GlassFeed

With the new Grav Labs STAX series it is possible for anyone to design their very own bong! When you stack any combination of bases, percolators, and a mouthpieces via their 34 mm ground glass joints you get a fully functional Grav Labs water pipe made of 5mm laboratory grade borosilicate glass. Now, lets work our way from top to bottom as we go over the possibilities of the Grav Labs STAX system.

Mouthpieces

The standard mouthpiece for the Grav Labs STAX features ice notches, a “swiss style” splash guard, and comes with the logo in either blue or red for $90. This sturdy glass mouthpiece is 45 mm wide and will deliver your smoke chilled over ice, however for the more scientific pot heads out there Grav Labs offers their signature “HELIX” technology in a mouthpiece just for the STAX series. The http://www.grasscity.com/us_en/grav-labs-stax-helix-mouthpiece.html" target="_blank">Helix mouthpiece has a “Venturi Chamber, with micro-holes at the shoulders of the curves angled in the same direction to create a swirling vortex of cooler, smoother smoke that's fascinating to watch and easier on your throat and lungs!”

http://www.grasscity.com/us_en/grav-labs-stax-helix-mouthpiece.html" target="_blank">

Percolators

The percolation chambers fit securely between the base and the mouthpiece of your Grav Labs bong cooling the smoke as it passes through. What is amazing about this set is the ability to easily change, remove, or add levels of filtration to your piece. You can add a Halo, Coil, Tree, or Circle percolator to your set for $100 a piece.

Bases

The most important decision that you will need to make is the kind of base to use in your new Grav Labs STAX! Depending on the part that you pick your bong will have varying levels of stability and steeze. 


The traditional beaker base is the most stable but also requires the most water to use, these qualities make it a good candidate for a house bong but for the same reasons it may not be so good on the go. The 18mm glass on glass joint protrudes at a 45 degree angle so the base will be compatible with any accessories designed for beaker bongs.

GravLabs also offers a straight base with a faired foot with either a 45 or 90 degree joint. These bases will need less water but because of that the water will get dirty faster. All three bases come with a Grav Labs showerhead downstem and bowl.

Straight Natural Base 90

Straight Base 45

If you just want one style water pipe to use day after day then this is not the bong for you, other companies make equally functional water pipes without the ability to customize for less money. However if you are like me and need some variety in your life, then the Grav Labs STAX is for you! Grav labs takes this level of variety one step further by allowing you to convert your base into a scientific bubbler for $129 with their conversion kit:

Grav Labs STAX is no doubt the most innovative glass bong set on the market.

The Ohio based glass artist Elevate is getting in on the recent slime frenzy with this gooey new concentrate set made up of a vapor dome, stand, and dabber all matching with bright slime green colored borosilicate glass.

Standing about 4 inches tall, the hand made oil dome has a 14mm glass on glass joint worked with black and green. The side of the dome features the Element logo etched vertically as well as a large black horn. The horn adds style to the piece but is often mistaken as a handle by beginners who then try to pull it like bowl to clear the bong, this is unnecessary because oil domes do not restrict airflow so they do not need to be pulled.

A reviewer on GrassCity going by the pseudonym Batman wrote:

“Overall, I'm still very happy with my purchase. The item is beautiful, and I love how easily everything fits together to be set aside. My only complaint is that it doesn't come with any sort of nail, which was the only reason I bought this set. I think it should be noted better that there isn't a nail with it.”

Its important that you don’t make the same mistake as our friend Batman, this set provides the dome but you will also need a nail and probably an adapter to use it with your bong. If this sounds like a foreign language to you its ok, we have everything you need to know to get your concentrate set up and running here on GlassFeed!

For just under $170 the Slyme Drip Oil Set by Element is a big investment when compared to a clear dome made in China for half of the price, but what Element brings to the table is a stylish combination of accessories made with American quality.

If you want to start taking dabs then you are going to need three things: Dome, adapter, and nail. With different sizes and angles it can be confusing getting your own concentrate set together. You see, depending on the type of piece you are trying to attach your vapor dome to you will need a different kind of adapter.

