Many ferro rods come with a companion striker, often shaped like a hacksaw blade. You can hold a cotton swab parallel to the striker with the swab portion in front of the striking edge so as the striker travels down the ferro rod the sparks that are generated are cast upon the cotton head and a flame is immediately created. Alternatively, many folks use knife blades as a striker that have a 90 degree spine and the swab can be positioned parallel to the blade with the cotton head next to the portion that does the striking. The head of the swab should be “fluffed out” enabling it to catch the sparks more effectively. The striking process works best if the tip of the ferro rod rests on the ground or log surface, so when the striker travels down the rod, the sparks are confined to the fluffed cotton area, ensuring it’s ignition.

By virtue of the cotton swab’s stick design it can now be used like a regular match stick to light a campfire, candle, or whatever, allowing you to have the convenience of a “match” by using a ferro rod to generate the initial flame. It would of course make sense to keep the cotton swabs in a water proof container for storage so that they will be dry and readily available to catch the sparks when employed.

 
I decided to try the popular combination of cotton and ashes. I used two 1/2″x4″ boards, one measuring one foot long as the rolling board with the other one being two feet long as the base board. I braced the baseboard end against a deck post. A cotton ball can be unraveled into a strip that measures approximately seven inches long by one inch wide. I sprinkled hickory ashes about half way along the cotton strip and rolled it up as tight as possible.
 

 
 
When completely wound I rolled the cotton strip in one direction by hand along the baseboard to ensure it’s self adhesion to prevent it from unrolling. After several rolls by hand the tinder roll begins to widen and I took the shorter board and rolled it over the tinder roll in one direction toward the post several times to begin to heat it up

then rapidly rolled it back and forth while applying downward pressure. After about thirty strokes I removed the upper board and examined the tinder roll for a dark/hot spot and when I found it I carefully pulled it apart. As the exposed spot gets air it begins to form an ember which can be coaxed to a larger size with a steady breath.
 

The ember came so quick I had to do it again. I found that using two hands to press down while rolling the tinder back and forth to be easier and more effective. It is probably the simplest, easiest, and fastest way to make fire by friction. Similar to flint and steel, where you need to have char beforehand to make a fire, it works best to have ash on hand for the tinder roll. However, other material can be used as well. It would be easy to create this kit in an urban setting but could prove to be more difficult in a wilderness situation. I plan to continue exploring this method using different materials for the tinder roll and the rolling surfaces.

I’ve used seed puffs from dandelions, milkweed, and cattail among others to catch sparks. Once lit the fibers almost explode into flame. It’s important to surround the fuzz with light and dry tinder, especially above it to catch the flame so that it can be built into a larger fire. But what if you don’t have seed puffs to catch a spark? What if you were in an urban environment surrounded by asphalt and concrete and not in a wooded area?

You can collect flammable cotton fiber from your clothes by taking a sharp edged device like a knife and scrape it over the surface of your clothing several times. A small roll of fibers will begin to accumulate. Denim pants are a great source for this. The roll of fiber can be pulled apart into a “fuzz-ball” in order to catch a spark from a flintwheel or ferro rod.

Another clothing source of fiber is cotton socks. If you don’t have a knife blade for scraping you can simply pinch off bits of fiber with your finger tips to collect a small fuzzy pile. I often put this tinder into a small cone of tissue paper to catch a flame. This fire method is also known as a “prisoner match”.

A number of folks have experienced similar results using dryer lint, cotton balls, and cotton swabs as their tinder but these fibers would need to be collected ahead of time and carried whereas your clothes require no planning and are naturally with you as part of your everyday life.

As usual, I recommend that you try this for yourself and practice it so that you will have this skill for the time that it is needed… or just to have fun!

To my delight I recently saw this method demonstrated on The Weather Channel’s “Fat Guys In The Woods” program hosted by Creek Stewart. The participants each created their own fire using this method so I was encouraged to pursue this again, taking cues from their example.

I went to a store to buy a cotton sanitary napkin and began to read the labels regarding the material used. I saw that they listed cotton and Rayon and I didn’t know how successful that would work so I opted to buy 100 percent cotton balls instead for about two dollars. When I returned home I unraveled the balls and formed a six by four inch square. I used some charcoal left over from my campfire to crush into carbon dust that I sprinkled on top of the cotton pad. Starting from the narrow edge I rolled this tightly like a cigar then compressed it further by rolling it between my two hands.

I placed this carbon impregnated cotton roll between two “two-by-four” boards with one board used as a base while the other board was passed lengthwise back-and-forth on top while employing increased speed and pressure. Eventually smoke started to appear out the ends of the cotton roll and when I removed the boards I could feel a hot spot near the end. When it’s “too hot to handle” you know it’s ready to be opened up at that spot to expose it to the air so that it can be coaxed into an ember.

This a great alternative fire-by-friction method that uses simple materials. For me it was a satisfying accomplishment that I can now check off of my firecraft bucket list.

Carbonizing is accomplished by charring or a partial burning process. Typically small pieces of cotton (perhaps 2″ square) are placed in a covered metal container and placed over heat such as a fire or coals. The metal container must have seams or holes to release the pressure that builds up due to the gasification that occurs while the material bakes. The container prevents the material from igniting so that it is not “spent” or consumed. Different materials are popular for making charcloth: jeans, underwear, cheesecloth and gauze – all made of 100 percent cotton.

You can use small empty paint cans with a nail hole punched into the lid. The can should be turned occasionally during the baking process to evenly expose the contents inside. A very popular and portable container is an “Altoids” mint canister that is compact and requires less bake time for a finished product. I used to stack cloth squares inside these containers but battled uneven results. More recently I’ve learned to roll the cloth squares into small rolls and lay them side-by-side with very excellent results.

The general rule for cook time is to watch the emission of smoke out of the canister which should be fairly steady and when it diminishes, take the container off the heat, let cool, then open for inspection. The charred cloth should be black, not brown, and when handled should be velvety and light weight.

There is a method of making charcloth that does not require a container – it’s called “quick char” where a piece of cloth is lit directly then snuffed out once the piece turns black. There is usually enough suitable char to make a flame with tinder but baked char is thoroughly treated and even in carbon content and performs better providing that it is stored in a moisture-tight container.