Make fire like people in the past — with flint and steel!
(1 min. 21 sec. video shot by me on 7 Nov 2025 in Lelystad, the Netherlands)
Char cloth
To catch the spark from your flint and steel, you can use char cloth. You can make it by placing small pieces of cotton (for example from an old dishcloth) in a metal container with a lid, then putting it in the campfire. Inside the can, the cotton decomposes into gases, tar, and carbon residue without burning.
Make sure the lid has a small hole so the gases can escape. You’ll see smoke or even a small jet of flame coming from it. When that stops, the process is done. Remove the can from the fire, let it cool, and open it. You’ll find soft, black, fragile pieces of nearly pure carbon — your char cloth.
Alternatives for char cloth are the soft inside of the Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) or charcoal.
Using flint and steel
Place a piece of char cloth against the edge of the flint and strike it with the steel. With some luck, a spark will land on the cloth. Gently blow on it until it glows like a tiny ember. Then transfer the ember to some tinder (in the video I use dead cleavers) and blow it into flame.
Other fire-related posts
- How to build a long log fire (10 Nov 2025)
- How to make a campfire (21 Oct 2025)
- How to suspend your pot over a campfire (23 Dec 2015)
- Sami long log fire (28 Jul 2011)
- How to make fire with the bow drill (1 Apr 2004)