cheap quartz nail question

[Jman5280]

I was given a "no-name" quartz banger, and when I seasoned it, I got a weird plastic smell.

I found some threads that suggested import quartz bangers can have impurities like aluminum in them. However, I have yet to find any credible sources.

If this was true, that impurities such as aluminum are used to make cheap quartz, wouldn't whatever impurities get destroyed in the process if making the quartz? Isn't quartz made at a much higher temp?

Is there any reason I should be concerned to use a import quartz banger?


Thanks!

 

[farscaper]

I was given a "no-name" quartz banger, and when I seasoned it, I got a weird plastic smell.

I found some threads that suggested import quartz bangers can have impurities like aluminum in them. However, I have yet to find any credible sources.

If this was true, that impurities such as aluminum are used to make cheap quartz, wouldn't whatever impurities get destroyed in the process if making the quartz? Isn't quartz made at a much higher temp?

Is there any reason I should be concerned to use a import quartz banger?


Thanks!

this sounds like your first experience with quartz yes? make sure you didnt overheat and combust that first dab cause when I have combusted dabs in the past it usually has a petroleum/ plastic flavor and smell.

I like quartz better for flavor but titanium is usually easier to drive since its thermal properties are a little more stable across its mass.

try lower temp dabs with a carb cap and you should see improvement in the quartz. they need a little breaking In to get used to if its your first. you have to find the sweet spot unless your using an enail.

cheers.

 

[Jman5280]

this sounds like your first experience with quartz yes? make sure you didnt overheat and combust that first dab cause when I have combusted dabs in the past it usually has a petroleum/ plastic flavor and smell.

I like quartz better for flavor but titanium is usually easier to drive since its thermal properties are a little more stable across its mass.

try lower temp dabs with a carb cap and you should see improvement in the quartz. they need a little breaking In to get used to if its your first. you have to find the sweet spot unless your using an enail.

cheers.

Kind of my first, but with my old quartz nail I didn't remember that plastic smell.

I was more worried about what import quartz could made of, and if anyone has heard of any problems with using it. After reading some uncredited sources online, I got thinking that maybe these quartz nails were releasing something, and that was why I was worried with the plastic smell.

I found several threads were people suggested import quartz being dangerous due to impurities like aluminum and other metals. I'm trying to figure out if I should even bother using this cheap nail, or toss it.

Wouldn't any impurities get destroyed in the heating process while making the quartz?

 

[turdhole]

i think quartz is the one of the most abundant things on earth. my thinking would be that it would cost more to add aluminum or whatever metals to it than it would just using quartz.

source. my brain, no real research done

 

[Jman5280]

i think quartz is the one of the most abundant things on earth. my thinking would be that it would cost more to add aluminum or whatever metals to it than it would just using quartz.

source. my brain, no real research done

I think people were saying that adding the impurities made it easier to work with, faster to heat up.

Just read these:

http://allglass.com/blogs/news/3821...anger-watergate-part-ii-sosh-digs-self-deeper

https://m.reddit.com/r/CannabisExtracts/comments/315dy0/china_quartz_banger_safe/

The thought of impurities in cheap quartz is enough for me to toss this out. To the trash...

 

[herbivore21]

Just read these:

http://allglass.com/blogs/news/3821...anger-watergate-part-ii-sosh-digs-self-deeper

https://m.reddit.com/r/CannabisExtracts/comments/315dy0/china_quartz_banger_safe/

The thought of impurities in cheap quartz is enough for me to toss this out. To the trash...

Thanks for posting this! Whoa, those colored caps are super fucked up on the borobook story! Jesus!

 

[pigfoot]

This is an interesting topic. My guess is, domestic manufacturers are trying to reduce competition by Chinese copycat vendors (understandable), by stretching the truth a bit (not cool). There's plenty of posts from people guessing, or theorizing, that something is added to the quartz, with zero evidence to back this up. Some posters seemed to have glass blowing experience, and say "quartz is quartz".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_quartz#Product_quality
"There are many differences between borosilicate glass and quartz, either pure- or synthetic-fused silica types. The main differences are the percentage of compounds and the percentage of silica or SiO2 in the glass. Borosilicate is usually in the 80% range, while quartz is over 99%. Quartz is also capable of handling much higher temperatures up to 1,100° C. Quartz is typically used for high temperature applications, or where optical quality or dielectric properties are critical. Impurities in borosilicate glass are measured in percent; impurities in quartz are measured in PPM."

