Glass pipes are specifically designed for the purpose of smoking cannabis, however they can be used for smoking tobacco also. These products and the idea behind them has been around for a significant amount of time now, however the aesthetics and designs behind the product have changed a lot in recent years. These products can range in design to small, simple handheld devices which get the job done quickly, to big glass bubblers with intricate designs as far as the imagination spans. Some of them are made of numerous different colours to even ones with gemstones and others made of wood and other similar materials. In the past, wooden products were favoured for the flavour that they added to the smoke within, however nowadays affordable glass pipes are definitely favoured over their wooden counterparts as they isolate the pure flavour of the bud smoke.
History of glass pipes
During 1500BC, anything made of this material was considered to be valuable due to the difficulty in making it with crude materials. The blowpipe, which helped to revolutionize the way this material was made, was not developed until 30BC. Whenever the first glass pipes were used, it was unlikely to be in these times mentioned as the methods to develop glass pipes had not yet been seen. Furthermore, wooden products were always favoured in history, and it is unlikely we would have seen their use until the modern times.
Should you use them?
Whether or not you should use glass pipes is up to your personal preferences and tastes. When using wooden products, you will be experiencing the smoke with some added wooden flavour, which is appealing to some people and was appealing to many in the past. With the use of glass pipes, there is no added flavour and as such, you are isolating the smoke and experiencing only the flavour of the bud.
Best ways to use
Glass pipes should be used and the smoke inhaled quickly within a few seconds. Allowing the smoke to stay in the product for more than a few seconds will turn the smoke stale, and the taste will not be great. For this reason, smaller glass pipes will usually taste fresher in comparison to other larger products, as the product can be cleared quickly due to its smaller size. This ensures that the smoke stays fresh and does not go stale. However, these smaller products will require constant cleaning due to the smaller surface areas which allow tar and other resin to stick to the material and build up easily.
Safety tips
Glass pipes are generally safe to use, granted you are only smoking Cannabis with them. However, they are prone to breaking. As you can imagine, the product is delicate and can easily snap when handled too roughly or especially when dropped. When cleaning the product, you must ensure not too much pressure is placed on it, as it can easily break. Moreover, if the product is not handled safely and is dropped, it will more than likely break, and you probably will not be able to fix it.
All in all, glass pipes are a great investment for any regular toker. There are many things to know about them, but ideally you just need to know how to clean the product and try not to break it, as it can break very easily.
Happy toking to all Aussie smokers!