Forums > Technical Discussion > Smaller monkey fists?
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186 posts
Location: Dallas, Tx, USA
So has anyone dabled with making smaller monkey fists? By that I mean using smaller rope sizes, like 1/4"?
Might not hold up I guess, but seems like it would be a good way to get a longer burn time out of smaller, lighter wicks.
whaddya think?"We can't stop here! This is bat country!"
"Welcome to the U-S-A,
We'll treat you right, unless you're black or gay, or Cherokeeeeee!!"
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Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA
A friend of mine named Matthew has 2 different monkey fists... one a bit bigger than the HOP shop 2.5" ones, and another a lot smaller, feels like a bit less than half the size. They spin quite well, the burn time is great, but the brightness isn't spectacular. They're quite fun for spinning quickly, and don't hurt much. They're worth it if you've got some extra rope around, but don't count of them being your main wicks.
veteran
1,453 posts
Location: Lancs England
Whatever happened to the larger monkey fist balls in the burn time info there is talk of a 5” one I’m using the 2.5” of HOP anybody used them are they to heavy and do they burn well
before i met those lot i thought they'd be a bunch of dreadlocked hippies that smoked, set things on fire ,and drank a lot of tea but then when i met them....oh wait (PyroWill)
Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA
HOP no longer sells them, I think because Malcolm had too many returns. They're so friggin big and heavy they'd destroy themselves, and only crazy people that were strong as an oxen team could spin 'em. Or at least, spin them well.
Irish
525 posts
Location: Dallas.........ish, USA
Quote:
Whatever happened to the larger monkey fist balls in the burn time info there is talk of a 5” one I’m using the 2.5” of HOP anybody used them are they to heavy and do they burn well
Im used to the monkies and if you think that the 2.5" are heavy you wont be able to safely spin the larger ones which burn for around 10min...and weigh a f#$kin ton
untill you are used to the smaller monkies i STRONGLY reccomend you stay away from the large ones
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member
186 posts
Location: Dallas, Tx, USA
Quote:
A friend of mine named Matthew has 2 different monkey fists... one a bit bigger than the HOP shop 2.5" ones, and another a lot smaller, feels like a bit less than half the size. They spin quite well, the burn time is great, but the brightness isn't spectacular. They're quite fun for spinning quickly, and don't hurt much. They're worth it if you've got some extra rope around, but don't count of them being your main wicks.
I know Matthew, I bought a set of his larger monkey fists. He said his smaller monkey fists are about the size of HoP's 2.5" fists, which are not small, and his larger ones are pretty big (about 14 ounces wet).
I don't like the way smaller cathedrals and lighter tube cores look when spun fast, but I think the monkey fist would look better. I was just considering trying to build some smaller ones, and was wondering if anyone had toyed with making them that small (with 1/4" rope), to see if they were really weak, or prone to falling apart because they were so small.
I think when I have some money, I'll go ahead and get some 1/4" rope and take a stab at it.
"We can't stop here! This is bat country!"
"Welcome to the U-S-A,
We'll treat you right, unless you're black or gay, or Cherokeeeeee!!"
-Brian Griffin from "Family Guy" (the dog)
Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA
Erm, I think this is a different Matthew - this one lives in Santa Barbara, CA, and doesn't sell poi
3,149 posts
Location: London
coincidental...i know another monkeyfist making matthew, who's making me some small monkey fists at the moment.
i'm pretty sure he's an entirely different monkeyfist matthew though. Which makes three of them. Perhaps they're multiplying!
"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."
member
69 posts
Location: Tucson, USA
The "problem" with using smaller rope is that one tends to use more loops to achieve a good size, but making a monkey fist with a lot of loops (more than 4) is a hassle. With something that small, one question is what to use for an absorbent core that you can attach to.
We are working on a design using 1/4" or 5/16" (target weight similar to a standard 2" cathedral wick), which we may offer at some point. Also, I would expect the resultant burn time to be 1-2 minutes more than a cathedral wick, with a lower brightness as MilleniuM says his friend's are, but I will know more when we test.
One of the Matthews
Flamma Aeterna
That which does not kill me, only makes me stranger.
member
186 posts
Location: Dallas, Tx, USA
So, any other Matthews with input on this subject?
"We can't stop here! This is bat country!"
"Welcome to the U-S-A,
We'll treat you right, unless you're black or gay, or Cherokeeeeee!!"
-Brian Griffin from "Family Guy" (the dog)
605 posts
Location: East London Wilds
I'm the Matthew making simian's wicks, and I buy my supplies from the Matthew that has already posted.
So there.
(Multiplying Matthews? scary!)
Luv 'n' Lemons
purity :: clarity :: balance
605 posts
Location: East London Wilds
This Matthew also has some largish monkey fists, (around 3 1/2" diameter) and I wouldn't particularly say they weren't bright. As I recall, when I first burnt them at clapham, you could see them from rather a long way away.
Luv 'n' Lemons
purity :: clarity :: balance
veteran
1,453 posts
Location: Lancs England
Sorry just posting to flag this post (is there a way to do it without posting) as I forgot to first time
I like the weight of the 2.5” MF balls they spin well and give good control with good burn time I fined
before i met those lot i thought they'd be a bunch of dreadlocked hippies that smoked, set things on fire ,and drank a lot of tea but then when i met them....oh wait (PyroWill)
member
69 posts
Location: Tucson, USA
Our 3.5" fists are very bright, but, then, if we made a 200g cathedral wick, I wonder if it would be brighter? Not having done it, I am not sure. Due to the physics, I would suspect that the cathedral wick would still be brighter at the same weight.
MJ
Flamma Aeterna
That which does not kill me, only makes me stranger.
member
186 posts
Location: Dallas, Tx, USA
My reason for asking about smaller monkies is that I would like to make or obtain a set of poi with quite small/light wicks for faster, more glowstick style spinning. I am terribly prejudiced against tubecores, and cathedrals are just so "last week," lol. I'm going to make some smaller cathedrals eventually as well, I was just thinking that some small monkey fist wicks would be really cool looking, as well as long burning for their size.
So I'm actually thinking along the lines of a quite small wick.
If my job comes through this week, then I'll finally be able to finance my poi experimentation habit! WOOHOO!
"We can't stop here! This is bat country!"
"Welcome to the U-S-A,
We'll treat you right, unless you're black or gay, or Cherokeeeeee!!"
-Brian Griffin from "Family Guy" (the dog)
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