 

[Jman5280]

This is an interesting topic. My guess is, domestic manufacturers are trying to reduce competition by Chinese copycat vendors (understandable), by stretching the truth a bit (not cool). There's plenty of posts from people guessing, or theorizing, that something is added to the quartz, with zero evidence to back this up. Some posters seemed to have glass blowing experience, and say "quartz is quartz".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_quartz#Product_quality
"There are many differences between borosilicate glass and quartz, either pure- or synthetic-fused silica types. The main differences are the percentage of compounds and the percentage of silica or SiO2 in the glass. Borosilicate is usually in the 80% range, while quartz is over 99%. Quartz is also capable of handling much higher temperatures up to 1,100° C. Quartz is typically used for high temperature applications, or where optical quality or dielectric properties are critical. Impurities in borosilicate glass are measured in percent; impurities in quartz are measured in PPM."

Thanks for this post. I ended up tossing my cheap quartz and buying a reputable brand.

It wasn't worth knowing that the cheap quartz could be releasing impurities into my smoke, or also making the quartz weaker by using impurities....

Might be overkill, but better safe than sorry I suppose.

 

[weenstoned]

If you wanna buy into fear-mongering then sure better safe than sorry. Just sayin' I only hear about the dangers of Chinese quartz from those selling North American quartz. Google conflict of interest.

 

[Jman5280]

If you wanna buy into fear-mongering then sure better safe than sorry. Just sayin' I only hear about the dangers of Chinese quartz from those selling North American quartz. Google conflict of interest.

Did you read the links above? I'd say it's a bit more than fear mongering...

 

[weenstoned]

Did you read the links above? I'd say it's a bit more than fear mongering...

You mean a bunch of people saying stuff they heard (never naming a source) and an acid test from a dude who sells North American bangers? Ya I did read it. The only legit fear I saw was those painted caps which honestly could have been the supplier lying to borobook (maybe not), also kinda moot now that some Chinese vendors are selling legit american glass colors (Clean & Clear Glass). The only shitty thing the Borobook dude did was claim they were not Chinese and over-price them, to determine that Chinese quartz is somehow not pure or unsafe from that just seems silly.

 

[davesmith]

I got a super cheap, thin quartz banger as a quick nail for a party the other day. When I hit it a very strong plastic odour was present. Now some have said heavy wall quartz will do the same if you over heat it and the reason is that because its thin its easier to over heat. Anyone with a decent banger fancy torch cleaning and then pulling on the piece to see if they can taste anythin?

I still rock a boro nail at home haha, I rarely dab alone so its more than adaquate. Want to grab a sic or ceramic but when I dab I'm always with people and they always have nice nails etc so its not that pressing.

Interesting thread, I'm very much of the quartz is quartz but that plastic taste was so highly pronounced!

Peace

 

[pigfoot]

I got a super cheap, thin quartz banger as a quick nail for a party the other day. When I hit it a very strong plastic odour was present. Now some have said heavy wall quartz will do the same if you over heat it and the reason is that because its thin its easier to over heat. Anyone with a decent banger fancy torch cleaning and then pulling on the piece to see if they can taste anythin?

I still rock a boro nail at home haha, I rarely dab alone so its more than adaquate. Want to grab a sic or ceramic but when I dab I'm always with people and they always have nice nails etc so its not that pressing.

Interesting thread, I'm very much of the quartz is quartz but that plastic taste was so highly pronounced!

Peace

That's what happens when the nail is too hot, you get a plastic taste. Try letting it cool for a while before hitting it. I heat mine enough so any residue burns off, then start a countdown. I use a timer app on my phone, right now I'm up to 60 seconds of cool down, for a tasty, low temp dab. Yours may need less time. Hyman has really good quartz bangers cheap, I like the 3mm thick ones.

