Current firecrackers

[nayslayer]

Are there any currently available firecrackers that are wrapped in any design. The only ones I have seen are all gray or red.

[displayfireworks1]

The red ones, I call them the Universal Chinese Firecracker. The only thing different is the outside package. Those small fireworks seem like so much work to produce, I often wonder how they make any money on them in China.

[hatsgoods]

i dont know if its true or not but i heard they where going to stop making all firecrackers in china due to the factory explosions. i could be wrong but if i can find the article where i saw that posted ill link it up here. but as of now i cant find it. plus it was like a month or 2 ago i heard this and they could of change it by now.

[RalphieJ]

i dont know if its true or not but i heard they where going to stop making all firecrackers in china due to the factory explosions. i could be wrong but if i can find the article where i saw that posted ill link it up here. but as of now i cant find it. plus it was like a month or 2 ago i heard this and they could of change it by now.

That's kinda hard to believe. Even though it may appear to us here that the profit margin is low, think of the multi-millions (billions?) of crackers that are purchased annually over the entire globe and the numbers become substantial. I could see tightened regulations (did you ever see the videos from India where they mix flash on a concrete floor? YIKES!) but I doubt you'll live to see the demise of our cherished 1 1/2 inchers.

[nayslayer]

I think i've heard of the lady fingers becoming extinct, but not the 1 1/2.

[countryboy7978]

Ladyfingers are pretty much extinct. I think Megabanger might be the only brand still importing them. Flash powder will still be made. It's an integral part of more than just firecrackers.

There are still a few companies still putting shell wraps on crackers. Brothers Blast Crackers still come to mind. They either had the Red with white brothers logos, or they had the flag wraps. USA brand crackers still have star/snowflake wraps. It's a shame that the red crackers are not the same as the celebration strings that used to use a higher quality red paper that would leave quite the confetti behind. Most of the newer main stream brands all use the same recycled red wraps. Black Cat and Sheltons have some black/grey wraps that are just as bad.

[nayslayer]

Yeah, thanks for that info. I know it doesn't matter much, but is more interesting to look at. I'll have to keep my eyes out for those.

[countryboy7978]

Before class 7 firecrackers all DOT and earlier Firecrackers has shell wraps.

Star/snowflakes were the most common. Thunder Bomb, Supercharged, Block Buster, Cherry Bomb/M80 Volcano Flash, Link Triad, some NCI brands and Midwest Brands.
Barber poles: Flying Dragon, Island Brands 50s, Super Flash, some Zebra
Starburst: Big Bomb, M100 Panther, Island Brands 16s, Stork
Daisy: Thunder Bomb, Tiger, early Jumping Jack
Old Man Pajamas (Mosiac): Anchor, Camel, Duck

Of course some brands had logo wraps such as Black Cat, Red Devil, Brothers, Uncle Sam, some Thunder Bomb, some Zebra, some Flying Dragon. The pre-DOT era I am not familiar with as well but lots of interesting shell wraps came prior to the 1970s.

[Knightmare]

Country Boy,


Your posts are the greatest dude!

There anything you don't know about? I love the posts about firecrackers. You really seem to know everything.

[countryboy7978]

I don't claim to know it all but I'm passionate about fireworks. Thank you though

[Dion]

Its a damn shame what's become of the cracker industry! :(

[countryboy7978]

Its a damn shame what's become of the cracker industry! :(

While most of us blame CPSC or economics (both of which are valid factors), The main reason for the decline in the firecracker industry in the US is us! The tastes have changed along with the development of technology. 25-30 years ago a fireworks "stash" consisted of several bricks of firecrackers, a brick of Jumping Jacks, a gross or two of bottle rockets, and for night time a couple fountains, pin wheels, Roman candles and sky rockets. If you were really lucky you might have a small festival ball kit and some single shot tubes, and if you were even luckier some bootleg M80s. When you walked into a fireworks superstore like Phantom or Shelton, firecrackers took up several isles in the store. You had several types of lady fingers, you had Thunder Bomb, Black Cat, Red Lantern and usually a few regional or house brands. They came in bricks and belts of all sizes. The legal M80s from US manufacturers like Apollo of the Ozarks, Space Age, and Mid South lined the shelves. PoSing had their salute knock offs too sitting right next to them. Now you walk into a fireworks store and at least 50% of the shelf space is cakes and reloadables kits. Firecrackers take up a small section of an isle now. Some stores barely carry 2 brands of firecrackers, and they are equally awful. They are now an afterthought as opposed to a mainstay of anyone's firework purchase. This is why the quality has suffered. People don't want to pay a premium for firecrackers anymore. Notice that Black Cats no longer have a logo and instead are either ugly grey or washed out red paper. It costs money to put those little wraps on with cracker, it costs money to have them hand crimped and braided. The Chinese worker now has many other industries to work in now rather than risk life and limb making fireworks. It's a different world now. Even little kids don't want firecrackers anymore. They want 500 gram cakes and canister shells and even though they are bigger and more spectacular, they are safer to use in most cases. I can't remember the last time I had a dud. As a kid it was 1 in 4 chance it seemed that your item wouldn't ignite properly.

