How I found the best wiretip wood burner

By Valarie Connell /Drawing With Fire ®️

This is all about the day my pyro wood burner world crashed down around me and the almost 2 years journey to get back up. This is a long read, but if it helps someone else, it was well worth the time to write and edit. It all started in January of 2016, 11 years into my burning career. I was so bummed when Alice retired nibsburner in 2016. It was my first wire tip burner that I used for 10 years. I was loyal only to nibsburner during this time. I loved mine, it gave me a new creative freedom amongst my pain. A relief I desperately needed.

Let’s travel back to that day. The day I went to order new pens and the phone number wasn't working. I remember the date well, Jan 2, 2016. This is when my frenzy started, this up & down journey. I picked up the phone and called the phone number I had dialed many, many times over the years. However something was strange this time, the number wasn't working. What happened? Oh (insert your favorite expletive) I can't get any more pens if I can’t get ahold of Alice. I jumped online, nope the website still works. Did she have to change the number? Damn, it’s the same one… I will try it again. Still the same message, “beep, beep, beep. The number you have called is no longer in service.” Email! I can email her to find out what is going on, I need to replace some pens and now I am worried about Alice. I frantically typed out that email trying to stay calm. Basically my email read: Alice, it's Valarie. I hope all is well. The phone isn't working and I really need to order some pens.

The reply was devastating. To paraphrase the automatic email response, it said; I have retired from nibsburner and it is closed as of January 1st. The business is now up for sale. Nooooooo, I missed her by 1 day! I quickly replied, I’m so glad you are taking time for you, you deserve it. I wished her peace & health, because I do care about this. I then asked, is there any way I could get some of the stock that was left? No more replies… ever, it was over. I actually cried, literally stood there telling hubby everything as I cried. What am I going to do now? Yes I was this dramatic.

This is when the wood burner journey truly began. After about an hour of venting and feeling sorry for myself, I started researching. I had never even looked at another burner. Alice had taken care of me, had given me advice. Had spent hours with me on the phone talking me through adjustments. I even got to meet and give her a hug at the 2013 Desert Wood Carver's show. Alice had left a wonderful little note on one of my winning burnings. It was a nice surprise to find as I was leaving.

Now onto the research. I spent hours reading. I didn’t know then, what I know now. I had 10 years of detailed pyro art experience, but had only ever bought one burner. I knew I wanted to try some ball tips, but that was about it. Alice never could figure out how to make them the way she wanted them. I found burnmaster and it came with 10 tips and you could buy a 3 ball tips set. Everything I read claimed that burnmaster was able to use razertip & nibsburner, so hey I could have options. BUT it wasn’t cheap. Could I justify spending that money? For another day or two I mulled it over. Hubby told me to just to it. Although extremely supportive, I think he was ready for me to be done and just be ok.

So, I bought the burnmaster eagle & ordered some razertip tips & a pen. The hand piece was a lot larger then I expected for the eagle. Wow, it feels heavy and unbalanced, but it is larger tip, hey better for big areas, right? As I went to insert the tip on one of the pens, I found that one of the brand new screws was stripped. After using the rubber band trick to untighten & tighten a stripped screw, I was final ready to go. Damn, why is this pen getting so hot?? At three I can feel the heat, did I put the tip in wrong? Nope, it’s in there just like the instructions say.

Well, let’s plug in the razertip pen into the base. Now which adapter is it? Oh ok its marked on the baggy, but do I connect it to the base? To the razertip & burnmaster cord? Or just on the end of the pen? I will try all three and see what works. Nope it didn't work right for the first two options. Ok just use the adapter at the base of the pen, working now! Are the razertip pens supposed to get this hot? It’s just as hot if not hotter then the burnmaster pen. Ok let's try just a razertip tip in the burnmaster pen. Why is it not seating right? Got it! Nope I don't have it the tip just slipped further into the base. The tips are to small, so much for the burnmaster website & a blog singing the burnmaster’s abilities, saying you could use the razertip tips in a burnmaster hand piece. This is just ridiculous!

Now at this time, I knew you could burn a pen out? Is that what is going to happen? Ugggh I just spent $100 on razertip stuff. The ball tip sets and shaders along with a pen and cord. I can’t let this go to waste. Hubby what now???? I'm worried I will burn the pen out & waste the tips. I tried them in the burnmaster pen. They get way to hot even on 2. Do you think I should go ahead and buy a razertip base? I just got a simple answer, yes.