 

[herbivore21]

Hmm one question we should consider is what kind of a torch was being used in the case of funky smell above? Of course, like others said, if you just dabbed while the nail was still too hot it's gonna get that nasty smell/taste too.

A propane torch for example can absolutely get hotter than the melting point of a fused quartz, leading to degradation of the quartz. Especially a smaller thermal mass of quartz (smaller piece/functional equivalent due to lack of surface area etc) will get fucked up from torching long before a thicker, larger thermal mass will.

 

[ReeferChiefer]

Impurities in cheap Quartz being hazardous to your health is entirely based on tactful fear mongering and/or urban legend that recently caught attention.

Unless there is actual studies with testable and verifiable results, as any other health hazard are determined and published, people are simply being duped into emptying out their wallets for simple peace of mind.

The choice is yours, but if it was up to me I'd rather save you that money and assure you that you're ok health wise smoking out of cheap Quartz. But if you're willing to believe what you find on the interwebs without confirmation, I doubt anything could convince you otherwise.

 

[Rare]

yall got me paranoid.. other than qcb, whats a actually good and reliable source for a quartz banger? I say other than because $160 isnt too feasible at the moment.

 

[pigfoot]

Impurities in cheap Quartz being hazardous to your health is entirely based on tactful fear mongering and/or urban legend that recently caught attention.

Unless there is actual studies with testable and verifiable results, as any other health hazard are determined and published, people are simply being duped into emptying out their wallets for simple peace of mind.

The choice is yours, but if it was up to me I'd rather save you that money and assure you that you're ok health wise smoking out of cheap Quartz. But if you're willing to believe what you find on the interwebs without confirmation, I doubt anything could convince you otherwise.

yall got me paranoid.. other than qcb, whats a actually good and reliable source for a quartz banger? I say other than because $160 isnt too feasible at the moment.

Doesn't seem like anyone here is encouraging paranoia - the consensus appears to be that quartz is quartz, and cheap quartz is perfectly safe. I like hymanquartz01 on dhgate. The 3mm bangers work well, and hold plenty of heat. The "qfz" style carb cap didn't work too well for me - seems to not fit well enough to reduce air flow. But lots of things can carb a banger.

 

[Rare]

yeah, no one is encouraging paranoia, but they're posting possibilities as to what could be cut with my quartz. i bought a cheap banger from amazon, emailed the guy for reassurance and he claims his bangers are 100 percent quartz and made in the US. I guess i'll have to trust him.. It's sort of one of those elitism things at this point (for me at least)

 

[ReeferChiefer]

yeah, no one is encouraging paranoia, but they're posting possibilities as to what could be cut with my quartz. i bought a cheap banger from amazon, emailed the guy for reassurance and he claims his bangers are 100 percent quartz and made in the US. I guess i'll have to trust him.. It's sort of one of those elitism things at this point (for me at least)

It's also possible the glass bongs you smoke out of have impurities in them as well, but no need to freak out about it.

This topic has made me go out of the way and learn more about quartz than I ever cared to. Here, take a look and read. I will point out some key info.

http://www.quartzpage.de/gen_chem.html

"Purity of Quartz Crystals
Unlike most minerals, a clear quartz crystal is always chemically pure, with a SiO2-content approaching 99.5%, often more. There are basically two reasons for this.

First, quartz has a macromolecular structure. It does not contain isolated ions of some element that could easily be replaced by another element. If, for example, a salt (a compound made of isolated ions held together by electrostatic forces) grows in a watery solution, its ions could be almost arbitrarily replaced as long as the size and charge of the replacing ions have an identical value.

