Cheap, high - quality nails

Seemed like a lot of interest on the Cheap high - quality glass thread that we should start a new thread to discuss nails that are high quality, but (relatively) low cost.

I haven't seen any health concerns over the ceramic, quartz and glass nails on ebay. Some question their durability, or attention to detail.

Most inexpensive Ti nails are from China, and have sparked a pretty good debate, or rather a closed subject, that these nails could be dangerous, because of small amounts of other metals like Aluminum.

Some companies are making nails in the US with documented grade 2 Ti, and making them for pretty low prices. http://www.new-vape.com/

 

I am pretty interested to see where this thread goes. Out of curiosity, what does every one consider cheap for a nail?

 

I am currently using a $40 castle quartz domeless from Chief Cottonmouth.
The nail is awesome, but I would recommend going ANYWHERE other than Chief Cottonmouth.

I paid the up-charge for express shipping, and they waited over a week to put it in the mail... it sent express, but still arrived late as fuck. The entire time they remained entirely unresponsive to my emails and the most absent customer support I have ever experienced.

IMO, there are too many GREAT retailers to buy from them again- especially when so many look out for FC members and provide discounts.


All that said, I really love the Castle Quartz Domeless. It broke in nearly immediately (no real curing to speak of), and is a nice target for dropping bhombs. Cleans real easy too, just torch the fuck out of it

 

I'm interested in the castle design. They're available on ebay, for around $15. I got one from Bake Bros. that was poorly made however. base was uneven - it wouldn't sit flat, and the slits were all over the place. Greenbuddahshop has one that looks good: http://www.ebay.com/itm/14MM-DOMELE...496?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce0bdb3e0

Do you cap that nail? If so, what are you using?

I got my domeless quartz from these guys http://www.ebay.com/itm/E-E-14MM-DO...093?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e49cf8c5
for less than $10. It's a cheap nail, but good.

 

My favorite nail for the past couple months has been a $19.99 quartz domeless I got from the Green Buddha Shop:

http://www.greenbuddhashop.com/100-DOMELESS-QUARTZ-NAILS-TI-PICK-DQN3.htm



Tastes great and I feel like it hits better than the few Ti nails that I've had... I have a 14mm female and an 18mm male for different rigs.

I'm expecting this one in a few days, $29.99, 18mm male for my new Cory Glass Designs recycler:

http://www.greenbuddhashop.com/14MM-OR-18MM-MALE-OR-FEMALE-JOINTS-QUARTZ-CUPS-NAILS-FQB.htm



After having tried a few different Ti nails, glass, and quartz, I find that I prefer the quartz. They heat up fast, taste nice, are more durable than I expected, and are inexpensive. I honestly like my $20 domeless quartz better than my HE flux w/ turbine top, which cost closer to $50, although I'm sure the HE will outlast the quartz.

Anyway, at this point, Green Buddha shop is my preferred source for nails. I hope to pick up one of these soon, to try:

http://www.greenbuddhashop.com/CERAMIC-DOME-LESS-NAILS-WAX-BHO-OIL-10MM14MM18MM-CDN.htm



I'll be watching this thread with interest!

 

Great thread guys. I'm just getting into nails so this should be very educational.

 

This is apparently greenbuddhashop on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/dqcountry/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

titaniumedgeshop has that nail too & I got a 18mm male. It's a solid hunk of ceramic, holds the heat well.
http://stores.ebay.com/titaniumedgeeebrand/

 

@pigfoot ~ I do not cap it, but I have not really tried yet.

To be honest, I have enough trouble with clammy hands and trying to drop relatively small bhombs before they stick to me, that I have not considered trying to cap it- I have just been working on the basics

I started off using a dabber, and I think that works well if you want a slower hit, but I have really started to enjoy simply dropping. I feel it is more efficient as I always had residue left over on the dabber.

 

I call my new castle technique "the worm" I just get a big chunk of shatter and snap it off and roll it out like back in grade school. stick that on the dabber and use it like a poker to dab the tip of the worm. mine actually forms a little head... so instead of a pile of little balls for my shaky hands to drop (it actually became a problem) I just slowly work my way through a slug o gold. ill snap a pic and post it in the noobs thread.

sorry for a slight derail, but consider this my sub. I have the same nail as @FlyingLow and a cup quarts that was dirt cheap. both work great. I will be checking out some greenbuddha quartz later on for sure.

 

Kewl, I always love pics

I was about to post more ?s in here, and would be equally as relevant in the noob thread:

With cheap quality quartz nails, and the great flavor they offer, what benefits does a user gain by upgrading to ceramic or titanium? What are the properties, and pros/cons of each?

