Forums > Technical Discussion > Fire gloves for wick-grabbing?

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LetumLuxSILVER Member
member
57 posts
Location: Ubiquitous, USA


Posted:
I looked through the search engine and couldn't find anything on "fire gloves." So, sorry if this is a re-thread.

I don't remember for certain what the site was off the top of my head, but I believe it was Pyrosutra.com. On their site, I saw pictures of fire jump ropes and fire double-dutch, which made for some good shots; but I noticed that their hands were covered in gloves. These could have been just some burly, tough gloves to shield from the heat, but it got me thinking about some potential...

I've also seen images of people wearing only gloves on their hands, and these gloves being well-ignited.

So is there some kinda of fire glove I'm not aware of?

It seems like those who juggle with fire would have some kind of fire-retardant gloves, at least when they are starting out with fire, but then I wouldn't really know - of all the disciplines, I probably know about juggling the least. Probably because I sux0r h4rdc0r3 at juggling of any kind.

My idea for this was incorporating it into on-roller-blades Poi, particularly for poles; wrapping the chain around a pole and catching the wick in hand, and using the poi to spin sharply around the pole, release wick, and carry on. Also, possibly using the gloves to trade off Poi with other dancers, which we were practicing before I left my loves back home. That way we would have the option of catching by the wick (when on fire) instead of trying to snag the unbalanced and non-weighted handle out of the air, especially at night. So maybe that's a bit like juggling after all... ::Shrug::

Are there gloves already like this, or would I have to make my own?

There really is no explanation for this painful phenomenon. I passed out cold. Then I died. - Ach Mein Gott, issue 1.

The lurker formerly known as LollipopSpider.


MandSILVER Member
Keeper of the Spitfire
2,317 posts
Location: Calgary Canada


Posted:
There are fire retardant gloves for juggling. smile
There are 2 types of fire juggling balls. One sort have wicks on the inside, and metal cage round them, and are used with out gloves.
The other sort are wick on the outside, and are used with gloves.
So they already exist, but sorry, this is pretty much the extent of my knowledge.

Try doing a search on the web of juggling sites.
They should be able to help you.
Good luck.
ubbrollsmile

Lets steal a spaceship and head for the sun, and shoot the stars with a lemonade ray gun.


FrodoBRONZE Member
old hand
1,092 posts
Location: In a van, United Kingdom


Posted:
not being the best spinner out there, but if u have cathedral wicks, surely u can hold the poi, for a few seconds, without gloves...

i know that i can hold my poi for at least 7 seconds without gloves, and i have no lasting effectS?

maybe my hands are just insensitive!!

frodo out!!

passing through, this world still lives.


LetumLuxSILVER Member
member
57 posts
Location: Ubiquitous, USA


Posted:
Cathedral wicks make me think of nearly-fractured ribs. I'm not spinning anything with corners on it soon, thanks... I don't think I'd be hardcore enough to grab my ignited wicks for an extended time without gloves. If only for the reason that animal instinct wouldn't quite allow me to execute the maneuver properly.. I'd probably will myself to miss, not grab it secrely enough, or whatever. Aside of that, though, I'd want to be grabbing the wick at the top, where the metal it, since it's a more secure perch to be holding from, as my grip on the wick is going to be supporting my weight and inertia as I spin around the pole. I already did the hot metal touching my skin thing, and while it wasn't at all bad, I also wasn't holding on to it...

Another thing I was thinking would be nifty is ice skating with fire. Fire fans or staff, perhaps. Too bad I can't ice skate to save my life.

There really is no explanation for this painful phenomenon. I passed out cold. Then I died. - Ach Mein Gott, issue 1.

The lurker formerly known as LollipopSpider.