Second, the three-dimensional network of SiO4 tetrahedra is quite rigid. Many minerals can tolerate relatively large amounts of certain other atoms and/or ions in their crystal lattice without showing great deviations in their physical properties[9]. The color might change completely, but the crystals appear clear and uniform, as the crystal lattice is somewhat flexible or spacious and maintains its original structure as a whole. The crystal lattice of quartz, however, is tight and very inflexible (making it hard but brittle), and only very small amounts of a number of other elements with small cations (usually Li, Na, H) can be built in during growth without distorting the structure of the lattice. “

TL;DR

If the cheap $10 china Quartz looks as crystal clear and withstands heat just as much as the $150+ american made Quartz, they are equally as pure, up to 99% pure.

 

[herbivore21]

It's also possible the glass bongs you smoke out of have impurities in them as well, but no need to freak out about it.

This topic has made me go out of the way and learn more about quartz than I ever cared to. Here, take a look and read. I will point out some key info.

http://www.quartzpage.de/gen_chem.html

"Purity of Quartz Crystals
Unlike most minerals, a clear quartz crystal is always chemically pure, with a SiO2-content approaching 99.5%, often more. There are basically two reasons for this.

First, quartz has a macromolecular structure. It does not contain isolated ions of some element that could easily be replaced by another element. If, for example, a salt (a compound made of isolated ions held together by electrostatic forces) grows in a watery solution, its ions could be almost arbitrarily replaced as long as the size and charge of the replacing ions have an identical value.

Second, the three-dimensional network of SiO4 tetrahedra is quite rigid. Many minerals can tolerate relatively large amounts of certain other atoms and/or ions in their crystal lattice without showing great deviations in their physical properties[9]. The color might change completely, but the crystals appear clear and uniform, as the crystal lattice is somewhat flexible or spacious and maintains its original structure as a whole. The crystal lattice of quartz, however, is tight and very inflexible (making it hard but brittle), and only very small amounts of a number of other elements with small cations (usually Li, Na, H) can be built in during growth without distorting the structure of the lattice. “

TL;DR

If the cheap $10 china Quartz looks as crystal clear and withstands heat just as much as the $150+ american made Quartz, they are equally as pure, up to 99% pure.

Actually quartz ain't quartz man. I really am not trying to be a fly in the ointment but there are actually a variety of different kinds of fused quartz with various physical/chemical properties.

See page 8 of the following text for a table giving a breakdown of various different optical grades and flame/other syntheses of fused quartz. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yacgBQAAQBAJ

Check out the variations in hydroxyl (OH) content alone of the different kinds quartz here due to different kinds of syntheses. The hydroxyl content of fused quartz has a direct relationship to the density of said quartz (for anyone who can access subscription only journal articles, see: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/50/5/10.1063/1.326275). As most can likely appreciate, the density of a given vitreous structure (amongst many other structures) is a relevant variable to many applications, including our own.

One other important effect of greater hydroxyl content is more devitrification - that is the crystallization of a material that was formerly glass (vitreous) - in this case quartz during manufacture. Devitrification leads to visual flaws and changes to structural/thermal properties in the fused quartz as well.

Devitrification can take place during use in the case of a nail, especially when torch cleaning. Many may have noticed their quartz with heavy torch cleaning doesn't look the same anymore and won't get clear again. This is one potential cause of this.

There are a variety of other impurities that can have effects on quartz that can have significant implications even in low amounts ie: levels we would consider very low ppm for residual solvents in a dab, for example.

I have been spending a lot of time reading up on the chemistry and physics of quartz recently. There is SO MUCH scholarly research literature on the physical and chemical variations in quartz and the consequences for untold numbers of variables important for untold numbers of applications. I still got plenty more reading to do of course.

Still, I really wanted to stress that a great deal of variation has been observed across different compositions of fused quartz. Quartz is not quartz.

Again I am not here to/truly don't want to argue or call anyone out or make anyone look bad, but at the same time I don't want to leave readers thinking that there are not many different kinds of quartz with a correspondingly wide variation in properties.

I must stress that the impurities I am talking about above are not dangerous to your health, but they have effects on the thermal performance and structural properties of the fused quartz in question.

