[Ronin48]

Sixty five years or so, (+/- a few years) my buddies and I would make a fire with charred cloth in a nest of cedar bark using a file and flint. We charred the cloth in a metal coffee can, metal lid on the can, on an old wood burning stove. Lack of air in the can caused the cloth to char.

I want to take the matchlock to the Blevins Memorial Day shoot and light the matchlock cord using flint and steel but there are no metal coffee cans in today's economy to char the cloth. Ideas?

 

[Nambu]

Hardware store here has unused plain metal paint cans. That might work.

Don

 

[kablam]

The international section has coffee in metal cans. Cafe Bustelo is good.

 

[DanW]

Dryer lint works great

 

[03man]

I'm pretty sure Lowes has metal quart cans, at least they do here.

You could probably do the same thing by wrapping in heavy aluminum foil.

 

[Jerry1834]

I know Home Depot has Qt cans…..just purchased two last week. Also, any Sherman/Williams store will have them about $2.95 each.


Jerry

 

[arisakadogs]

I make char cord using strands from 100% cotton mop refills. I coil them up in a musket cap tin that has a small hole in the top and toss them into my BBQ when I'm done cooking. When the smoke subsides, coming out of the small hole in the lid, I plug the hole with a toothpick and remove it from the coals. When it cools you have char cord. Works much better than cloth. You just break off a length of the cord and light it with flint and steel. Burns really hot and is hard to put out. I learned this in my CW reenacting days and still use it to light cigars. Works great!

 

[Ronin48]

Hope you don't inhale. My friend, Gene Harris, who tried to teach me how to smoke, I coughed my lungs up every time I inhaled, died from smoking. He was on Oxygen the last 4-5 yeas of his life. Mutt, I'd hate to loose you, would then have to start picking on Fred H. Thanks for the tip, send me mop cord and a musket cap tin.

 

[arisakadogs]

Hope you don't inhale. My friend, Gene Harris, who tried to teach me how to smoke, I coughed my lungs up every time I inhaled, died from smoking. He was on Oxygen the last 4-5 yeas of his life. Mutt, I'd hate to loose you, would then have to start picking on Fred H. Thanks for the tip, send me mop cord and a musket cap tin.

Early Man, you don't inhale cigars! I don't smoke them on a regular basis but do enjoy a fine cigar from time to time.
I do have a spare musket cap tin and can spare some mop strands. If you were coming to the shoot I could just hand them to ya.
I'll send them to you this coming week.

 

[arisakadogs]

Early Man,
I'll be sending a musket cap tin with some char cord already inside it as well as some mop strands you can use to make more. This stuff lasts a long time! I've found it works best if you break off a piece of cord about 2-3 inches long and lay it on the flint as shown. Hold it in place there and strike away until a spark catches the end and it starts to glow red. Watch out for skinning your knuckles when striking, I've done that a few times