boro stix?

[d2063614]

are they good and easy to use or should i spend the extra 20-30$ a pound and get northstar, alchemy, or momka? and what does 1 pound of colours glass look like? is about 5 of the 20" by 7mm rods 1pound or what? or should i go for the odds and seconds northstar for 5$ cheaper?

[menty666]

borostix are good and fairly easy to use; but you typically want to remix them and pull them into a usable sized rod.

NS/GA/Momka are all good purchases too. I'd say mostly it depends on what you want to do. BX is all opaques, though you can mix them down with clear. The others run the gamut.

A pound of most colors is around 6-7 20" rods. A pound of borostix rods is closer to a sandwich baggie full, but they're only 4" or so long.

Odds and seconds are a good way to experiment, just keep in mind they're odd or seconded for a reason and may not reflect first quality behavior.

[berningglass]

i use borostix daily. some colors are better than others, but i have a use for most of them. i also use alot of the NS odds. i don't mind the odd shape rods, and love the cheaper price. i usually wait until someone has odds on sale and buy as much as i can afford. i've been buyin odds on sale for the last year, haven't saved any money, but i have a lot of color. i've only used seconds a couple times , never been happy.

[d2063614]

thank you both for your imput i think i may try a pound of both or something or i may buy a 10" sample pack from one of the well known brands then get a pound of borosticks. it just seems like colour goes away soooo fast. like i just used stringers and such and all my colour was gone in a couple days although i only got like 1/2 a pound. but i want to do stick stack stuff for pendants and such and i can see colour just vanishing befor my eyes haha.


kk scrapped the glass sample pack idea id have to get it shipped from like north carolina or just the us and i live in canada bc so shipping will cost sooo much X3... so can anyone suggest a bunch of colours that are nice looking and semi not expensive as hell

[Karen Hardy]

I don't really think that you can compare the two.
I mean, sure - they are both boro - but they are such
different animals.

I love "Regular" boro, because of the effects I can get in the
flame, and with proper annealing. I love the depth and the
paperweight effect when I pair it with clear.

I love borosticks because they are mostly WYSIWYG (some
do fade a bit in the fire if you work em too hot),
and I know that if I need a solid color, I can get what I
need from borosticks. Plus, they make a great base for
building on - adding colors on top, making GREAT twisties,
and anything else that uses solid color.

The problem with buying seconds are, they are usually an off
color of a popular one. Like, they ran a batch of blue, and
it came out lighter than normal, so they call it a second.
These are good and bad. Good because they are cheaper.
Bad because 1) you usually can't get more of the same
color once it runs out, and 2) sometimes the effects you
were hoping for don't always pan out. With seconds, they can't
always tell you how it will behave because THEY don't know.
So you take a chance there.

Odds are sometimes funky shapes and sizes. They often
have stones in them or some other stuff. Personally, I stay
away from them, but that's just me.

Your best bet is to get a sample pack. All the Manufacturers
offer one (or two, or three) and this will give you a chance to
try out their whole line. Make sure to take LOTS of notes, and
read the kit notes that come with some of the packs telling
you how to work the color. It's very informative.


Oh, and clear is your best friend. Use it liberally and in mass quantity.
Don't waste color glass for the inside of the beads - start your beads
out with clear, and then put a layer of color OVER that. I use clear
for bead guts all the time. Clear is VERY cheap, and when you use it
over colored boro, you get some awesome effects!

edited: got odds and seconds backwards - fixed it, all better!

[sunray]

Try some of the shorts.. Pm me your address and I'll send you a few to try.
When I sell them I sometimes include a color chart so you can figure out what colors they are.

[Mr. Meker]

You've got it backwards. Odds are odd shaped, but normal chemistry.
Seconds are normally normal shaped but different chemistry.

[Karen Hardy]

Originally Posted by meker

You've got it backwards. Odds are odd shaped, but normal chemistry.
Seconds are normally normal shaped but different chemistry.

Depends on the MFG.

Here's from one:

Seconds mean that there was a slight variation in color to the regular formula.

Odds mean a variation in size, even per rod - could have a skinny end and be thick at the other.

