Clear glass pipe of 8 cm with an angled bowl
This is one of the plainest pipes in the headshop: a slim glass stem of about eight centimetres with a small funnel shaped bowl at one end and a slightly tapered mouthpiece at the other. The bowl sits at an angle to the stem, which keeps the contents in place while you hold the pipe tilted. It does not take much, and at this size that is the point: you fill it for one go and nothing is left over.
The glass is fully transparent and uncoloured. That is not only about looks. Glass absorbs no smell or flavour, so what you taste comes out of the bowl rather than out of the pipe, and because you can see straight through it you know exactly where residue is building up. At around thirty grams it weighs next to nothing and disappears into a case, a pen tray or the tin you keep your papers in.
Handling
Fill the bowl loosely and do not pack it down, or it will draw hard. Hold the flame along the rim instead of straight into the middle and the contents burn away more evenly. Always heat thin glass gently: sudden temperature swings are the main reason pipes like this crack. Let a warm pipe cool before you rinse it, and never put it under cold water straight away. Hold the pipe by the stem while you use it rather than by the bowl, since the glass heats up quickly there.
Cleaning
Tap out the ash and leave the pipe to soak for half an hour in isopropyl alcohol with a pinch of coarse salt. Give it a shake, rinse with warm water and let it dry completely. Since the glass is see through, you can judge for yourself when the time has come. Elsewhere in the Avalon Magic Plants headshop you will find glass one hitters, base pipes, bamboo pipes, corn cob pipes, grinders and cleaning brushes. Every order is sent out discreetly packed.
