-
ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Chillums
- Thread starter limey
- Start date
MrMcBean
Member
cool thread.. Ive seen people smoking these chillums at partys I go to, but Ive never gotten the chance to smoke from one.. It seems the people are somewhat back-holding on who they allow to smoke with them when using this ritualistic device.. Never have I heard the famous "Bom Shiva" being called out by one of these nerds..
I get people high as a kite at these parties.. Im gonna have to get one of these chillums
I love the ritual and especially the announcement "Bom Shiva"
Around here (Europe) there is a very widespread ritual to touch the joint to your forehead each time you get to take a hit.. Ill smoke with 3 people all doing this.. except for me
--> I worship this plant in my own way by lovingly cultivating and sharing it with so many people.
Cool Thread, great Vibes,
Bom Shiva!!! (I guess a bong-hit made for 5 people is reason enough to call out )
I get people high as a kite at these parties.. Im gonna have to get one of these chillums
I love the ritual and especially the announcement "Bom Shiva"
Around here (Europe) there is a very widespread ritual to touch the joint to your forehead each time you get to take a hit.. Ill smoke with 3 people all doing this.. except for me
--> I worship this plant in my own way by lovingly cultivating and sharing it with so many people.
Cool Thread, great Vibes,
Bom Shiva!!! (I guess a bong-hit made for 5 people is reason enough to call out
)
limey
Member
Buying a chillum, or making do with a carrot
Buying a chillum, or making do with a carrot
thanks, McBean
So I thoguht I would add some information on getting hold of a chillum, as some of you have said you want to try it out (good for you!).
1. Buying a chillum
Whatever a chillum is made from (clay, stone, wood, metal, glass) there are some things you wantto look out for when you are looking to buy a chillum.
a. (sorry, this is a bit difficult to explain) when buying a chillum pipe, I strongly advise you look for a pipe where the walls of the chillum are parallel inside and out. Quite alot of chillums have a wide bowl cut to a certain angle and a tube cut to a different angle. This makes them hard to clean, especially if you are using the stick method (see previous posts) to clean the chillum. Buy a chillum where the bore is at the same angle all the way down, parallel to the walls of the pipe.
b. make sure the bore is central. Have a look at these images of the two ends of my big chillum:
On the left is the fat end of the chillum, the bowl, where the fire goes
On the right is the narrow end of the chillum, where the saphi goes.
You can see that the hole in the fat end is bigger than the narrow end and I can tell you that there is a dead-straight line between the two (see point "a." above).
What's equally important is that the holes are both bang in the centre of their respective ends. Very often you will see a chillum where the bowl is centred but the narrow end isn't, or vice versa. This is bad for two reasons - the chillum will not cool the smoke evenly and, more importantly, it means the chillum is not built strong, it is weak where the walls of the pipe are thin. This means it is very likely to break during cleaning.
c. the bore of the chillum must be absolutely smooth. If the bore of the chillum is rough or pitted or scarred, dirt will accumulate very quicky and it will be very hard to clean. It's easy to check - hold it up to the light, like a telescope... can you see any marks inside? if you can, the bore is not smooth. This is a great advantage of glass chillums. Well cleaned, they are always smooth.
d. density. A chillum will last longer, be easier to clean and will smoke better if the clay/wood is very dense. (of course, this isn't really a problem with metal or glass chillums which are by definition, dense). It's easy to figure out - hold the chillum in your hand, close your eyes, does it feel heavy for its size. The heavier it feels the better.
Some people like meerschaum chillums, which are made from a light clay that discolours over time. This is the clay that tobacco pipe smokers prefer. It absorbs alot of heat and some tar, which is great but I feel they quickly end up tasting dirty.
It's particularly important to buy dense chillums if they are made from wood. A chillum bowl gets very hot when it's lit. If you have a dense (hardwood) wooden chillum, it will keep its shape, will not burn the chillum, you wont be smoking wood.
e. thick walls. Look at Bered's lovely chillum
[/QUOTE]
Look how thick the walls of the chillum pipe are compared to the size of the bore. You can tell just by looking at it that this is a quality chillum. Dense clay, rightly centred bore and thick walls.
f. length. Size isn't everything, or so they say, but a chillum is best if it is long enough to give the smoke time to cool. In my view, the best chillums I have smoked are 7-9 inches. If they are much longer they get very heavy and hard to hold. Much shorter than 5 inches and they are too hot to smoke.
g. Girth. A chillum with thick walls means (see "e.") means you will have a fairly fat chillum. This is good. But if it's too thick, it will be hard to form a good tight seal around it when you hold it, unless you have huge hands. I have small hands, so huge fat chillums are uncomfortable to hold.
This can also be true for designs. Optic's snake chillum has a prominent design on it:
.. but you can see that the design only really features on the upper half of the pipe. The lower part of the pipe is smooth and narrow, so this chillum is still easy to hold. If there was a prominent design lower down the pipe, it would be hard to hold properly. This is why most chillum designs on good chillums are incised.
h. find a chillum stone that fits your chillum well. Stone in, held up to the light, you should be able to see a small gap around most of the stone. If there are big gaps or the gap between the stone and the walls of the chillum are on one side but not another, the chillum will not smoke evenly.
