Glass Pipes 101 (Complete F'in guide)

[PhoenixPharmer]

Table of Contents




1. What's so good About Glass?

2. Stale Smoke

3. What is a Carb?
3a. How Do You Use a Carb?

4. Buying a New Pipe
4a. Handpipes
4b. Bubblers
4c. Bongs
4d. Hookahs


5. Collector’s Items/Special Pipes
5a. Art Pipes

6. Different Attributes

7. Color Changing Glass/Types of Glasswork

8. Diffusion

9. Slides Producing Stale Smoke

10. Downtube/Slide/Grommet Matching

11. Glass Screens


12. Cleaning
12a. Shake Method
12b. Soaking
12c. Boiling
12d. Removing Calcium Deposits From Ice

13. Water Filtration- It’s Benefits and Shortcomings

14. Hot vs. Cold Water

15. Protecting Your Glass

[PhoenixPharmer]

1. What's so good About Glass?

Glass leaves no after-taste nor does it create fumes when it is heated excessively. Therefore it is the healthiest medium for a pipe’s construction. Not only that, another important attribute to a glass pipe’s superiority over metal is that you can see inside the chamber- so you can see how much smoke you are getting, or if there is smoke left in the chamber. Glass also does not heat up nearly as fast, nor does it stay hot as long, as a metal pipe.

Besides function glass also has the ability to be shaped into beautiful sculptures, each can have bright colors; swirling, multicolored spirals; sparkling glitter-like metal flakes inside the glass, glass that actually changes color when you smoke out of it, or even little pictures inside the glass. All of these reasons make glass the most superior pipe.


2. Stale Smoke
If you leave the smoke in the chamber of any pipe for longer than about 7 seconds it will begin to go stale. After that point it will get gradually worse until it goes completely stale after about 20 seconds. The smoke itself will turn brown in color, indicating it’s horribleness.

Keep in mind you should try to clear a pipe as fast as possible in order to get the freshest hit possible. You may throw up off of smoke that has gone stale (and you will definitely cough really hard the second you hit it) so it’s a thing to watch out for. One of the most important things about pipes in general is getting one that will not produce stale smoke. Hitting stale smoke is one of the hang-ups about pipes, but it can be avoided.

3. What is a Carb?


A carb is a hole on a pipe; it is designed to prevent stale smoke and allow you to clear a pipe. There are two different types of carbs: thumb/finger carbs

Thumb carbs are holes that you plug up with your thumb (or finger) to use. Thumb carbs are normally on handpipes and bubblers, but occasionally you see them on bongs.

If you are right handed or strike a lighter with your right hand to hit a bowl, a carb on the left side of a pipe is a thumb carb. If the carb is on the right side of the bowl it is a finger carb, or a lefty thumb carb.

Slide carbs are the downtube of a waterpipe; slide carbs are exclusive to water pieces. They are much bigger than thumb carbs in diameter, so you can clear smoke even quicker. They are used with slides, which is what the bowl of a waterpipe is typically called.

3a. How Do You Use a Carb?

Simple- just plug it up, inhale and fill the chamber with smoke, unplug the carb and clear the chamber. It is important to clear the pipe each time you hit it to prevent any stale smoke. If any smoke is left in the chamber you should blow it out.

Using a slide carb is very similar; you are just plugging the carb with the slide. Put the slide into the pipe, fill the chamber, take the slide out, and clear the pipe.

Note: It is a good idea when filling any pipe up with smoke to not let it concentrate too much. If you fill the chamber too much the color of the smoke will change from white to yellow; and you do not want to hit yellow smoke because it is very harsh and tastes bad. Everyone is different when it comes to how much smoke they can take at once- so start with smaller hits and work your way up.


4. Buying a New Pipe
There are several different kinds of glass pipes. These are the main ones:


4a. Handpipes

When purchasing a new handpipe there is one thing you should consider over all things, and that is the size of the carb. Carbs that are too small make the pipe impossible to clear. This causes the piece to have stale smoke stuck in it when you smoke out of it, making for a very harsh hit now and again.

If the bowl has a tiny little hole in it, the carb doesn’t have to be so big. Smaller carbs allow you to draw the smoke out slower, but once again they can cause the piece to be unable to clear, which is a very bad thing.

