Untreated Glass

Untreated glass is the most common water pipe material. In water pipes, it is usually found in Chinese or machine manufactured pieces. Untreated glass is highly prone to heat fracturing and accidental damage. Because of this, the lifetime of untreated glass pieces tends to be less than a few years. The two specialty glasses (treated glass and borosilicate glass) are both much stronger than untreated glass.

Treated Glass

Treated glass is treated with a chemical or thermal process that makes it stronger and more heat resistant than untreated glass. This type of glass is commonly found in automobile windshields because of its strength. Because of its treated process, the glass tends to break in uniformly-sized cubes compared to shattering into random shards. However, even treated glass has its limits. For those who want the best glass smoking experience, there is only one material, borosilicate glass.

Borosilicate Glass

Borosilicate glass is the ultimate material for water pipes. Borosilicate’s power comes from a triple-stack of positive attributes; lightweight, high-heat resistance, and nonporous. In the late 19th century, German glassmaker Otto Schott added 5% boric oxide to the mix to create borosilicate glass. Immediately people were thrilled with borosilicate’s heat strength and resistance to thermal change. The benefits of this glass were so significant that it enabled companies like Pyrex to dominate the kitchen & scientific glass marketplace.

Borosilicate is an impermeable material which means that it does not permanently absorb or release anything into the smoke. As a result, it does not effect the taste of the smoke or leave any permanent stains or residue. Smoking out of aluminum, rubber, or plastic components runs the risk of the smoker getting hazardous toxins in their lungs.

Size & Shape

Size

After considering the type of material you are going to purchase, the next major consideration is the size of the water pipe. Will this be a private pipe for personal use or a larger, more party-oriented water pipe? Are you looking for something classic, or eye-catching, or maybe something that just simply matches your personal tastes? If you are looking for something personal, the recommended size is between 8" - 16" inches. If you are looking for a piece that will primarily be used between multiple people, the recommended size is at least 16" to 36".

Shape

For the shape of the water pipe, it depends on your preference in smoke volume. The shape of the water pipe affects the volume of smoke allowed to collect in the piece between pulling and clearing the piece.

Variety of Water Pipes at Luxor Glass Art

Straight pieces have the least amount of volume for smoke making them perfect for quick filtration and smooth pulls. Beaker bottoms have the second most volume for smoke but are also the second easiest to clear. This balance makes the beaker bottom perfect for taking monstrous clean rips. The round bottom has the most drag and volume but has a high amount of drag. From the poll on our website, we found that 80% of voters preferred the straight bottom over any other body shape. Other shapes exist, like the Hollow Foot, Swiss, Recycler, or Sundae Cup but these are more often specialty designs than common body designs.

Percolators

The next major consideration is the most scientific part of the process — selecting your percolators. A percolator is an obstacle inside a water pipe for water to mix with the smoke. With so many to choose from, it is hard to decide where to begin. We will give you a quick overview of our favorites to give you a sense of what is available. Many percolators are derivatives or combinations of these designs. Here are a list of a few of our favorites.

Honeycomb Percolator

Honeycomb Percolator

This is one of the most common percolators on the market, and for good reason, this thing creates a smoke jacuzzi every time it is used. The honeycomb percolator is shaped exactly how it sounds, as a single row of concentric circles in a honeycomb pattern. This layer of tiny circles can have over 100 holes for diffusion. When water is pulled through it, it quickly turns into a frothing layer that heavily drenches the smoke. Whether you are a rookie or experienced smoker, the honeycomb percolator is an excellent percolator choice.

Tree Percolator

Tree Percolator

The tree percolator is a common percolator, achieving its height in popularity in the early 2000’s. The tree percolator is easy to spot because of its requirement for a lot of tubes. Each tree percolator has a number of arms (or branches), each arm looks like an upside down “J” shape tube made of glass. In synchronization with the other arms, the tree percolator submerges the smoke in another layer of water providing another level of filtration. Though impressive in appearance, the tree percolator faded in popularity behind the other percolators because of its fragile design and difficult to clean shape.

