Hair sticks of aluminium

[ilovelonghair]

Has anyone bought these? They come in forks, hairsticks and hairsticks with hair holder. I wonder if aluminium is strong enough. Wouldn't it all get bend (if you have stubborn hair like me)?

[Elenna]

You mean Nicholas and Felice on Etsy. Their workmanship looks pretty good, but (no) I haven't brought any of them.

[jasper]

it would depend on how the aluminum was formed. Aluminum wire and sheet metal can be very flexible, but metal becomes more rigid if bent or hammered, etc and thicker would be stronger. Cast aluminum can be very strong and rigid- rock climbers use aluminum hardware sometimes and cooks can use aluminum pots and pans.

[shrimp]

I have a fork in aluminium and it is very flexible (from Nicholas and Felice).

I didn't find that too much of a problem (in fact it was quite nice to be able to make it into a curved fork) the thing that puts me off is how light it is. I like my hair toys to have a bit of heft to them.

I'm not sure I'd buy a single stick from them as I'm not sure it would withstand the use without getting very bent.

[Tabitha]

My Quattro Starlite (http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Quattro-Originals__W0QQ_sidZ27791172?_nkw=Starlites&submit=Search) fork, made of "aircraft aluminium" is very strong despite its lightness.

[papillion]

Quattro's Starlites are incredibly strong, and very very pretty.

[Elenna]

Those Quattro forks are an aluminium alloy. I have a pair and they are my favorite forks.

[Kimberly]

I have a Starlite fork, too, and it's pretty darn sturdy.

[Redheaded Raven]

I don't know the makers that you are referring to, but I love my aluminum hair sticks, but they are made from anodized aluminum.

They don't bend on me at all. But they could be different than what that seller is offering. For me the aluminum is one of the few metal choices that I have due to nickel allergies. :rolleyes:

[Alia]

Some of my most sturdy gardening hand tools are aluminum--I love hand forks :heartbeat--if the fork/sticks are made with a similar process, they'd be very strong.

[ilovelonghair]

You mean Nicholas and Felice on Etsy. Their workmanship looks pretty good, but (no) I haven't brought any of them.

Yes I meant them :). Their stuff is sooooooo pretty I want it all! Just wondering if my hair won't kill it LOL.

[Blondschopf]

Personally I wouldn't want a hairstick made from aluminium AT ALL. In school our chemistry teacher taught us that aluminium is one of the most energy-consuming metal there is. It is incredibly hard to make this stuff and if I can have a very nice-looking wood stick instead that just GREW and wasn't manmade... i'll go with that.

[Blondschopf]

Personally I wouldn't want a hairstick made from aluminium AT ALL. In school our chemistry teacher taught us that aluminium is one of the most energy-consuming metals to make. It is incredibly hard to make this stuff and if I can have a very nice-looking wood stick instead that just GREW and wasn't manmade... i'll go with that.

[bjt]

You mean Nicholas and Felice on Etsy. Their workmanship looks pretty good, but (no) I haven't brought any of them.
I bought two of their aluminum hair sticks, and while I love the way they look, they are very soft (not at all like some of the alloys & others mentioned here). They bend very easily and I rarely wear them because of it...I have very hungry hair that eats weak hair toys! Its too bad--I wish there was another hard metal option out there!
(I really wish the I could find some of the titanium sticks that Argus used to make--I never saw them until after they didn't exist any more! :()

[pepperminttea]

I have a couple of Nicholas and Felice hair forks too; they do bend a bit, but I find they're good growers sticks, before your hair gets too long and heavy.

[Nightshade]

Personally I wouldn't want a hairstick made from aluminium AT ALL. In school our chemistry teacher taught us that aluminium is one of the most energy-consuming metal there is. It is incredibly hard to make this stuff and if I can have a very nice-looking wood stick instead that just GREW and wasn't manmade... i'll go with that.

While it is energy-intensive to refine the raw ore, it is one of the least energy-intensive to recycle. Most aluminum now is recycled, simply because the process is so much cheaper and easier than mining and refining.

I love natural wood sticks as well, but you can't use most woods in wet hair (bamboo is an exception), and so for those that like to wet or damp bun, or put sticks in a bun when their hair is full of oils or another deep treatment, metals are a good choice :)

[Tabitha]

While it is energy-intensive to refine the raw ore, it is one of the least energy-intensive to recycle. Most aluminum now is recycled, simply because the process is so much cheaper and easier than mining and refining.

I love natural wood sticks as well, but you can't use most woods in wet hair (bamboo is an exception), and so for those that like to wet or damp bun, or put sticks in a bun when their hair is full of oils or another deep treatment, metals are a good choice :)

Yep that's one of the things I use my Starlite fork for. It's been dropped in the shower too many times to count and bounces back each time - I swear that thing is indestructible! :lol:

I have a collection of beautiful unique wooden sticks and forks, but the Starlite is a workhorse and does its job to perfection.

