< LW,
< Ideally the char cloth would get a glowing area that would quickly grow. Once it catches a spark it glows hot and spreads fast but if you only use a small piece to ignite a tinder bundle a 4 inch X 4 inch piece could last for dozens of fires. But char cloth is not reusable in the sense that you can reuse the area that actually catches the spark. The hot area burns up fast so you need to use a little piece of the cloth and get it into a tinder bundle, then start blowing. >

The US Army survival manual says that you're supposed to use a char cloth if the only thing you have is a spark-producing device, but the char cloth itself is a royal pain in a** to make, so maybe it just isn't realistic to depend on flint and steel if you're going to be out in the boonies for an extended period of time. I would prefer to use what nature provides, but the thought of carrying something like a "Blast Match" or a "Strike Force" is very appealing to a beginner such as myself because they really don't weigh very much at all.

I reckon that it's got to be a monumental waste of time to carry a spark-producing device if all you've got is the tinder that nature provides, because without a char cloth it's going to take a near miracle to locate a sufficient quantity of natural tinder that's going to catch fire and burn with nothing but a shower of sparks from a spark-producing device. I just can't see carrying a big jar of vaseline and a big wad of cotton balls with me everywhere I go, so I'm thinking that maybe I'd be better off learning how to use the primitive bow and drill method.

It sounds like I won't be able to rely on the char cloth too much in a primitive survival situation.

Fire making is absolutely critical if you're going to be out in the boonies for an extended period of time. There is so much you can do with a fire, like boiling and purifying water and making primitive implements, but without that ability you are simply f**ked.

< Bill

< Sounds like ignited magnesium shavings and char cloth equals FIRE!

I didn't shave any magnesium onto the char cloth; all I did was to shower a bunch of sparks at it.

< Pyros unite! We are not sociopaths were are the keepers of the lost fire knowledge. Go burn something today!

LOL !

LW.