Everything You Need To Smoke Ice Water Hash and Live Hash Rosin
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    • Sep 9, 2021
    • 6 min read

Everything You Need To Smoke Ice Water Hash and Live Hash Rosin

Updated: Mar 14, 2023

I've spoken at length about the dynamics of dabbing temperatures, storage, and brands, but never really covered the basics that many online may wonder. Here's exactly what you must have to smoke or dab hash and hash rosin. I'll lay out the easiest, most efficient methods and tools to effectively consume hash and rosin (like a motherfucker). Prepare to experience cannabis and explore it's many cultivars, like never before.




Dabbing Necessities


The Torch

The first thing you need, yes, it's a torch. A new torch and a can of butane, as the torch usually comes empty. There's a few different models, but the mainstay is the Blazer Big Shot and any grade of butane fuel will do. Newport Torches used to be my favorite, but I don't see them as much anymore. You can usually get your torch at a head-shop where you will probably need to go for your glass. Otherwise, Amazon is the spot.


We use butane torches to heat the quartz "banger" up and then allow it to cool to the proper temperature, before inserting a "dab" of hash or rosin. Using traditional lighters to heat up the quartz will not work and cover your quartz banger in nasty black soot. Propane torches will work, but I advise against using propane, unless it's the only thing you have. Smaller torches and pocket torches may work depending on your set-up. There are a few smaller and mid-range torches available that are a lot less intimidating to use than the Blazer Big Shot, but take a bit longer to heat. You will get used to the torch fast, don't be scared.





The Glass

You can spend as much or as little as you want on glass and the market has a range of products for everyone. When it comes to smoking full melt hash and live rosin remember that smaller is better, making it much more affordable to find a quality glass piece. You will choose from a 10 mm or 14 mm female opening at either a 45-or-90-degree angle. These numbers tell you what size quartz banger will fit your piece (10mm or 14mm) and the angle it will sit (14mm at 90 degrees is standard). You can usually find something basic and small for under or around a hundred bucks. The smaller rigs allow the smoke to expand within the lungs rather than expanding and touching additional glass surfaces. It is perfectly OK to use your old bong or bubbler if necessary, but a small 6 to 8 inch tall dab rig is ideal. Nothing fancy is required and almost any glass piece with a removable slide or bowl-piece can work.



glass dab rig
A simple little 5.5 inch tall Glass Dab Rig by Whitney Harmon Glass

The Quartz

A quartz banger is probably the most important part of smoking hash and is the new "bowl-piece" or "slide" you could say. The quartz banger is the part you will torch until hot, and then put the dab in as it is cooling. It is the direct surface you place your hash or rosin on, in other words. My normal glass dab rig or piece cost about 150 bucks, but my quartz banger was $220 alone. You can see where the priority lies but you can often find solid brands making standard quality quartz for fifty dollars or less.


There's plenty of five, ten, and twenty dollar quartz bangers that I recommend avoiding and trying to find some of the mid-priced stuff. These super-cheap China quartz generics can get the job done if need be, but there are plenty of quality-handmade products in the mid-range of pricing. Brands such as Bear Quartz, Monark Glass, and AFM make quality quartz for around thirty to forty bucks. Heat retention and dispersion is important, but I've found any grade of quartz will do, but the kicker is the shape. Improperly shaped bangers lead to problems with the next item you will need. Spending on high-end quartz will help ensure a well-shaped and perfectly-round quartz banger. A Buyer's Guide to quartz is here.



mini dab rig from MMJ
Glass Mini Rig from MMJ with a (10mm x 90 degree)


The Carb-Cap


Still clinging to its old name from the early BHO wax days, the "carburetor cap," or carb-cap is another dabbing necessity, that now makes all the sense in the world. It appeared unnecessary to me coming from the wax and crumble days, but I was wrong. For adequate and efficient dabs the carb cap is a crucial necessity for several reasons. For one, it increases the temperature within the quartz banger, causing it to vaporize through convection, while the cap also works to move the dab around inside of the banger. Some "spinner" caps come with a spinning output of air that can spin an optional "terp pearl" or small bead inside your banger. Personally, all the spinning toys and odds and ends in use are largely an aesthetic extra when used with a traditional style and shape of quartz banger. With or without terp-pearls, the carb cap is still needed to take functional dabs. I prefer a simple and standard bubble-cap with a long thin snout for added pressure build-up. Having a well-shaped banger and cap creates a seal for pressure to build. This is where those cheap bangers and caps can fail, without making for an effective suction and seal.


