About this project
THE STORY
In 2010 while camping a friend showed me a fire piston he had made at home. I thought it was an amazing idea. As soon as I got home I went to the web to buy a fire piston. Nothing I could find was what I wanted, they were all too expensive, too ill-designed and nothing felt like it captured the potential of this ingenious tool. I spent the next year building, designing and re-designing fire pistons. I started Sparxgear with the idea of making effective, well-built fire making tools and this is the first in what I hope to be a line of products
HOW IT WORKS
Discovered in Southeast Asia, a fire piston works very much like a diesel engine, (some people think the inventor of the diesel got the idea from a fire piston) a piece of fuel, wood or cloth, is put on the end of a piston and then quickly compressed. The compression causes the fuel in the piston to combust allowing someone to then use it to start a fire (Lighting a Fire Video). Prior to the invention of the match the fire piston was a common means to light fireplaces in England. Some advantages of using a fire piston are that they can be reused over and over again and can be used to light fires even in adverse conditions--like snow or rain ( Video). You can use different types of tinder to start the fire piston including but not limited to:
● mullein pith
● milkweed pod ovum
● milkweed down
● cattail fluff
● poplar cotton
● wood punk
YOUR HELP
The final version of the fire piston is designed and ready to go. An additional rod slot (magnesium, flint and steel) and an improved bore sealing system will be in place in the final version. Your pledge will go to the last prototyping tests and first production run of the fire pistons. Thank You!
For your $45 Pledge the colors available are: blue,pink,red,orange and yellow & black.
FAQ
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$4 Canada and Mexico
$5 Everywhere else
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the fire piston is 5 5/8" long with a 5/8" diameter. It weighs 2.25 oz but may be slightly heavier with additional slot rods and O-rings.
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The O-ring size will be 1/4 OD 1/8 ID which in the U.S. is a standard size you can find at your local hardware store.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
823
Backers
$39,969
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on February 2.
Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more
Gratitude, and lots of it. Thank you.
Pledge $15 or more Pledge $15 or more
A small SparxGear art print featuring landscapes from either Moab,UT or the Rockies in Colorado.
Pledge $35 or more Pledge $35 or more
Now we're getting serious. With this pledge you get a SparxGear Fire Piston in orange, three extra flint,steel and magnenium slot rods and five extra O-rings
Pledge $40 or more Pledge $40 or more
SparxGear Fire Piston in your choice of color, three extra flint,steel and magnenium slot rods and five extra O-rings
Pledge $75 or more Pledge $75 or more
Two SparxGear Fire Pistons in your choice of color, three extra flint,steel and magnenium slot rods and five extra O-rings for each.
Pledge $150 or more Pledge $150 or more
The Family Pack (or fire pistons for the car,jeep,pack and miscellaneous drawer) - This pledge gets you four SparxGear Fire Pistons in your choice of color, three extra flint,steel and magnenium slot rods and five extra O-rings for each.
Project By
Connected as Eric Gilger (126 friends)
Eric Gilger lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. After graduating with a degree in business he worked in management and sales before getting into graphic and product design.
