I bought some of this from tuffers, but how do I tell them apart?
Dot the end of the rod on a white bead - heat it hard and if it has a grey spreading ring around it it's charcoal and if it begins to web it's tuxedo. That's why it's so cheap, the factory couldn't tell it apart in the rod. ;)
Thanks Sue :)
Hmmmm....now I am confused.
I already had a bit of charcoal, and that webs! Perhaps that was mixed up as well!
I need to do a bit of testing and labelling I think! (I am going to end up with a lot of white dotty beads ) ;D :D ;D
tuxedo doesn't etch...if thats any good
Hang about, I didn't think tuxedo webbed?
Quote from: The Tartan Trout on October 27, 2011, 12:34:40 PM
tuxedo doesn't etch...if thats any good
Thanks Sarah but I havent got any etching fluid! :)
I have done a little test as Sue recommds, of the charcoal i already had from 6 months ago and its dark black and webs.
One of the cheap deal of mixed rods goes a bit grey on a white bead, so that must be the real charcoal.
SO it seems like the charcoal I bought about 6 months ago was mixed up as well because its labelled charcoal on the tissue paper that it comes in from CIM. But I supose it muxt be Tuxedo.
How long has this mix up been going on, and how many of us are using the "wrong" black?
I bought some tuxedo a while ago because someone said it doesnt web, and stays quite black, even when pulled thin. well mine didnt, it went blueish like normal black does. and I think slightly fuzzy also.
dont think charcoal looks blue when pulled thin.
hades is the webbing true black from cim.
tuxedo (which I have by the bucket) is slightly blue-y purple. pull a thin stringer and hold it up to the light you should see the colour and it's also slightly transparent.
but yeah tuxedo doesn't etch.
Nah, it doesn't web like the lovely Hades, but when you first throw heat at it, it kinda separates in a web effect. Then gets boring. But the charcoal definitely gets a grey ring around it on white - although I don't think I've ever tried to heat it enough to web. That's worth a try later. I suppose if it was easy to tell them apart, they would have done it in the factory and not lost money over it :P
I pulled a fine stringer of each, charcoal does not look blue, tuxedo does. think its probably the quickest, easiet way to test and separate your mix!
I made some tuxedo/peace twistie ages ago and the stripes were grey, made some recently and the stripes were purple...odd
I wonder if CIM got Hades mixed up as well, because my old charcoal stash is very black and it webs like crazy!
I wish they'd get something really expensive mixed up with something cheap :P
I have been using my charcoal/tuxedo mix and getting true black fine stringer. I'm starting to wonder if hades is in the mix, or some unique or something...its definitely not purple/blue to hold up to the light. According to the CIM website charcoal is pretty washed out http://www.creationismessy.com/color.aspx?id=81 (http://www.creationismessy.com/color.aspx?id=81)
I did not buy my charcoal or my tuxedo that recently. could have been in the cim sale last year. the tuxedo a bit more recent than that, maybe 6 months.
dont think either are uniques, but I have a couple of charcoal unique rods.could try them too.
I couldnt see through the fine stringer of charcoal I pulled, however, there wasnt exactly alot of light flying around yesterday!
I have looked at my charcoal I got a while ago, it is labelled unique and i got it in the sale. I didnt realise it was last December, how the time flies!
I found this on CIM website
Charcoal is an extremely dark transparent grey.
Frantz's batch of Charcoal is an extremely dark transparent grey. Tuffnell's first batch of Charcoal in 2009 was a blue based formula. In 2010, we shipped the grey version to Tuffnell as well.
Messy Tuxedo is more black than both of these batches.
Aha, that clears things up a tad.