My chillum stones are mostly, if I am honest, too short. The stone in the photo is 5cm or so long - it could be longer. The longer the stone the better, really, as alot of tar come off on the stone. So long as you can draw easily on the chillum, a long stone is best.
So there you are.. a quick guide to buying one.
But you maybe unsure, thinking "I have never tried one of these things and they might be horrible? Can I try one out cheaply?" and the answer is... yes!!
Nature provides...
2.The Carrot chillum
So, from the photos and the guide above, you know what a chillum should look like. So you can make one. And you dont need to be an expert woodcarver or a potter to do it. All you need is big carrot!
Start with a big straight carrot. pretty much the bigger and straighter the better.
Cut the top and bottom off the carrot, as if you are going to cook it, but dont peel it. Keep the bottom bit.
Carefully spilt the carrot in half, end to end. So you now have two, long bits of carrot.
Equally carefully, cut out a bore from each half of the chillum, the same size on both halves. You can do this pretty easily with a sharp knife (please be careful) and other bits of common kitchen kit. Remember - thick walls and well-centred bore.
Tie the two halves of the carrot back together with a bit of string. Tightly.
You should now have a chillum pipe. Because carrots are slightly soft and wet when you cut them, the two halves should fit back together neatly and tightly
Use the small end of the carrot that you chopped off and kept to fashion a stone. Or you can use a suitbly shaped pebble. or another bit of carrot. It doesn't really matter. What does matter is that the stone fits well enough to form a usable bowl but loosely enough that you can draw air/smoke over it. You must be able to draw easily through the chillum or it willbe hard to smoke.
Finally, scorch the bowl of the chillum liberally with a lighter, blowtorch, coal, whatever, so that it is dry and slightly leathery inside. If you dont do this, your mix will get wet from carrot juices and will not light properly. I advise against using a zippo/liquid fuel lighter as the carrot will pick up the taste of the fuel.
DaDaaaa!
There you are: a carrot chillum. Tie on a saphi, fill it with your mix and get smoking!!
A carrot chillum will only be any good for a night but, hey!, it takes ten minutes to make and costs nothing and you'll get a good smoke out of it.
Happy chillums!!
Limey
Buying a chillum, or making do with a carrot
I get people high as a kite at these parties.. Im gonna have to get one of these chillums
thanks, McBean
So I thoguht I would add some information on getting hold of a chillum, as some of you have said you want to try it out (good for you!).
1. Buying a chillum
Whatever a chillum is made from (clay, stone, wood, metal, glass) there are some things you wantto look out for when you are looking to buy a chillum.
a. (sorry, this is a bit difficult to explain) when buying a chillum pipe, I strongly advise you look for a pipe where the walls of the chillum are parallel inside and out. Quite alot of chillums have a wide bowl cut to a certain angle and a tube cut to a different angle. This makes them hard to clean, especially if you are using the stick method (see previous posts) to clean the chillum. Buy a chillum where the bore is at the same angle all the way down, parallel to the walls of the pipe.
b. make sure the bore is central. Have a look at these images of the two ends of my big chillum:
On the left is the fat end of the chillum, the bowl, where the fire goes
On the right is the narrow end of the chillum, where the saphi goes.
You can see that the hole in the fat end is bigger than the narrow end and I can tell you that there is a dead-straight line between the two (see point "a." above).
What's equally important is that the holes are both bang in the centre of their respective ends. Very often you will see a chillum where the bowl is centred but the narrow end isn't, or vice versa. This is bad for two reasons - the chillum will not cool the smoke evenly and, more importantly, it means the chillum is not built strong, it is weak where the walls of the pipe are thin. This means it is very likely to break during cleaning.
c. the bore of the chillum must be absolutely smooth. If the bore of the chillum is rough or pitted or scarred, dirt will accumulate very quicky and it will be very hard to clean. It's easy to check - hold it up to the light, like a telescope... can you see any marks inside? if you can, the bore is not smooth. This is a great advantage of glass chillums. Well cleaned, they are always smooth.
d. density. A chillum will last longer, be easier to clean and will smoke better if the clay/wood is very dense. (of course, this isn't really a problem with metal or glass chillums which are by definition, dense). It's easy to figure out - hold the chillum in your hand, close your eyes, does it feel heavy for its size. The heavier it feels the better.
Some people like meerschaum chillums, which are made from a light clay that discolours over time. This is the clay that tobacco pipe smokers prefer. It absorbs alot of heat and some tar, which is great but I feel they quickly end up tasting dirty.
