Nail

A nail is the heat-tolerant cup or flat platform, seated in a dab rig's joint, on which concentrate is vaporized. The name comes from the original design — a spike-shaped titanium component resembling a carpenter's nail. Historically, nails were made of titanium, ceramic, or quartz; each material differs in heat retention, thermal shock tolerance, chemical inertness, and flavor impact. Titanium heats quickly and resists breakage but can impart a metallic taste and requires seasoning, and concerns about oxide formation at high temperatures have pushed it out of favor. Ceramic holds heat well and delivers smooth flavor but is fragile. Quartz heats fast, cools quickly, and is chemically inert, producing the cleanest flavor — it has become the modern standard, most often in the form of a banger. In contemporary usage, "nail" survives as a generic term for the heated surface in any dab rig, including the ceramic or quartz chambers in electronic rigs, while "banger" refers specifically to the quartz bucket style. → See also: Banger, Quartz, E-nail. ---