As some of you may know, the coming US FDA regulations are going to end vaping as we know it, here in America. That means commercially-sold e-liquid and equipment will probably go away in the next four years or so, at least this is what CASAA's press release says: CASAA: FDA regulation of e-cigarettes: huge costs, little or no benefit, says CASAA
If you want to learn more about these regulations, take a look at this forum here on ECF: FDA Regulations
(Those of you who are living in the US and who are not taking this seriously are either ignorant, uninformed, or behaving incompatibly with your own interests. These folks at the FDA are not kidding around.)
***
If you don't know what a blade-style mod is, you might want to take a look at one of these YouTube videos: Google
The clone that I use is made by Kangside - I can't speak for the originals by (?) Vision: $19.03 TMP Mechanical Mod at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
***
I like cylindrically-shaped mechs (as opposed to the "pipe" shape like the hammer, or the "box" shape like the Reos). Vestige of my stinky-smoking days? Maybe
But I don't like the idea that the battery contacts are made by screwing the mech in. Usually what you have in the cylindrical-shaped mechs are springs. If you don't screw it in tightly, the batteries don't make contact. Like a flashlight, right? (Hey, that's that where the term "mod" comes from.)
The blade is different. One contact of the battery is made tight by nothing more than gravity and the little bit of pressure that results from the top contact with the firing pin under the 510 connection (take a look at the Youtube videos above, and it will be clear what I mean).
The other battery contact is made when you fire the mod, which you do by simply moving the battery casing up with your fingers. It's easy to do, and the blade always fires for that reason - the only other "moving part" is this little metal piece that hangs down from the 510 connnection. The best way that I describe it, is that it looks rather like a metal version of a uvula (you'll also see this in the Youtube videos that I linked-to, above).
That design simpicity means you're probably never going to have to take apart the blade to figure out why it doesn't fire. You also don't have to worry about it firing accidently - gravity does the job for you. (It might not work so well in outer space
Furthermore, it means that the threads needed to screw it in are much less likely to wear out (i.e. get stripped). Frankly, I've given up on my Smok Natural - it has a little gap between two of the sections, and I don't even bother to get it any tighter than it needs to be. Yes, I could go in there and try to adjust it, but that never seems to work very well. At some point in the next year or so, those threads are probably going to be stripped - almost no matter what I do.
Whereas with my blades, there is never any pressure or effort needed to screw in the threads. I figure they'll last much longer because of that.
***
Then there's the amount of work needed to fire the mod. That's not a joke - I frequently hear people complain that a particular cylindrical-shaped mech is painful to vape on all day, because it makes their fingers hurt.
That might not be true with the magnetic firing buttons like the Smok Magneto or the Galileo. Or the Smok Natural, because the button is on the side. (BTW I do like my natural a lot, too.)
What I've done with my blades is to pull off the spring on the "uvula" (the firing pin at the top). I've also put some coins in the bottom housing that holds the battery casing. Now it fires effortlessly. I can fire it with my pinky all day, and experience no pain, carpal stress, etc.
(You probably need to be a little careful when removing the spring. And bear in mind that you may never be able to put it back. But I'm not very mechanically-inclined, and I've done it on two of these, with nothing more than an ordinary ballpoint pen.)
***
Some additional notes about minor customizations:
1) Going back to "vapapocalypse", I'll mention that I've put 510 airflow controllers on my blades just so I don't have to worry about stripping the 510 connectors (sorry that won't work if you use an eGo device like an EVOD). 510-to-510s would work too, I think.
2) I also use a cone (sometimes called a "skirt" or a "beauty ring"). Not for the aesthetics, but because it strengthens the connection at the weakest point. Probably not needed, just an extra bit of bulletproofing.
3) I've found that putting a dime in the bottom of the battery casing can help a little bit, especially with cheap 18650s. My blade clones don't take 18350s, but they might very well be able to hold a kick with a 18650. Certainly with a 14500. I don't use kicks. (Incidently it's possible to stack 350s, for those of you who are inclined to do it. Which I do not personally recommend!) Some noalox might help for the bottom contact, I've been meaning to try it.
***
Some of you safety fiends might notice that there are no vent holes for the battery. That means that if you have a short, it's going to get hot - very quickly. If it's not producing vapor, I generally try to feel the neck, to get a sense of the temperature. This also gives me an idea of whether the problem is a dead battery, or something else. A fuse also helps.
So yeah, you're very close to the "road" with one of these mechs. But isn't that the whole point of a mech?
Of course I know that these FDA regulations are going to mean that we'll all have to build our own "puck mods" or "flashlight mods" pretty soon, here in the states. But I hope that with enough of these blade clones, I can at least have something off the shelf that's reasonably elegant and will last a lot longer than some of the more traditional styles of mech.
BTW I have ooly been using my blades for about a month now. Maybe there's some hidden failure scenario that I'm unaware of. If so, it probably involves the fireing pin underneath the 510 connection.
The whole thing is just so wonderfully simple, that I can't figure out what else could go wrong.
