow any water to evaporate out and your bottle will be ready for charring. Next you would cut up or just rip some cotton fibers. You could find some different plants and fungi that'll char too.

 In Dave Canterbury’s book, “Advanced Bushcraft”, he says this:


“Char can be made from many things you find in the landscape, including punky, decaying wood or the inner pith from some plants like mullein.”

Now here on Backyard Bushcraft, we believe in working through levels. I haven’t gotten too much covered in “Advance Bushcraft”, however I would like to know how to do some even if I wasn’t ready to practice it just yet.
Back to the charring, it commonly take about 10 minute or until the fire burns out. this has been said by Dave Canterbury in multiple places. Another way to check is to wait till the smoke stops pouring out. Now one thing to remember is that you can’t overdo char. Once it is done however, do not let it get exposed to air. The char being so super heated will cause it to start to burn. Remember the 3 elements to fire. Heat, Fuel, and Oxygen. The char is already a great fuel, plus it is super heated with just a gentle blow and it will begin to consume. This is also how the char works. With the cloth itself as a fuel, the spark or sunrays provides heat, then blowing into the bundle will make the fire catch up. After the tin is cooled, it is perfectly fine to get out and examine what you have created. I find the best way is to use a solar method. To me it is the hardest method of ember creation and thus proves I have made great char. I hope you get out there and make some Char Cloth too. Next week I will be reviewing some gear I have collected. As always feel free to comment, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one. Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.