Examples of quality carbs-
Lost & Indigo

Thicker glass is more expensive but doesn’t heat up as much, and is much more durable. It is a good idea to spend the extra money on a pipe with thicker glass because it can be more cost effective when it lasts a lot longer than a cheap handpipe.

4b. Bubblers
A bubbler is basically a smaller, hand-held version of a bong. Get one of these if you can’t have a large bong, or if you like smaller bongs. Bubblers require a lot of care as they will get dirty much faster than a bong, but they are worth it in my opinion.

When purchasing one- (like with handpipes) same thing about the carb. It must be big enough so you can clear the pipe. Large carbs also make it much easier to clean the bubbler, as you will need to get inside it with a pipe cleaner.

Quality (double) bubbler carb-
Sirius

The larger the downtube on the bub, the larger the carb needs to be. A good rule of thumb is that as big around as the downtube is, that’s how big the carb should be- or it will bubble when you are trying to clear it and leave stale smoke. Not good.

Also, you want to make sure that the downtube is not touching the bottom, and that it is long enough so that it will bubble properly. Make sure you can set it down with water in it too. There are designs that you can’t sit down normally.

4c. Bongs
Make sure the part where the downtube enters the pipe isn’t really thin or shaped funny. A waterpipe will squeak if you get one that doesn’t seal properly, and it will break if tipped over onto the downtube if this area isn’t re-enforced. This is a very important thing to know. Check it for a seal before you buy it. I don’t care if they say something, it’s important. A squeaky waterpipe is annoying.

Kinks on a waterpipe can make it hard to clean, as can any twists:

They can get clogged with resin and it’s really hard to get it out, an ashcatcher will keep that from happening though.

Ashcatchers are basically bubblers that are meant to attach to bongs. They keep the pipe tasting fresh for longer amounts of time and make the hit smoother.

Ice Catchers

Ice catcher bongs are ones that have a special design that catches ice and suspends it over the water in the chamber. There are many different designs: ones that are just a section of the tube indented in, example ones that are basically spikes that are pushed-in sections of the tube called ‘ice notches’ with ice another is a thickened part of the tube making a smaller hole ice gets caught, in example, and others are actually natural ice catchers- ones that the shape of the pipe itself catches ice, not a specially designed part of the tube.

Using crushed ice will generally work better at cooling smoke than big cubes in a smaller bong; but it will melt faster. If you don’t have a fridge that makes crushed ice (like me) you can cut up cubes of ice with a knife to achieve the same effect.

Glass on Glass Bongs

Most of these pipes are made in labs, with precision glass cutting instruments. Instead of using rubber grommets, they use a special downtube/joint system called rough glass, or glass-on-glass. Sometimes artists will get glass-on-glass pieces made in a lab and use them on there own slides by fusing them together.

To remove a glass-on-glass slide or downtube, instead of pulling out you need to give it a little twist before pulling. There are a couple downsides to glass-on-glass bongs, the first being that they are normally not very artistic. Another is that the slide can stick and you can pull out the downtube along with it. They are also not extremely durable pipes as part of the design is very fragile- you can’t knock over one onto it’s downtube because it will break around the area. New designs are coming out to fix this problem though.

However there are a lot of good things about glass-on-glass bongs. First of all they are ALL glass so that no rubber parts can squeak, wear out, or leave a taste when you clean the bong. Second of all they hit really clean and are the tightest with diffusers. And another good thing is that they are replaceable if you break it too; unlike most artistic bongs that only come in batches and aren’t all exactly the same.

There are several companies that produce these bongs, the most notorious being ROOR. Another well known company is PURE glass (also known as a Blue Dot). There is also the Hurricanee, an extremely expensive brand and not as well known as ROOR or PURE. PHX is also an up-and-coming company producing the Trinity waterpipe. There are others but most of them are just copies.

Another Note On Waterpipes

Also know that some waterpipes have been sitting in a store, and the downtube will begin to stick and will be very difficult to remove the first time you clean it. A lot of times you will need to break the downtube on $200+ waterpipes because it sat in the store so long and the downtube got stuck. In fact I had a hell of a time getting Everest’s tube out of him, my buddy’s double perc broke trying to get the downtube out of it (to clean it), and my best friend had a waterpipe that the downtube wouldn’t come out of it but it broke before it needed to be cleaned.

