Sample Thief

A sample thief is used for sampling smaller particulate materials, such as powders. A typical sample thief consists of two tubes that are nestled together. Each tube has one or more slots aligned down the sample thief’s length. Before inserting the sample thief into the material being sampled, the slots are closed by rotating the inner tube (right side of figure). When the sample thief is in place, rotating the inner tube opens the slots, which fill with individual samples (left side of figure). The inner tube is then rotated to the closed position and the sample thief withdrawn.