EDIT: Also really need to highlight that the purity is not the sole relevant factor to determine the best quartz for a given application. Purity/impurity content are only relevant insofar as they lead to formation of a vitreous substance with properties that are fit for the purpose. The purest quartz is not necessarily the best quartz for the purpose. Impurities - depending on what they are - can have positive/negative functional effects on the fused quartz for functionality and do not necessarily pose any safety risk (although some can).

 

[ReeferChiefer]

Actually quartz ain't quartz man. I really am not trying to be a fly in the ointment but there are actually a variety of different kinds of fused quartz with various physical/chemical properties.

See page 8 of the following text for a table giving a breakdown of various different optical grades and flame/other syntheses of fused quartz. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yacgBQAAQBAJ

Check out the variations in hydroxyl (OH) content alone of the different kinds quartz here due to different kinds of syntheses. The hydroxyl content of fused quartz has a direct relationship to the density of said quartz (for anyone who can access subscription only journal articles, see: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/50/5/10.1063/1.326275). As most can likely appreciate, the density of a given vitreous structure (amongst many other structures) is a relevant variable to many applications, including our own.

One other important effect of greater hydroxyl content is more devitrification - that is the crystallization of a material that was formerly glass (vitreous) - in this case quartz during manufacture. Devitrification leads to visual flaws and changes to structural/thermal properties in the fused quartz as well.

Devitrification can take place during use in the case of a nail, especially when torch cleaning. Many may have noticed their quartz with heavy torch cleaning doesn't look the same anymore and won't get clear again. This is one potential cause of this.

There are a variety of other impurities that can have effects on quartz that can have significant implications even in low amounts ie: levels we would consider very low ppm for residual solvents in a dab, for example.

I have been spending a lot of time reading up on the chemistry and physics of quartz recently. There is SO MUCH scholarly research literature on the physical and chemical variations in quartz and the consequences for untold numbers of variables important for untold numbers of applications. I still got plenty more reading to do of course.

Still, I really wanted to stress that a great deal of variation has been observed across different compositions of fused quartz. Quartz is not quartz.

Again I am not here to/truly don't want to argue or call anyone out or make anyone look bad, but at the same time I don't want to leave readers thinking that there are not many different kinds of quartz with a correspondingly wide variation in properties.

I must stress that the impurities I am talking about above are not dangerous to your health, but they have effects on the thermal performance and structural properties of the fused quartz in question.

EDIT: Also really need to highlight that the purity is not the sole relevant factor to determine the best quartz for a given application. Purity/impurity content are only relevant insofar as they lead to formation of a vitreous substance with properties that are fit for the purpose. The purest quartz is not necessarily the best quartz for the purpose. Impurities - depending on what they are - can have positive/negative functional effects on the fused quartz for functionality and do not necessarily pose any safety risk (although some can).

I did not make the argument that "quartz is quartz", simply that whether it's cheap china quartz or not, as long as it's crystal clear and does not break under heat, they will both be safe to use. That is the point of this conversation, whether or not it is safe, not whether or not all quartz is equal. Even quartz that is less than 90% pure will not be a health hazard for the application we're talking about, especially since we're dealing with a moderately low temperature use compared to the stress levels quartz can handle.

No worries, I don't see this as inflammatory or anything like that. Just some informative dialogue.

EDIT: Seeing how I made the claim regarding purity, you were right to correct me. I should have worded it differently, but this post corrects my mistake. I didn't mean to say equal in purity, more like equal in safety and function without health hazards.

 

[herbivore21]

I did not make the argument that "quartz is quartz", simply that whether it's cheap china quartz or not, as long as it's crystal clear and does not break under heat, they will both be safe to use. That is the point of this conversation, whether or not it is safe, not whether or not all quartz is equal. Even quartz that is less than 90% pure will not be a health hazard for the application we're talking about, especially since we're dealing with a moderately low temperature use compared to the stress levels quartz can handle.

No worries, I don't see this as inflammatory or anything like that. Just some informative dialogue.

EDIT: Seeing how I made the claim regarding purity, you were right to correct me. I should have worded it differently, but this post corrects my mistake. I didn't mean to say equal in purity, more like equal in safety and function without health hazards.

