Fire Wire

Most people don't consider steel flammable but steel wool will burn vigorously if you give it enough oxygen. An easy way to achieve this is to swing the burning wool in a wide circle. The result is surprisingly entertaining because tiny bits of material melt and fly off, creating a firework-like pyrotechnic display.

fire wire instructions: steel wool, steel rope, lighter

danger level

  • negligible
  • moderate
  • high
  • do not do this

tools

  • C. Lighter / Matches

materials

  • A. Extra Fine Steel Wool
  • B. 1/8" x 6' Steel Rope

photos

fire wire being swung fire wire being swung fire wire being used as a jump rope

how-to

  1. Dress yourself in pants, a hooded long-sleeve shirt, and safety glasses. There will be sparks flying everywhere so it is vital to protect your skin and face. Also find an open area without anything flammable nearby.
  2. Tie a slip knot at the end of the steel rope. Steel rope is necessary because the heat will be intense.
  3. Tighten the slip knot around a wad of steel wool.
  4. Use a lighter or match to start the wool burning then quickly start swinging the rope around in a circle.
  5. Clean up: When the wool is finished sparking the remaining metal will glow red hot for a long time, so have a bucket of water handy to cool it off.

44 Comments:

  1. Jul 22, 2007 | 6:26 am

    rik wrote:

    wow this is freaking awesome!!!!! i will try that later..

  2. Jul 24, 2007 | 7:59 pm

    E.O.D. wrote:

    Looks like the plasma wip from that video game “Raghet and Clank”

  3. Jul 25, 2007 | 12:03 am

    Anonymous wrote:

    dude ,i tried that and my yard caught on fire!!!!!!!!

  4. Jul 29, 2007 | 12:30 am

    Awesome wrote:

    Haha, thats awesome, gotta try that sometime.

  5. Aug 1, 2007 | 11:18 pm

    ddp wrote:

    Those look like Kratos’ Swords.

  6. Aug 9, 2007 | 3:40 pm

    kid@skool wrote:

    man this is cool. will try it when we have to do something for science.

  7. Aug 9, 2007 | 9:03 pm

    Jack wrote:

    This starts fires very easily so have a generous supply of water nearby (for the ground AND yourself). Other than that its a riot.

  8. Aug 22, 2007 | 8:03 pm

    fsdfsdfsfs wrote:

    i´ve just did that it was so cooooooooool

  9. Aug 28, 2007 | 6:17 pm

    beatgnu wrote:

    Will be tryin it this weekend! Yup.

  10. Sep 4, 2007 | 5:46 pm

    A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS wrote:

    Use any regular rope, tie it to an unbent metal clothes hanger, and clasp the metal around the steel wool pad. This way you don’t have to buy steel rope.

  11. Sep 5, 2007 | 9:49 pm

    Just Call me Mark wrote:

    this is wicked, i’m on a high school robotics team and this will be one of our many ill advised activities during the off season.

  12. Sep 18, 2007 | 6:31 am

    irolo! wrote:

    haha this sounds like fun so i will be sure of trying it and like the robotics kid said i will make a(or try) launcher for the wool or a catapult which would be fun

  13. Oct 3, 2007 | 8:08 am

    alchemist wrote:

    dude this is so cool but betr yet try usin 4 to 5 pads of steel wool thth will be so much fun….

  14. Oct 15, 2007 | 9:10 pm

    iarewelder wrote:

    what a great website find. I am a welder by trade and have a friend who owns an analytical laboratory. I can make almost all of these experiments.

    Yes, steel wool is highly flammable. I remember as a kid back in the seventies, I saw a show on TV that gave a survival tip for starting a fire with steel wool and a D cell battery. I went and got the steel wool out from under the sink, then took apart the flashlight and went into my bedroom and closed the door. DAMN, the steel wool lit up like gunpowder, kneejerk reaction , I threw it and it sends the curtains up in flames, which fall onto the bed starting the bed on fire.

  15. Oct 28, 2007 | 9:16 am

    Firedancer wrote:

    you see, it’s quite popular thing among firedancers due to nice look and the effect it makes on spectators…

    and imagine this move http://www.yellowtrip.pl/img/thumb/fireshow002.jpg
    (so called “flower”) with such a gear…

    THAT’S nice

  16. Nov 3, 2007 | 9:43 pm

    Jaythedogg wrote:

    Wear long sleeves, pants & a hat, like the warning says.
    Try wearing gloves to protect your hands from abrasions from the steel cable.
    Brillo “Soap Free” polishing pads are fine steel wool & work AWESOME for this. I take two pads & put them in the loop, they last a long time, but your arms tend to get tired after a bit if not used to it.

    Also, do not look up when doing this, burning pieces can hit your face, or eyes. Also, wear a baseball cap backwards to keep embers off your neck as well.

    I have burn holes in my shirt, as I did not button my jacket & the pad came loose mid burn, yea, I’m glad I smelled the burning before it started on my flesh. :)

    Be safe folx!