This post is brought to you by @Punch_Extracts

The Tool

This one could be filed under optional, as almost anything can make due. For the regular dabber a nice dab tool is a smart purchase. You will need some type of tool able to scrape some hash or rosin from its jar, and apply it to the hot quartz surface. Steel or titanium has been the preferred material, but glass and other versions of dab tools do exist. You can easily pay thirty or forty dollars for a dab tool, or pick-up whatever generic brand the smoke shop offers for more like five bucks.


Q-Tips

Clean your quartz after every dab with a q-tip, or don't and find out why its listed under necessities for yourself!



New sets come complete dab rig quartz cap
Mini Rig sets come with quartz banger, dab rig, and bubble cap from MJArsenal.


Optional Items


Temperature Device

To some this may be a necessity, but as someone to dab and dab daily for years without a temperature device, I don't recommend it, but it is possible to do with a timer. With that being said, buy yourself a Terpometer as soon as possible. It has eliminated error and dialed in my dabbing routine to where I can make five to ten degree adjustments that are accurate and consistent every time. These temperature devices take the guesswork out of dabbing and are a luxury to have. For just twenty or thirty bucks you can find infrared thermometer guns on Amazon that will do the job as well if not better than some of these desktop designs, costing hundreds of dollars. (Once you acquire a temp. reader, this here article is for you.)


Terp-Pearls

Terp Pearls are like small marbles made from different materials and intended to provide a bit more heat retention, while working to spin and evenly vaporize the hash or rosin. It's been quite the cash grab from glass artists, selling marbles and small pearls for hundreds of dollars each. They are just too much for me to keep up with and constantly clean to become a regular part of my routine. Punch hooked me up with a terp pearl as seen below:


Terp Pearl in a jar of hashish
A "Terp Pearl" from Punch Extracts sitting in a jar of their Live Hash Rosin.


New Quartz Options

Recently a new quartz option has appeared and caught on fast called, the Terp Slurper. These "slurpers" and "blenders" require some sort of stationary cap, like a marble, that doesn't allow air to flow through it. Instead the air is pulled in from the bottom and into an upward spinning vortex. For Terp Slurpers, "terp-pearls" and marbles are necessary, as they completely change the function, helping to increase pressure when used as intended. Speaking of pressure, it is important for both styles of quartz to increase the pressure while inhaling, causing the hash or rosin to vaporize at significantly lower temperatures. The better the products, the better the seal.


Electric Options

New electric and portable dab rigs have appeared that I recommend for brand new consumers. Otherwise, I would only use these for on the go and other situations that necessitate speed and ease of use. E-nails on the other hand, that can be plugged in and keep your banger at a consistent temperature are highly ideal in replacing a torch. If you have the means, E-nails that heat quartz shaped like a usual "banger," are the ones I recommend.


Wrap Up

With the necessities you are well on your way to experiencing cannabis like never before. There has never been a better method to explore cannabis cultivars and their different sensory profiles than with modern hash and hash rosin. If you have not experienced the euphoric joy and unadulterated taste of pure trichomes, you’re in for a real treat, as these products are the best of what cannabis has to offer.

 

Subscribe or Member-Up for updates and a monthly Hash-Letter to your inbox. Check out the store for plenty more! Have an issue? Post it on the Forum! Make sure to check out @punch_extracts for your solventless hash needs in California. Hash-On!









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