After another vent session about misinformation, I went online looking for a razertip. In a cranky mood, I ordered the dual with an interchangeable pen. So, another $169 down and another burner on my door step. Three, what in the world am I going to do with three? This is going to work better, right? I had read great reviews and people sang the razertip praises. I had heard of them for years, but I was happy with my nibsburner. So now the razertip pen should be nice and cool & do wonderful burning on the low settings. Everyone said it did, they must know. Nope! The razertip pens were still getting hot and I had to put it on the higher settings, settings that I never had to use before, 6-8. I would think the burn value at 6 would be much darker.

Now the questions really started. Why aren't there light burns on lower setting? Hmmmm, was I doing something wrong? Why did they put a vent in the pen body below the foam? My palm is getting hot! Did I screw in the tip wrong? Why am I having these issue, but don't see others talking about it? The burnmaster & razertip pens are getting so hot, I never had this issue with my nibsburner. The nibsburner pen did start getting toasty warm on 4 and hot on 6. Is this really what I have to look forward too? Now I am $500+ down and still don’t have a back up I really like.

A year later in Feb of 2017 I went to the Arizona Woodcarvers show. I had been talking to Pam from Mountain Woodcarvers about nibsburner for about 9 months prior. She was still waiting for new nibsburner products. I had discussed with her several times about the issues I was having with the burnmaster & razertip. She asked if I had ever tried a colwood? I told her no… not another one. But within the week of our call I started looking at them.

Before the show, I asked if Pam would have any super pro 2 kits at the show… she would. I got to the show on Friday to drop off my art & talk to Pam. She had brought an extra super pro 2 for me. $225 for the kit, ouch. Luckily, back in July, Pam had asked me if she could use my bear head pyrography piece on the cover of their catalog. I had given permission and sent them the photos. What I didn't expect was a few weeks later to receive a $100 gift voucher. I held onto it for months. Ok so now the burner really would be $125, that’s not bad. I will wait until the end of the show weekend and see if I win any cash prizes too. I won a bunch of gift cards for several vendors, but no cash. Ok let's just do this. I bought the colwood and left with high hopes.

I had heard great things now about colwood. They had the tips I wanted. I plugged it in and it felt similar to my nibsburner, this is good right? But wait, the shaders I have aren't gliding over the wood like I'm used too... why? I played with my new toy, happy it was a little cooler then the other two. Yet, there was a nagging feeling still. Why is the shader still feeling laggy on the wood? I contacted colwood about this and some other stuff and found out in a not very comfortable phone call (this is another story) that I had to polish the tip myself. What??? I just bought a $225 dual burner setup that came with 5 tips & I have to finish the tips off myself? Grrrrr... I just want to turn on my burner and go.

Now Alice had made a fur/hair tip I loved. She had described it on the phone to me and I bought it sight unseen in 2012. She had never steered me wrong on tips. Now 5 years later it was wearing down badly and I really needed another one. I contacted colwood asking them if they could make me one. I drew it out, sent photos of my nibsburner tip as examples and told them what it was for. They told me oh yeah we can make it. We will send it to you so you can see how it feels. They sent me the first one for free & it wasn't even close, not even the right angle and shape. I contacted them back and asked for adjustments to make it right. They charged me $12+ shipping. Hmmmm… you got the tip wrong, but I have to pay for a new one. I paid the invoice and got that tip. It's still not right and now I’m a peeved. This can't be that hard. For about a month or so I kept using the nibsburner tip still needing this new one. I even tried sharpening my nibsburner fur tip, but it wasn't the same. I contacted colwood again, told them it was off and I was told it was going to be another $12+ shipping. What? I’m to pay $30 total for a damn tip that “might” be right this time. I was ticked off! I went looking to see if any other company was making the same tip that I could send their photo & description of that one to colwood to get it right this time.

