Dad and I were hanging out in the shop a few nights ago and I had an idea. I decided to make a batch of charred punk wood. What is charred punk wood? I'm glad you asked.

Punk wood is old dead wood that is easily found most anywhere. This includes parks, yards, forests, and anywhere where trees grow.

So the question is how do you make charred punk wood? First, you need a metal container. I used an Altoids tin because it is thin metal, it heats up quickly, they are available at most stores, and I have alot of them. You'll need to poke a hole in the top of your container and set it to the side.

Now build a fire!

Now, build your fire and get a hot bed of coals ready. Now, you'll need to harvest and process your punk wood. Take your chunks of punk wood and cut them into small pieces. Then place your punk wood sticks into your container. Next, place your container on the bed of hot coals and leave it on for 15-20 minutes. When the smoke from the charring process stops, take your container off of the coals and let it cool for a good 10 minutes. Open container. You will see, if done right, black sticks. This is charred punk wood. What happened in the tin you ask? The heat carbonized the wood without burning it.

Charred punk wood is a great fire starter and extender.

Charred punk wood is easy enough for a 9 year old kid to make and use.

I used a piece of the charred punk wood to blow a wet tinder bundle of pine straw into a flame. Success!