There’s no denying that we love glass pipes. I mean, they get us lit, so there’s that. But beyond their functionality, they give us so much on a visual level. A good glass smoke pipe has a bit of your own personality suspended in its fritted and fumed frame. Glass pipes are easily as diverse as people so it’s no surprise that anyone can find a glass piece to suit his/her individual style. Yet, we take our paraphernalia for granted. There’s no shame in it, really. It’s the same as a kid in a candy store, marveling at all of the colorful confections, anticipating the sugar rush, but never stopping to contemplate how the candy made it to the shelf in front of them. So, today we’ll tip our hats in respect to the glass pipes that have treated us so well over the years by actually examining them from the inside out.
UPDATE: Other Decorative Glass Pipe Models
Though we specifically focus on frit, fumed and dichro glass pipe models, there are other varieties that you’ll regularly find available using alternative decorative techniques. We carry a lot of spoon pipes that make great use of ribbon and candy cane decoration. Candy cane glass pipes involve a straight shot of colored glass going across the hand pipe. Ribbon glass pipe decoration is similar but utilizes 2 colors. It’s also pretty common to find marble glass pipes that take on a pattern reminiscent of the type of rock for which it is named. Occasionally, you’ll also fund UV glass pipes that use an ultraviolet design to glow in the dark. Glow-in-the-dark hand pipes aren’t as common as the other types we discussed but you can still find them without too much trouble.
Why Glass?
Prior to glass’s prevalence in smoking accessories, clay was a preferred medium for the earthy flavors that it integrated into the smoke. These days, new vistas of flavor are being explored through a vast expanse of strains with any additional flavors only distracting from the herb itself. This is just one of the reasons for a shift in focus to glass as the preferred material for crafting smoking pipes. One of the most popular methods of creating pipes, dubbed the “honeycomb” method, finds glass artisans blowing a sizeable bubble, inserting a hexagonal glass motif, and then allowing the voluminous bubble to retract over the shape. But creativity knows no bounds when fashioning glass pieces. Glass artists have been known to handcraft pipes and use specially designed lathes in addition to the common practice of glass blowing. Perhaps the most dazzling aspect of the pipes we smoke is the often-psychedelic designs and intricate patterns imbued within the glass itself. Artists achieve these effects through a wide variety of techniques that all add further character to the distinctive shapes of the pipes.
The Kaleidoscopic Appeal of Frit Pipes
A cursory glance at our website shows the popularity of frit techniques in pipes crafted from glass. Frit is achieved through crushing pieces of glass, often vibrant in color, before injecting them into the molten form of the glass pipe prior to cooling. Frit can be found as fine powdered glass, jagged glistening shards, and anything in between. While pipes can be fashioned to appear similar, frit pipes are obviously unique due to a lack of control when pouring the glass shards into the molten glass frame.
Metallic Vapors Created the Fumed Glass Smoke Pipe
Rivaling frit pipes in popularity, fumed pipes rely on a technique in which artisans blow metallic vapors into the molten glassware. The vapor becomes trapped within the structure as the glass cools, lending to a subtle coloration of the glass depending on the type of metal utilized. You may find fumed pipes that only use light fuming so that strong colors can be added or heavily fumed pipes that only make use of light additional coloring. After extended use, resin build-up can actually be beneficial in noticing the full allure of the metallic aesthetic offered by fuming.
The Cosmic Science Behind Dichro Pipes
A more complex method of glass decoration, dichroic glass is actually a veneer as opposed to the penetrating adornment of frit and fuming. Dichroic glass was originally developed for use in aerospace applications but so was memory foam so it’s not the first time space business has resulted in earth pleasure. The process for giving glass its dichroic qualities is actually rather complex, relying on a vacuum deposition technique. For this reason, a genuine dichro glass smoke pipe can get pricey. The finished result is an unmistakable iridescent quality as mesmerizing as the shimmer of a butterfly wing. When referring to the 2 colors played off one another in dichroic glass, one is noted as the “transmission color” while the other is the “reflected color.” When placed against a transparent background, the transmission color is more apparent. However, when light hits the dichroic veneer, the reflected color becomes more pronounced.
Once you fall in love with your first glass smoke pipe, it seems that there’s no force of nature that can stop it. But knowing the work and detail that goes into these glass portals to euphoria brings a whole new level of appreciation. The next time you light up, dedicate a toke to the artisan that made it all possible.
