Why You Should Use Glass Pipes
By Ron Bartels, Ph.D.
Casually put, legal herbal smoking is an old custom of inhaling smoke from herbal mixtures. It's been practiced for as long as man can remember. Almost every society smoked something they could grow locally by cultivation or which grew nearby. They did not have access to the eclectic variety of herbs from all over the word so using briarwood, (a highly absorbent pipe material) just enhanced the smoking pleasure.
Until recently, herb selection was limited to local species. In modern times, thanks to the Internet commerce, the situation has rapidly changed. Hundreds of different herbs kinds and herbal mixes available almost at any online herb store. Many sites that sell herbs fail to warn users about the dangers of mixing different substances.
Having such a vast selection leaves any herb smoker, from beginner to expert, facing the ultimate question; "just what is the ultimate and safest herb-smoking device?"
For those who consider themselves connoisseurs, using wooden, ceramic or metal pipes is simply unacceptable. Due to the nature of the material, it's nearly impossible to completely clean out such pipes without getting its material to come into the chemical reaction with cleaning solution. As a result, dangerous chemical residue and, in case with metals, corrosion collected on inner sides of the various pipes. What makes it particularly dangerous is that the deposits are in various forms of resins which simply stick to all the surfaces.
Many herbs are extremely potent. In some cases, very little is known about the way they react with the human body. Scientists seem to know very little about the inter-reactions between different kinds of herbs. That is why using these "impossible-to-completely-clean-out" pipes to experiment with more than one herb kind is not only not recommended, but it could also be exceedingly dangerous for your health. We would not recommend for you to make and use any disposal homemade smoking devices; these could be unsafe and could be harmful to your body.
Now, that's where glass pipes come into play. Many are created with herbal smoking in mind. Glass smoking pipes can be easily cleaned with any chemical cleaning solution available on the market within just minutes.
High quality "glass" smoking pipes are superior to metal, ceramic or wooden pipes when it comes to herb smoking because:
1. Metal and ceramic pipes retain heat and react chemically with combustion, whereas the glass pipes don't.
2. Glass is chemically inert and does not produce unintended chemicals with combustion. Instead, they produce pure herbal smoke.
3. When handled with care, glass pipes are virtually indestructible unlike wooden pipes, which burn up over time.
4. The colors of the glass pipes intensify when heated and become more pronounced when resinous deposits accumulate with use.
Most glass pipes are designed with small inside out loading chambers. Such calculated designs permit smokers to more accurate monitor and effectively adjust the quantities of herbs placed in the glass pipe. This has aspect has ever greater significance for beginners who are learning to deal with highly potent substances.
By Ron Bartels, Ph.D.
Casually put, legal herbal smoking is an old custom of inhaling smoke from herbal mixtures. It's been practiced for as long as man can remember. Almost every society smoked something they could grow locally by cultivation or which grew nearby. They did not have access to the eclectic variety of herbs from all over the word so using briarwood, (a highly absorbent pipe material) just enhanced the smoking pleasure.
Until recently, herb selection was limited to local species. In modern times, thanks to the Internet commerce, the situation has rapidly changed. Hundreds of different herbs kinds and herbal mixes available almost at any online herb store. Many sites that sell herbs fail to warn users about the dangers of mixing different substances.
Having such a vast selection leaves any herb smoker, from beginner to expert, facing the ultimate question; "just what is the ultimate and safest herb-smoking device?"
For those who consider themselves connoisseurs, using wooden, ceramic or metal pipes is simply unacceptable. Due to the nature of the material, it's nearly impossible to completely clean out such pipes without getting its material to come into the chemical reaction with cleaning solution. As a result, dangerous chemical residue and, in case with metals, corrosion collected on inner sides of the various pipes. What makes it particularly dangerous is that the deposits are in various forms of resins which simply stick to all the surfaces.
Many herbs are extremely potent. In some cases, very little is known about the way they react with the human body. Scientists seem to know very little about the inter-reactions between different kinds of herbs. That is why using these "impossible-to-completely-clean-out" pipes to experiment with more than one herb kind is not only not recommended, but it could also be exceedingly dangerous for your health. We would not recommend for you to make and use any disposal homemade smoking devices; these could be unsafe and could be harmful to your body.
Now, that's where glass pipes come into play. Many are created with herbal smoking in mind. Glass smoking pipes can be easily cleaned with any chemical cleaning solution available on the market within just minutes.
High quality "glass" smoking pipes are superior to metal, ceramic or wooden pipes when it comes to herb smoking because:
1. Metal and ceramic pipes retain heat and react chemically with combustion, whereas the glass pipes don't.
2. Glass is chemically inert and does not produce unintended chemicals with combustion. Instead, they produce pure herbal smoke.
3. When handled with care, glass pipes are virtually indestructible unlike wooden pipes, which burn up over time.
4. The colors of the glass pipes intensify when heated and become more pronounced when resinous deposits accumulate with use.
Most glass pipes are designed with small inside out loading chambers. Such calculated designs permit smokers to more accurate monitor and effectively adjust the quantities of herbs placed in the glass pipe. This has aspect has ever greater significance for beginners who are learning to deal with highly potent substances.