On that fateful Sunday night in August of 2017, I found Optima. Hey they make my tip! I poked around the site thinking, why should I have colwood “maybe” make it right this time? Just order this one. It's $8 more and it’s fixed tip. I had been missing fixed tip. I jumped on ordering the pen and I could try it on my colwood, no new burner needed. I had already spent over $900 in my search for a backup, all of these new burners & tips & pens in the last year and a half. I did NOT need another burner. Besides, how could this burner really be any different? They are all pretty much the same, right? I didn't want to spend any more money. I was pretty happy with the colwood, I will just stick to buying the pen. I was getting 50 minutes of burning time before the pen got way too hot on 3 for me to hold. This was a little better then the other two. Update: about a year later after buying the colwood, I could only get about 15 minutes of burn time before the pen got to hot at 3 to hold. I have no idea why.

The next day I got a call. I didn’t answer it as it didn’t recognize the number. I listened to the message and it’s some guy named Pat calling about my pen order. Why is he calling me? All the others didn't. I called him back and he confirmed my order. I asked about using the pen with my colwood cord. I really wanted to make sure it would work. Pat said it would, but that it would burn a little differently on their base. I would need to turn it up a little. Which got me thinking, did all of the burners act this way? It was never mentioned in anything I read.

Since ordering the Optima pen I got curious and now I wanted to try the Optima base too. I just couldn't bring myself to buy yet another burner. If you are keeping track, I’m already at four. During the call, I convinced Pat to send me an Optima to review on my channel. He was skeptical of me, but I could hear the wheels turning. Could I convince him to take a chance on a very small YouTube channel and a person he had never talked to before now? I had only recently passed 1k subscribers. I had every intention of sending it back and told him this. I wasn’t getting it for free & I didn't need another one, but I'm sure the information could help others and I could learn something.

So Pat & I came to an agreement. He would send an Optima single burner and 1 or 2 pens along with the fur/hair tip pen I bought. I would have the burner for a few months, and during that time I would do the review. I told him if I absolutely loved it & couldn't live without it after those few months, I would buy it. If not, I would send it back. In my head I was sending it back, no doubts there. He told me how his burner was different from the others and that he thought I would love it. Honestly, I didn't believe him, I was jaded. I had already gone through hell with all these burners that claimed this or that. It's his product & I can appreciate him loving it, but would I???

I received the box pretty quickly and in it was a dual and 4 pens. I had requested a single, but hey this works. I set it up & plugged in the pens. Ok these feel nice, let's see what they can do. The tips are really shiny just like he said they would be. Would they glide across the wood like he bragged about? Yep! Time goes by and I'm using them more & more. They feel slightly different in my hand, so I had to get used to them. But, they are working as described. The more I use these and then switch over to colwood, the more I could feel the difference. It's just in my head, right? I have four other burners and they aren't working like this. Hey, look I can get these even lighter burns... who knew? Through all of this I’m looking for cons. There has to be something off about the optima, there just has to be something and I’m missing it. I was definitely looking hard. I will find something.

During this time I sent my nibsburner & all of my fixed tip, fixed cord pens to the new owners of nibsburner. Yay! Nibsburner is back (as it turns out only for a very short time). This will prove to be my worst mistake I had made so far, if you can believe it. They tinkered with it and told me they didn’t know what was wrong. Just added another 4 foot cord and that should be a big enough resistance to cool off the tips. What, now I can burn from across the room??? 8 feet worth of cord from burner to pen & now the pen is way out of balance! I had also sent an extra loose spoon shader tip I had so that they could replace that tip. Nope, they couldn't even do that. Meanwhile, I'm still using the Optima and I'm getting better results then I did with my nibsburner, even before they touched it. Needless to say, I haven't talked to that business since.

Three months later in November of 2017, after I was sent the Optima, I bought it and the three extra pens that were sent. Yep, this time I happily and easily spent that $153. There will be no packing up and shipping out for this baby… it is home. I had found zero issues no matter how hard I pushed it to fail without it breaking. I was in love with the burner and the pens and now it was all mine! No back up burner status for this gal. Front row and main burner all the way.

I literally felt a wave of relief wash over me. I released the biggest breath ever. I didn't even know I was holding it. When I told Pat it was staying here with me, I could hear the “I told you so” happy smile in Pat's voice. He sent me the PayPal invoice and I paid it while we talked. He hadn't even seen my review yet, he didn't know I had done it almost a month earlier. I laugh even now, because yep he was right and I proudly say that.

