Glass Pipes

Quite simply, a glass pipe is a smoking implement made of glass. This is an all-inclusive term, as it could encompass something as simple as a spoon pipe or chillum on up to a Sherlock or hammer bubbler or even a full-sized, multi-chambered bong. If it's glass and you can smoke out of it, count it as a glass pipe.

Think of this like a Venn diagram: glass pipes CAN be water pipes, and water pipes CAN be glass pipes, but not ALL pipes are both. In order to count as a glass pipe, the pipe should be made of glass. To be classified as a water pipe, there needs to be one or more chambers to be filled with water providing filtration for smoke. A spoon pipe is never a water pipe no matter what it's made of, for example. An acrylic bong is a water pipe, sure, but it's not a glass pipe. A glass bubbler, meanwhile, is both a water pipe and a glass pipe.

This has long been a matter of debate. Some people insist that the off-putting taste metal pipes deliver is proof that unwanted chemicals are leeching into their smoke. With some cheaper metals this might be the case, but little definitive research has been done on how pipe material affects smoke composition. It is, however, generally agreed that a clean glass pipe is best for imparting the flavor of an herb as it's smoked. Remember that smoking is an inherently dangerous activity, if harm reduction is a priority for you consider looking into a dry herb vaporizer.

There are several reasons smokers prefer a glass pipe to other materials. They undoubtedly deliver the best taste from smoke. It's easy to tell when your glass pipe is clean, and a quick bath with rubbing alcohol and rock salt can scrub away the most baked-on resins. Adding to that, glass pipes are a work of art, with hand-blown variants ensuring that even if hundreds of others similar to your implement of choice exist, yours is still its own unique, one-of-a-kind creation.

Longevity is really a question for the user, but the simplest answer for how long a glass pipe lasts is "until you break it." Properly cared for and cleaned, glass pipes can last for years or even decades. No one ever wears out a glass pipe, but most will, one day or another, meet their match in the form of a drop onto a hard counter or floor.

You'll find all sorts of specialized cleaning supplies at your local head shop, but the truth is that most of these are unnecessary. Filling your pipe with rubbing alcohol and a few spoonfuls of rock salt (which won't dissolve in the alcohol) along with some vigorous shaking is all it takes to knock sticky resin out of your pipe, leaving it good as new. For smaller pieces, add the alcohol and salt to a zipper lock bag or tupperware container along with the bowl or pipe and shake away. Make sure to use plenty of warm, soapy water to rinse all the alcohol out of the pipe before use and you'll be able to have your piece sparkling like new time and again.