A guy at the county fair told me my twist was wrong

I was showing a simple fire poker with a basic rope twist at our local fair in Springfield last fall, and this older man walked up, pointed right at it, and said 'You started the twist from the wrong end, it'll never hold right.' I've been doing it that way for maybe five years now, and honestly, I'm not sure he's right, but it's been stuck in my head ever since. Do you think the starting point of a twist actually changes how strong it is?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanejackson1mo ago

What kind of metal were you using for that poker? I've heard steel vs iron can make a difference with how a twist sets.

lee_gibson17d ago

Honestly I thought it was all the same until I tried steel.

noahlane1mo ago

Yeah, what @shanejackson said about the metal type matters more than where you start the twist. The grain structure and how you heat it changes the final strength way more. That guy was probably just repeating something he heard once.