Learning Fire Eating.

[Pyromancer]

Fire eating can be as dangerous as breathing. The biggest risk for breathing is not a mythical blow back - as it is chemically impossible for the fuel to burn inside your body without oxygen around - but the fuel getting into your lungs, where even a very small amount can do major damage. With fire eating, inhaling fumes from a (near) extinguished torch will have similar effects. Both just take a little mistake to happen. I'd say: don't exagerate the risks of firebreathing, they are big enough as they are. And don't underestimate the risks of fire eating either. Both thechniques require attention and a little mistake can make you quite ill and cause you some permanent damage, apart from the scars on the surface that you'll collect sooner or later.

Also, for starting, I'd say get rid of the coathanger wire. Take some wooden sticks and cover them with the aluminium tape normally used to seal heater exhaustion pipes. These torches won't last you as long as the coathanger wires, but they won't get as hot either. Also, with the wooden torches, you'll simply have to remind yourself not letting them burn for too long. It's easy to forget that with wire torches, and like Steven said, they'll get very hot indeed.

For fuels, if you still insist in firebreathing, use ultrapure lamp oil. It's odourless and gives you noticable less skin irritation than kerosene (US) or petroleum (EU), the smelly equals. Some people say the odour is removed by adding more toxins to the fuel, but as I notice far less irritation and other nasty side effects when my body gets in touch with ultra pure lamp oil instead of smelly fuels, and no one ever has been able to present me an official data sheet on this matter, I believe it is just one of the many, many myths fireworkers tend to spin around them to justify their behaviour.
For fire eating I'd either use ultrapure lamp oil, Coleman, or a mixture of both. Coleman will produce a much hotter flame, so it might be easier to start with lamp oil. The benefit of Coleman is, that it burns a little brighter and that it will allows you to perform a wider range of tricks, like transfers. But if I were you, I'd learn some eating fist, with lamp oil.

And last but not least: don't learn it from a book, unless you managed to learn driving a car by just reading the theory as well. Keep a wet towel at hand, a fire extinguisher and learn the difference between different types of extuinguishers, so that you'll know which one suits your needs best. Probably CO2 or foam. Also, have a big fire blanket at hand. Big enough to cover a human being. And learn how to use all these tools, too!

Good luck!

Wanna get some inspiration?

[sanscan]

A couple of after thoughts... It's common to lose eyebrows doing the act, and they will not grow back for years. Be very careful with cosmetics. NEVER do any thing with alcohol, and finally, never use any synthetic materials in your torches or clothing. I am making a set of torches for professionals Three torches, red heads, brass staffs and rosewood handles.. No Kevlar... They will do all the moves. $75.00 plus shipping
Slim Price

[Stephon]

Originally posted by sanscan
I am making a set of torches for professionals Three torches, red heads, brass staffs and rosewood handles.. No Kevlar...

Sounds interesting. I haven't heard of "red heads" before; is that a term, or a type of material, or what? And are you avoiding Kevlar on purpose (and if so, how come) or is it just a matter of preference?

Thanks.

[sanscan]

I am anti-Kevlar...My torch heads are very absorbent. The materials I use and the replacable covering(Included) give rise to the red head name.
Slim

[Stephon]

Ok, thanks for the info.

What is it about Kevlar that you don't like? I think a lot of us here use it, so it would be good to know if there's some reason we shouldn't be.

~Stephon

[sanscan]

Kevlar is hard, nonabsorbant and unnatractive. Control is very limited. First, I think that a torch in the hands of a pro should be an attractive prop. Sure, fire is fire, but why not have something that looks good,, has enough duration to properly do the moves. a 'cushion for time and will hold enough fluid to do all the moves possible. Kevlar severely limits all these things. There are moves that you will never learn with Kevlar. Try, for example to squeeze enough fuel from a Kevlar torch to hold a Volcano long enough to blow a puff to another torch. or hold enough to light someone's cigarette from your tongue, and then pull the torch out of the flame
Slim

[Rachel Peters]

numb fngers don';t ytpe so well;

I just had my first real fire eating experience. It's Hamilton Ontario. It's, like, a billion below zero. I'm visiting friends. I got some fuel, and went by the book (I actually got the book). I made crappy, little, weeny torches, and headed to the back yard. I was in a t-shirt because I wanted to avoid loose clothing.
I spent the majority of my time trying to get the lighter to work, and then more time trying to get my fingers to work to press the lighter button. For some reason my karosene soaked torches just wouldn't catch. I managed to light two, and put them out, and thought, "Huh. That was just like all those times I've put out fist fulls of matches with my mouth... only... not quite as impressive." (my torches are pretty weeny). I couldn't get my lighter to work outside at all after that, and I could barely move my fingers. I think that was one of hte most anticlimactic experiences of my life. sigh.
...It was a little fun running into the variety store, reeking of karosene and frantically looking around, saying, "Do you sell lighters??! I need lighters!"

So, that's that. Next time will be better.

