Forums > Social Chat > Kelvar Wick

Posted: 26th Jun 2001
I have been trying to figure this one out for along time!!!! I live in Canada and no one seems to know what it is so ive just ordered it off of here.. and i need lots too so if by some chance you figure out where to get it cheeper and perhaps closer to my side of the world tell me please!!!

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Posted: 25th Jun 2001
The price Malcolm is getting for wicking is not unreasonable. If you are looking for wicking in North America, www.renegadejuggling.com is a good place to look. Or, if you feel like wading through one of the biggest online catalogs in the known universe, check out www.mcmaster.com

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 25th Jun 2001
renegadejuggling.com sells 100 foot rolls of 2 inch wick, at quite a substantial discount from their per foot price. If you have a crew, this is your best bet for value.I found a place the other day which sells four inch wick for less than 1/2 the price of the wick at renegade....hmm where was it again...oh yeah - that juggling site...www.seriousjuggling.comalthough their wick isnt very yellow, and I've heard that the more yellow the wick is, the more kevlar it has in it = the longer it will last I dunno if thats true or not...Josh

Posted: 26th Jun 2001
How do you know when it's time to replace your wick?

We are all in the cosmic movie. That means the day you die you watch your whole life repeating for eternity. So you'd better have some good things happen in there and have a fitting climax. --Jim MorrisonIt's going to come from a direction you didn't predict at a moment of chaos which you didn't see coming. -- NYC

Posted: 26th Jun 2001
Josh--On the whole kevlar thing--most wicking you see will be a mix of kevlar and fiberglass, or kevlar and something else. What's interesting is that fiberglass actually has a higher ignition temperature than kevlar. Equivalent weaves of plain fiberglass are also a lot cheaper. Which begs the question: why use kevlar at all? Answer: dunno. I may get a roll of plain fiberglass and experiment.It's interesting to note that some spots on my wicks have burnt down to the fiberglass--the stuff I use wraps each fiberglass strand with kevlar strands.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 26th Jun 2001
Fibreglass itches ... especially fibreglass webbing that's been burnt a few times. So when you hit yourself in the rib cage, you'll be cursing your choice of fibreglass for days thereafter as you proceed to scratch your skin off.Fibreglass dust is also not the best thing to breathe in ... i imagnine itchy lungs and throat would be even more annoying than itchy skin.The wicking we use is 100% kevlar (ie. no cotton or fibreglass). Our wicks tend to last us up to a year of pretty regular burining. We buy it from an industrial insulation wholesaler here in Australia, and while it isn't the cheapest stuff around, it most certainly is not the most expensive.Ðraevon

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 26th Jun 2001
I'm not meaning to step on any toes, and people are welcome to put me in my place, but my understanding of wick is as follows...Fibreglass does not have a higher burning point than kevlar...Kevlar has the highest burning point of any strand/woven fabric known. Thats why the mars lander had kevlar ropes (steel or alloys can strain and snap easier too). If the wick you have is just a combination of kevlar and fibreglass, it would not be able to soak up any fuel, as neither substance is absorbent.The only wick I've ever used properly is Wale-Tape. Which is kevlar threads (high burning temparture and amazing strength) with cotton weaved around each three to give it softness and absorbancy. Wale is the brand name and it was originally made for glassblowers to put their finished work on to cool. It's available in 100 and 200 foot rolls, from selected industrial companies but is not common as for glass blowers it lasts years and years. If the wick that the juggling companies sell isn't Wale-tape, then it looks exactly like it and is made in the same way.Check out the DuPont website if you want to know directly about Kevlar (without the cotton).Sorry if I've got anything wrong or offended anyone, but the last few posts don't make sense to the knowledge i have of wick. they may even be of other products that don't sound as effective or hardy...CheersCharles

Posted: 26th Jun 2001
Charles--You certainly said nothing to offend me. We're all just putting our heads togethere here to come up with the best information.But: the company I get my wicking from refers to the product I'm using as "kevlar/nomex/fiberglass based", and it works pretty well as wicking material. It seems to absorb roughly its own weight in fuel. They also have a line of "texturized fiberglass" products. The kevlar wicking I get is rated to an operating temp of 345°C. Their fiberglass product is rated to 538°C. They've also got "vermiculite-coated fiberglass" rated to 815°C. I realize I said "ignition temperature" earlier, and I'm changing terms now.Draevon--I certainly appreciate the point about fiberglass being an irritant. I've hit myself more times than I care to admit, but this hasn't been an issue with the blend I mentioned above. What's also interesting is that the manufacturer makes fiberglass gloves, and claims their fiberglass has a "low irritation factor."