Now I’m going tell you another reason I love my optima… besides it being the awesomest and everything I have ever wanted in a burner. I have seen some negative stuff that I won't get into. Not about the burner, but about Pat the person. They are just jealous nasty comments meant to dissuade people from buying. In fact, it has been stated that Optima and another brand are basically the same. This is a complete and total lie. Another one of those lies to get you to buy what they are selling. I have seen these tricks and paid for it all before. It's sad really.

Pat has spent so many hours on the phone with me for the past year (3 years now), answering questions, offering up new ideas, listening if I have an idea, and he has askes for my opinions. He has slipped into Alice's place without even trying. I can tell him directly what I think and he listens and values my words. He wants to hear my opinions and respects them. A respect I didn’t get from another company. He has shown great compassion to others that I was honored to watch first hand. Those people know who they are.

Yes, with me and other people he feels comfortable with, this older Army guy swears like well… an Army guy. Hooah! Then again I’m proudly an Army combat soldier’s wife, a Marine Corp combat jarhead’s daughter and sister, and also a Navy seebies granddaughter. I worked in a male dominated dangerous job for 5 years before becoming disable; he has nothing compared to me in terms of words. Lol! He is blunt and honest, but that’s what I really like. Don't tell me things you think I want to hear just so I will buy something. I just don’t have the time and energy for that. I want the truth, the good and the bad and I will make my own decisions. Pat is a one man machine doing all of the business.

When I redid my studio for the third time about six months ago (2018), I sadly packed away my nibsburner and pens. She was done and it was time. This gal had taught me how to have more patience and how to burn. I will forever be thankful to her and Alice. I have her packed up in a clear plastic container, sitting at the top of my tall cabinet. Every now and again I look up at her and smile. I sincerely hope Alice's retirement has been the best ever. I also hope she has not seen what has since become of her baby, the nibsburner brand. I think that is the saddest part.

My razertip started just being useful for collecting dust. I would turn it on for 10 minutes, just to give it another chance. Nope it still sucked. This happened many times for six months. There are many issues with this burner, but that is for another day. There are real reasons why I don't recommend it. My nephew at 10 really wanted to start burning. I kept telling him to wait a few years and see if he was still interested. At 13 he was, so I bought him a versatool and set him up. He told me burning was hard but cool. I promised him that if he was still into burning next year that for his birthday we would talk wire tips. A month before his birthday, I packed up the razertip and over 20 tips, after brushing off the dust of course. I couldn't afford to buy him an Optima like I planned, but the razertip was just sitting there. At least it wouldn't go to waste. I shipped off my razertip for him to learn on. But he had to agree that once he found out which tips he used all of the time, he had to buy those in the Optima version with his birthday money. He excitedly agreed. I need to call that kid!

After all of this testing & research and all of the blood, sweat, tears, and cuss words; I know what happened with all of the other wood burners. Nibsburner didn't have the really low end heat nuance... none of the other burners I have, do. The tips aren't highly polished and all of the pen bodies get too hot. Alice did give me one bad piece of advice, as none of us are perfect. She said to use fine grit sandpaper to clean the tips and I did from 2006 to 2017. I think the reason for this was because everyone was saying it. Now I’m vocal with “PLEASE DON'T!” when I still see this advice given to others. I also have a video showing how to correctly clean your wire tips regardless of brand, here.

My nibsburner tips got too worn down and thin after years of cleaning with sand paper, so now they don't burn correctly. I just didn’t realize it for at least 3 years, maybe more. I just thought things were getting old, the cords and pens that is. I even blamed the electricity in the house. Fyi this can play a role, but not often and not this much. A cherry red tip on three is not a good sign. Alice had taught me how to adjust the trimmers, so that happened a few times. I even paid $60 and Alice switched out my original base for a new one in 2015. Yet, I still had issues. We never looked at the tips. Alice had mentioned a strop and how to make one around 2012, but I didn't listen… not really. I made one out of one of hubby's old leather belt, but I didn't have aluminum oxide. Bottom line, this is why the burner seemed to be burning hotter. It wasn't the base, cord, or pen… it was the tips! It was my fault based on inaccurate information.