[Knightmare]

While most of us blame CPSC or economics (both of which are valid factors), The main reason for the decline in the firecracker industry in the US is us! The tastes have changed along with the development of technology. 25-30 years ago a fireworks "stash" consisted of several bricks of firecrackers, a brick of Jumping Jacks, a gross or two of bottle rockets, and for night time a couple fountains, pin wheels, Roman candles and sky rockets. If you were really lucky you might have a small festival ball kit and some single shot tubes, and if you were even luckier some bootleg M80s. When you walked into a fireworks superstore like Phantom or Shelton, firecrackers took up several isles in the store. You had several types of lady fingers, you had Thunder Bomb, Black Cat, Red Lantern and usually a few regional or house brands. They came in bricks and belts of all sizes. The legal M80s from US manufacturers like Apollo of the Ozarks, Space Age, and Mid South lined the shelves. PoSing had their salute knock offs too sitting right next to them. Now you walk into a fireworks store and at least 50% of the shelf space is cakes and reloadables kits. Firecrackers take up a small section of an isle now. Some stores barely carry 2 brands of firecrackers, and they are equally awful. They are now an afterthought as opposed to a mainstay of anyone's firework purchase. This is why the quality has suffered. People don't want to pay a premium for firecrackers anymore. Notice that Black Cats no longer have a logo and instead are either ugly grey or washed out red paper. It costs money to put those little wraps on with cracker, it costs money to have them hand crimped and braided. The Chinese worker now has many other industries to work in now rather than risk life and limb making fireworks. It's a different world now. Even little kids don't want firecrackers anymore. They want 500 gram cakes and canister shells and even though they are bigger and more spectacular, they are safer to use in most cases. I can't remember the last time I had a dud. As a kid it was 1 in 4 chance it seemed that your item wouldn't ignite properly.


This explains why when much younger the smaller things were more amazing than today.

There was a time when you threw Jumping Jacks they would fly really high and were longer lasting. Firecrackers were more powerful in the olden days. Roman Candles seemed better back then as well unless you can find overloaded ones out there these days.

[RalphieJ]

Its a damn shame what's become of the cracker industry! :(

I believe what happened is that ease of manufacture and profit and the thinking that crackers were kid's toys has defined the process now being used. This strategy may have contributed to consumers switching preferences thereby purchasing larger (ie louder/reliable) products instead of firecrackers. Tell you what, I'd gladly pay $20-$25 for a brick of well-made firecrackers with long, tight fuses, crimped ends, and colorful wraps and labels.

[Dion]

Tell you what, I'd gladly pay $20-$25 for a brick of well-made firecrackers with long, tight fuses, crimped ends, and colorful wraps and labels.[/QUOTE]

I would pay that no problem! Hell I pay triple that now for vintage bricks and still light some of them!

[Kenny East]

I bought some nfa reproduction firecrackers and sadly they were generic red crackers... Found an old brick of giraffe crackers at a hole in the wall store... Still work but have a very distinct odor compared to modern crackers... Miss roller coasters, or old blockbuster brand crackers... Now their the red sticks of disappointment

[PryoNM]

My mom and pop store have the good thunderbombs, but it most likey was stuff that did not sale as they have new shells and cakes.

[countryboy7978]

My mom and pop store have the good thunderbombs, but it most likey was stuff that did not sale as they have new shells and cakes.
I'm just going to assume that the Thunder Bombs you are referring to are newer even though they still have the old artwork. If the bricks have a DOT Class C Common Fireworks label on them then they are at least 25 years old. If that's the case, buy every brick that they have. If they say UN0336 or 1.4G Consumer Fireworks on the label anywhere, then more than likely they are standard dull red wraps with clay and 50mg of flash.