Grenade Percolator

Grenade Percolator

This is a relatively new design for a percolator. Shaped like the fragmented surface of a grenade, the rounded cubes on the interior of the percolator work in harmony to create a violent mixing effect. The grenade percolator offers a lot of filtration with very little drag.

Turbine Percolator

Turbine Percolator

The turbine percolator is the most visually appealing percolator on the market. Basically, it is a round glass disk dividing the neck with angled slits. When pulled, the slits act as a ramp for water and air to mix, creating a hurricane-like effect in the center of the water pipe. This is a low-drag percolator with a moderate filtration effect. Combined with another percolator or a diffused downstem and the turbine percolator is a requirement for any collection.

Joint Type & Size

On the left, Female Joint. On the right, Male Joint. Both come in sizes of 10mm, 14mm, and 19mm.

The next decision is the joint type and size. All water pipes come in industry standard joint types; male & female, in sizes of 10mm, 14mm, or 19mm. These standard joint types are universal to allow for cross-compatibility between companies and products. The joint width, while important to consider, does not completely define the purpose of the water pipe. Attachments exist to transform it into a male or female joint, different sizes, or even different ways to smoke. If you are unsure of what kind of joint would be best for your purchase, you should default with the 14mm female joint. It is the most common joint type and size making it readily compatible with a majority of attachments.

Accessories

Flower Essentials from top left: Bowl with Built-In Screen, Bic Lighter with Hemp Wick, and an Acrylic Grinder

Flower Essentials

Its hard to make a water pipe purchase without also picking up some necessary accessories. The flower smoking essentials are a quality bowl, grinder (medical grade only!), and hemp wick. Many like to upgrade their bowl to get one with a built-in screen to reduce the amount of plant pulled into the water pipe during smoking. The grinder is the quickest way to break-up flower (necessary step in preparing it for packing the bowl) without getting your hands coated in sticky resin. Hemp wick is the best way to light up the bowl instead of using butane lighter. Common practice is to wrap your lighter with the hemp wick, making it easy to keep track of your hemp wick and light the bowl with one hand.

Concentrate Essentials: From top left; Dab Tools, Silicone Container, Butane Torch (torch top + butane container), Titanium Nail, Ceramic Nail, “DANK WARS” Dab Mat.

Concentrate Essentials

For smoking concentrate, the essential accessories are; a silicone container, dab tools, butane torch, and a high-grade nail. The silicone container is used for storing wax and concentrate. The rubbery texture makes it impossible for the wax to permanently stick to the sides of the container. Dab tools are a set of stainless steel tools that highly resemble those that you would find at the doctor’s or surgeon’s office. Because of the highly sticky and difficult-to-clean nature of concentrate, it is recommended to use these tools exclusively for handling the product — from the container to the heated nail. The torch is an absolute necessity for concentrate smoking. The nail needs to be at least 365 degrees. Butane is the recommended fuel type compared to propane because it burns at a lower temperature. Arguably, the most important accessory is the nail — this extremely delicate part can easily shatter or cause your water pipe to break if miss-used. A ceramic or titanium nail is recommended over glass because of their much higher resistance to heat. Even if your water pipe comes with a female joint type, nails easily come in both styles.

Summary

While water pipes come in all shapes, sizes, configurations, and colors, there are some absolute necessities that you should require in your next purchase. Material makes a huge difference. If it isn’t borosilicate glass, it is unsafe and has a higher chance of cracking or shattering during use. For shape, stick to either straight bottom (thicker hits) or beaker bottom (smoother hits). If you are unsure about which percolator to purchase, honeycomb or turbine percolators are the way to go. At the end of the day, smoking out of any water pipe is a superior smoking experience compared to vaping or rolling. The water pipe is an object seated perfectly between the rigorous pursuit of perfection and designed by smokers for smokers. Our goal is to refine our process to create the most balanced water pipe.