Stainless Steel Chopsticks - uses?

[Koimum]

Well, I am having a senior moment. I purchased stainless steel chopsticks and now I can't remember why I wanted them. Help me out here please.#-o

What do you use them for? Thanks!!

JoAnn

[artsyuno]

Punties?

[ellyloo]

i've seen them used for making twisties adn stringer.

Where does one get stainless steel chopsticks, btw?

[DesertDreamer]

Punties for fast use, and most definitely for pulling stringer and twisties.

[bclogan]

I got mine off eBay. I can't find the seller I bought from, but he always had some out there. I just kept putting in a minimum bid and finally won one auction when no one else outbid me.

[Koimum]

i've seen them used for making twisties adn stringer.

Where does one get stainless steel chopsticks, btw?

I got the stainless steel Korean flat sided chopsticks at Glasscraft, Inc for $3.00. I happened across them when I was ordering the 3/16" mandrels for Pandora style beads.

Thanks, all! Now I have to find the stringer tut for the chopsticks.

JoAnn

[Toni Lutman]

I use ones I'd gotten from Val Cox a long time ago, and I love them! She put flexible clear tubing over the handles to make them thicker and easier to grip, so they're really easy to hold on to when I make twisties.

[jolly]

I have some from Val also and I love them.

[artwhim]

Pulling stringer is to easy with chopsticks! Get a ball of hot glass on the end of a rod, lightly heat up the end of the chopstick, push it slightly into the hot glass and pull. I find it easier to control the stringer thickness with chopsticks than anything else. Kate Fowle handed them out in the class I took with her.

[cadia]

I think I got mine from Heritage gls. and I use them more than any other tool , for punties, stringer twisites ( which I still suk at ) and for shaping ( espec the ends~ also suk at that!) But it's not their fault!!!

[jhana]

They are about 1 or 2 bucks a pair at the Asian food store near here.
They have a big grab bin full of them near the other utensils.

[kmd]

I am on my third or fourth pair of Stainless Steel chopsticks, which are indeed terrific for pulling stringers and twisties.

But, a word of warning, because they are hollow, they eventually burn through, and a little bit of water gets in, ( I quench mine in a mug of water) When the water heats up inside, they start vibrating. very odd sensation. Even odder when the steam bursts out from the hole when you don't expect it.

Now I know to buy in bulk, 5 sets for $15 around here , and keep an eye oout for holes in the end or feeling that strange vibration. Time to bin them.

KMD

[cghipp]

Check Glass has the chopsticks, too. I like them because the handles are a little easier to deal with if you're doing a long pull and your hands are sweaty.

[Toni Lutman]

I am on my third or fourth pair of Stainless Steel chopsticks, which are indeed terrific for pulling stringers and twisties.

But, a word of warning, because they are hollow, they eventually burn through, and a little bit of water gets in, ( I quench mine in a mug of water) When the water heats up inside, they start vibrating. very odd sensation. Even odder when the steam bursts out from the hole when you don't expect it.

Now I know to buy in bulk, 5 sets for $15 around here , and keep an eye oout for holes in the end or feeling that strange vibration. Time to bin them.

KMD

The one's I got from Val are solid. They're fairly heavy.

heh...I found my confirmation email from her when I got them. I've apparently been using them for 4 years. I use them regularly, and other than the melted rubber spot on one of the handles where I sat a hot rod on them, they're still going strong.

[Teague]

What are the benefits of using these over say a 1/8 mandrel?

Teague

[crystalflipz]

I usually get mine from this eBay seller
http://cgi.ebay.com/4-PAIRS-JAPANESE-CHINESE-STAINLESS-ST-CHOPSTICKS-9-IN_W0QQitemZ150166603489QQihZ005QQcategoryZ4003QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
He also has the solid, flat ones which are good for pulling flat canes. Prices are good, shipping really fast.

[Abacus Beads]

I got mine from Val way back when. I used it for making a rod out of some of the larger chunks of frit. Heat the chop stick red hot put it on a chunk of glass, put it back into the flame and repeat untill you have enough to pull a stringer or thin rod. It worked great for all of us who ordered glass rods from Olympic before they started there line of lampwork rods. What we got were rods that were ment for glass blowing about 4 inches thich and two feet long. I still have some of those if anyone is interested
Liz R