BoomShankarGOLD Member
member
95 posts
Location: Leeds UK


Posted:
They sell kevlar (fire retardant) gloves on this site in the uk Butterfingers for £15 but if your quick with grabbing and letting go of your wick you shouldn't really need gloves, unless there's a lot of metal on them. That pulling yourself round a lamppost on blades idea might need gloves though, and I reckon it'd seriously test the strength of your fire poi. ubbrollsmile ubbloco

progger


Joe Marshallnewbie
33 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
You could skip grabbing the wick and instead hand off the pole directly.

I reckon if you did this fast then you'd not need to wrap at all. If you skate towards the pole spinning a corkscrew so that it's going to wrap round the pole, then grab the pole and push off to do the spin hard, you'd get a direction change without a wrap as long as you put your hand right out after the push off (to avoid the pole). You can definately do this direction change on foot (do a pirouette in one direction then switch directions) so it must be possible on blades. The hard bit would be missing the pole.

If you can do a spin or a pirouette, it'd be wicked to do spins one way up to the pole whilst doing a corkscrew in one direction, push off the pole straight into spins in the opposite direction without tangling the poi.

If you can pirouette out of a spin, it'd look awesome just doing corkscrew to hands over-head pirouette whilst doing poi.

Joe

ps. By spin I mean the spinning round that you can keep going for ever, pirouette I mean when you get super fast into a spin and then stop and let yourself turn on the spot without doing anything to keep the speed up.

Sir_Sheepold hand
725 posts
Location: Chester, UK


Posted:
Well, I dunno about in Alaska, but if it's kevlar gloves your after, I found these through this company .

To see the range of kevlar gloves, click on the search button at the top, and they're on page 261.

Enjoy.

Spoiling Christmas for small children since 2003.


NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
Yikes, this thread scares me.

Not because of the thought of grabbing poi with gloves, but because of what you guys are saying.

Grabbing burning poi, reguardless of wick design, can result in either nothing happening or severe burns, depending on how, where, and when you grab it and what type of fuel you're using. I would never grab my burning cathedral wick because if you even touch the metal top or bottom for a second, you're going to have a severe burn.

Secondly, and more importantly, every glove that I've seen at juggling shops designed to do what you're asking SUCK. You WILL get burned through them. Fuel will soak into them and you will catch fire. What I have used, which I've found to be VERY useful is welding gloves. I got decent $10 welding gloves, soaked a poi in lamp oil and had it burn for 3 minutes in my hand without a problem. I would have lost fingers if I'd tried that crap with the kevlar gloves they sell at juggling shops. It's also a FANTASTIC fire safety tool. You can just grab someone's burning poi and pull it away from them. Far better than a blanket or extinguisher.

Welding gloves range from $5 to several hundred and can be found online, but I'd go to a welding shop so you can find ones that work the best and fit the best.

Enjoy! And don't burn you fingers!

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


LetumLuxSILVER Member
member
57 posts
Location: Ubiquitous, USA


Posted:
Thanks NYC; I had a feeling it was welding gloves or something equally tough that the fire jump-ropers were using, but I wanted to see what other people had to say on this subject. Your answer about the gloves was pretty much just what I was looking for.

Sir_Sheep; Don't worry, I won't be out in the bush too much longer. Arco? As in the company that has gas stations in the U.S. or a different one? The Arco factory in Washington state always gave me an ominous feeling when the sirens were going off, since we lived only a few miles from it, and if something had one wrong with one of those huge chemical vats.... On the plus side, it would have been an amazing chance to study the effects of poisoning from combusted agents first hand!

Joe; I'd thought about going for the pole rather than the poi itself, but given the nature of poles, I'd probably have more of a chance losing my grip on the pole than my poi. I was also trying to get a small bit of "whoa, did she just grab those flaming things?" factor into it. Once I get more comfortable on my blades again, and with poi in general -- as it's been half a year since I last spun with fire... -- I'll probably try doing some more with the maneuver. Thanks for the suggestions!