For example, if you want to set up your concentrate utensils on a piece with an 18mm female joint pointing up at a 90 degree angle like the GlassCity Tree Perc Bubbler, then you are going to need a adapter with an 18mm male joint pointing down at a 90 degree angle like this:

The USA made Oil Set above comes in 18>18 or 14>14, and is perfect for pieces with 90 degree joints. For $96 the set includes a glass dome, adapter, and nail however I would highly suggest upgrading to a adjustable titanium nail which will heat up faster and last longer.

BlackLeaf makes a more affordable hash oil set for only $35 which also includes a glass dome, adapter and nail. I like the looks of the black logo’s on the individual pieces but the downside of this set is that the adapter is 14>18mm so It will only work with a piece that has a 14mm joint unless you use a reducer.

For those of you who have beaker bongs, you will need a adapter with a 45 degree joint like this:

As you can see, the SYN Oil Rig Attachment bends at a 45 degree angle so that it can hold your nail at a 90 degree angle. This set comes with a 18mm glass dome, 18>18 adapter, and a glass nail (I use a titanium nail). For only $39, this set is a steal!

With their Messias Illusion series Weed Star offers an extremely functional bong for a affordable price. The series starts at under $100 and progresses up to this 5 mm thick, 21 inch tall piece with ice notches, a 12 arm diffused perc, splash guard, and 29.2 mm diffused down stem for $170.

The 12 arms of the percolator each have two horizontal slits for the smoke to diffuse out of while dragging and open bottoms for draggles overflow of air when clearing. Because this perc has a total of 24 slits airflow is easily diffused into hundreds of tiny bubbles as you milk the bong cooling and filtering the smoke by exposing a maximum surface area of smoke to water.

With the amount of diffusion of smoke into the water the two almost become one making it easy for water to come flying up the tube, but no one likes bong water in their mouths. For that reason this piece features a splash guard directly above the percolator to once again separate the smoke and water, sending the water back down into the chamber below and the smoke upward to be cooled by ice for a crisp dry hit.

What makes this model stand apart from the rest of the series is the its super oversized 29.2 mm bowl to 29.2 mm diffused down stem. These larger pieces remove the “pressure point” that is the 14.4 mm or 18.8 mm bowl and down stem in most other bongs where airflow is restricted the most. Imagine a huge tube that is reduced to the size of a straw at just one point, it doesn’t matter how wide the rest of the tube is airflow will be restricted to the amount that can flow through that straw in the middle. That is why increasing the most narrow point in the bong can have a huge impact on drag. The one issue with this is that finding replacement 29.2 mm pieces will be harder then the standard sized but you can always find what you need online if not locally.

The Messias Illusion series has a clean look, made with all clear borosilic glass, and is decorated with a sandblasted logo and clear glass beads on the neck. From bottom to top the piece has features that say “This is a nice bong!”.

It says on the beaker of the bong that it is of German design which is easy to tell, but I suspect that it was made overseas in either India or China which is why there are no worked sections of glass and they are able to offer it for such a great price. I dabble in the glass industry and actually have some connections in manufacturing. One guy in India that I have worked with in the past told me that he was approached by the owner of Weed Star to manufacture his products. He didn’t get the deal but it gives me a idea where these are being made. But hey, if these were blown in Germany or the US this piece would be at least $400 so considering these are nice and thick and the quality is great I prefer to get it for only $170 on GrassCity.com.

 When it comes down to it this bong has a great percolator, great down stem, and great design so for only $170 this Messias Ilussion is a great deal!

I have always had a fancy for scientific bubblers so I got very excited when this GlassCity/SNOB collab 8-arm bubbler came out not so long ago. This bubbler is almost 16 inches tall and blown 5 mm thick, plus it sports a diffused 8 arm tree percolator and a pinch bowl all for $145. Until now this was unheard of!

 When I first found out that GrassCity.com was releasing its own line of glass I assumed it would be China glass, but I couldn't have been more wrong. This GlassCity bubbler was designed and produced by none other then Hans Meijer (AKA SNOB) himself and is top notch quality. You may have noticed the last SNOB bubbler that I reviewed was $540 which really puts the quality of the brand and the incredible price of this GlassCity bubbler into perspective. Maybe they are selling this piece for such a good price because it has the GlassCity logo rather then SNOB on it but I for one really like GlassCity’s green sandblasted logo.

