iluminaryfaeriemember
89 posts
Location: Guelph, Ontario, Camerica


Posted:
allright,
so the time has come.
i'm finally making my own fire poi and staff.
until recently i was dead set on kevlar wicks.
now other materials such as denim, towel and cotton belts have been brought to my attention.
i think having an easy-to-read and to-the-point survey would be very helpful to everyone who burns.

questions:
what do you use?
info? (how long they last? flame size? cost? etc.)
your rating out of 10 stars.

as well as any tips you may have (regarding glue, cotton wool, etc.)

thank you
gaja

ps. does anyone know where the instructions on how to build the wicks went? i think they were on this site.

orangu-funking-tan


_Stix_Pooh-Bah
2,419 posts
Location: la-la land


Posted:
hey nice to see you posting again! Hope you are well and been enjoying things..

From my experience, kevlar is the only long term wat to go - denim and cotton wicks tend to burn away after about 3 or 4 spins if you lucky ( unless I've been going wrong somewhere) The size of the flames and the lenght of burn depend on what type of fuels you use and the amount of wick that you have. I like to use parafin and meths, but not mixed together! I mix boric acid with the meths to make the flames green, but I find that the flames are weak and don't last as long as parafin - which is my fave coz its a hotter flame which makes it bigger and brighter. If I'm feelin a little crazy I'll opt for Colemans white gas which is

As for glue - if you use that water based kiddies white glue - the stuff you got at skool, it actually hardens and 'cures'. That the only glue I think I would recommend, how's about little metal twisties instead?

I've not heard of useing cotton wool, I'd think it would be difficult to keep in place tho, and not too sure how that would work, let me know if it does ok? Just play safe..

if you are gonna burn anything other than kevlar, make sure its all natural with no coatings, man made fabrics tend to stink and burn dirty.

But there is loads of info on this stuff some where in the threads of yesteryear- just have a search



[ 27. March 2003, 07:49: Message edited by: MisStix ]

I honour you as an aspect of myself..

You are never to old to storm a bouncey castle..


Astarmember
1,591 posts
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.


Posted:
Cotton and denim are only good for a few burns like misstix said. They are also really sensitive to impacts and abrasions so if you drop them or hit them on anything they will fall apart quickly, they spew out embers and sparks which may not be great if your spinning near a crowd or near anything flammable. They do have great absorbancy which means good burn times though. Especially towels. In the long run it's more expensive to use cotton because of so few burns you get off of it. But if you have a lot of old jeans and towels or anything else cotton around it's good. Some stores sell wicks which are kevlar wick wrapped around cotton wool. The cotton in the middle is supposed to hold more fuel then kevlar and it lasts for a long time because it is in the center of the wick which is the coolest part (especially since kevlar insulates it and all combustion is takeing place on the exterior surface of the kevlar). but as far as I know they don't last very long due to shotty construction techniques.

PukSILVER Member
Sweet talented nutter
2,615 posts
Location: Brisbane Oz, Australia


Posted:
Try getting kevlar off industral sites . Eg oven maker's use it a coating . And will give you cheap offcutes

that shrewd and knavish sprite

Called Robin Good Fellow ; are you not he that is frighten of the maidens of the villagery - fairy

I am the merry wander of the night -puk


becBRONZE Member
member
521 posts
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia


Posted:
I'll agree with the others & definitely say kevlar all the way...

it may seem expensive when you first buy it, but when you divide that by the number of times you'll use it - not to mention the convenience, (having to re-attach wicks every couple of burns) the safety, (sparks & little bits of burning cloth is far from good safety practise) the everything... I would give kevlar 10 stars rating for standard twirling compared to anything I've ever used or seen used before...
you could experiment with under layers of cotton/towelling if you really want a longer burntime, but would have to make sure it was completely covered by kevlar to be effective...

WintermuteLost in the world but loving it :)
119 posts
Location: Maybe Oxford, maybe Brighton ;)


Posted:
I just recently started making staves and poi for all my friends and I have to say that the kevlar wick is the best, and most expensive. You can get fiberglass based paraffin lamp wicks which also work reasonably well, but still aren't as good as kevlar. And all the other options just don't last long enough for me really.

And remember to use decent other components too, the wick is only one small part of the whole

If fishes were wishes we'd all cast nets


Taniwhamember
138 posts
Location: Aotearoa


Posted:
DUDE, neva use anything with fiberglass, im sure it can f$#@ u up. Even cotton, dennim or TOWeL!?

That is serious DANGER. I try to be as profesional as possible, your life is at risk, even though others say "its safe". Not only that, your rep and the whole fire community u live in.

**********Kevlar
*********wire or
*********chain.
**********clip rings
*******Swivel
**********Aliminun rod
*******Tempered steel rod
My old kevlar wicks lasted 5 years.

Its all just smoke and mirrors



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