elstevo Posted October 31, 2008 Posted October 31, 2008 I see two types of Antimony Trisulphide on the net, Dark pyro and chinese needles, I was wondering what is the difference between the two and which would be better for glitters and such. Sorry if there is a thread already but i didn't see it. Thanks in advance stevo.
Pretty green flame Posted October 31, 2008 Posted October 31, 2008 I belive the chinese needle type is better, It has something to do with the particle size and shape I belive.
elstevo Posted October 31, 2008 Author Posted October 31, 2008 I guess thats what im buying then, thank you PGF
tentacles Posted October 31, 2008 Posted October 31, 2008 I've heard from many sources (some of whom routinely hate each other and go out of their way to contradict what the others say) that there is no practical difference. The smaller mesh size of 325 is equated by the particle shape of the needle, essentially. Buy whatever is cheaper.
psyco_1322 Posted October 31, 2008 Posted October 31, 2008 The needles are little needles, fine enough to be used as is, the dark pyro is a fine powder similar to dark Al. Same as tentacles, it doesn't really matter what you use, some formulas call for a specific one but its not necessary. It might though cause a slight difference in the burn rate of your glitter, but nothing significant.
Swede Posted November 2, 2008 Posted November 2, 2008 Yeah, but "Chinese needle" just sounds better... very pyrotechnic. Or, it sounds like an exotic street drug. "Yo man, ya got any Chinese needle?"
Pyro55 Posted November 5, 2008 Posted November 5, 2008 I received an order of SB2S3 today. The label says: Antimony Trisulfide Needles, fine powder 325 mesh. I've heard from many sources (some of whom routinely hate each other and go out of their way to contradict what the others say) that there is no practical difference. The smaller mesh size of 325 is equated by the particle shape of the needle, essentially. Buy whatever is cheaper.
Swede Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 (edited) Yesterday. Iwas taking stock of my chems, and found that I had two separate, 1lb containers of Sb2S3. Neither of them had any sort of description beyond that. I decided to combine the two. Let me back up... I am working hard on turning my "Ye Olde Pyro Shoppe" into a true research lab, in anticipation of the inevitable "official investigation" (knockless raid) into the strange goings-on here. Part of being legit is correct storage, and labeling. Rather than take a sharpie and scribble "Ant. S3" on a used metamucil container, I set myself up with new HDPE containers and other quality storage devices. I also use MS Word to make a generic label that gets taped on the container with packing tape - like so, with my address scrubbed out digitally... http://www.5bears.com/perc/label01.jpg http://www.5bears.com/perc/label02.jpg The lables have good info on them... MW, etc. Back to the Sb2S3 - one sample was dark, very fine powder, much like dark Al. The other had an odd sparkle to it. The particles didn't seem any larger, but there were "flecks" of what appeared to be micro-crystals. I'm fairly sure that batch was "Chinese needle" from Firefox. The first batch was a generic internet purchase. Regardless, I mixed it all together, slapped a nice label on it, and now it is a serious research chem as opposed to "SCARY Bomb-making supplies! Edited December 13, 2008 by Swede
Richtee Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 Let me back up... I am working hard on turning my "Ye Olde Pyro Shoppe" into a true research lab, in anticipation of the inevitable "official investigation" (knockless raid) into the strange goings-on here. Part of being legit is correct storage, and labeling. Rather than take a sharpie and scribble "Ant. S3" on a used metamucil container, I set myself up with new HDPE containers and other quality storage devices. I also use MS Word to make a generic label that gets taped on the container with packing tape - like so, with my address scrubbed out digitally... Very wise- To reverse an old maxim... forearmed is forewarned!
TheSidewinder Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 I'm pretty sure you're correct Swede: The "sparkly stuff" is the Chinese Needle. I have a couple pounds of it somewhere. Nice labeling, BTW.
flying fish Posted December 14, 2008 Posted December 14, 2008 If I recall correctly, Bob Winokur said in his pyrotechnica publication that the "Dark Pyro" performed slightly better. On the other hand, Skylighter's catalog recommends "chinese needle" for glitters. Obviously I trust winokur's account more, because he actually presented organized research. Still, I'm kind of skeptical if it really matters either way. The glitter effects happen after the composition starts to melt into a drossy mess anyway. I personally use the Chinese needle in various glitter compositions (most of which I took strait out of Winokur's publication), which seems to work just fine. But I've never compared the two different grades.
jerronimo Posted December 14, 2008 Posted December 14, 2008 (edited) I've got a little problem here,Just started pyro again after a 1 year sabbatical and was browsing true my stock of chems. I got a bag of heavy grayish/black powder and stupidly didn't label it.I can't recollect if this is dark pyro antimony trisulfide or silicon powder as they both look very similar in my memory, it does have very, very tiny shiny particles in it.Anybody know how to do a simple test to determine what chemical I have? maybe someone can make detailed macro shots of both? Edited December 14, 2008 by jerronimo
Swede Posted December 14, 2008 Posted December 14, 2008 Could it be manganese dioxide, assuming you had that chem? MnO2 looks a bit like Sb2S3.
jerronimo Posted December 14, 2008 Posted December 14, 2008 No, found out it's antimony, I don't use manganese dioxide. Did the weight test xetap suggested, now for some Win39 glitter .
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