I have one lexan piston and it does not work well at all. Mine has about a half inch (maybe a little less) shaft...this makes the compression chamber quite large in comparison to the smaller cavity wood pistons. I can only get a flash maybe once in 20 hits with it, and very very very very infrequently do I get a coal. Mine is all flash and no fire....lots of work and ugly to boot.

I have no idea who made this lexan piston or if the others out there have such a huge cavity, but if they do I would avoid them like the plague.

I think you can get a flash in a dark room with them which is sort of cool but children are much more impressed with fire than flash in my view.

Check out the piston body diameter, cavity diameter and depth, and shaft diameter of any plastic one you are thinking of buying. I think these wood pistons have 3/8" shafts and the volume of the compression chamber has to be quite smallas the shaft nearly bottoms out. I would guess my Lexan version has a compression chamber that is 8-16 times greater than the wood pistons.

Hey Schwert,

I appreciate your detailed reply, Thanks.

Mike

Hey, i don't kno if this is normal but I ordered two fire pistons from Jeff Wagner from Wilderness Solutions and it has been a month and a half. When i ordered it said that it may be a few weeks because of the Christmas backlog but I didn;t expect this.

I've recently discovered the fascinating world of fire pistons, and can't imagine how they've escaped my attention thus far in life (having been obsessed with just about every other old-world survival skill since a kid). Based an all the great information in this thread I don't really have and "how to" question as of yet.

Schwert: I do have two questions from the photo you posted at the beginning of the thread. First of all, the bead which acts as a lanyard - is the whole unit just held together by friction/suction and is there any other function to the bead besides a decorative way to carry the fire piston? Second question is related to the knife in the photo - That's a gorgeous sheepfoot blade and I'm curious as to who makes it.

Cheers
Barak

Not in any way an answer to your question, but…

Schwert can make anything he photographs look gorgeous. He could make us all want to go out and buy a pile of poop by taking a picture of one. (I guess the more frugal members may just be motivated to make their own… )

Welcome Newguy!!!

Schwert,

I'll trade you my wife for any two things you've ever photographed! I can't afford both her and the stuff you show us.

-Blast

You guys are funny....anyone can take a good picture....it just takes a bit of time to find the right setup. Also I don't really need another wife.


As to the little wooden bead on the lanyard. That device has a couple of purposes. You put in on the piston shaft to easily facilitate storage of the shaft in the piston body. That is in a firepiston without one of these to put it together for storage you may have to press the shaft in a couple of times to get it to stay down there (due to compression it wants to pop up). The bead spacer makes it easy to insert the shaft into the body once and it stays in place....pretty minor thing really. It's most important function is as a place to put a lanyard. It is just a grooved ring and I tied that leather lanyard loop to be undersize to the ring....then forced it over it so it stays in place by friction and tension alone. Wearing the piston around my neck it is super easy to pull the shaft, leaving the bead handing around my neck. Once I have a coal it goes back together around my neck.

Putting a lanyard on a firepiston without the ring is possible but it seems like it may be in the way more often than not...this ring keeps it simple, looks good and functions nicely. That piston from Jeff Wagner also has a a hollow in the top of it for chaga and lube....nice.

The knife is a #4 Wharncliffe from Gene Ingram. This one with aged antler for the handle and slightly hollow ground rather than his normal flat grind. A super knife.