- Joined
- Jul 7, 2006
- Messages
- 1,030
"The beauty behind the fire piston concept is its absolute simplicity in design and, ultimately with practice, the simplicity of its functionality. An idea that is literally centuries old, the fire piston is a marvel of compression and combustion that creates fire without flint or matches. Once one gets used to the technique, the fire piston becomes fun to use and is practical as well." -T.B.
These pieces are made of pure titanium. They will not rust or corrode. Aside from it's rust resistance, Titanium is also a poor conductor of heat. This means these will lite a lot easier than pieces made from other types of metals in colder weather since the heat is insulated a lot better. The 3 mm thick walls also help to insulate the air better.
A fire piston is used to make fire. It works the same way a diesel engine does. Air is compressed in the tube to a point where the air gets hot enough to ignite a piece of tinder that's placed inside the rod. Although a crude way of starting a fire, its very reliable int that it can get wet and still work. Here is some more information from wiki about fire pistons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_piston
Here are the specs of the piston:
The piston tube has 3mm thick walls and measures 85mm long and 15mm wide.
The piston rod measures 97mm long, 8mm wide, and is solid titanium.
You would have a HARD time trying to break one of these pieces, this is the last fire piston you will ever need.
Here it is in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbsYXHwrzsU
PREPARING THE PISTON FOR USE:
The first thing you want to do is lubricate the o-ring. Use chapstick, grease, lard, etc. This will ensure there is an airtight seal and help create compression.
Insert the piston inside the tube and push down on it lightly several times, this helps lubricate the inside of the tube.
Remove a small piece of char cloth from a char cloth square and shove inside the bowl shaped end. You want to jam a large enough piece so that it does not fall from the cup end.
You are now ready to use the piston.
USING THE PISTON:
The easiest way to get the piston to light is to be in a kneeled position, similar to how you would be getting ready to light a camp fire.
Place the tube over the rod, so that the o-ring is barely resting on the lip of the tube.
It is important that you begin compression with as much air trapped inside the tube as possible. If you start compression 1/2" way down the tube or even 1/4" down the tube, it will be very hard or impossible to get ignition.
Using the palm of your hand, push down on the piston. Use your body weight as leverage to come down on the piston hard if you have to. You must force the piston down AS HARD, AS FAST, AND AS FAR DOWN AS POSSIBLE. If you remember anything from these instructions, remember that. You are trying to create compression in the piston so that the char cloth ignites. Following the bold text will maximize your chances of ignition.
Immediately after compressing the piston, remove the rod from the tube and check for an ember. If no ember is present, repeat the steps, making sure you are following everything correctly. If after the 3rd attempt you fail to get an ember, Try adding more lubrication to the rod and check the o-ring for damage. You can also try using a new piece of char cloth.
STARTING A CAMP FIRE:
If youre trying to actually start a fire with the piston, get yourself set up with your kindling first. I like to make a tee-pee shape with small skinny dry twigs, and set a wad of tinder (dry grass, cotton, or anything that will catch a flame easily) in the middle of the tee-pee. Once that is set up, I get another wad of dry grass or any other available tinder and put a square of char cloth on top. I lay the wad on the ground and push down on the char cloth in the center flattening the wad a bit.
Now, use the piston to make an ember, transfer the ember to the larger piece of char cloth and then fold the wad in half and begin to blow. It helps if you cup your hands and hold the wad of tinder like a ball in your hands. You will begin to see smoke after a few seconds. You will have to blow air on the wad for a good minute before it ignites. You will begin to see more smoke and start to feel the wad get hotter, once it gets hot enough the whole wad will ignite, at which point you can transfer that wad to the other wad under the Teepee which will get your small twigs on fire.
I also encourage you all to make your own char cloth. It is a useful skill to learn and its easy to make, even at camp. There are several videos on youtube that explain how to make char cloth.
I make these in small batches and they are sometimes hard to come by. Here are a few words from one of my customers:
The beauty behind the fire piston concept is its absolute simplicity in design and, ultimately with practice, the simplicity of its functionality. An idea that is literally centuries old, the fire piston is a marvel of compression and combustion that creates fire without flint or matches. Once one gets used to the technique, the fire piston becomes fun to use and is practical as well.
I must admit that I owned an aluminum fire piston within the past year, and I could never get the hang of it. Not once did I successfully create an ember with that one, eventually selling it off, swearing never again to try one of them. It took the lure of titanium to bring me back.
When I first saw the titanium prototype on display from exodus125, I thought I had to try again. Such simple elegance, and it's titanium to boot! I signed up and awaited the pass-around pistons. The first one that arrived was incredible. Heavy Grade 1 Ti - it had a nice weightiness to it.
