These are rather new, and I can't say that I have personally used them yet, but they are pretty interesting.
Basically, it is a prepared 33COE rod that is made by taking dichro, backing it with color, then encasing the whole thing and pulling it down into rod. The obvious benefit is that since it is fully encased, the color and dichro are protected.
How do you use them in beads? Well, I make some boro beads that basically consist of striping color and pulling down a multicolored cane, then applying it to the mandrel in a thin layer, and using 3mil clear to drag through for color swirls and ripples, then encasing. This is a technique that I learned from Doug Remschneider.
I could imagine taking the Dichro Sizzle Stix and using them either in place of the 3mil after pulling them down, or as a base color in the original cane. Either way, you could add Dichro without worry of burning it out.
Just a thought, and I would certainly love to hear from anyone else that has any thoughts or has tried them!
Chris Camac
Wale Apparatus
www.waleapparatus.com
800-334-9253