Hello folks!
I am currently working on a candle act, and I don't really have much more to say than, "Where can I get Slow burning flash paper?"
I don't even know if there is such a thing, but when Lance Burton does his candle act, he touches the flame, and throws it into the air. And it falls to the ground. If you don't know what I mean, search "Lance Burton" on google video.
When I try this, my flash paper just dissapears in a very fast flash, while his goes more slowly. He can actually throw it in the air, and it falls to the ground before dissapearing. I have tried match heads, but they seem not to be working well, so if someone can help me with this, it would be muchly appreaciated.
Thank you.

Get the flash paper wet a little with a mister. It will take some trial and error. Also try wrapping more paper in a tighter ball. These ideas combined may work...

DJ

Cigarette paper burns slow and dissapears idk how slow you want it though

I thought my life was complicated but making flash paper burn "slower"?

Well how about you move "faster" so it "appears" to burn "slower"?

You may consider using flash paper where appropriate and allow it to do what it does best. Properly used and placed it's flashy.

I don't mean to dissappoint ya but in the end, they'll recall it, if ever, as a "bright burst of fire!"...

You are in luck as there is such a thing. Obviously the smaller you "screw up" a ball of flash paper the quicker it burns but over here in the UK. It is possible to get hold of slow burning flash paper. This is the type that is usually used for tricks where you ask a spectator to write something on a piece of paper and then after you secretly get hold of the information it is lit in front of them and the "evidence" is burnt away. An example would be the popular centre tear effect.

I use this type of slow burning flash paper a fair bit, an example is where I hold the paper and it burns slowly and then changes into a silk which looks a lot better than a quick flash.

Stuart Brown

Derby (UK)

Cory,

Lance takes the flash bit from the top of the candle (we've had tons of arguments here but that's what I see), lights it on same candle, it bursts, and he produces the next candle.

It's that fast and he's not using any "slow burning" flash paper. That's it.

Maybe he's that good?

Yes.

You don't need "slow burning flash paper" as much as you need practice.

Yes, I know. I do have a lot of practice to work on. My candle act has been in the works for a few weeks now. (Not very long) But, I just find that for the thing I am going to do, a slower burn would work best. I use a big flash to great effect sometimes. I will no doubt be using it during the act. But, for ONE PHASE of the routine, I need a slower burn. Not necissarily because I NEED it, I could do it with a faster flash. But I think it would look prettier with a slower flash. At least for this phase. For the rest, I will be using normal flash paper.

Does flash cotton go any slower?

Thanks everyone!

Like Stuart mentioned, roll flash paper tighter. Depending on the dryness/wetness- flash cotton is fast.
You could also use a long strip or flash string.

There is slow burning flash paper, or you can just buy regular flash paper and store it for a year or so and it will burn slower. I do not think they intentionally make it slow burning, but usually the demo pads they stick in with a shipment is slower, I guess they would be called 'seconds'.

Now we are only talking milli-seconds, not minutes. As there is only one flash paper manufacturer, I guess you would get this product from them.

Flash cotton is even faster then flash paper.

I used to by a product called super flash, it was faster than regular flash paper.

Try the misting idea it worked for me.

So just spray normal flash paper with water, and it will burn slower?
Thanks, I will give it a try.

That is only going to speed up the combustion.

Try and wash some flash paper in bowl of water for a few minutes and let it dry out for a day. It will burn a little slower.

I found this out some time ago while experimenting with ways to dye flash paper. For those wondering how it turned out, I got decent colours with food colouring. But the paper didn't hold the colour well. And the paper turned somewhat transparent, and burned much slower.

Sincerely,
Wayne Stevenson
The SpookClub

I'm just curious if any of you guys are actually trying this before recommending it???

I roll or twist my flash paper up into tight balls for quicker, flashier flashes.

You are packing all this combustible material together close to each-other. The paper itself provides the fuel and oxygen. So it isn't like trying to ignite rolled up newspaper.

That is why it combusts so rapidly. So packing it tighter, allows more surface area to ignite in the same time frame.

Sincerely,
Wayne Stevenson
The SpookClub

If you roll it into a wad it will burn fast if it has gaps, it's got to be very tight.

I roll them up as tight as can be. "Gaps" would generally decrease the burn rate.

Sincerely,
Wayne Stevenson
The SpookClub

That makes sence. The tighter they are, the faster they burn.

Good afternoon fellow Magi,

You also see Rocco use slow burning paper as well.

Does he just use old or misted flash paper?
Thanks
D

Lance Burton and Rocco have not revealed their methods to anyone to my knowledge. Lance has not revealed anything he has worked out or invented for his act.

Dan Birch would be a good source for this. He's a very friendly man who always likes to help out.

http://www.danbirch.com