 

personally I have invested in a ceramic nail just to test this, I find them to be neat... but mine is already cracked and the taste of quartz is just as good if not better. I do not like or use Ti so will not judge. I didnt like the taste of Ti and my experience consisted of a boroworks Ti pad swing arm curve and a vapenwiser ti nail.

quartz for me is best. I plan to just collect more quartz gadgets hence fourth til a new material emerges.

 

Which quartz styles are your favorites so far?
there are so many different options these days... bangers, castles, domes, swing pads, etc.

 

First cheap domeless I got was from XcentriX Designs. They are about $20. Only thing I did not like was the center post was recessed and easy to suck a dab into.

http://stores.ebay.com/XcentriX-Designs

It says US made and they list their purchase order and lab test of their raw materials.

 

I use my castle every day its so simple to hit the center of the flower for 10 or 20 seconds (depending on how lifted I am) and dab. but im interested in bangers for novelties sake...

 

Easy slugs of GOLD!

and a castle quartz. love this style nail.

btw I think it helps the flavor if you dont totally burn tgat pad clean every time... that is what most would refer to as seasoning. the dark area is not black, its actually konda light brown creamy color when cool.

also, thats not 1 dab... thats like 10+ dabs done slug style.

 

Loving the banger type. Only other quartz I have tried are cheap dome type nails. I also have a HE Dual Ti with Cap that I bought from @Mynameismud.

 

I am another Quartzcastle fan! I use one from Chris Schuler glass, made locally-to-me in Olympia, WA.
Some info is available on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Quartzcastle/141599862696439 <- They have their phone number listed and you can call to purchase nails direct!

They are $40 in most stores that I've seen them in, and usually $45 online. For example:

http://smokinjs.com/brand/quartz-castle/

*I am not a customer of Smokin J's, I just saw they carried the nail.


They perform very well! I torch until the nail retains a little red for a half second on the top of the castle, let it cool for 15 seconds, apply concentrate and immediately cap with a carb cap! Better flavor than my spendy American made Grade 2 Ti nail too!

 

Yup, I'm working on the basics too. If I can get temp/dab/inhale right, and get a tasty low-temp dab, I'm happy!

Well Ti is sturdier of course, will last a long time. Heats quicker too. Ceramic can be torched to self clean, but didn't seem to taste quite as good as quartz, and apparently has a shorter life.

I'd like to try Ti at some point, but if quartz tastes better anyway, I'm not in a rush.

I like domeless over dome/nail, just easier, better view of the nail, less parts to clean. At my level, I'm just focused on getting the technique right, but I would like to try a castle.

Yup, that's another brand that is documenting their Ti source. Hopefully more manufacturers will get on board with that.

I'm still experimenting with this, but if I combust, the dark brown deposits make the next dab taste like crap. Gotta burn that off for good flavor. I only did a couple of heat cycles on my domeless quartz, and it
tasted great. The tan/amber deposits don't seem to have an effect.

What are you using to cap the castle nail? I assume the cap doesn't completely close off the nail, because the slits go slightly down the sides?

 

I just ordered one of these nails from dpcountry/greenbuddhashop:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261468566496?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
$14 shipped. Quality looks quite good on the picture
I really like these direct inject style nails. Minimal heat transfer to the piece, never stick, fits well and low cost.

 

really the 30 dollar cost and joint on it is the only reason I havnt gotten a banger.

 

Rock on! If anyone is interested I know of a place to get a banger for $100. It's not quave but it's quartz and looks just as good. 14 and 18mm available in both male and female

 

If you look at Meghan's post above, she ordered one for $30

 

I am glad that @pigfoot finally started this thread because it was long overdue.

Anyways I have owned or tried pretty much every nail out there except ceramic. I am not even interested in wasting my time with ceramic which I am sure will be broken in no time no matter how careful. It seems that the only way to not break them is to not use them.

The type of nail people use is based on preference. Like I said I have tried them all and when it comes to my preference I choose quartz.

And hands the best design that I have used is the Banger! I seriously cannot emphasize enough how anyone who dabs should own one.

I don't know what people are considering cheap but I cannot imagine a single person regretting the $30 it cost to get one of these.

It will save you money in the long run because you won't end up buying a bunch of different nails that just aren't good enough.

 

im going to help by setting a price tag of sub 50 for a cheap nail. with 50 being more like ti....

I think the banger and castle are contenders for real. just need a banger to be sure... maybe when I get a rig sold... I keep knocking the prices down but there they set.

 

If you don't mind, would you give us some info on why the banger is better? I could see for doing bhombs,
but so far I just dab, and small ones at that. Looks like it would have less heat retention....... How about the
castle style? That looks like it would work as well.