I received this Ironsmith Mechanical mod free of charge directly from Ironsmith Group for the purpose of this review. Regardless of this, it will not color my opinion on this review in any way, shape or form.
Packaging
It comes in an orange package with a drawing of the mod on the front together with the name of it. On one of the sides you will find info on what material the mod is made out of, and in this case it says brass.
On the backside you find specifications, what’s in the box, manufacturer, a guide on how to use it and info about Ironsmith’s social media.
When you open the box up you will find the mod residing in a cut out, wrapped in orange rice paper to protect it, I imagine. You will also find a warning card on safe battery use and what I assume is a manual of sorts.
The Tube
The one I received is a brass tube and it does come in other materials such as copper, stainless steel, a limited edition and an aluminium, or aluminum, depending on what part of the English speaking world you come from.
It is a curved design and at its widest point it is 26 mm, at the narrowest point it is 21.5 mm, and on the top it measures 24 mm.
It is a nice looking mechanical mod and when I opened it up for the first time I must say that I found it really good looking. The machining on this one is really good; the finish on the outer tube is flawless and they have buffed it up to a really nice shine.
The weight and feel to it is substantial. The form factor makes it really pleasant to hold and it lies real nice in the hand as well.
In case of a battery venting this tube has ventilation holes both on top and through the switch, all in all 6 holes. And the way they look they should be able to do the job intended and let any gasses out of the tube in case of an emergency.
The switch is made out of five parts and it is spring loaded. The switch housing is made out of copper and the button out of brass. It does also have a delrin ring where the battery reside, in order to avoid any contact before the button is pushed. The contact pin is silver plated for what I think is better conductivity. The spring is on the soft side and it could benefit from a stronger spring.
It does sit recessed in the tube and it won’t auto fire when put down on a table. However, it doesn’t have a locking function of the button, and since the spring is a bit on the soft side it could auto fire if you are unlucky while it’s in a pocket.
The switch is what’s used for adjusting battery rattle, and what you do is you put the battery into the tube and then screw the switch in until it sits snug and thats it; the battery rattle is handled. It is also serialized with an engraving on the side of the switch housing.
The travel on the button is a bit on the far side, but it does work well and I haven’t had any misfiring happening while using it. Nor have I experienced any hot button. But what I have experienced is arcing and arc marks on the contact pin, and lots of them. It is even so much arcing going on that the silver plating on the contact pin is getting damaged.
All the threads on this tube is just smooth,and changing battery is no problem at all since the threads won’t be giving you any trouble. A useful hint though whenever you change battery is to loosen the RDA somewhat to make it easier to get the switch out. The same thing when you screw the switch back in; leave the RDA a little lose and as soon as the switch feels in place, you tighten the RDA again and everything sits real snug.
Assessment
It is a well made, well machined mechanical tube mod that holds a high quality for the most part. It does hit well and it doesn’t get any hot button. Only real gripe I have with it is the arcing and if it hadn’t had that it would have been awesome. As it is now it is a good tube mod with a flaw.
Can I recommend it to others?
If you are in the market for a well made mechanical tube mod that is fairly priced, I can’t see why not. The quality on it alone makes it attractive.
Pros
Machining
Hard hitting
Silver plated contact pin
Smooth threads
6 ventilation holes
Cons
Arcing issues
A bit soft spring
Parameters
Width: 24 mm at the top, 26 mm at the widest point, 21.5 mm at the narrowest point
Length: 88 mm
Brass, Copper, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Limited Edition
Package includes
1 x Ironsmith v1.1 mechanical mod
1 x Manual
1 x Battery warning card
You will find it here
At Ironsmith Group for $109.90 at the time I wrote the review.
And before ending this review I want to point out a few things of importance to those new to mech mods and also the seasoned user. Remember to always pay attention to…
Battery safety
Ohms law
Having a hybrid connection you must make sure to have a protruding enough 510 pin on the atomizer
Keeping your mech mod clean at all times. Meaning the connections, switch, threading and internally
Thanks for reading this far and Vape on!
Norseman
