Hi, I'm looking to get a brand done in february next year.

The only two things I really want are:

1. For it to be a fire brand
2. For it to be done in one piece rather than several strikes

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has had something similar done before.

What is the best type of brand to use? A steak brand? One that's used for cattle? Or something i've never heard of?

I've heard that using livestock brands can mean a blobby, distorted result. I read somewhere that steak brands are good as the designs aren't as thick.

How hot does the brand need to be?

How long does it need to be on the skin? I've seen every video I could find and they all seem to hold them on for different amounts of time.

How far apart does each part of the design need to be so that it doesn't heal into other parts and create a weird blobby mess?

Basically I've hunted around the internet and the only consistent information I've come across is "Yes, branding is a thing that you can do."

Also, completely going out on a limb here but does anyone know someone in Queensland who has experience branding and who would take on a job from a pagan weirdo as part of an initiatory rite?

it is pretty likely you will have spreading with most methods of branding, though it depends on the size of the piece and the area of body it is on.

you could look into solar branding.

my brand was done with an electrocautery pen. it spread A TON from the original design.

It's going to be a very simple design. Basicall just four runes.
I was thinking of accounting for the spreading by getting a brand that's a thin as possible and spreading each rune slightly futher apart than looks right on the brand. That way, once they've healed and spread, it should look better and they shouldn't have bled into each other.

I'm hoping to have the brand done by a friend. He's a tattoo artist and I trust him in terms of infection control and the like.

It's important spiritually that the brand is heated in a fire rather than electrocautery or using the sun (though I love the idea of both of those and might pursue them for future projects).

around here, when going for the kind of brand you're looking for, we use silver and wait until the metal is no longer red hot before putting it against the skin, and only for two seconds or less

remember, your skin is about 1/3 the thickness of a cow's hide, that should not be interpreted as 1/3rd the resistance and yes about 1/10th or less, so take care, it's better to underdo and have to strengthen the design later than to overdo and need plastic surgery to disguise the fuck up