I began by admiring the artistic flair created by exodus125, with the handle GID O-rings.
I immediately pulled out a small piece of char cloth, loaded the little piston bowl, coated the O-ring with Chapstick (just as the videos suggested), got into position, and like Charlie Brown running up to kick the football with Lucy holding it, I failed yet again to successfully create a burning ember. OK, I thought, I can do this. I have to do this - it's titanium, fer cryin' out loud, and I have a lovefest with all things titanium! So I tried again and failed. Again, and another failure. I re-watched the video and couldn't see anything I was doing wrong. Tried again, failed. Then I sat back and thought about it. Maybe I was starting the compression with the piston too far into the handle. Maybe if I started the compression before the O-ring entered the handle, thereby giving more length to compress, it would work. Tried it this way, and BOOYA, it worked!! Yes! I got an ember!! For the first time...ever. I yelled to my 13 year old son to come here and see this! Did it again...worked! Did it again...worked! Did it once again.....worked! Whoo Hoo!! I got it! I'm a master of the fire piston!
I remembered the line from Blazing Saddles about badges and, altering the line, shouted: "Matches? We don't need no stinkin' matches!"
All in all, it was a fun experience. I had a blast and I give exodus125 a solid 10 out of 10!
The price for each fire piston is $125. The piston will include 3 o-rings, a bag of char cloth, a bagie of chaga mushroom and a piece of fatwood (not used as fire piston fuel, but still comes in handy to start a fire after you get a flame from an ember). Price also includes priority shipping and insurance.
* NOTE: for international orders, I cannot include the fat wood or the chaga mushroom due to customs restrictions.
here is some feedback:
-Hello Esteban.
The Fire Piston and Exo Tube arrived over the weekend. They look fantastic. Very well machined. Also, the Fire Piston is a perfect fit inside the Exo Tube. Putting the piston inside the cylinder backwards (o-ring end sticking out of the cylinder), then putting the Fire Piston assembly inside the Exo Tube and tightening down the Exo Tube cap and shaking the Exo Tube, there is zero rattling from the Fire Piston inside. Very high quality product. Thank you for making and selling these items. Thank you again, and I look forward to purchasing more of your products in the future.
-Dear Esteban,
Now that I have had an opportunity to carry your Kubotan with keys attached, I wanted to say that it is not going to take long before it becomes my favorite. I have a fair number of Kubotans and yours has the characteristics I find most likeable. It is light yet heavy enough to lend confidence to its effectiveness should it ever be needed. The knurling is aggressive enough for a positive grip yet tame enough to be easy on whatever pocket in which it is carried. And it is a beautiful piece of machining. I am very pleased with it. Nice work.
-OUTSTANDING!!! Second try and we got spark!
Thanks again buddy!
-Just wanted to thank you for crafting your fabulous titanium capsules. The artistry and workmanship are extraordinary and rare these days. Very cool product, indeed.
-I received the goodies today & they are very cool! Thanks for the great service!
-I got one large and one small kubotan. The workmanship on both is exceptional. Communication was excellent. Esteban answered my questions promptly, informed me when he had received my payment, let me know when he had the kubotans packaged for shipment, then e-mailed me again to let me know when he would be posting them and provided a delivery confirmation number. I dont think it is possible for a seller to do any better than this. Thanks!
-Smooth (non-knurled) kubaton received and another example of over-the-top quality from exodus125. Amazingly, my wife saw mine and thought itd be cool to have one on her keychain.
-kubaton arrived OUTSTANDING artistry thanks e.a.
-Got her today. Very nice stuff!
-Received this today and am well pleased. VERY pleased and excellent customer service.
-got my bullet nosed Kubaton today. Thanks Esteban, its awesome!!
-Esteban, I really like the anodizing on these last few. Very nice work!
-Esteban is a MASTER- I have a number of his pieces and although they are going to be used, they would be equally home in the Museum of Modern Art. Cannot say enough good things for the craftsmanship and detail work!
-Estebans products are top notch! Made to work and made to last! Value, Quality, Craftsmanship make these products something you can pass down to generations to come! Thanks Esteban for all your talent and sharing it
-As a current owner of one (and one more on the way), I can attest that these things are awesome. Built like a brick house. Buy one, you wont be sorry.
Here are the new fire piston sheaths I had made.
This is a great design, they securely hold the pistons in place, yet allow it to easily be removed and put back in.
You can attach one of my mini capsules to the lanyard of one of the fire piston sheath and now you have a container which can carry extra orings, and fuel for the fire piston.
YOu can carry jutte cord for tinder using the lanyard hole on the mini capsule and you can fit quite a bit of stuff in the little capsule.
This one has two extra o-rings, char cloth, chaga mushroom, and jutte cord inside.
These pieces are made of pure titanium. They will not rust or corrode. Aside from it's rust resistance, Titanium is also a poor conductor of heat. This means these will lite a lot easier than pieces made from other types of metals in colder weather since the heat is insulated a lot better. The 3 mm thick walls also help to insulate the air better.
A fire piston is used to make fire. It works the same way a diesel engine does. Air is compressed in the tube to a point where the air gets hot enough to ignite a piece of tinder that's placed inside the rod. Although a crude way of starting a fire, its very reliable int that it can get wet and still work. Here is some more information from wiki about fire pistons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_piston
Here are the specs of the piston:
The piston tube has 3mm thick walls and measures 85mm long and 15mm wide.
The piston rod measures 97mm long, 8mm wide, and is solid titanium.
You would have a HARD time trying to break one of these pieces, this is the last fire piston you will ever need.
Here it is in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbsYXHwrzsU
PREPARING THE PISTON FOR USE:
The first thing you want to do is lubricate the o-ring. Use chapstick, grease, lard, etc. This will ensure there is an airtight seal and help create compression.
Insert the piston inside the tube and push down on it lightly several times, this helps lubricate the inside of the tube.
Remove a small piece of char cloth from a char cloth square and shove inside the bowl shaped end. You want to jam a large enough piece so that it does not fall from the cup end.
You are now ready to use the piston.
USING THE PISTON:
The easiest way to get the piston to light is to be in a kneeled position, similar to how you would be getting ready to light a camp fire.
Place the tube over the rod, so that the o-ring is barely resting on the lip of the tube.
It is important that you begin compression with as much air trapped inside the tube as possible. If you start compression 1/2" way down the tube or even 1/4" down the tube, it will be very hard or impossible to get ignition.
Using the palm of your hand, push down on the piston. Use your body weight as leverage to come down on the piston hard if you have to. You must force the piston down AS HARD, AS FAST, AND AS FAR DOWN AS POSSIBLE. If you remember anything from these instructions, remember that. You are trying to create compression in the piston so that the char cloth ignites. Following the bold text will maximize your chances of ignition.
Immediately after compressing the piston, remove the rod from the tube and check for an ember. If no ember is present, repeat the steps, making sure you are following everything correctly. If after the 3rd attempt you fail to get an ember, Try adding more lubrication to the rod and check the o-ring for damage. You can also try using a new piece of char cloth.
STARTING A CAMP FIRE:
If youre trying to actually start a fire with the piston, get yourself set up with your kindling first. I like to make a tee-pee shape with small skinny dry twigs, and set a wad of tinder (dry grass, cotton, or anything that will catch a flame easily) in the middle of the tee-pee. Once that is set up, I get another wad of dry grass or any other available tinder and put a square of char cloth on top. I lay the wad on the ground and push down on the char cloth in the center flattening the wad a bit.
Now, use the piston to make an ember, transfer the ember to the larger piece of char cloth and then fold the wad in half and begin to blow. It helps if you cup your hands and hold the wad of tinder like a ball in your hands. You will begin to see smoke after a few seconds. You will have to blow air on the wad for a good minute before it ignites. You will begin to see more smoke and start to feel the wad get hotter, once it gets hot enough the whole wad will ignite, at which point you can transfer that wad to the other wad under the Teepee which will get your small twigs on fire.
I also encourage you all to make your own char cloth. It is a useful skill to learn and its easy to make, even at camp. There are several videos on youtube that explain how to make char cloth.
I make these in small batches and they are sometimes hard to come by. Here are a few words from one of my customers:
The beauty behind the fire piston concept is its absolute simplicity in design and, ultimately with practice, the simplicity of its functionality. An idea that is literally centuries old, the fire piston is a marvel of compression and combustion that creates fire without flint or matches. Once one gets used to the technique, the fire piston becomes fun to use and is practical as well.
I must admit that I owned an aluminum fire piston within the past year, and I could never get the hang of it. Not once did I successfully create an ember with that one, eventually selling it off, swearing never again to try one of them. It took the lure of titanium to bring me back.
When I first saw the titanium prototype on display from exodus125, I thought I had to try again. Such simple elegance, and it's titanium to boot! I signed up and awaited the pass-around pistons. The first one that arrived was incredible. Heavy Grade 1 Ti - it had a nice weightiness to it.
I began by admiring the artistic flair created by exodus125, with the handle GID O-rings.
