If you are reading this, you are probably looking for some advice on how to use glass pipes. You may be wondering things like, what to pay for them, what to look for, etc. There are so many options available that choosing your first pipe can seem daunting. Which to choose? Will I like it? How will it hit? Why this and not that? Don’t worry, this glass guide has everything you need. So, let us take you through the process in easy-to-follow steps.
Why Smoke Using Glass Pipes?
Basically, glass pipes are the best kind of pipe to go for if you want a quality smoking experience. Plastic pipes taste funny, there are also all sorts of health risks involved in heating up and inhaling plastic fumes. Plus, they usually look and feel tacky. They also don’t hold up to the test of time.
There are alternatives, like metal pipes or wood pipes, and those are OK for some applications. Overall, though, glass pipes win out because of a few major factors including being able to insulate heat while also being appealing to the eye.
Heat Transfer
The glass is a heat insulator. This means that it is difficult to heat up an entire glass pipe, even if you are blazing away for a while. With a metal or plastic pipe, if you are holding your lighter over the bowl for more than a few seconds, the entire unit can get really hot, and you might drop it. This is why glass is so useful. It keeps the heat where you want it, in the bowl. There is also the benefit of helping you to keep your herbs burning consistently and not cooking them while you are not using it.
Glass Is Inert
This means that glass does not react with anything. Silicon dioxide (the main ingredient in glass) is a remarkable substance, it has all sorts of fascinating properties, like not behaving like a solid or a liquid. A physicist will tell you more, but for now, the take-home fact is that glass will not affect the flavor of your herbals. Whatever you put in there, you are going to get only the smoke and none of the pipe. It makes a difference.
Glass Pipes Are Artful
Glassmaking is a skill that requires years of dedication and hard work to master the craft and deserve every right to be put into the category of artist. Glassblowing is an expression of the creativity of the glassblower, as well as the massive technical skill required to pull off some of the techniques.
Supporting Local Industries
Many glass pipes are hand-blown by masters in their craft. For a surprisingly low price, a customer can pick up a pipe that was lovingly made by someone who is passionate about their trade. Instead of faceless corporations, you can support local trades and industries and encourage the growth of a once-dying art. You aren’t just buying a pipe, but the hours of labor and love put into it by the artist who made it by hand.
Disadvantages Of Glass Pipes
This is a glass pipes beginner’s guide, so you need to know about the disadvantages that come with glass pipes, as well as the benefits. Glass pipes provide a multitude of benefits and only a few disadvantages that we will walk you through.
Glass Is Delicate
Even borosilicate, the glass used in laboratories and hospitals, can shatter quite easily. Some pipes, like spoon pipes (see below) are made from thick glass and can withstand a few drops, while other pipes are more delicate. A pipe is most likely to break on a joint where two pieces of glass have been melted together.
Glass pipes can be as complicated as you want them to be. They do, however, get more and more delicate the more intricate they are. A top-of-the-range glass pipe can cost upwards of thousands of dollars and will shatter in a second if you drop it. For the eternally clumsy, glass pipes are probably not the best choice. However, with a proper case and a bit of care, you can keep a glass pipe going for years to come. They become like old friends in the end.
Glass Can Be Expensive
When you are buying a hand-blown piece of glass, you are paying for a local tradesperson to make something. So, you are paying for the education, the time taken to learn the skills, the profits, and more. This makes it more expensive than ordering pipes made in enormous factories, often in another country, by people who have no idea about pipes and glass blowing culture. However, you are paying for a quality product. That man or woman who made that pipe by hand intimately understands what the customer needs and wants, so you get a superior product.
How to Choose the Right Glass Pipe
Go and try them! A pipe is a totally personal thing, you might not know you like a certain feature until you have tried it. That does not mean going into a headshop and blazing away in there. But usually, you can go in and handle the products to get a feel for them.
Types Of Glass Pipes
No glass pipe beginner’s guide would be complete without looking at all the different types of glass pipes, so here we go!
Steamroller Pipes
We shall start off with one of the more powerful ways of smoking your herbs. The steamroller is basically a small bong that is used horizontally instead of vertically. Unlike a bong, there is no water or ice to soften the hit. It might be a bit much for the beginner, but it is worth taking a look at them. Glass blown ones can range from about $20 to hundreds of dollars with extra features like percolators, interchangeable bowls, and the choice of a carb (the hole for your thumb). In general, steamrollers are for the seasoned smoker.
Spoon Pipes
This is probably the choice for the beginner. A small, portable, discreet and often colorful choice of a glass pipe. They are shaped like spoons (hence the name) and are as simple as a pipe can be. Thin glass spoon pipes are more delicate but lighter and heat up more quickly. A thick bowl and a thin stem are generally recommended. Look for designs by different artists; Chameleon Glass is a great place to find the best glass spoon pipes for the money. You might be surprised at how cheap a good spoon pipe can be.
Bubbler Pipes
Sometimes referred to as bongs or water pipes, a bubbler pipe has a chamber for water (or beer, wine, maybe orange juice). What you lose in portability you make up for in smoking pleasure. They range in price from around $30 to however much you are willing to spend. Optional extras include percolators, interchangeable bowls, ice chambers, extra chambers, water recyclers, extra length air paths, the options are endless. Once again, there are hundreds of local glass blowers making astounding pieces of art that work as beautifully as their desired function.
Glass Pipe Beginning User’s Guide
Once you’ve selected your piece, using it is easy, here are the five steps you should follow to get the perfect hit the first time!
Step 1: Grind up your cannabis. A fine grind will help it burn evenly and consistently, keeping the flavors intact. You can grind it with your fingers if it’s dry enough or use an herb grinder or a shot glass with a small pair of scissors.
Step 2: (optional) Use a screen. These act as filters for the herb and stop most of the little hot bits from sucking through the bowl into your mouth. Brass or steel screens work well. You can also get glass screens shaped like jacks or small honeycombs if you don’t like metal. Make sure it is packed down into the bowl before you use it. The resin from your first few hits should help hold it in place.
Step 3: Get your lighter technique right. Burning in from the side is the most controlled way of smoking a pipe. By burning up only a section at a time. The user can keep the rest of the bowl fresh for the next hit or for your friend when you pass them the pipe. This technique is also known as Lighter Etiquette.
Step 4: The carb: Most glass spoons and bubblers will come with a carb hole on the side by the bowl piece, you will want to plug this with a finger while you put flame to your herbs and draw in, this creates a vacuum inside the pipe that fills with smoke and when you release the carb hole it shoots the smoke deep into your lungs, minimizing irritating throat time on your smoke.
Step 5: Slowly take your hit. A slow toke will get the herbs burning nice and thoroughly. If you inhale super-hard through the pipe you can get bits coming through as well as nasty flavors. Pros call these the ‘scooby snacks.’
And a closing tip, don’t EVER blow through your pipe. The result will only ever upset you.
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