Photography by Gina Coleman
You know that feeling when you’ve just re-packed your bowl and wave the flame over your freshly broken-up buds, take a deep inhale and … nothing. Your cheeks strain and your lips pucker as you desperately try to get a hit out of the clogged pipe.
Trying to get a drag out of a blocked up pipe is the worst, but with this easy-to-make craft, you can catch ’em all before it clogs.
For stoners, preventive actions against inconvenience are a cornerstone to our existence. Let’s face it — when you’re toking, the last thing you want are problems to solve or things to fix. So, let’s get you up to speed on how to keep your pipes ready for a good sesh.
Important
Choosing the correct wire is critical. Jewelry wire from any craft store will do, but it should be stainless steel or pure brass. Kanthal and nickel are slightly harder to come by, but also safe and likely already on hand if you build your own coils for vaping e-juice. Do not use wire with dipped, plated, or sprayed on finish such as rose gold. When exposed to heat, those finishes release carcinogens that are dangerous to inhale. Besides, those colors will fade off the metal with continued use, anyway.
Material
- Wire (kanthal, stainless steel, nickel, or if you’re fancy, pure brass)
- Long-nose pliers
- Your pipe
This project is a lot like rolling a joint by hand: You gotta feel it out and guesstimate the dimensions.
- Get an idea of the depth of your bowl. Your finger will do — or you can use a pica ruler if you like being exact.
- How big is the bowl hole? The bowl hole is the main culprit of clogs, and you need to twist the wire to prevent your bud from going through, but it also allows plenty of air flow.
- Start twisting! Starting with the bowl hole covering, twist in a cone shape, leaving space between the wires as you continue to expand the cone. Place the wire inside the bowl every now and then to make sure it fits as you continue twisting
- Give it a nice, easy-to-grab handle.
Voilà! It’s all done, and you’ve effectively found a way to save your shesh-circle from the perils of a clogged bowl.