I immediately pulled out a small piece of char cloth, loaded the little piston bowl, coated the O-ring with Chapstick (just as the videos suggested), got into position, and like Charlie Brown running up to kick the football with Lucy holding it, I failed yet again to successfully create a burning ember. OK, I thought, I can do this. I have to do this - it's titanium, fer cryin' out loud, and I have a lovefest with all things titanium! So I tried again and failed. Again, and another failure. I re-watched the video and couldn't see anything I was doing wrong. Tried again, failed. Then I sat back and thought about it. Maybe I was starting the compression with the piston too far into the handle. Maybe if I started the compression before the O-ring entered the handle, thereby giving more length to compress, it would work. Tried it this way, and BOOYA, it worked!! Yes! I got an ember!! For the first time...ever. I yelled to my 13 year old son to come here and see this! Did it again...worked! Did it again...worked! Did it once again.....worked! Whoo Hoo!! I got it! I'm a master of the fire piston!
I remembered the line from Blazing Saddles about badges and, altering the line, shouted: "Matches? We don't need no stinkin' matches!"
All in all, it was a fun experience. I had a blast and I give exodus125 a solid 10 out of 10!
The price for each fire piston is $125. The piston will include 3 o-rings, a bag of char cloth, a bagie of chaga mushroom and a piece of fatwood (not used as fire piston fuel, but still comes in handy to start a fire after you get a flame from an ember). Price also includes priority shipping and insurance.
* NOTE: for international orders, I cannot include the fat wood or the chaga mushroom due to customs restrictions.
here is some feedback:
-Hello Esteban.
The Fire Piston and Exo Tube arrived over the weekend. They look fantastic. Very well machined. Also, the Fire Piston is a perfect fit inside the Exo Tube. Putting the piston inside the cylinder backwards (o-ring end sticking out of the cylinder), then putting the Fire Piston assembly inside the Exo Tube and tightening down the Exo Tube cap and shaking the Exo Tube, there is zero rattling from the Fire Piston inside. Very high quality product. Thank you for making and selling these items. Thank you again, and I look forward to purchasing more of your products in the future.
-Dear Esteban,
Now that I have had an opportunity to carry your Kubotan with keys attached, I wanted to say that it is not going to take long before it becomes my favorite. I have a fair number of Kubotans and yours has the characteristics I find most likeable. It is light yet heavy enough to lend confidence to its effectiveness should it ever be needed. The knurling is aggressive enough for a positive grip yet tame enough to be easy on whatever pocket in which it is carried. And it is a beautiful piece of machining. I am very pleased with it. Nice work.
-OUTSTANDING!!! Second try and we got spark!
Thanks again buddy!
-Just wanted to thank you for crafting your fabulous titanium capsules. The artistry and workmanship are extraordinary and rare these days. Very cool product, indeed.
-I received the goodies today & they are very cool! Thanks for the great service!
-I got one large and one small kubotan. The workmanship on both is exceptional. Communication was excellent. Esteban answered my questions promptly, informed me when he had received my payment, let me know when he had the kubotans packaged for shipment, then e-mailed me again to let me know when he would be posting them and provided a delivery confirmation number. I dont think it is possible for a seller to do any better than this. Thanks!
-Smooth (non-knurled) kubaton received and another example of over-the-top quality from exodus125. Amazingly, my wife saw mine and thought itd be cool to have one on her keychain.
-kubaton arrived OUTSTANDING artistry thanks e.a.
-Got her today. Very nice stuff!
-Received this today and am well pleased. VERY pleased and excellent customer service.
-got my bullet nosed Kubaton today. Thanks Esteban, its awesome!!
-Esteban, I really like the anodizing on these last few. Very nice work!
-Esteban is a MASTER- I have a number of his pieces and although they are going to be used, they would be equally home in the Museum of Modern Art. Cannot say enough good things for the craftsmanship and detail work!
-Estebans products are top notch! Made to work and made to last! Value, Quality, Craftsmanship make these products something you can pass down to generations to come! Thanks Esteban for all your talent and sharing it
-As a current owner of one (and one more on the way), I can attest that these things are awesome. Built like a brick house. Buy one, you wont be sorry.
Here are the new fire piston sheaths I had made.
This is a great design, they securely hold the pistons in place, yet allow it to easily be removed and put back in.
You can attach one of my mini capsules to the lanyard of one of the fire piston sheath and now you have a container which can carry extra orings, and fuel for the fire piston.
YOu can carry jutte cord for tinder using the lanyard hole on the mini capsule and you can fit quite a bit of stuff in the little capsule.
This one has two extra o-rings, char cloth, chaga mushroom, and jutte cord inside.