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 26th Jun 2001
Hey Adam,have you any experience with buying stuff from McMaster-Carr? I have my eye on;6" Wide .125" Thick Off-White Nomex Aramid 10' Stripsprod: 8796K76rated to 600 degrees Fand36" Wide .054" Thick Tan Ultra-Flex Silica Fabric Sheetingprod: 87855K43rated to 1800 degrees F-------------------------I was thinking of combinations - eg using the silica as a wrapper for a more absorbent core (which has a lower combustion temp). from my experience with tube core designs, often the stuff inside stil looks new, even if the outer layer is cained.what do you think?Josh

Posted: 27th Jun 2001
I have noticed a *huge* difference in the quality of kevlar (or kevlar blend) wicks. So far, I have found stuff from Renegade Juggling to be the best. A friend recently got some raw wick from HoP and it *appears* to be the same or at least very similar.Now about all the stuff mentioned above. Is any of it substantially better and/or cheaper than the stuff from HoP or Renegade? ($160 for a 100 ft. roll on 2 in. wick) I seem to be going through a roll about every two months, so I'd be *very* interested in more ecconomical sources...-p.

Posted: 27th Jun 2001
Josh--Sorry, haven't tried McMaster-Carr. A friend bought some wicking from them, it looked the same as the Renegade stock, but McMaster-Carr has so much different stuff, well, I don't know if what he had was similar to what you're talking about.PJ--The stuff I've been using has a basket weave as opposed to the herringbone weave I've seen on Renegade's stock. The weave is a little looser, and the material a little thicker and heavier, than Renegade's. And yeah, it's cheaper. After about 50 burns, the bottoms of my wicks are looking pretty ragged, and the material has packed down or something, but this seems normal. I'm getting about 4:30 per burn using lamp oil.A roll every 2 months? What are you doing with it!?

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 27th Jun 2001
Mr Charles,Although 100% kevlar is does not exactly 'absorb' fuel, it can retain fuel by capiliary action.I find that the best thing about 100% kevlar is that once the flame is out, the kevlar does not continue to smoulder, as is the case with cotton/kevlar blends. This means that we don't have to re-dip our equipment after burning, which saves my car smelling like a refinery when everything goes in the back.

Posted: 27th Jun 2001
PJ Every two months!! From what Draevon says in the last post, I'm guessing you are using Wale Tape and possibly not dunking afterwards. Anything highly absorbent will smoulder and burn if you don't cool it down after you've finished. The most convenient and best way to cool down wick is to dunk it in the fuel again for a few seconds and make sure there is no steam or smoke coming off it. If you use kero, or anything else that makes your "car smell like a refinery" 'thanks Draevon ', Then it pays to have a litre or so of Pegasol or non-aromatic kerosene to dunk with afterwards.If you are dunking afterwards, check the strength of your wick and the thickness. It might be grating itself off on the ground if its not strong, or if it is really thin it could just be coming apart.Let me know if there is another reason, I'm sure we can get your equipment lasting six months to a year easily...------------------Charles Dolbel[This message has been edited by Charles (edited 28 June 2001).]