Do I regret spending over $1000 in my search? Yes and No. I have gained a ton of knowledge. Knowledge most pyrographers don't even think about. Knowledge that you never find written in reviews or descriptions. I know because, I couldn't and I looked. I have learned what deeper questions to ask. I know the pros and cons of all the burners I have had. I try to share this knowledge with all who ask. I can’t get my $1000 back, but hopefully I can keep someone from spending theirs. Especially, while traveling the very confusing wood burner road.

If you have one of the burners I listed above and love it, great! Just don't fall into the thinking I did, that it is the one and only. Instead ask yourself, what would I change about my burner? What are the things you honestly don't like about it? Be aware! I still ask myself these questions just to see if anything has changed. Thankfully, it hasn't. I have become a person very connected to my pen. I’m not just burning, I’m feeling the burn as it happens. The pen becomes a part of my hand and I feel when there are issues.

I think most of us fall in love with our first wire tip burner. It helps us to expand the creative possibilities and they are an investment. We never like feeling that we spent a lot of money on a dud. We think to ourselves, “I asked around and did some research, it's fine". We dislike admitting to ourselves that maybe we missed something.

Others have gotten mad at me for listing the issues that I know for the other brands. Partly I feel, because my responses makes them question their burners. My comments most of the time aren't directed at any one person, I’m just answering the question posted. I don't attack anyone for the choices they make. Hey, it’s your choice I’m just giving truthful and useful information.

There is one thing to watch out for. In some of the pyro groups there are vendors posting without disclosure. They are pushing a brand, but not telling you they are the ones benefiting if you buy. Question the hell out of them before you buy! See if they give you an honest answer. Ask them hard questions... all of them! Ask them about the razertip being used on a burnmaster and vice versa. See if it matches my first hand story. If it is a colwood, ask if there has ever been complaints about colwood pens melting. If they say no, call the company and ask them. Their answer should tell you a lot.

These vendors aren't allowed in my group in most cases. I know their games and I’m just not having it, I see it in other groups. If I see them pushing a product in mine, they are gone. Respectful honest opinions and accurate information is always welcomed in my group no matter the brand. We need more of this in the pyro world. Pat is in the group BUT he doesn't do any pushing of anything. If he did, well there would be words… remember I have them. Lol! Pat is in the group because I tag him to answer specific questions. He is also in there so that you can tag him with your questions. After all of this frustration, the last thing I want is more misinformation being spread. This misinformation costs us, the artists money and only certain people get paid. When I find a vendor who is upfront and honest, I always try to share them with you.

I do miss Alice every now and again. She was my first wood burner sherpa. I wish her well in retirement, she deserves it. I wish I could check in with her just once and say hi and thank you. That one day in January of 2016, I thought my pyro world collapsed. It turned out to be an eye opening experience. Alice ended up doing me a favor and I see that now. I was stubborn and that needed to change. After spending over $1000 and finding out that what some people say just isn't accurate on most websites; my search came to an end and I have found the best wood burner by far... the Optima.

Update: I got to have a really nice heartwarming phone call with Alice this past summer (2020). She is doing great and trying to live her best stress free life. Sadly her husband past in 2016 & he was her partner in life and with nibsburner. I know he is greatly missed. I now have her phone number to keep in touch.

Finally, I will tell you this; if another burner comes around and some how knocks my socks off, you will be the first to hear about. I will be yelling it from the rafters. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this book, I really appreciate it. Happy Burning!

Notes:

This is my story and it is 100% the truth, no embellishments have occurred. If anything I have toned it down. I didn't go into heavy details about the technical issue for the four other burners for a reason. This was about my journey and the emotions, thoughts, and money I went through. I will be doing a big review of all the burners hopefully in 2021. Make sure to keep on eye on my Drawing With Fire pyrography YouTube channel so you don’t miss it.

Thanks to my most wonderful and awesome soulmate, Jason aka hubcap for being supportive and having patience in all ways, all of the time. I know there was more then a few times your ears almost started bleeding from the venting. Also thank you so much for never complaining or making me feel guilty about a new burner… you definitely could have. I love you!

To purchase the Optima go to: www.carvertools.com

Big Note: I never get paid by any wood burner company. I do receive free pens every now and again from Pat for testing and input, as well as to show on my channel. The 17SR modified coarse hair/fur pen is based on a tip alteration that I requested of the 17SR.