 By putting an 8 arm diffused tree perc into this bubbler they gave it the diffusion to compete with a full size luxury bong. Each of the 8 arms have two horizontal cuts breaking up the smoke into a storm of bubbles as they pass through to expose the maximum surface area of smoke to water for filtration and cooling.

 The neck of the bubbler protrudes from the back with a gentle slope so that you are at a natural angle to light the bowl with your mouth on the flat wide mouth piece. Having such a long skinny neck would worry me if the bubbler were to ever fall but it is made with thick 5 mm glass so there is no doubt that this baby is good and sturdy.

 To top it all off it comes with a 18.8 mm pinch bowl for maximum airflow. Rather then a bowl that narrows to a small diameter of the bottom of the bowl to hold up your smokes, this bowl has 3 small prongs to hold the herb in your bowl without restricting the diameter for air to flow through. Because of this design the bowl that comes with this bubbler will cause much less drag when smoking.

 Since I first saw this piece I have been very impressed. It gives you top of the line diffusion in a high quality scientific bubbler for only $145, if you ask me this GlassCity/SNOB collab 8-arm bubbler is the best in its class.

In this new collab series JAG uses a variety clean and scientific pieces by Mobius Glass as the canvas for his art in his new "bomb" series. Although they are small at only 8 inches tall these little beauties combine the functionality of Mobius' high tech percs with a colorful splash from JAGs imagination. They are for sale for $1600 on AquaLab. I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

Sources:

http://aqualabtechnologies.com/scientific-glass/mobius-glassworks/mobius-jag-orbital-bub-with-matrix-perc-5.html#.T-_L832TshV.facebook

http://justanotherglassblower.com/mobius

http://www.glassfeed.com/apps/forums/topics/show/7851089-mobius-and-jag-collab?page=last

Hey Hans, thanks for doing an interview for GlassFeed. My readers consist of glass enthusiasts who I’m sure will really enjoy reading about your glass, but first id like to ask you some questions about yourself. Would you mind giving us a little back ground on who you are?

-- Sure, my name is Hans Meijer, age 37, living in holland and owner of SNOB Glass.

When was the first time that you wielded a torch?

-- I started glassblowing at age 17. I found this job when i finished school. This was at a scientific company. I was lucky that they put me behind the torch from the first day on. And I still work there part time next to having my own company as well.

Did you know right away that you would become a professional glass blower or did you have another idea about what you were going to do with your life?

-- Haha no, I wanted to become a motorcycle mechanic. But I did not find work in that field. Finding this job as a glassblower was a lucky thing. Back then I had never heard of the pipe industry in the states. This came years later.

Could you elaborate on how you grew SNOB Glass into an internationally renowned glass brand since you first founded it in 2007?

-- I started SNOB with my good friend Karl Termini. He taught me all the technics and workings with colored glass and i taught him to work with the lathe and scientific work. We also won the prize of best glass at the cannabis cup in Amsterdam which gave us a place between other known brands. After working together for a couple of years Karl moved back to the States and started his own company Termini Tubes. I am still working hard to get the brand SNOB out there, thanks to Grasscity the Brand is getting bigger.

Does your company still make all of the SNOB products in house or are some parts/products outsourced?

-- I am a one man company and every SNOB that is fabricated is made by myself. I Buy the colors in the states and work with Schott Duran Glass.

SNOB is known for outstanding quality and consistency, how do you handle quality control?

-- This is the reason I make every SNOB myself, so I know its good quality.

As the designer of SNOB products, what inspires your designs?

-- Since working with Karl SNOB has always had a similar design. But there are many great artists who inspired me. When I get the chance I love to do collabs with glass artists who visit Amsterdam, like LaceFace. We did a few collabs this winter. We did a black and white Bird piece and a real nice Snake piece. Photo's are to be seen on my facebook page.

There are so many companies out there selling glassware, what is innovative about SNOB Glass that sets it apart from the competition?

-- I think its the quality of the glass itself, I hear from a lot of people who have bought a SNOB and when they see it up close they can see how well made it is. SNOB is the only company in Holland that is making Pipes, so I have a lot of european buyers.