Sorry about it looking like the quartz ain't quartz comment was directed specifically at you man, I should have phrased my last post differently as it looks wholly as if it is addressing your comments (it is actually broader and addressing a variety of comments I've seen on FC recently on the topic). That aspect should have been more clearly directed at those around here who have made the comment (I've seen this comment crop up more than once lately in this and other threads).

I agree that equal in safety may be correct for the most part, but equal in function is not the case (although I have already conceded the 'without health hazards part' for the grades we are talking about here, whether it be infrasil, spectrasil, GE 214 or otherwise). Even seemingly tiny differences like a few hundred ppm of extra hydroxyl content in a given sample of fused quartz will lead to noticably different function, optical clarity, thermal performance/properties, density and a variety of other variables.

Other impurities can have other effects still. It is really crucial to understand that while various and vastly different kinds of quartz may be equally safe for our application, they are going to vary in functionality to a great extent.

Fused quartz is a seriously versatile material and can be used for everything from TLC (one form of chromatography carried out using capillary channels in specially tooled quartz) to laser/IR/UV applications, semiconductors, manufacturing of other electronic component. We should not be surprised to see that a great many different kinds of quartz exist with almost as many different ideal applications.

Basically the cribnotes version is that most fused quartz, even most cheap fused quartz is not likely to be dangerous to you for our purposes. There is quartz that will be dangerous to health for our application, but I cannot confirm that anything out there so far has been of questionable safety except the borobook banger with colored coating painted on. However, not all quartz is created equal where performance, durability and function for our application are concerned. This is where the relevant factors come in. Like many of you say, safety is not the most relevant factor here and in many cases is probably not a concern at all. It is not wholly irrelevant though.

 

[ReeferChiefer]

Even seemingly tiny differences like a few hundred ppm of extra hydroxyl content in a given sample of fused quartz will lead to noticably different function, optical clarity, thermal performance/properties, density and a variety of other variables.

This is where I need some sort of test results or evidence relative to our use of quartz, more specifically china made quartz and american $150+ quartz. What I would like to know is the actual significance the quality has for our use of quartz, and just how much or a difference it makes as far as taste, heat retention, durability, etc.

I am well aware many of the details you explain, however I fail to see what exactly has shown that for smoker, vaping concentrates, cheap china quartz isn't up to par and/or clearly does not perform as the more expensive kind.

I own both china quartz and expensive american quartz. I personally don't see a difference at all but I do acknowledge that is a lacking sample test to make any conclusions.

 

[herbivore21]

This is where I need some sort of test results or evidence relative to our use of quartz, more specifically china made quartz and american $150+ quartz. What I would like to know is the actual significance the quality has for our use of quartz, and just how much or a difference it makes as far as taste, heat retention, durability, etc.

I am well aware many of the details you explain, however I fail to see what exactly has shown that for smoker, vaping concentrates, cheap china quartz isn't up to par and/or clearly does not perform as the more expensive kind.

I own both china quartz and expensive american quartz. I personally don't see a difference at all but I do acknowledge that is a lacking sample test to make any conclusions.

That kind of evidence specific to our application will sadly not be forthcoming for a while brother. Dabbing is a few years old in the mainstream now, but remember that it can often take the best part of a year to propose, get funding and ethics clearance to conduct such a study. Field/lab work can take as long or longer, depending on the study in question. Then comes the write up of the report. That shit can take equally as long as the rest or longer still, depending on the publication! I am in the process of writing one such report right now!

Although you can rest assured that this research will come, I recently posted one of the first dabbing studies I've ever seen crop up in the scientific literature in another thread Until we have specific information for our application with related products in particular though, the sources I linked above (all of these are scientific research sources - I don't read anything else - I am a paid, professional scientist who works for a research institution) will provide the information on the properties you mention above for different grades.

Still, it would be great to see some peer reviewed studies where researchers buy up a number of retail quartz nails at various price points from as many manufacturers as possible and test their composition. This would give us an important piece of the puzzle to unequivocally tell us what you can get from these manufacturers (further replications over time will be required to demonstrate that manufacturers in question reliably use the same grade, I know that there can be inconsistencies in the use of vitreous materials in Chinese factories according to friends of mine in the glass scene, like @mvapes .

What I can tell you is that the clearer, optical grades of quartz (such as that used in the d-nail halos, also I believe the GE 214 used by errlectric falls into this category) have lower hydroxyl content than other grades of quartz designed for electronics/other applications. The physics journal article (Shelby, 1979) I linked above goes into the reasons for differences between fused quartz with higher vs lower OH content in much more detail than I will here but sadly, you will need a journal subscription to read.

Unfortunately, if you do not have access to scholarly journals through their paywalls, even when the kind of specific evidence to our application that we spoke about above appears, you will not be likely to be able to access the entire study anyway (maybe not even the abstract depending on the publication!). Such is sadly the nature of scientific research literature. You gotta be a college student of researcher/academic to access it unless you wanna pay a fortune out of pocket

For this reason, if you wanna be able to check out scientific evidence straight from the source on these questions, you are at an impasse unless you become a college student, a researcher/academic (no doubt entailing the former anyway) or just pony up the cash (which can be up to $30 or more per article!) to read the research.

Some publications are opening up free access to some articles these days though, I post anything I come across in the open (non-subscription) literature around here anyway so I can let you know when I share any such thing if you like

 

[ReeferChiefer]

That kind of evidence specific to our application will sadly not be forthcoming for a while brother. Dabbing is a few years old in the mainstream now, but remember that it can often take the best part of a year to propose, get funding and ethics clearance to conduct such a study. Field/lab work can take as long or longer, depending on the study in question. Then comes the write up of the report. That shit can take equally as long as the rest or longer still, depending on the publication! I am in the process of writing one such report right now!

Although you can rest assured that this research will come, I recently posted one of the first dabbing studies I've ever seen crop up in the scientific literature in another thread Until we have specific information for our application with related products in particular though, the sources I linked above (all of these are scientific research sources - I don't read anything else - I am a paid, professional scientist who works for a research institution) will provide the information on the properties you mention above for different grades.

Still, it would be great to see some peer reviewed studies where researchers buy up a number of retail quartz nails at various price points from as many manufacturers as possible and test their composition. This would give us an important piece of the puzzle to unequivocally tell us what you can get from these manufacturers (further replications over time will be required to demonstrate that manufacturers in question reliably use the same grade, I know that there can be inconsistencies in the use of vitreous materials in Chinese factories according to friends of mine in the glass scene, like @mvapes .

What I can tell you is that the clearer, optical grades of quartz (such as that used in the d-nail halos, also I believe the GE 214 used by errlectric falls into this category) have lower hydroxyl content than other grades of quartz designed for electronics/other applications. The physics journal article (Shelby, 1979) I linked above goes into the reasons for differences between fused quartz with higher vs lower OH content in much more detail than I will here but sadly, you will need a journal subscription to read.

Unfortunately, if you do not have access to scholarly journals through their paywalls, even when the kind of specific evidence to our application that we spoke about above appears, you will not be likely to be able to access the entire study anyway (maybe not even the abstract depending on the publication!). Such is sadly the nature of scientific research literature. You gotta be a college student of researcher/academic to access it unless you wanna pay a fortune out of pocket

For this reason, if you wanna be able to check out scientific evidence straight from the source on these questions, you are at an impasse unless you become a college student, a researcher/academic (no doubt entailing the former anyway) or just pony up the cash (which can be up to $30 or more per article!) to read the research.

Some publications are opening up free access to some articles these days though, I post anything I come across in the open (non-subscription) literature around here anyway so I can let you know when I share any such thing if you like

Thank you for taking the time to explain these things for us. I appreciate it. I'm hoping these tests come sooner than later. I always love to learn something new regarding my hobbies, especially in the technical side of things. I just wish there was a way to do away with the paranoia or misunderstanding people have about these things.

To me it's like the Naturalistic Fallacy, where people automatically assume that because something is natural it therefore must be good for you, and if it isn't natural it must be bad. Same with cheap and expensive. That not always the case.