BoomShanka; Yeah, I'm not going to be doing it without gloves of at least some sort. My hands have enough problems without me grabbing flaming things to hold on to. I'm really not too worried about my poi holding up - I use some rather gnarly chains (thick, choker dog collars, currently. Weighted well enough I can use them without poi attached to the end, even) and either some kind of mean connectors from Hardware Sales, or key-rings. The thick, real ones, mind you.. not those flimsy, paperclip thin ones. I expect my wicks will die long before my chains show wear. I didn't want to be grabbing just the wick though, as that would put more stress on just the poi. If I go for the metal bit connected to the key-ring, it would balance the stress more. I don’t think it matters how quick I may be, then… gloves baby, I’m all about them.

There really is no explanation for this painful phenomenon. I passed out cold. Then I died. - Ach Mein Gott, issue 1.

The lurker formerly known as LollipopSpider.


MikeIconGOLD Member
Pooh-Bah
2,109 posts
Location: Philadelphia, PA - USA


Posted:
By the way, cathedral wicks arent really dangerous. The corners on them are nothing to be afraid of. They're Kevlar, not steel hehe. Beamers are 1000 times more painful and they dont have corners. I doubt anyone has ever gotten seriously hurt by the impact of a cathedral wick.

Let's turn those old bridges we crossed into ashes.
We'll blaze a new trail,
and torch the rough patches.

-Me


LetumLuxSILVER Member
member
57 posts
Location: Ubiquitous, USA


Posted:
Your insidious scheme to lull me into a false sense of security may have worked, were I not already familiar with these wicks. They look to me as pure evil (next to the electro glo poi.. ow...) with their big, heavy, cornered evilness. Devyn seems to like them, though.. but she's crazy like that. Swinging cornered things and whatnot... Nerve pain is one thing - electro glo WHILE WET. Mmmm.... ow... mmm... - but impact damage is another. I had bondage poi puppies I used for a while that nearly fractured my lower-most rib. They were little bean bag animals I had tied into a more ball-shape so they would swing on course. Not very dangerous until they're being swung, and they were pretty soft. Stupid puppies.

There really is no explanation for this painful phenomenon. I passed out cold. Then I died. - Ach Mein Gott, issue 1.

The lurker formerly known as LollipopSpider.


MillenniuMPLATINUM Member
Hyperloops suck
595 posts
Location: USA


Posted:
Erm, they don't hurt me at all, really. I've hit myself spinning damned quickly too.

Heathmember
36 posts

Posted:
In spite of what NYC said, I have found that monkey fist wicks, similar to those sold at HOP can be caught and held for several seconds without doing any damage to your hands. The trick of it is the fact that there are no exposed metal parts except for the loop of rather small gauge stainless aircraft cable. This cable has very little mass, so it doesn't retain much heat. I also suspect that it dissipates heat quite well as a result of it's surface area. I've got scars from some old cathedral wicks that I used to use that had were made with bolts. Since I've switched to the monkey fist wicks, I've not burned myself at all and I frequently do catches.

If you're insistent on using gloves, one can purchase double-knit heat resistant kevlar gloves from industrial supply places relatively cheaply. A search on google for "knit kevlar gloves" will yield some good results. I've seen them in the US for around $10. As stated though, they could absorb fuel and act like a wick, which might cause even more damage than they prevent, though I think that's unlikely if you're well spun out.

LetumLuxSILVER Member
member
57 posts
Location: Ubiquitous, USA


Posted:
We've always been good about spinning off, sometimes to the waste of fuel, but safety first, right? I found the gloves you mentioned shortly after my last post at https://www.indlsafety.com/

They have Kevlar arm protectors, also, which would be a good tool for starting out with fire wraps, or doing them at all.

I'd be more happy about grabbing monkey fists with bare hands, but I have the tube wicks with rather prominent metal attachment. Maybe when I get those monkey fists I've been wanting, I'll take the gloves off, or maybe not. ::Shrug::

There really is no explanation for this painful phenomenon. I passed out cold. Then I died. - Ach Mein Gott, issue 1.

