Forums > Technical Discussion > Making my first set of fire poi.. :)

Posted: 21st Sep 2011
Heya.

Firstly, depending on the tosses you would like to do, I don't suggest using a 1:1 ratio for weight between the head and handle.

Secondly, I do wraps with chains, shotguns, spirals, etc etc.... so long as you don't let it sit there, it shouldn't burn (and if it does, it shouldn't be too bad), and I would suggest Twist Link over Ball chain. When you say traces, if you are talking about moves like the glowstringy-around-the-neck thing, I would avoid doing that, though if you mean body tracing the way poi people have been talking about it, that's fine.

I think the main problem with not having chain directly attaching the head to something, is that although kevlar is fire resistant, having kevlar as your main connection will cause it to break down over time and it could snap I beleive.

Also, as far as monkey's fists go.... I've heard bad things about those in regards to how, if they fail, they can fail very badly. That being said there are many different types of knots that produce flames of equivalent size and weight to a monkey's fist knot that are not just tension knots.

Get the sleeves if you feel more comfortable, but do not mistake them as something that will protect you 100% from a burn. Also, more importantly, sleeves or no sleeves, try to avoid doing a wrap within with first 30 or so seconds of a burn as that could result in some fuel transfer which could lead to burns. ^_^

I hope some of this helps.

As for the weight of your handle for tosses, I would suggest testing out different weights and seeing what you like better, most people I know have suggested a Handle to Head weight ratio somewhere around 1:3.

Ciao.

Posted: 21st Sep 2011
hah thanks for the input, will diff re-brainstorm on what setup i'm going to use. i'll keep ya posted on what i end up doing

-db

Posted: 21st Sep 2011
No problem. If you plan on making the head yourself out of kevlar and elbow grease, there are plenty of knot building tutorials online to help you out.

Also, I'll refer to

. If you haven't seen it in general it's a pretty groovy video, but also at around 4:40 there are some nice wrap combos being done with chain. ^_^

Posted: 29th Sep 2011
I have tried to make monkey fist poi with no handle (just the remaining rope as a chain and a smaller monkey fist knot on the other end as a handle. Because the rope is exposed and taking so much stress it breaks down very quickly. The 3/8th inch rope i used, broke just above the poi head about half way through the first burn.

Posted: 29th Sep 2011
Yeah, on a side note, kevlar handles might not be a good idea, what with the fiberglass slowly wearing away at your skin. ^_^