Keep in mind these are all $200+ waterpipes, so this is a big deal. You should ask how long it’s been sitting in the store, and be prepared to buy a new downtube if you have to break the one it came with to get it out. It’s not easy to get a stuck downtube out either, even after you break it.

But it can be done by twisting an end of a fork or spoon inside it after you break it (bash it with the spoon or fork, but be careful) and this will chip the downtube down so you can remove it.

4d. Hookahs

The most important thing about a hookah is if it’s practical or not. Usually hookahs are collector’s items, because you don’t smoke with people all the time. Make sure you have another pipe if you are buying one.

Be prepared to clean tubes a lot as well; because hookah tubes clog very quickly. Make sure when using it that you aren’t putting it somewhere it will break if knocked over, because people will pull on the tubes.

5. Collector’s Items/Special Pipes

Beyond the basic, normal types of glass pieces are the collector’s items: multiple-chambered bongs and bubblers, professional glass art, attachments, or anything else that isn’t a basic handpipe, bong, bubbler, or hookah.

5a. Art Pipes
Some glass isn’t just a pipe, it could be a dragon, an elephant, or a fish- usually these are fragile though, so they aren’t meant to be smoked out of a lot. Remember that if you want an art pipe to last.


6. Different Attributes
Smaller pipes generally make the smoke taste fresher and tastier.

Larger pipes will get the job done faster, and the water inside them will stay fresh and cold longer.

Smaller pipes need to be cleaned a lot more than a big pipe.

Bubblers are easy to blow stale smoke out from, much easier than a bong. Use one when smoking with someone who has trouble clearing a bong.

A hookah is the fastest way to get four people high, period.

Ashcatchers keep the pipe tasting fresher and the main pipe clean for a lot longer. They make a pipe look a lot cooler too in my opinion, but only certain pipes. Big bongs don’t usually look good with ashcatchers in my opinion.

Using special pipes not normally used can make any session more memorable, and bringing a rare piece to a party can even make the night. Everyone loves smoking a way they never have before.

7. Color Changing Glass/Types of Glasswork
Color Changing Glass

A process known as 'fuming'; a glassblower allows the vapors of burning gold/silver/ alloys etc. to pass through the glass. This leaves some of the metal ions on the glass. These ions are colored but VERY lightly.

Now, as you smoke through a CCG (color changing glass) pipe resin/tar builds up. Resin/tar is a dark brown or black color. This puts a dark background to the metal ions which will begin 'showing through', and the color changes.

Double/Triple Blown Glass
Also known as inside-out glass, it just means there are multiple layers of glass. Sometimes the work will be covered by glass, other times it will be on the outside. Usually these types are more durable than something without multiple layers, so they are more expensive. They can be color changing as well.

Techniques/Terms
I won’t get into how they do it but I will give you an example of what the work is called:

Color changers that are yellow and turn blue have been fumed with silver; so it’s called silver fuming.

Color changers that are pink and turn all kinds of colors, mostly gold have been fumed with 24kt gold; so it’s called 24kt gold fuming.

Deep blue glass that is see-through (non-see through is different) has been fumed with a metal called cobalt- so it’s called cobalt fuming. No color change with this type.

There are other metals that they fume with but these are the main ones.

The other two most-common industry techniques are the ‘rake’, and ‘latticino’. (pronounced lat- a – chino)


Latticino is the swirling spirals you see inside nice glass pipes. It can be done in a few different styles, but anything that is a spiral or a woven-type design is known as latticino.

Also any pipe that is just insane glasswork is known as a “headie”. Most stores don’t even carry pieces like these, and when they do they can cost over $400.

There are many other industry terms, but these are the most basic and well-known ones.

8. Diffusion

To diffuse something is to spread it out- or in this case to break it up. Simply put, a diffuser is a downtube with holes put in the end.

When a bubble passes through water, the outside of the bubble comes in contact with the water but the inside does not. Therefore there is a part of a bubble that is unfiltered.

The more surface area that water touches on a bubble of smoke, the more filtered it will be. So if you break a big bubble into smaller ones the smoke will be filtered/cooled better to a degree.

