Forums > Help! > totally mystefied-wet weight vs dry weight in wicks

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SterlingspiderBRONZE Member
Senator by day, Sith Lord by night.
128 posts
Location: Suffolk, New York, USA


Posted:
Hey, I'm trying to gather info to make my first set of cathedral fold fire wicks but I'm having a bit of a problem. Weight obviously makes a really big difference, but I'm having a really hard time trying to find info on wet weight vs dry weight. I've seen people refer to everything from 4 oz to 12 oz wicks as "heavy wicks" and honestly it's a bit confusing to try to sort out since all anyone will ever give is wet /or/ dry weight.

I would like to make a good basic set of fire wicks. I'm not looking for a stupendously huge burn time but I also don't want to get too used to using super light wicks. I just want somthing I'm not going to grow out of too quickly. What weight should I aim for dry and what will that become when wet?

I am fairly small in stature and only really starting, I have made a set of 6 oz (dry) practice wicks and I am starting to be pretty comfortable with the weight (coming from a super light tennis ball starter set). I know I could definately go heavier, but I'd have to work up to it a bit. I plan to make my practice wicks match my wet wick weight.

Any advice would be super appreciated.

"If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it"
-Emerson M Pugh


adamricepoo-bah
1,015 posts
Location: Austin TX USA


Posted:
FWIW, the wicks I make weigh about 9 oz wet. More people consider these heavy (at least initially) than light. Small absolute differences in weight make a surprisingly big subjective difference--I've got a pair of 10 oz practice wicks that feel really heavy.

I've found that my feelings about weight have changed a lot--my standard wicks feel too light to me now. I made a slightly larger pair, and even those feel light. I took the plunge and made a pair that are about 2x the weight of my standard wicks. Those are too heavy, at least for now.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy


SterlingspiderBRONZE Member
Senator by day, Sith Lord by night.
128 posts
Location: Suffolk, New York, USA


Posted:
*nods nods* But then how much do they weigh when dry? My problem is I'm not going to be making the poi heads with wet wicking (obviously) and I really have no experience in how much liquid they absorb so I have no way to judge the eventual wet weight when I'm making them.

Heck it'll probably be WEEKS before I soak 'em at all but I don't want to be practicing all that time with practice wicks that are nothing like my fire wicks weight wise.

"If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it"
-Emerson M Pugh


rexmember
263 posts
Location: Holiday, FL, USA


Posted:
maybe it depends on what fuel you're using...

isn't lamp oil heavier than white gas?

vaperloc...the mightylook @my member
466 posts
Location: Ft worth Texas


Posted:
I would think so ,but I am here for answers too.

There are no obstacles only challenges.
Very funny scotty now beam down my pants.
[colour."green"}What would willie do?

AHH theres too many wee leprechauns i cannae squash them all


Mark PBRONZE Member
old hand
1,031 posts
Location: Bath, England


Posted:
My set of poi weigh 400g dry (200g each wick+chain).

I have wicks which I think are too small on them at the moment which weigh 65g each (dry) I like having the fairly heavy chain (dog lead type stuff) as this gives the poi more overall momentum which I find good for stalling/wrapping. As soon as I get some money together I will be buying some kevlar to make better wicks

Hope this helps

Mark P

SterlingspiderBRONZE Member
Senator by day, Sith Lord by night.
128 posts
Location: Suffolk, New York, USA


Posted:
Okee, so assuming 200g each as a base weight, my 212g (without the heavy ball chains, which should be here by friday I hope) practice poi should be /about/ right on target. Any idea what the 200g wicks go up to when wet and spun out? Are we talking like double the weight or is it fairly negligable? (sorry to be so nosy but I'm a bit OCD about certain things and I'm a firm believer in making sure I have the right tools for the job)

--->I like having the fairly heavy chain (dog lead type stuff) as this gives the poi more overall momentum

Yah, my superlight practice set was actually about 65g and I really saw a big difference in smoothness when I upped the weight, I don't think I'd want to go back to that light again.

"If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it"
-Emerson M Pugh


Jessemember
118 posts
Location: Pittsburgh, PA/ USA


Posted:
Rather than making judgements based on weight like that, I usually make my judgement calls based on construction techniques and the LENGTH of 2 in wide wicking used (Of course this doesn't work when ppl are talking about towel wicks, but I don't know many people that still use those anyway...)

Just for your reference, most of the wicks I saw at War were either 4 ft per wick (small size) or 6 ft per wick (slightly larger)

I've always found that the weight of the chains actually effects me much more than the weight of my wicks. Which is why I use the same chains for both glow sticking and fire spinning. I've got my clips down at the ends of my chains (risky. you've got to check them for heat damage constantly, but this system works for me because I spin with so many different things) close to the wicks so that I can change out the wicks for glowsticks with ease. And when I have wet wicks again NEXT Pennsic, I'll have brought a spair dry pair, and I won't be on stage looking like a dork again! :-)

SterlingspiderBRONZE Member
Senator by day, Sith Lord by night.
128 posts
Location: Suffolk, New York, USA


Posted:
*shrugs* hokee, so basically I get what I get when I get there

the wick length thing did help tho (just having a this = small and this = big reference is nice)

"If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it"
-Emerson M Pugh



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