Charred Bull Thistle Down

This a project that is easy to do and has a very high cool factor. If any of you have charred cloth, and I know that most of the crowd that reads this blog probably has, you know how easily it catches a spark. I really like to use the back of my mora and a piece of flint I found to start a fire. It keeps life interesting to try different methods of fire starting etc... This method gives you a natural option for your char cloth. To start with, find some Bull Thistle and harvest the dry down.



Next take that down and pack it into a metal container. I was taught to put a hole in the top of the tin.



After that, place the container in a fire. When it starts to heat up, smoke and then a flame will come out of the hole. Once there is no more smoke coming out of the hole remove it from the fire.


Let it cool down and there you have it. It is an easy project and works well.


You can use other natural materials besides Thistle down. Cattail down, and the inner bark of the Cottonwood tree will work also. This is also a great material to use a magnified lens on.