I have decided that I need to get ahold of a sample of the most
effective butane torch for jewelry. I’ve often heard that the Blazer
is the one. Now I find that there are two-- the original Blazer and
the Blazer Stingray. Can anyone enlighten me on the differences? Does
anyone have a handheld-- and I do mean strictly a handheld, no
hoses-- that they consider better than the Blazer?
Thanks!
Noel
Hi Noel,
Does anyone have a handheld-- and I do mean strictly a handheld, no hoses-- that they consider better than the Blazer?
I’ve been using the Proxxon MicroFlam for about 8 or 9 years & like
it. It’s about the same size as the hand held Blazer.
All the controls, gas, air & push button ignition are reachable with
your index finger while holding the torch in you hand.
The flame gets hot enough for soldering silver & gold in small
(about 1" square) sizes.
Dave
Noel,
I love the bernzomatic hand held torch. It has operated without any
problems going on 5 years. It gets to a 2400 + temp, and has a
removable base. It will melt platinum in small quantities and is
great for granulation.They are hard to find though as bernzomatic
has a newer model out, with a molded base. I saw them on sale at
sciplus.com (american scientific and surplus), but call first and
make sure they are still sending out the Bernzomatics as they don’t
specify the brand name in the catalogue but I ordered a few for some
students and all were identical to the Bernzomatic I have. It’s great
for travel and hit and run soldering, even annealing small quantities
of sheet metal and up to an ounce or so of fine silver wire. I had a
blazer but didn’t like it nearly as much as the burnzomatic- for one
thing it was about 40 dollars more for the exact same functionality…
the bernzomatic’s have a ceramic element that helps keep the flame
even and protects the tip,and you can adjust the O2 to some degree to
get different flame types, the blazer was not as versatile. the
bernzomatics can be found in hardware stores, and sci-plus for about
$16-18 dollars. The blazer starts around 60…the bernzomatic also has
some attachments that help direct the flame or concentrate it- the
blazer I had had no way to adjust the flame fuel/02 mix and could not
concentrate the flame to a pinpoint if needed…There are a lot of
imitations out there too, but for economic considerations and
functions, and a warranty the bernzomatic is my choice hands
down…the harbor freight handheld is junk (bright orange body, lasts
maybe a month if it works at all out of the package). there is also a
pencil torch (larger than the blue pencil torches sold everywhere)
that is piezo- electrically started black and with a few tips that
are included in the package that is worth the money- I have one that
has also been used for some operations and hasn’t failed in years. It
gets to about 2000 degrees and is good for operations that require a
smaller, but wider flame than using a little torch (smith, gentec,
etc) or midget (mecco) type jewelers torch. It is worth the 10 bucks
and outlasted the blazer I used for a breif period…rer
I have a Blazer and love it. I’ve tried several butane solutions,
and this one has held up the best. You can read up on the differences
between the Blazer and the Stingray on amazon.com, where I bought my
Blazer. The differences between the Blazer and your average hardware
store or creme brulee torch are that the Blazer can stay on without
your keeping your thumb on the ignition – a nice touch
ergonomically speaking, or for those with small hands. But most
importantly, the Blazer has the most wonderful pointy flame, where
other butane torches are more on the bushy side. The key to success
is to take your time and not get in the habit of holding your torch
nozzle too close to your work, which will cause the heat from your
work surface – charcoal block or solderite board – to be reflected
back onto the torch nozzle and damage it, because these devices are
not built to deal with that and the nozzle mechanisms are actually
kind of touchy. When you buy your Blazer, be sure to buy a good
supply of triple-filtered butane refill canisters. Do not use regular
butane from the hardware store or drugstore. It will clog your tip
and render the torch useless in short order, as these tips can’t
really be cleaned or repaired. The triple-filtered butane is much
more clean-burning, and if you have been disappointed with butane in
the past, you might be very pleasantly surprised by what a difference
this makes in the performance of your torch and the quality of the
flame.
Good luck!
You can read up on the differences between the Blazer and the Stingray on amazon.com. [snip] The triple-filtered butane is much more clean-burning, and if you have been disappointed with butane in the past, you might be very pleasantly surprised by what a difference this makes in the performance of your torch and the quality of the flame.
Actually, looking at Amazon was what caused me to ask here-- the
descriptions are so hype-heavy and technical-info-light as to be
useless. Guess I should contact the manufacturer.
Yriple-filtered butane? I have not encountered that, but regular ol’
drugstore variety has not clogged my current butane torch. Are you
saying the Blazer is touchier? That this butane actually works
better?
Noel
When you buy your Blazer, be sure to buy a good supply of triple-filtered butane refill canisters. Do not use regular butane from the hardware store or drugstore. It will clog your tip and render the torch useless in short order, as these tips can't really be cleaned or repaired. The triple-filtered butane is much more clean-burning, and if you have been disappointed with butane in the past, you might be very pleasantly surprised by what a difference this makes in the performance of your torch and the quality of the flame.
I have a really old blazer - somewhere around 15 years? - whenever
they first became available. I have always used regular butane - I
buy canisters from time to time at the hardware store and I’ve never
had any tip clogging - no problems - and it continues to work like a
charm.
It is a workhorse for me - I use it for any quick soldering job that
is just a one shot deal, like Re-attaching a jump ring or just adding
a single jump ring, though it is capable of doing much more. I love
mine and while I’m sure newer models probably have nice qualities,
I’ll keep my old one and use it till it dies, whenever that it. At
the rate it’s going, I’ll drop before it does.
Kay
Hi Noel. I’ve also been using the Ronson Aero, which I think someone
mentioned here a couple of years ago. It fits right on top of the
butane cylinder and throws a bigger flame than the Blazer types-
although sometimes it’s a little twitchy. If you use a bigger
cylinder, you have much more run time than the refillable ones. I
like 'em both!
Allan
Yriple-filtered butane? I have not encountered that, but regular ol' drugstore variety has not clogged my current butane torch.
I have actually wondered whether or not something in the butane was
clogging my butane torches. The first one I had gradually lost its
pressure and therefore flame size over the space of a few months,
necessitating the purchase of my second one - the Bernzomatic. This
too has slowly declined in flame size and pressure over the past
year since I bought it. I use ordinary, cheap butane refills.
Helen
UK
Yriple-filtered butane? I have not encountered that, but regular ol' drugstore variety has not clogged my current butane torch. Are you saying the Blazer is touchier? That this butane actually works better?
OK, I’m replying to my own post… Of course, I meant
“Triple-filtered”, that was a typo. and to clarify, ther last, very
unclear question was, does the fancy butane actually make the torch
more effective at jewelry work, or simply make sure the nozzle won’t
get clogged with butane-crud?
Noel