Diffusion is not necessarily better than a normal downtube, because they can concentrate the smoke and cancel out their extra-filtering/cooling effect. Diffusers will also change the way the pipe smokes. Certain pipes belong with a normal downtube, but others can benefit from a diffuser. Usually futuristic pipes like ROOR are best with diffusers.

9. Slides Producing Stale Smoke

Sometimes you will see slides with huge chambers- these generally look really cool but trap stale smoke. Longer tubes on slides were invented to push smoke out of the slide when it’s put back into the bong, but these chambers still hold smoke.
There are several downtube gauges on the market today, and it's easy to get them mixed up. It's very important that you get the right downtube, slide, or grommet for your pipe. Without the right thing in just one of these areas and your pipe will not work. They seem insignificant, but the irony of it is that without any one them you won't be using your bong.

Also it is important to know that most headshops will not take returns, even with unused glass. It is very important to get the right thing the first time.

It is important to know that there are slightly bigger slides than 11mm, and they will not fit into a 11mm downtube:

If you always make sure that a new slide fits into your pipe you should be fine. Sometimes you have to clean the downtube and take it into the store to make sure the new slide will fit.

Grommets
These are very important and easy to lose down the drain. Be careful where you put one or you might be taking apart your sink.

It is important to know the difference between certain grommets in order to get the correct fit. 12mm grommets generally will not work on a 11mm downtube pipe. 11mm grommets will generally not work on a 12mm pipe, although exceptions exist.

The hookah/ashcatcher grommets are needed for tubes the size of a 9mm slide, normally hookah or ashcatcher tubes.

There are stopper-style grommets but if you need one you'll know it.

11. Glass Screens

There are two basic types of glass screens, there are other similar rare kinds though. A glass jack is a four-sided spiked piece of glass. It is normally colored on three spikes and clear on the shorter, fourth spike. The clear spike goes down into the bowl, and it keeps the hole from being clogged from big bowls of dro. They don't work in narrow bowls however, usually only very large, spoon shaped bowls need a screen like this.

The glass flowers are used for smaller bowls, or ones that are deep put narrow. Personally I call them kif screens, because that's what they work best with.

Glass screens are very easy to lose, but are relatively cheap. Keep a bunch on hand and try to keep track of them.

12. Cleaning
Cleaning glass takes patience and a lot of care. Shaking a glass pipe around metal faucets is very dangerous and should be taken very seriously, as you could break the pipe and hurt yourself at the same time; so try to shake all glass away from the faucet. Also try to clean glass when you are not stoned for awhile before trying it really blazed.

These are the materials you will need, minus the optional gloves or soaking tray:

For a cheaper alternative, rubbing alcohol and salt will work just like 4:20, it's just not as concentrated. Just use about two parts alcohol to one part salt, the salt works as an abrasive to scrape the resin off and the alcohol dissolves the resin. 4:20 does the same thing, that's how it works. 91% alcohol or even stronger is best. Use 2 parts alcohol to 1 part salt.

Personally I use alcohol and salt now because 4:20 was getting too expensive. It really does work just as well. If your pipe is extremely dirty I would recommend 4:20 though.

When you use 4:20 make sure you shake the bottle and use a good, even mixture of crystals and 4:20. The crystals act as an abrasive, so just the liquid won’t work very well.

Always remember to clean glass at a kitchen sink. Porcelain sinks will break glass a lot easier than a stainless steel one.

Use a wire hanger to scrape out clogged slides or bubbler downtubes, and the pipe cleaners to finish the job.


12a. Shake Method

Basically all you do is remove the downtube and grommet of your bong, pour the alcohol and salt inside it and shake the bong until it's clean. Rinse the pipe, then repeat the process with clean alcohol to get the pipe to taste fresh. Missing this step can lead to the piece tasting like alcohol. Remember to rinse very thoroughly, many times. Your goal is to remove all the alcohol taste from the piece. Larger bongs need to be rinsed in the bathtub, be very careful around all the porcelain though.