(although, I will add that - in the soft glass world, ODD lots
usually refer to the opposite. An odd lot color in soft glass is
usually a variation on a normal color. Hence, why there are
about a gazillion odd lots of coral). Very confusing. I'm going
to have another beer and ponder this....

[menty666]

Wait....I thought odds were chemistry variations and seconds were out of tolerance rod thicknesses, seed or bubble inclusions, etc?

I get the feeling it may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

[G.L.McBead]

seconds has stones and off color
odd is first quallity just odd shape

[sundanceartglass]

I love Borostix - They have great pastelish colors and solid colors no other manufacturer offers. And they aren't any harder to use that regular boro with the exception that they are only 4". But I just punty 'em onto a clear boro rod and voila!!

(Plus we have them on sale right now

Odds are ok.
Seconds are a great way to get a cheap cost, but if you ever want to duplicate something you made - no guarantee that color will ever match again.

Happy Glassing!

[Bunyip]

Borostix are great but they're mostly non-reactive, and non-striking, so really even with all the colors they offer they are only part of the boro palette.

I'd suggest at Minimum ALSO picking up the following Northstar colors: Turquesa, Pomegranite, Amber Purple, Double Amber Purple, Blue moon, Butterscotch and/or caramel, plus Onyx or Jet Black (Borostix blacks are finicky or so I hear). That will give you some good reactive colors to play with too

Glass alchemy has many excellent reactive colors also, but I only use a few from them (I love Solara and Amazon Night), so I based my recommendations on what I know.

[Ed_Slawson]

I find the borostick white is the best boro white, it does not boil easily like most all other whites. It is soft and buttery, it pulls down to thin stringer and is still opaque white. Most other boro whites need to be tubing encased to use for fine stringer work, not so w/ borostick white. Coated over a 12 or 15mm clear rod, and pulled out to a 4 or 5 mm rod gives you a beautiful pearlescent, translucent color.

[szglassy]

I love the color selection of borosticks.

I have an issue with " dotting" or making dots with them. I find that on the tip or surface of my dot it tends to get a greyish lineor yucky finish.
I do clear coat them.

Any suggestions??

[berningglass]

if i make dots with borostix i always put a second dot on top(not a borostix color).i always get that greyish at the end even if it's encased with clear.

[Karen Hardy]

Originally Posted by menty666

Wait....I thought odds were chemistry variations and seconds were out of tolerance rod thicknesses, seed or bubble inclusions, etc?

I get the feeling it may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Originally Posted by G.L.McBead

seconds has stones and off color
odd is first quallity just odd shape

You know what - it really does seem to vary from manufacturer to
manufacturer. It's very confusing. The seconds that I got from NS a while ago have stones
and are not as nice as the regular batches. Their "Uniques"
line is what I consider to be their "Odds" or color variations
on regular batches.

GA has their boutique color line (revolution 33) which is
kind of a combo of Odds, and interesting new things (like their
Wizard sticks and shards).

Tag has their "rare and special" experimental line.

And again - in the soft glass world, seconds are considered
just that - second quality, whereas Odds are considered
Odd lots of an original color and are usually worth MORE
$$$ than the originals sometimes.

Very confusing. I wish the glass Mgf's would pow-wow and
come to an agreement regarding terminology so as
not to confuse everyone.

[rjglassartist]

Boro stix are great. They have a "creamy" way about them, which I love. Altho, some colors are better than others. And the white is the best white around, cased or not.

[szglassy]

So "double dot" is the way to go when "dotting" with borostix

[Ro]

borostix white is pretty much the only white i use. unless anyone can point me to a new non bubbly formula other than it that i havent recently tried.
it is soft though so good over a clear base to give it some stiffness for larger sculpture.
ro

[cheng076]

Ro, Try Chinese White from TAG

[boxcutter]

generally, the $35/lb sticks are best, imo.
work stiff and far-out in a super-oxy flame atmosphere (especially uncased coilpotting) and shit is butter. even if it looks funky at first, it'll melt smooth and consistant.

white, lilac (or whatever the dark purp is...great in implosions), carribean blue, and blush are all amazing.

it's easy to get phase seperation if you abuse them too rapidly. bent sticks are best for coilpotting. i've seen a sizelove vid where he stick-stacks the clean, straight ones no prob. fantastic results...