If a customer wants something other then one of your production line designees, do you do custom orders?

-- Sure, this is what I like to do most of the time. I don't want a big production line. I want to come up with new ideas and different pipes. So people hit me up for a custom made SNOB.

As a blogger I do lots of reviews of products for sale on GrassCity and one of my favorite pieces they have is the Glass City/ SNOB collaboration bubbler. It has a beautiful 8 arm diffused tree perc and a very reasonable price at only $145, what is SNOB Glass’ roll in the Glass City collaboration pieces?

-- My Roll In these pieces are the designs. The bubblers and pipes are made by Glasscity.

So we know what my favorite SNOB Glass piece is, what is yours?

-- That is a hard question. I loved the first pipe Karl and I made in the beginning. It was a big piece with beautiful artwork made by Karl. We smashed the piece between the cannabis cup visitors on a party with our drunk heads. This was the first and only time we broke a pipe on purpose. The second pipe I love is the first SNOB Bong. This was the pipe we sold many of and was the design what won the cannabis cup. The Third pipe I love is the Collab with LaceFace, the birdpiece. This is really an artwork.

Finally, where can glass enthusiasts go to buy their very own SNOB? Do you sell direct?

-- I do sell direct, because I love to work with customers with there own ideas, but the website is under construction. People can contact me on facebook,or send a email to snobglass@gmail.com And of corse, you can buy SNOB glass at GrassCity.

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I know that I can speak on behalf of the entire GlassFeed community when I say that we really appreciate it!

As a smoker, my scale is a important part of my arsenal. Whether or not I am purchasing, hooking a friend, or just checking up on my stash its good to know my scale is accurate. That is where having a well callibrated scale comes into play. Since most people dont spend the extra money for a calibration weight, I have created this tutorial to show you how to calibrate your scale using only nickels!

But first, what is calibration? Digital scales use something called a load block to measure the pressure applied to the scale as a weight. They can be very accurate but over time their measurements can drift away from the true weight. To get back on center the scale needs to measure something that is at its “calibration weight” so that it can feel exactly how heavy something at that weight is. For example, the calibration weight of my scale is 100 grams so by putting a 100 gram weight onto the scale it can match its own 100 g measurement with the weight it feels. Just to show you the amount that a scale can drift without proper calibration I have included this picture of a small nug weighing in at 1.39 grams on my scale after getting it back from a four month loan to a friend, this will show you the vast improvement from a calibration.

To calibrate your scale the first you will need something that is the correct weight. Since a dime weighs exactly 5 grams a stack of them makes a very good calibration weight. The calibration weight of a pocket scale is generally its maximum capacity, you can probably find this number written somewhere on your scale. If not, the information will certainly be available online. The maximum capacity of my scale is 100 grams, so I used 20 nickels (20x5=100).

Tip: By washing the dimes you can remove any dirt or oil that would make them weigh over 5 grams each.

Each scale will have a different method to calibrate, but they should all go something like this: 

1. Turn on your scale and zero the weight
2. Use the mode button to find and make active the calibration option
3. Take a stack of nickels that add up to the correct weight to the center of your scale
4. remove coins and turn off scale 

When you turn your scale back on it will now be accurately calibrated! By making a habit of calibrating your scale often you can be confident that you know exactly how much bud is REALLY on the scale. Now that my scale is calibrated I tossed the same nug from the tutorial back on for an accurate measurement of 1.57 grams. This might not seem like a huge jump from 1.39, but that 11% error is certainly enough to bust my groove which is why I calibrate my scale often!

As far as art glass goes, Its not often you find something good for just $60... But, now you can get a piece of functional art glass made right here in the US by the glass artist Zara. When choosing a spoon pipe by Zara you have a huge variety of color options as well as a decision to make about whether you want your pipe with beautiful stampings that leave a 3D affect on the glass, or to have one that had a design intricately stenciled and sand blasted off to reveal the colors within the pipe. Each of the pieces features a carb hole on the left side for clearing the piece as well as three glass marbles on the right that give it a stylish look and more importantly give you a good grip when holding the pipe

Stenciled Pipes

One of my favorites is the black stenciled pipe. Featuring black with pinstripes on the outside and white glass on the inside this pipe has been sandblasted in a way that creates a pleasant design in both the positive and negative space from the bowl to the mouth of the pipe. Finally the three white glass marbles on the side of the pipe tie the design together.

