Hey guys, I was in the smoke shop today looking at ways to turn my bong into dab setup and the guy showed me something that looked like a little titanium hook that you just rest in the down stem after you heat it. After searching the internet I cannot for the life of me figure out what the hell they are called. Any help is appreciated! Also, yes I realize dome/nail/skillet options are the best and have used them all but I do not have the finances for such things right now.
They look similar to this, except there is a titanium skillet on the end that you dab on. And as I have said the smaller hook at the top just clamps it to your downstem to keep it in there. Anyone heard of this?
Yeah they aren't the vapor curves with skillets its something else. I guess i'll just try to stop by the headshop tomorrow and check it out again
yeah thats what I meant, like go back to the headshop and either find out what they're called or take some pics for us haha. I'm curious now, I wanna know what this thing is!
OP, They are called "ladles" I have one. They are great and work on almost any kind of bowl. Just heat up the ladle and drape it over the edge of the bowl so that the Ti dish is inside the bowl...dab away. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME33WLPeNN0[/ame]
I can't imagine that thing fitting in any of my bowls, most my slides have one-hit bowls, and even the ones that don't don't have bowls anywhere near as deep as that thing he was using in the video, looks like he has a special type of piece not a regular bowl. If these are super cheap I can kinda see their purpose I guess, but idk I'm just not feelin that thing haha, everything about it looks sketchy to me.
HAHAHA! Not sketchy at all...I just hit three dabs on mine a couple minutes ago! They work like a charm! "...won't fit any of your bowls..." you say? Well, just take the bowl out, completely and hang the ladle over the down tube (Did you watch the video @ the 1:00 minute mark?). It's a pretty ingenius invention, actually! It's the PERSON I bought it from who is sketchy!
I don't like the idea of holding my hand that close to a flame and red hot metal, I don't like how wobbly it appears to be when it sits in the bowl piece or downstem, and I don't like how you're literally putting that red hot metal inside your tube, nails are acceptable to me because they sit away from the joint and have the middle piece to diffuse heat more haha, like I've seen people with nails that are almost flush with the joint; I would NEVER use one of those on my tubes, I'm too overprotective with my glass and I know repeatedly getting glass very hot is bad for it. Also, I couldn't hang that in my downtube either, the main piece I dab with currently has a recessed joint, and the other one is a 45 degree joint Like I said I see where its purposes lie, I was just saying I don't find it at all useful to myself personally, and I'd actually recommend people against it if they can help it, as it doesn't seem incredibly safe if you're concerned about keeping your glass in pristine condition
Yes! That is what I'm talking about. And yes as I said I realize they are the best thing to use but I have friends who have been using them on their glass for over a year without any damage to the glass. And I still cannot fins anywhere that sells these online anyone have any links?
LOL! It won't harm borosilicate glass. Any torch and any nail setup are going to be semi-dangerous. I've heard and read many skillet burn stories, too. Being careful around torches and glowing titanium, glass rods, Hakko/HerbIrons, etc. is always a given. I don't know where to get them. I got mine a year ago as part of an incomplete order I made with Drew Carver at DWB. As far as I know, he has fallen off the face of the Earth. And, btw, the "incomplete" part of my order was the dome that was supposed to come with the ladle. It's basically a deep bowl -like the ones in the video. I never got that. But, I found that the ladle works with my Hi-Si bowl quite well. I guess I can say, first-hand, that it's been safe so far....and really easy to use.
you say that, my experience with hot ti and boro says differently, pieces are most definitely weakened over time by exposure to high heat. now this may never be visibly noticeable, but the heat can cause stresses in the glass, thats why people recommend you don't leave your dome on with a hot nail, especially a nice heady dome; because it can weaken it over time.
Well, me and the guy's friends who have used theirs for over a year without harm say otherwise. We actually own them and have hands-on experience with them...so...well...there you go. There's actually hardly any direct contact between the hot titanium and the glass, anyway. The handle of the ladle is made of flexible titanium wire and you configure it to hang into the dome. Maybe part of the edge of the hot titanium might touch the side, but not enough to heat up the glass -any more than a cherried bowl of weed would do. I don't buy heady glass. I buy straight, scientific style glass...so maybe heating causes damage to heady pieces -? Extended heating hasn't harmed any of my clear boro glass pieces. That, I can say, for sure.
Im pretty sure i have seen what your talking about op. Like a thin strip of Titanium that fits a male joint with like a little bowl/dish on top. Similiar to that laddle posted, but its meant to fit into a male joint. They looked like they would work fine, but the Ti was super thin. It would heat up really quick, but it probably wouldnt retain heat well. Would also oxidize really fast. But if your on a budget, and they are cheap, go for it. A nail, dome & adapter is probably a little more efficient but can be a little pricey
You're not understanding what I said. Of course you haven't noticed anything, you're probably careful with your glass right? But I guarantee you its been weakened over time, if an accident were to happen it'll be more likely to break. and it doesn't matter if its touching the glass or not, if its sitting in the joint its gonna be close enough to the glass to transfer quite a bit of heat, I've seen my male to male adapter shatter from a 2 foot drop onto thick soft carpet while it was still warm after a dab
So, then...I haven't experienced any noticeable difference in my glass after using a ladle....and the guy's friends haven't had any problem, either...but your suspicions say otherwise....and you have no experience with using a ladle...? But if you drop a piece of glass from 2 ft. and it breaks, then it's because it was still warm after a dab....and not because you dropped it? Okay.
Its not a suspicion haha, glass does not typically break from a minuscule drop onto a padded surface. Also you're omitting that it is a piece of glass that had been exposed to the high heat needed for dabbing for quite some time. I know how heat exposure effects glass because I have experienced it, as well as heard about it from actual glassblowers. If you keep heating up glass to temperatures even close to what you need to dab and cooling it back down, it eventually starts to crack. like I said; I see that they have their uses, looks awesome to have in a pinch, but I know from experience that long term exposure to heat like that is not healthy for glass.