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Posted: 28th Jun 2001
Charles-Dunking the wick in in fuel might be the fastest way to cool it down but probably not the most convenient as the hot wick evaporates a lot of fuel, thus wasting it.When i first started spinning, it took me a couple of weeks b4 i realised why i was using up so much fuel.I find the best way to cool down wix is just to keep spinning after i've blown them out, plus u get a primo smoke trail. ------------------Marvin K. Mooney

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Posted: 28th Jun 2001
I'm going through so much wick because I have been making so many toys! My personal collection alone is six pair of fire poi, three staves, and some fire manipulation torches. I'm also fan of big fire. Big fire is cool. ;-) Uberpoi use over 20 ft. of wick and Hot Hot Double Wicking Action use 16 ft. of wick.And I can lay claim to having constructed (or been party to the construction of) just about all of the fire gear in the greater Baltimore area. ;-)-p.

Posted: 29th Jun 2001
Hi Theo. If you dunk the wicks in your fuel tin for a few seconds, virtually none of it evaporates, it just makes the fuel int he tin a little warmer. On the few times wehn I've used up all of my fuel and tried to stop them smoking by some hardout spinning it's never worked. They are still hot to touch and the first time i did it, I woke up the next morning and half my wick was gone! (lesson learned by me). Also, I tend to end my individual burns by putting out the flames with a burst of speed (the crowd loves that), which means any smoke trails i leave will be my WICK SMOULDERING not any residual fuel as there could be if I blew them out beforehand.This is all assuming we are talking about absorbent wale-tape type wick (the wick I prefer to use), then there's no way I would be able to cool it down by spinning. Maybe my staffs are different to yours (or poi). I usually have 2-3 feet of wick on each end. 1-2 feet of 3 inch wide and then a further 1 foot of 2 inch on top. I also tend to do gigs for a minimum of an hour, and often up to three hours (with a few short breaks). Which might mean my wicks are a lot hotter than if the gigs were shorter. Does this help explain how yours cool down and mine don't or am i still in the dark ?------------------Charles Dolbel[This message has been edited by Charles (edited 29 June 2001).]

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Posted: 29th Jun 2001
Hey Charles, yeah sorry, i use 100% kevlar wick which won't burn afterwards. you know more about wale-tape than i do, i just found that to cool down my wick after a long session by dunking it in fuel makes the fuel visibly bubble away. Or maybe i just dunk it for too long anyway, thanks for the advice

That is perfect. This is perfect. Perfect comes from perfect. Take perfect away from perfect, the remainder is perfect. May peace and peace and peace be everywhere. :)

Posted: 30th Jun 2001
Hello you lotI've been trailing thru this site looking for some ideas, I've just started making fire chains to sell. Also I'm making some for myself. The 1st set I burnt on the solstice. Admittedly I didn't know about breaking them in. They only seem to be burning for about 4-5mins, which might be OK for beginners I suppose. The wick seems to have slipped on the side that isn't screwed in, but I wrapped the wick pretty tight, any tighter and I don't think any oxygen will get in. I'm gonna prick the wicks with a needle to get more air in there so they'll burn longer maybe. The kevlar is from the local juggling shop and costs a bomb. Going thru this website and reading all your chat some people seem to have 6-8foot per wick. The wick I've got is about 3.5-4 inches wide, & 3mills thick and I've been told to use 1foot on each. What do you think? Also, any ideas on just having kevlar ont he outside and some fibreglass stuff on the inside to save cash?Cheers...beava

Posted: 30th Jun 2001
THEO, i've found that just a quick dunk(10 seconds) in normal pre-pack lamp parrafin (which i use for fuel), will considerably lengthen the lif of my wicks. it stops them smouldering and i've found my current wicks have lasted ages.

Posted: 20th Sep 2001
hey, i've been researching cheap wick and i think i may have found something...i've been looking under kevlar yarn and cord and found that it is often sold by first-aid rescue and competitive sailboat teams! i havn't figured out if it is the same stuff as the fire eating wick/cord but i think it might be. i have also been looking under the term kevlar tape, i think that is the same as wick but it is a challenge to figure that out because the majority of the sites that have that posted use it for industrial machinery or sailboats and tend to lack pictures of the product or information on the weave. has anyone else had anyluck finding cheap kevlar wick? i'm itching to go build new fire toys but am on a pretty tight budget, rewicking old burnt towels gets old real fast. i want kevlar!