Effetre Specials and Handmade Colours

Evening everyone

Once again it's been a while.... I am well again so been making beads :-)

I have purchased some Effetre Specials and Handmade Colours, the 591065 Silver Black Effetre Special Handmade. The photo on Tuffnell's website looks amazing but when I got the rods they were just black and when melted into beads they are black with lovely silver shines but it looks nothing like the photo... I was wondering whether any of you have used these colours and how they are meant to be used? Maybe I am not using the right technic! lol!

Thank you ,

B xx

I've never used that one, but this is a great reference http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/wiki/Main_Page
Unfortunately there are no notes by the black, but when I get an interesting new colour I play with it - try it over clear, white, encase etc and also see if it will reduce or strike at all.
That said, if you call Tuffnells they'd be only too happy to give you some pointers I'm sure!

Thank you for the advice, I'll try it over clear or another colour but I am worried it may break because I don't have a kiln and at £9.50 for 1/8 kilo I think I'll be careful.. :-) I may contact Tuffnell, great tip!

As long as you do all the usual things, keep it warm when working, put it into the bubbles as soon as the red glow has gone, and leave it in the bubbles for an hour on the whole it'd be fairly safe. I don't have a kiln either, I have to send my annealing off too and the only things that are prone to breaking are big items or things I've not kept warm properlly.

What torch are you using? I'm not sure how many people have had good results with this on a HH.

Have a read of this thread: http://www.frit-happens.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=17504.30 for some ideas and maybe start with some stringers to save wasting loads of it?

Thank you MizGeorge, I use a hot head from the starter kit from Tuffnell. My hubby did suggest that maybe it is not hot enough.

I will go over to FripHappens and check your link out now.

I use this - it has yielded variable (reduced) results - from lovely shiny black to a dull sheen with a 'skin' look (look over on FH) - I have made 3 spacers on the same mandrel and they all look different! I have used it on dk red and it looks nice but it isn't uniform for me. It works fine on a HH so long as you cover the air holes with foil while reducing - just wait til the glow has gone from the bead, then flash in and out of the flame - keep on til you are happy, taking care not to heat the bead to glowing. Hope that helps

Thank you Lakelady, all advice helps. I have tried to do the in and out of flame today, seems nice but I think I heated it too much. I'll try again tomorrow eve! :-)

The trick is to let the bead cool - a lot - against instincts, before flashing in the reducing flame - most people just check the glow has gone by sticking it under the bench for a look see...it is easy to overheat in the reducing flame - I just flash it in and out a few times. Some rods work better than others - Kalypso and Elektra are good ones - so is dk silver brown. The silver black is one of the trickier ones to get consistently in my (limited) experience! It's great fun playing though!