Forums > Technical Discussion > fire poi made completely out of kevlar

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_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
well, i got the idea from Tepooka Toys at PLAY, they had prototype fire poi made completely out of kevlar, it was basically a knot for a handle, and they wrapped kevlar around the bottom for the head.
my friend bought 5 meters of kevlar rope at play and we made poi like that too, at the top we had this knot for the handle, at the bottom we had a monkey fist (2 wraps in each direction). these poi worked great, too bad we didnt soak them in paraffin and they were ruined frown.
anyway i might make those again, any suggestions for knots for the handles that will give the handle weight? and do you think they're safer than regular fire because there's no metal (as in i'll be able to do wraps without getting burnt)?

simian110% MONKEY EVERY TIME ALL THE TIME JUST CANT STOP THE MONKEY
3,149 posts
Location: London


Posted:
They're rather yummy, i look forward to playing with them smile

whats with the black handle bits? what are they made of?

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."


Mr ChutneySILVER Member
Tosser
1,712 posts
Location: Bristol,UK


Posted:
Bit of sock with a ball in- sock could be white, balls could be glowy- they're big so they are nice and predictable for wibbles- the weight alos makes them a bit more forgiving and properly offsets the weight of the soaked wick. smile

simian110% MONKEY EVERY TIME ALL THE TIME JUST CANT STOP THE MONKEY
3,149 posts
Location: London


Posted:
hmmm, but when the inevitable happens and the handle is catches fire, it'll perish pretty fast.

i like the fact with the whole kevlar ones that if a handle goes up, you can just stomp on it a couple of times then pick it up and carry on spinning. But if there are socks then they'll be a bit smouldery and falling-aparty

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."


Mr ChutneySILVER Member
Tosser
1,712 posts
Location: Bristol,UK


Posted:
yehas thats true- Its been a while and i haven't played with fire for ages, though i did wibble a tester one of these the other day and didn't have any probs, despite dropping them a few times.. I guess i could always get some kevlar wrist guards and use those as the sock...

How did you drop yours BTW? I know you don't throw (at least you never used to?)

_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
they look really nice.
when i soak them how can i stop the fuel from travelling up the rope?

TheBovrilMonkeySILVER Member
Liquid Cow
2,629 posts
Location: High Wycombe, England


Posted:
I was looking into that a while ago but never got around to properly testing out my plan (using kevlar string to help stop the fuel wicking up the rope).

At the moment though, you've just got to make sure you don't soak them for ages - just long enough to fill the heads with fuel but not long enough for it to wick up the rope as well.
Obviously only dipping the heads into the fuel helps with that, although it has been known for people to throw the whole lot into the fuel bucket - you've got to watch for that or someone's going to end up with warm hands wink

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.


YakumoSILVER Member
veteran
1,237 posts
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom


Posted:
theorising wildly here, but aren't there flame retardent solutions (that set so you don't have to do it too regulally but don't solidify like glue stopping the rope moving), you could soak carefully into handles and let it flow up the rope a bit, stopping before the head obviously.
Then the rope would have hopefully hit it's absorbency limits and not take up too much fuel.

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YakumoSILVER Member
veteran
1,237 posts
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom


Posted:
after short google, something like : https://www.natfire.com/flamex.html or https://www.dharmatrading.com/featured_products/frtqt.html



but you'd have to have separate handles, or covers, or maybe there's a version that's less of a skin irritant out there.



Certainly worth some more research,California banned PBDE's (Poly-Brominated Diphenyl Ethers, according to 2nd link) contained in some retardant liquids, so that's worth avoiding for a start I'm sure.



It may not have to be fire retardent, simply not flammable itself, as long as it helps prevent the rope soaking up the fuel, the kevlar itself is plenty retardant enough.



I'd search more but it's time for sleep smile

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Mr ChutneySILVER Member
Tosser
1,712 posts
Location: Bristol,UK


Posted:
I did look into that a while back Yakumo- my concern was that it might make the ropes properties different and thus actually weaken the material as it was exposed to heat.

In other news, I had my first burn with them last night- a bit different to what I'm used to, but they felt absolutely brilliant- wibbles and throws were predictable and beautifullly weighted with the heads dipped and lit biggrin

Video was taken, so that should be up by the end of the weekend (like I'm going to edit in the day when the weather is like this! biggrin)

_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
 Written by: TheBovrilMonkey


At the moment though, you've just got to make sure you don't soak them for ages - just long enough to fill the heads with fuel but not long enough for it to wick up the rope as well.
Obviously only dipping the heads into the fuel helps with that, although it has been known for people to throw the whole lot into the fuel bucket - you've got to watch for that or someone's going to end up with warm hands wink



dont you need to soak the kevlar for a few hours before the first time?
would soaking the other end in water work?

and i'm also worried about the sock bit catching fire.

TheBovrilMonkeySILVER Member
Liquid Cow
2,629 posts
Location: High Wycombe, England


Posted:
No, I never bother soaking them for ages before the first burn.
I'm not going to go into any detail because there are a fair few posts dotted around here that talk about it, but I've never found that it helps.

Soaking the other end in water probably would work, but then you'd end up with a very soggy pair of poi frown

I just tied a couple of knots in the end of mine, rather than making sock + ball handles and they work find for me. I don't throw or wibble mine though so I don't need perfectly balanced poi, I just want something to hold on to smile

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.


Mr ChutneySILVER Member
Tosser
1,712 posts
Location: Bristol,UK


Posted:
First test spin vid is up, get it here:

[Old link]

No problems so far smile

YakumoSILVER Member
veteran
1,237 posts
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom


Posted:
ace vid smile
already said as much in it's own thread smile

fantastic looking poi, hope they last you a good long while, I've still got Bov's here, doh.

Blinded by Hyperlights, please donate generously grin


UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales


Posted:
They the hangmans noose ones?
Those ones are *really* nice

ubbrollsmile

YakumoSILVER Member
veteran
1,237 posts
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom


Posted:
Bov's ones? yeah, haven't been spinning them, wouldn't want them to deteriorate.

Blinded by Hyperlights, please donate generously grin


_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
where can i find instructions on making that knot?

Mr ChutneySILVER Member
Tosser
1,712 posts
Location: Bristol,UK


Posted:
I don't know what it is called- I sort of made it up- its basically a single strand, laid in such a way so that yiou can then braid through it.

I'll show you at play if you bring some rope?

_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
sure, thanks smile

MotleyGOLD Member
addict
434 posts
Location: UK


Posted:
I've just uploaded a pic of my new snakes (see gallery) although I must say I would have done it differently if I had seen yours first Chutney, very nice indeed. There are also some pics of my new monkey fists with rope handles, I need to shorten the chains slightly but they throw very nicely so far. Since taking those pics i have put copious amounts of PVA glue on the knots to stop them slipping.

Motley

_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
I made a pair of all kevlar fire poi, there's a picture in my gallery

picture

Mr ChutneySILVER Member
Tosser
1,712 posts
Location: Bristol,UK


Posted:
Not bad smile

Maybe a little short? (hard to judge)
That knot you have is 2/3s the way to the one I tied I think- your way offsets it to one side, min makes the knot wide and flat- you pays ya money etc etc smile

Compare notes at Play then biggrin (and play safe in the meantime- don't store them dipped wink)

_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
they are a little short, but I like it that way, i dont have to shorten them at all while spinning, and i can do buzzsaw throws.

Mr ChutneySILVER Member
Tosser
1,712 posts
Location: Bristol,UK


Posted:
How are they new toys working for you Poiboy? Good/ Bad experiences so far?

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