This next dark green and orange stenciled pipe has a lot of character. The outside is not just a solid green but also fades to a brownish color in some areas where the orange color shown in the pinstripes appears to blend with the green. Alone those colors would make for a beautiful pipe, but Zara goes above and beyond by then stenciling things like suns and moons with faces and skulls in sombreros into the pipe that match the white marbles on the side to give the piece a fun Mexican vibe.

Another favorite of mine is this light green pipe, star spangled with stenciling. What I like is that the solid and hollow white stars that decorate this piece cover the entire thing resulting in a fun decorative piece of glass. Behind the stars is a very pretty light green and orange that is divided by white pin stripes to match the stars and marbles.

Stamped Pipes

The stamped pipes by Zara are cool because of the bold look of their 3D designes, and this red stamped pipe is particularly bold! The shape of this pipe is warped artfully with rings around the lip and with small stars all over the tip. Not only are these patterns pressed into the glass but time was taken to add indentations around the three marbles on the side and the way around the carb hole to give you a seriously worked piece of glass.

Other stamped Zara pipes such as this black one have actual images individually stamped into the glass. This piece has a pattern of stamped leafs and shells radiating outward from the tip of the pipe. This pipe also features stamping around the mouth and black marbles.

What I like about this green stamped pipe is the apparent texture of the green and orange glass with specks of white combined with stamped groves that make the pipe appear (at least I think so) to be carved out of stone. Around the flared out part of the pipe just before the mouth this piece has a ring of jagged indentations in the glass. It also has similar indentations creeping outward from the tip of the pipe that conjure thoughts of stone carvings and ancient petroglyphs.

Stenciled and stamped spoon pipes by Zara come in so many variations, I have only featured a few of my favorites here. These are thick high quality pipes made in the US, but if all you want is a thick US pipe you can probably find one for $30-$40 at your local head shop. The reason to buy a pipe by Zara is because they more then just pipes, they are pieces of hand made functional glass art and for that I think that $60 is a damn good price.

Black Leaf’s “Smoke Shower” offers smokers a micro sized smoking solution with a functional and modern design. This 8.9 inch tall, 3.2 mm thick bong is light and portable but has the features (reinforced circle percolator, pinch bowl, bent neck) of a high end piece of glass.

 The star feature of the “Smoke Shower” is the reinforced circle percolator attached to the large built in 18.8 mm down stem. The way that the cirle perc’s diameter expands at the bottom allows the glass blower to fit more cuts into the percolator for more diffusion and releases the smoke bubbles farther apart from each other then in a traditional down stem. Giving the bubbles more distance apart to rise without colliding and combining into larger bubbles which would reduce the total surface area of smoke exposed to water for filtration and cooling. The circle percolator is a great feature and it is not often that you can find one in a bong like this for under $200.

The included pinch bowl is a good addition because of the extra airflow that it allows. Instead of the bowl reducing to a small opening in the bottom to contain your smokes this design holds up the contents of your bowl with 3 small prongs to allow air to flow through freely greatly reducing drag. You know how a bong is so much easier to inhale though after you have pulled the bowl? That is because of the restriction of airflow caused by a traditional bowl, a bong with this bowl will always be easy to drag! However the pinch bowl that comes in this set is awfully small and better suited for personal snaps, if your into loading party bowls I would suggest buying a larger bowl separately.

This bong is designed for someone looking for something small and light that rips great. The micro size is good if you would like something portable or easily hidden, but the 3.2 mm glass is relatively fragile and the small size will also result in a smaller hit. The slightly bent neck lets you hit the bong from a comfortable angle while it is sitting and the spun 4 inch foot lets the piece sit securely on almost any surface much better then a beaker bottom bong similar to how an upside down cup could sit on a bumpy surface much more securely then a right side up cup. For $175 Black Leaf’s “Smoke Shower” is a great option for a smoker who wants a piece with both functionality and an affordable price.