It's a lovely design, and the only improvement that I can think of is a simpler firing pin under the 510 connection. Although the 510 pin is not adjustable, which might be an issue with some tanks, hubrids, RDAs, etc. So far, I haven't had a prob. w/ vivivs.
If you want to learn more about these regulations, take a look at this forum here on ECF: FDA Regulations
(Those of you who are living in the US and who are not taking this seriously are either ignorant, uninformed, or behaving incompatibly with your own interests. These folks at the FDA are not kidding around.)
***
If you don't know what a blade-style mod is, you might want to take a look at one of these YouTube videos: Google
The clone that I use is made by Kangside - I can't speak for the originals by (?) Vision: $19.03 TMP Mechanical Mod at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
***
I like cylindrically-shaped mechs (as opposed to the "pipe" shape like the hammer, or the "box" shape like the Reos). Vestige of my stinky-smoking days? Maybe
But I don't like the idea that the battery contacts are made by screwing the mech in. Usually what you have in the cylindrical-shaped mechs are springs. If you don't screw it in tightly, the batteries don't make contact. Like a flashlight, right? (Hey, that's that where the term "mod" comes from.)
The blade is different. One contact of the battery is made tight by nothing more than gravity and the little bit of pressure that results from the top contact with the firing pin under the 510 connection (take a look at the Youtube videos above, and it will be clear what I mean).
The other battery contact is made when you fire the mod, which you do by simply moving the battery casing up with your fingers. It's easy to do, and the blade always fires for that reason - the only other "moving part" is this little metal piece that hangs down from the 510 connnection. The best way that I describe it, is that it looks rather like a metal version of a uvula (you'll also see this in the Youtube videos that I linked-to, above).
That design simpicity means you're probably never going to have to take apart the blade to figure out why it doesn't fire. You also don't have to worry about it firing accidently - gravity does the job for you. (It might not work so well in outer space
Furthermore, it means that the threads needed to screw it in are much less likely to wear out (i.e. get stripped). Frankly, I've given up on my Smok Natural - it has a little gap between two of the sections, and I don't even bother to get it any tighter than it needs to be. Yes, I could go in there and try to adjust it, but that never seems to work very well. At some point in the next year or so, those threads are probably going to be stripped - almost no matter what I do.
Whereas with my blades, there is never any pressure or effort needed to screw in the threads. I figure they'll last much longer because of that.
***
Then there's the amount of work needed to fire the mod. That's not a joke - I frequently hear people complain that a particular cylindrical-shaped mech is painful to vape on all day, because it makes their fingers hurt.
That might not be true with the magnetic firing buttons like the Smok Magneto or the Galileo. Or the Smok Natural, because the button is on the side. (BTW I do like my natural a lot, too.)
What I've done with my blades is to pull off the spring on the "uvula" (the firing pin at the top). I've also put some coins in the bottom housing that holds the battery casing. Now it fires effortlessly. I can fire it with my pinky all day, and experience no pain, carpal stress, etc.
(You probably need to be a little careful when removing the spring. And bear in mind that you may never be able to put it back. But I'm not very mechanically-inclined, and I've done it on two of these, with nothing more than an ordinary ballpoint pen.)
***
Some additional notes about minor customizations:
1) Going back to "vapapocalypse", I'll mention that I've put 510 airflow controllers on my blades just so I don't have to worry about stripping the 510 connectors (sorry that won't work if you use an eGo device like an EVOD). 510-to-510s would work too, I think.
2) I also use a cone (sometimes called a "skirt" or a "beauty ring"). Not for the aesthetics, but because it strengthens the connection at the weakest point. Probably not needed, just an extra bit of bulletproofing.
3) I've found that putting a dime in the bottom of the battery casing can help a little bit, especially with cheap 18650s. My blade clones don't take 18350s, but they might very well be able to hold a kick with a 18650. Certainly with a 14500. I don't use kicks. (Incidently it's possible to stack 350s, for those of you who are inclined to do it. Which I do not personally recommend!) Some noalox might help for the bottom contact, I've been meaning to try it.
***
Some of you safety fiends might notice that there are no vent holes for the battery. That means that if you have a short, it's going to get hot - very quickly. If it's not producing vapor, I generally try to feel the neck, to get a sense of the temperature. This also gives me an idea of whether the problem is a dead battery, or something else. A fuse also helps.
So yeah, you're very close to the "road" with one of these mechs. But isn't that the whole point of a mech?
Of course I know that these FDA regulations are going to mean that we'll all have to build our own "puck mods" or "flashlight mods" pretty soon, here in the states. But I hope that with enough of these blade clones, I can at least have something off the shelf that's reasonably elegant and will last a lot longer than some of the more traditional styles of mech.
BTW I have ooly been using my blades for about a month now. Maybe there's some hidden failure scenario that I'm unaware of. If so, it probably involves the fireing pin underneath the 510 connection.
The whole thing is just so wonderfully simple, that I can't figure out what else could go wrong.
It's a lovely design, and the only improvement that I can think of is a simpler firing pin under the 510 connection. Although the 510 pin is not adjustable, which might be an issue with some tanks, hubrids, RDAs, etc. So far, I haven't had a prob. w/ vivivs.
Last edited:
