Greetings my friend! Glad to see you around these parts after such a long time between interactions. I hope that you are very well
I'd love to find out a bit more about these. Do you have any video of these in action (especially macro lens footage inside the nail dish would be very helpful)? This sounds like an interesting product!
I also wanted to get a bit more explanation about how they are best used and what your impressions of the benefits are? Do you place these in your nail before heating it, or afterwards? How much of the volume of a nail do you find is most effective to fill with these silicone nitride balls?
Also the obligatory materials compatibility question: Have you known of anybody to experience damage of sapphire/quartz dishes due to these balls rattling around from movement during use? I've got to say, I'd be hesitant to use it with my liger sapphire (although that is in no small part due to my sapphire having shipped with flaws in the polished finish that could more easily become cracks than a perfectly polished sapphire dish)!
One more thing I'd like to inquire about here is the method of manufacture of the silicone nitride material? Would you be able to tell us about the method of sintering used to make these balls? I am given to understand that some of the manufacturing processes for silicone nitride can leave impurities which can impact the thermal properties of the finished product in a way that may lead to offgassing at lower temps than other methods of manufacturing SiN. Of course, I also know of more contemporary manufacturing methods (that lead to a less volatile finished product) that do not carry this risk too, which is why I inquire.
SiN, as I have discussed elsewhere long ago, can thermally decompose at temps higher than actual dabbing temps, but temps that one might carelessly (especially depending on the type of torch/method that they use) initially torch their nail to before waiting to cool down, or reach when using a torch for cleaning. As you'd know, silicone nitride is a compound that cannot be allowed to thermally decompose, since it can release dangerous compounds for human inhalation. Of course, I should highlight that Silicone Nitride can be used safely for vaporization in a variety of ways in the application your product is intended for. From my past reading on SiN, electronic heating or careful (not too hot, not concentrating the heat in one location) butane torch heating will be the order of the day.
As a result of my past reading a few years ago when Hive first announced their SiN torch nails (limited run no longer available IIRC):
No propane blowtorches has always been my mantra when it comes to silicone nitride. Propane torch flames can well and truly exceed temps that will achieve thermal decomposition of silicone nitride! Most, if not all butane torches conventionally used for dabbing should be no problem, but I've always been one to caution against all high temp torch cleaning of Silicone Nitride in any case, just to be safe. Obviously, torch cleaning is not necessary anyway
This is not to diminish this product at all. Such a product, if manufactured appropriately and used sensibly seems to me like it could help users to get the most out of their low temp dabs, with less waste to achieve more taste
I'm likely to be inclined to try this product out for myself after I've heard/seen a bit more of it in action
Thanks for sharing and for being here brother! Glad to see more of my fellow dab people around here!