The lurker formerly known as LollipopSpider.


Heathmember
36 posts

Posted:
Quote:

They have Kevlar arm protectors, also, which would be a good tool for starting out with fire wraps, or doing them at all.




I've been eyeing those kevlar arm protectors. I'm thinking about getting some and finally trying to grow the hair back on my arms. However, a long-sleeved shirt might work just as well.

LetumLuxSILVER Member
member
57 posts
Location: Ubiquitous, USA


Posted:
But don't look nearly as cool, in most cases. ::grins::

I over heat when I spin (or do anything involving a good amount of full-body activity, really) so I shy away from long-sleeved tops. Sometimes I'll wear just sleeves and then an under shirt or sports bra, or nothing at all, because it keeps me cooler. Most shirts don't allow for good cooling when they're long-sleeves sorts. Not always, but mostly, that I've seen.

Besides, the arm protectors are less expensive than a whole shirt! Heh.

There really is no explanation for this painful phenomenon. I passed out cold. Then I died. - Ach Mein Gott, issue 1.

The lurker formerly known as LollipopSpider.


Singed Piper (formerly Mark1)resident bagpiper
342 posts
Location: Vermont, USA


Posted:
here's a good tip:

leather

leather works fine. I often have to put my wicks out in a hurry because the cops in VT don't like fire. when the contingency arises, i am often too full of fuel to spin them out, so i just pick them up and snuff them by wrapping my hands around them. As long as your not wanting to hold fire for more than about 30 seconds at a time, just buy some winter leather gloves (the kind with a little insulation. no prob. I also use leather bracers(arm guards) for wraps, and jeans for my legs. its not as big a deal as everyone makes it out to be. leather is cheap and it works.
slainte mhath beerchug

Q:What's the difference between the Great Highland Bagpipes and the Northumbrian Pipes?
A:The Great Highland Pipes burn longer.


LetumLuxSILVER Member
member
57 posts
Location: Ubiquitous, USA


Posted:
Leather rocks. I've always been for leather and suede over things like pleather and vinvyl. The synthetic and hybrid stuff just doesn't do it for me. The fire really doesn't worry me as far as burning goes - I've done wraps one bare skin. The fire just doesn't burn hot enough and isn't in contact long enough to burn. The only thing that really makes me apprehensive is the metal aspect. The only beef I have with leather gloves that won't yield to heated metal in a tight grip is they're so bulky. But then all protective gloves are for me; tiny hands, I have. Ah well.

There really is no explanation for this painful phenomenon. I passed out cold. Then I died. - Ach Mein Gott, issue 1.

The lurker formerly known as LollipopSpider.


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


Posted:
Thats what i use Leather gloves (if possible two sets one in the other ) . They can give you apx 5 - 10 seconds of grab time .

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


Masked52member
83 posts
Location: Kiwi land sounds great!


Posted:
-Bump-

I made fire fingers, and the fingers are too short, as well it's 2 inch wick and my finger holders are copper and the rod is stainless steal so there is heat transfer. More importantly is my finger tips sticking out of the copper holders (just cut pipes) get too hot and the fire creeps up and can burn me, since the rod is no more than 5 inches high, minus wick and copper holder space. So in my case, would leather work fine to protect my hands?

Fire eaters are the most conceited people. Especially when they're on fire. "Help me, save me, put me out, me, me, me..."

-Paolo the Fire Eater


forestcreatureSILVER Member
member
1 post
Location: USA


Posted:
I would Like to mention that I am a welder and those blue radnor brand welding gloves work great. Kevlar gloves do not block the heat nearly as well as leather. The radnor gloves are also designed so you can quickly throw the gloves off if the heat gets through. Its important to note that if you start feeling the heat that you throw off the gloves because of the way the insulation works. Its like its delayed so even if you extingusih the glove or drop the hot object, you still havent felt the hottest that its going to get yet.


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