-rp

[sanscan]

Just a comment on clothing... NEVER, repeat Never wear anything made of synthetic fiber... Don't use anything artiificial for any props. It melts almost instantly, and at best gets destroyed! At worst it melts on your skin. Gives hot lips a new meaning!
slim Price

[Isabella]

Fire-eating

"Kevlar is hard, nonabsorbant and unnatractive. Control is very limited. First, I think that a torch in the hands of a pro should be an attractive prop. Sure, fire is fire, but why not have something that looks good,, has enough duration to properly do the moves. a 'cushion for time and will hold enough fluid to do all the moves possible. Kevlar severely limits all these things. There are moves that you will never learn with Kevlar. Try, for example to squeeze enough fuel from a Kevlar torch to hold a Volcano long enough to blow a puff to another torch. or hold enough to light someone's cigarette from your tongue, and then pull the torch out of the flame
Slim"

I do both of those tricks you mention with Kevlar torches. Perhaps we're not talking about the same kind of Kevlar? There's also no reason for it to be unattractive if you wrap it neatly and use torches with nice handles.

Allison Williams

[Rachel Peters]

the results...

I've uploaded pictures of my first honest-to-goodness fire consumption , with something bigger and better than a Q-tip.

Scroll to the end of the slide show.

The woman who took the pictures is a bio-chemist, and somehow that made me feel safe. Like, say, if I had a total relaps and decided to stick a flaming torch into a bucket of fuel... at least I had someone there who could explain exactly WHY that's a bad idea.

I'm putting together an act for a wedding i'm in. They asked me to do stuff. Trying to stay as original as I can, but will likely, unwittingly, have some old, cliche material, and I will be so ignorant as to think that I made it up. I HaaAATE that.

PS: The motion blur on the arm makes me think there's also a motion blur on the flame. I don't remember it being that big. The girls told me it was pretty big, but then they were kind of giddy over the excitement of the moment. I think they remember it being scarier than it was. ...but then again, I had a bad view. Maybe it was that big. ...but I doubt it.

[sanscan]

Slim’s Red Head Torches
These torches are made strictly for the professional. The “red head” is cosmetic.
When I first started making these about 30 years ago, the purpose was to make an all purpose torch without compromise. They are made to look like they belong to a professional, with very long lives. The red head is meant to make the torches always look fresh and ready to be a suitable prop for any show. The handles are rosewood, brass bound and can be removed to cut the torches to a length that suits the user. The staffs are brass and the heads are intentionally absorbent to keep them usable for all of the moves a fire eater might do. Included is material to recover the torches and genuine gold wire to finish binding the head They are only sold in sets of three so a full act can be done. The torches do not contain any synthetic materials so there is no dangerous melting possible. Slim’s torches are becoming collectors items, which makes me very proud. A set will cost $75.00 plus $5.00 to offset shipping and handling costs. I agree, the price is high, but due to the materials and time involved it is necessary…
Slim Price

Note: These torches are very absorbent. This is to allow squeezing of fluid onto the tongue and hands for the many moves you will be able to do with them ... At first, I suggest you only briefly dip the torches in your fluid, so as not to wet then excessively … Using these torches will not keep you from being burned.

sanscan@tds.net

[Pyromancer]

I am very interested. Is it possible that you post an image of those torches?

[sanscan]

I would very much like to show photos, but I lack the equipment... Sigh, & sorry... One of the things I like best is the ability to reliably pull the torch out of the flame. Just a useful flourish, but Oh, so pretty. I also do a set without the torches, just barehand.
I saw your pics, Rachel, nice work, but cover your thermos...
Slim

If you meet Scott Mclelland (Carnival Diablo) tell him I said Hi, we might be up that way late next summer...

BTW, the torch heads are fairly small , 1 in diameter 1 1/2 inch long. The flame makes the size dramatic...

[j55]

hi, i have not yet tried fire eating and i am very interested, I would like to know what do u use for a 1" x 1.5" head, also should i use kerosine, and how long do you let them burn for?

[Rachel Peters]

I'm no expert (considering I just started this thread, like, a few months ago), but I've come around to using Coleman fuel ("camp fuel") because karosene was unprectable. Sometimes it just wouldn't catch.
I experimented with my wicks and just let them burn until they began burning away at the cloth -- got a feel for how long I could talk before it was out of fuel and burning the wrong stuff.
But I also (in this act I haven't used in public yet, because I'm busy and a totally chicken and too frackin' cold to go to any clubs) talk a lot without having fueled the torches at all. Then I place them in my thermos o' Coleman, do a few more jokes until they're thoroughly soaked, through and through.... then take them out, shake them out, push them up against the spongy part of the inside of my prop box, and then go for it. ...so they're quite wet, but not dripping. ...I don't know if this is a bad thing (soaking them until the last minute), but I'm paranoid about letting the fuel evaporate too much before lighting.
Um... i feel like i'm rambling. I do that too much.
I have to go.
hope I made some sense.
-rp