  17. Nov 9, 2007 | 8:21 pm

    KP wrote:

    Hm…maybe i could combine this and the spudgun???

  18. Nov 18, 2007 | 5:50 pm

    Serith wrote:

    Not to mention dangerous, which makes it better!!!!!
    So thats why this website is called dangerouslyfun.com

  19. Nov 26, 2007 | 11:28 am

    Sam wrote:

    you can use a battery to light the steel wool too

  20. Dec 11, 2007 | 11:07 pm

    2bapyro wrote:

    Try combining this with the ping pong pistol variations.especially the revolver one. just put a hole in the back of the ping pong balls and stuff it with the steel wool. BOOM! Flying ping pong balls on fire going everywhere.

  21. Dec 14, 2007 | 9:41 pm

    Anonymous wrote:

    a 9v battery actually works better than a lighter or match because it gets it sparking faster

  22. Dec 16, 2007 | 8:26 pm

    sphinx1618 wrote:

    I’m gonna setup my r/c WW2 fighter plane to ignite and drop these little bundles of joy as well as pack my toy rocket with steel wool instead of the parachute. Aaaahhhh the possibilities…..

  23. Dec 19, 2007 | 6:32 pm

    random wrote:

    should fire a lit piece of steel wool out of a spud gun cuz it would spark tonnes in the air

  24. Jan 21, 2008 | 1:01 am

    hooligan wrote:

    I tried this and filmed it and its a great effect but i set my neighbors front lawn on fire and had to call the fire dept. This is extremely dangerous. You might want to wait till you have snow on the ground, although it doesn’t snow here in florida.

  25. Jan 23, 2008 | 8:01 pm

    Anonymous wrote:

    I want to put one on a bike.

  26. Feb 15, 2008 | 9:25 pm

    IzKraK wrote:

    I just did this last weekend and its hella cool. it only cost me $5.50 too. i think it burns faster and brighter when you unwrap the wool and reroll it loosely, but of course it doesn’t last as long, idk try it out and tell me what you think.

  27. Feb 17, 2008 | 10:44 am

    grenfish wrote:

    Don’t try this on grass, better do this on sand / concrete.

  28. Mar 3, 2008 | 2:58 pm

    Toasted wrote:

    VERY,VERY COOL!
    Remember kids, “STOP-DROP-AND-ROLL” HA,HA!

  29. Mar 5, 2008 | 6:41 pm

    brillo man wrote:

    Always handy to have a brillo pad in yir back pocket when flying in case you need material to start a fire when you crash up a snowy mountain. Bit itchy on yir arse though!.

  30. Mar 9, 2008 | 10:48 am

    anonimo wrote:

    where I can find steel wool?

  31. Mar 10, 2008 | 7:57 pm

    Dangerously Fun wrote:

    @ anonimo:
    You can buy steel wool at any hardware store and usually Wal-mart, Target, etc.

  32. Mar 12, 2008 | 4:35 pm

    TheJadedStoner wrote:

    you can start the reaction with a 9V battery, just fluff up a bit of the steel wool and brush it against the the battery terminals

  33. Mar 14, 2008 | 8:13 am

    Hard2theCore wrote:

    This shal be the highlite to any teenagers street party keep it up.

  34. Apr 11, 2008 | 9:09 am

    Be Careful wrote:

    hey guys, just be sure you wear a hoodie, this WILL cause 3rd degree burns. nothing like having molten pieces of metal dug out of your arm.

  35. Apr 15, 2008 | 9:04 pm

    juliet wrote:

    i have always loved fire. so i decided to do a science report on it. and now it’s safe to say: im a (safe) pyro. thanks. this provided me with awesome info, and kept it entertaining.

  36. May 30, 2008 | 4:15 pm

    ananomous wrote:

    cant wait till 4th of july

  37. Jun 24, 2008 | 9:56 am

    that is not as cool as the thing i invented wrote:

    this is not that cool but it is nice but not as nice as the invention me and my cousin

  38. Jun 28, 2008 | 5:39 am

    2D wrote:

    wat do u do if u dont have about 2 of the materals…hee hee

  39. Jun 30, 2008 | 12:04 pm

    Brenden wrote:

    I didn’t know where I could post it, so I went to the first thing on this page. This is to dangerously fun. Did you know that your contact email address doesn’t work, or is fake? I tried emailing it, but I got an error email back saying there was no such email. I was trying to email an idea.

  40. Jun 30, 2008 | 8:45 pm

    amityville horror wrote:

    well this just completly rocks man

  41. Jul 7, 2008 | 5:40 pm

    Dom wrote:

    nice1 dude’s this will b jokes when i show it 2 the lads

  42. Jul 15, 2008 | 11:00 pm

    caca wrote:

    its so cool i did it at a empty parking lot i was a mess the wool flew off into a bush and it burned down

  43. Jul 16, 2008 | 4:06 pm

    cool kid wrote:

    cool I will try it later!

  44. Jul 18, 2008 | 6:57 pm

    joseph wrote:

    lol so cool. I want to try that!

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