Do the same thing with the downtube, rubbing the outside of it with a q-tip dipped in alcohol and getting the inside ring that the shaking didn't get. Rub the grommet with a clean q-tip dipped in alcohol or a paper towel dipped in alcohol. Then wash it off with soap and water and rub it in between your fingers a lot, to remove all the tar on it. The grommet will sometimes leave a slight rubber taste in the clean pipe, this is normal. The larger-gauge tube grommets don't do this, however.


Cleaning the Slide

Slides and handpipes, and the bowl/downtube part of bubblers can be more difficult to clean than bongs. First of all the way they resin up is very different because of all the heat.

First you need to shake alcohol in it and get it as clean as you can that way. All the other resin that isn’t coming off with the shaking you need to rub with a q-tip or pipe cleaner dipped in alcohol.

Pipe cleaners work really well for scraping parts you can't normally reach inside bubblers or handpipes, like under the carb or behind inside the bowl. They are best for slides and bubbler downtubes though, and you can twist them around and try different shapes to reach inside a bubbler and get all the spots and make it like new.

Sometimes you'll need to kinda curl the end of the pipe cleaner so you can scrape off the outside of a bubbler's downtube- the heat will make the resin stick to the outside of the tube and only rubbing it with a pipe cleaner will remove this type of resin.

12b. Soaking
Soaking a handpipe or slide in alcohol is also another cleaning option, but it only works for smaller pipes and ones that aren't clogged with resin already. Soaking a pipe overnight will basically dissolve all the resin inside it, but only if it isn’t extremely dirty. Soaking a dirty pipe could take days, and you might still need to use a pipe cleaner on it.

You can either soak in a piece of Tupper wear, or in a plastic zip-lock bag. Really dirty pieces need a zip lock bag so you can shake them.

Just when you use a zip-lock pour some salt in it- that will act as an abrasive to remove the deposits inside the slide when you shake it.

Some really dirty pieces need to be soaked for days and shaken at least once a day for a few days. This works best when you have other pipes to smoke out of.


Keeping them clean

Soaking slides/bowls everyday after using them will allow you to always smoke them when they are clean. This works best with slides that don’t have awesome color change, or if you just always want to smoke a clean pipe.

People think cleaning glass is a chore that could take an hour to do. But with this method you can clean a pipe with no effort- all you have to do is rinse the piece out before you use it.

Not all pipes need to be kept totally clean, some look good when they color in, and don’t taste bad when they aren’t that dirty. This just makes cleaning really easy, especially if you have more than one pipe to smoke out of.

Fill it enough to cover the pieces with 91% or stronger rubbing alcohol and a little bit of hydrogen peroxide. Sometimes if the piece isn’t really dirty it will come clean in only a few hours. Not sucking ash into the piece will make soaking work faster as well. Sometimes you might need to use a pipe cleaner but only if the piece is fairly dirty.

After soaking a slide just take it out and rinse it really well with hot water. Then just a little bit of alcohol and salt in the bong- give it a shake- and it’s clean and rinsed in five minutes.

I do this with my bong Magellan, and in the morning I just throw it in a mini fridge to chill the glass. The result is that it takes five minutes to smoke a totally clean bong every day.

12c. Boiling
Boiling can weaken glass if you change the temperature of the glass too quick. Boiling is harmless if done right, because if you can smoke a pipe and heat it up with a flame, the relatively low boiling-point of water is harmless to glass. You just can't drop the pipe into boiling water or take it directly out of boiling water. This will weaken the glass, and taking a pipe out of boiling water and placing it in ice water could shatter the piece!

Boiling however is an important part of cleaning glass. Some pipes have parts that you can't reach with pipe cleaners and the only option is boiling.

I do not recommend ever boiling a bubbler, the downtubes on them are fragile sometimes and it is not worth the risk. Handpipes and slides are best for this method.

12d. Removing Calcium Deposits From Ice
After using a pipe with ice over a long period of time, the tube may start to appear cloudy. This is calcium from tap water, and is very easy to remove.

All you need is the brush; you can get it from a headshop- CLR, and rubber gloves. You put the brush into the pipe, pour CLR over the brush into the pipe, and scrub the tube with the brush, trying to get the CLR into the area while scrubbing. BE VERY CAREFUL OF YOUR EYES. Afterwards it will be sparkling clean like new; but make sure the pipe is already clean when you do this. I don't know how harmful it is to mix CLR and alcohol. Rinse extremely well, CLR is poisonous!