[Marika]

I'm also a fan of Quattro Starlite forks. They are so light, it feels like I'm wearing no hairtoy at all! I'd be surprised if someone's hair alone could bend/break these babies!:)

[motormuffin]

I bought two of their aluminum hair sticks, and while I love the way they look, they are very soft (not at all like some of the alloys & others mentioned here). They bend very easily and I rarely wear them because of it...I have very hungry hair that eats weak hair toys! Its too bad--I wish there was another hard metal option out there!
(I really wish the I could find some of the titanium sticks that Argus used to make--I never saw them until after they didn't exist any more! :()
There are these...titanium
http://cgi.ebay.com/QUATTRO-Hair-Sticks-TITANIUM-Basics-Stick-Set_W0QQitemZ380112441288QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item5880778fc8&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14

[eadwine]

Those are very strong. I have only heard of one person's hair that managed to actually get one bent a bit. (mine hehe)

[bjt]

There are these...titanium
http://cgi.ebay.com/QUATTRO-Hair-Sticks-TITANIUM-Basics-Stick-Set_W0QQitemZ380112441288QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item5880778fc8&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14

yup--thanks! I have lots of Quattros and wear them a lot. I won't be buying anymore directly from him, though, so I am always looking for alternatives. I did buy the most beautiful pair of Quattros from the swap board recently... I should post a pic they are so gorgeous!

remember when you used to see ear & nose jewelry in niobium (at least I did when I lived in San Francisco during the "modern primitive" movement in the early 90s)--it was that beautiful rainbow colored metal...I wish there were hair sticks in that metal. Maybe I should just take up metal working myself! :p

[eadwine]

Maybe I should just take up metal working myself! :p
I would love it, more metal sticks, yay!

[Redheaded Raven]

I love metal sticks too!

What kind of metal is niobium exactly? Soft or hard?

I like to work with a torch, it can be fun! lol just haven't had a chance lately. I want my grandpa to teach me to weld like he did woodworking. That would be awesome! :happydance:

Is anyone working in titanium like Argus designs were?

[kwaniesiam]

Niobium is extremely hard and heavy. Probably a bad choice for hair jewelry, it is heavier than steel but can be anodized in to various colors like titanium. Titanium isn't that widely used either because of how difficult it is to machine and it tends to be expensive.

My experience with aluminum hair toys is limited to bent knitting needles to make wavelength pins, but they work great!

[bjt]

Niobium is extremely hard and heavy. Probably a bad choice for hair jewelry, it is heavier than steel but can be anodized in to various colors like titanium.

yeah, thats about right. Niobium is that blue/purple/pink metal that you see made into those hoop body jewelry. Its really nice when its anodized into those colors.
It might be heavy, but if it was just a stick my hair could handle it--my hair is heavy and I have enough of it to hold up just about anything.
I wonder where you'd go about getting metal like that? I'll have to investigate! :o

[motormuffin]

I bought titanium at a metal salvage yard but it don't see it there all the time.

[Nightshade]

Is anyone working in titanium like Argus designs were?

I actually scored a good bit of their titanium when they went out of business. It makes for awesome sticks, but even with an industrial metal lathe at my disposal, it's hard to turn, and you need to have special fire extinguishers on hand whenever you're turning exotic metals (well, in your home you don't, but elsewhere you have to if you're OSHA compliant!)

[Anje]

Nightshade -- Did Argus turn their Ti sticks, or were they perhaps molded or somehow folded from Ti wires?

[SpinDance]

I bought two of their aluminum hair sticks, and while I love the way they look, they are very soft (not at all like some of the alloys & others mentioned here). They bend very easily and I rarely wear them because of it...I have very hungry hair that eats weak hair toys! Its too bad--I wish there was another hard metal option out there!
(I really wish the I could find some of the titanium sticks that Argus used to make--I never saw them until after they didn't exist any more! :()

The soft aluminum fork I got bends, so I'm afraid to use it for fear my hair will slips out, or I'll just destroy (wind in knots) the fork.

I haven't tried any titanium items, I've been using the short stainless steel chopsticks carried by Garrett Wade (found listed in the resources here on LHC): http://www.garrettwade.com/product.asp?pn=39C04.01

These are light weight, seem to be hollow, but very strong.

BTW, I got the set of 4 of each of the 3 sizes of chopsticks, and the longer ones are wonderful to eat with, too.

[Nightshade]

Nightshade -- Did Argus turn their Ti sticks, or were they perhaps molded or somehow folded from Ti wires?

Nope, they turned them from 12in titanium metal rods, insofar as I can tell anyway based on the rods I have. From what I remember of their pictures, it looked like they either turned them, or shaped them with something that leaves marks suspiciously like an angle grinder. :ponder:

[ilovelonghair]

I bought two of their aluminum hair sticks, and while I love the way they look, they are very soft (not at all like some of the alloys & others mentioned here). They bend very easily and I rarely wear them because of it...I have very hungry hair that eats weak hair toys! Its too bad--I wish there was another hard metal option out there!
(I really wish the I could find some of the titanium sticks that Argus used to make--I never saw them until after they didn't exist any more! :()

My hair tends to break things, maybe I should look for something different...