The most important piece of advice I can give to any person who is new at cleaning glass, is be very careful with the downtube when you clean. Put it in a very safe place that it can't roll away from. If you break the downtube when cleaning your bong, the bong is useless. That small tube of glass is just as important (in a way) as the whole thing. Don't treat it like it's a cheap, replaceable part. Many downtubes are rare, and finding the correct length can be hard.

13. Water Filtration- It’s Benefits and Shortcomings

Marijuana smoke contains many carcinogenic substances, and is by nature very hot. Hot smoke can damage cilia and other delicate parts of your respiratory system and tar can blanket your lungs and make it harder to breath.

Water not only filters out tar; but many dangerous gases- and it cools smoke down so that it no longer damages your mucous membranes nearly as much.

Aside from those benefits water filtration also changes the way smoke tastes, usually producing a milder flavor from its cooling effect.

Another benefit of water filtration is that it allows for a smooth draw (inhale) and also allows for the user to take in more smoke than usual without coughing.

There are shortcomings to water filtration however. One of the most apparent ones is the fact that the water becomes dirty and must be changed. Looking at this nasty water can lead one to see how much crap that the water filters out- but can be a chore. Water also leads to spills, which can be annoying- even the bong owing veteran still spills water now and again.

Another annoying thing about water filtration is the fact when you smoke out of a clean pipe the tar that is filtered out begins clumping together; and forms this nasty glob of tar floating around in the pipe. This odd occurrence only happens if the pipe is totally clean, because the tar has trouble sticking to the glass at first.

You also have to be very careful when using a waterpipe because if you cough into one you will ruin the bowl. You can be stoned and try to blow into the pipe instead of inhale and blow water all over the carpet. You can try to blow stale smoke out of the pipe and end up sucking water into your mouth out of the downtube. I’ve seen this many times, even with experienced bong smokers- myself included.

You can also suck water into your mouth normally smoking some bongs if you hit them too hard. The best bongs don’t have this problem though- they are designed to prevent it. Taller bongs or ones with twists or kinks tend to prevent it the best. Changing the water often keeps you from throwing up if you do, though.

14. Hot vs. Cold Water


Cold water is the norm in waterpipes; however hot water in one can be very interesting. Hot water, (not boiling or scalding) will create steam which will open up your airways and make for a very smooth hit. Hot, dirty bong steam is nasty however; so usually hot water is best tried in a clean pipe, and only for a few bowls or so.

Cold water makes the smoke much fresher and crisper, but it will cause the smoke to concentrate if you are not careful. Smoke becomes denser when it is cold, so when it enters your lungs it can cause them to expand more than normal if you hold the hit in for a long time. Cold water can leave a pipe tasting fresh much longer than room-temperature water, ice can also add to this effect.

15. Protecting Your Glass


There are many different styles of pouches for glass pipes, my personal favorite being Vatra. They have matching bag sets too. You can even make your own pipe case, which would be much cheaper.

Many see these cases as travel bags, and while they are great for travel they can still be used at home. It is a good habit to always put your pipe back in it's pouch.

Bags prevent you breaking your piece, plain and simple. You should always buy a bag for a nice glass piece.


Well that’s it guys- hope this helps people with any questions!

[D3vO]

*jaw drops*
omg omg omg omg


EDIT: Sticky to help everyone

[Snaffle]

Great job on this!

Should be a sticky. It will defently help the new tokers.

[PhoenixPharmer]

All the links and goofy HTML should be gone now.

I removed it all by hand. SHIT.

[coolrunnings]

Simply...



Amazing

[Leif]

Great post, man! +Rep

[zidave05]

Why are all the links gone now?

[PhoenixPharmer]

Because we arent allowed to link to other forums, and the thread contained them... Sorry bout that

[genueix]

Sweet find +rep

[.Ret3p^]

Sticky this!

[Aztuk]

Great post man. Sticky this thread.

[PhoenixPharmer]

Glad you guys like it.

I just busted balls making it GC acceptable, by removing a ton of HTML and links by hand...
Only to find there is a REMOVE FORMATTING button under the edit section.

[Snaffle]

^^ Lmfao.

Happends to the best of us!