It's particularly important to buy dense chillums if they are made from wood. A chillum bowl gets very hot when it's lit. If you have a dense (hardwood) wooden chillum, it will keep its shape, will not burn the chillum, you wont be smoking wood.
e. thick walls. Look at Bered's lovely chillum
Look how thick the walls of the chillum pipe are compared to the size of the bore. You can tell just by looking at it that this is a quality chillum. Dense clay, rightly centred bore and thick walls.
f. length. Size isn't everything, or so they say, but a chillum is best if it is long enough to give the smoke time to cool. In my view, the best chillums I have smoked are 7-9 inches. If they are much longer they get very heavy and hard to hold. Much shorter than 5 inches and they are too hot to smoke.
g. Girth. A chillum with thick walls means (see "e.") means you will have a fairly fat chillum. This is good. But if it's too thick, it will be hard to form a good tight seal around it when you hold it, unless you have huge hands. I have small hands, so huge fat chillums are uncomfortable to hold.
This can also be true for designs. Optic's snake chillum has a prominent design on it:
.. but you can see that the design only really features on the upper half of the pipe. The lower part of the pipe is smooth and narrow, so this chillum is still easy to hold. If there was a prominent design lower down the pipe, it would be hard to hold properly. This is why most chillum designs on good chillums are incised.
h. find a chillum stone that fits your chillum well. Stone in, held up to the light, you should be able to see a small gap around most of the stone. If there are big gaps or the gap between the stone and the walls of the chillum are on one side but not another, the chillum will not smoke evenly.
My chillum stones are mostly, if I am honest, too short. The stone in the photo is 5cm or so long - it could be longer. The longer the stone the better, really, as alot of tar come off on the stone. So long as you can draw easily on the chillum, a long stone is best.
So there you are.. a quick guide to buying one.
But you maybe unsure, thinking "I have never tried one of these things and they might be horrible? Can I try one out cheaply?" and the answer is... yes!!
Nature provides...
2.The Carrot chillum
So, from the photos and the guide above, you know what a chillum should look like. So you can make one. And you dont need to be an expert woodcarver or a potter to do it. All you need is big carrot!
Start with a big straight carrot. pretty much the bigger and straighter the better.
Cut the top and bottom off the carrot, as if you are going to cook it, but dont peel it. Keep the bottom bit.
Carefully spilt the carrot in half, end to end. So you now have two, long bits of carrot.
Equally carefully, cut out a bore from each half of the chillum, the same size on both halves. You can do this pretty easily with a sharp knife (please be careful) and other bits of common kitchen kit. Remember - thick walls and well-centred bore.
Tie the two halves of the carrot back together with a bit of string. Tightly.
You should now have a chillum pipe. Because carrots are slightly soft and wet when you cut them, the two halves should fit back together neatly and tightly
Use the small end of the carrot that you chopped off and kept to fashion a stone. Or you can use a suitbly shaped pebble. or another bit of carrot. It doesn't really matter. What does matter is that the stone fits well enough to form a usable bowl but loosely enough that you can draw air/smoke over it. You must be able to draw easily through the chillum or it willbe hard to smoke.
Finally, scorch the bowl of the chillum liberally with a lighter, blowtorch, coal, whatever, so that it is dry and slightly leathery inside. If you dont do this, your mix will get wet from carrot juices and will not light properly. I advise against using a zippo/liquid fuel lighter as the carrot will pick up the taste of the fuel.
DaDaaaa!
There you are: a carrot chillum. Tie on a saphi, fill it with your mix and get smoking!!
A carrot chillum will only be any good for a night but, hey!, it takes ten minutes to make and costs nothing and you'll get a good smoke out of it.
Happy chillums!!
Limey
limey
Member
These peeps at Lotus glass are making some interesting glass chillums you may want to check out. they are a bit short IMO but all very pretty, unusual and interesting...
http://www.lotusglass.com/chillums.htm
Limey
http://www.lotusglass.com/chillums.htm
Limey
limey
Member
OK, so, new addition to my collection for you
This little number breaks practically every rule in my 'how to buy a chillum' guide but there we are, rules meant to be broken etc
and it's an interesting piece
It's a 40 year old chillum I found for sale online. It is made from meerschaum, famous mineral preferred by tobacco pipe smokers.
It's approx 3" long and (tsk tsk) has a "step" in the pipe, where the wide bowl rapidly narrows...
.. it is too short and will likely smoke too hot
... the bowl is too big for the length of the chillum
.. being meerschaum it will probably absorb flavours and tars (which I'd rather my chillum's didn't)
but it's kind of cute. And, according to the guy who sold it to me, dates back to the 60s (very believable, judging by the condition of the meerschaum)
One for the album anyway
Limey
This little number breaks practically every rule in my 'how to buy a chillum' guide but there we are, rules meant to be broken etc
and it's an interesting piece
It's a 40 year old chillum I found for sale online. It is made from meerschaum, famous mineral preferred by tobacco pipe smokers.
It's approx 3" long and (tsk tsk) has a "step" in the pipe, where the wide bowl rapidly narrows...
.. it is too short and will likely smoke too hot
... the bowl is too big for the length of the chillum
.. being meerschaum it will probably absorb flavours and tars (which I'd rather my chillum's didn't)
but it's kind of cute. And, according to the guy who sold it to me, dates back to the 60s (very believable, judging by the condition of the meerschaum)
One for the album anyway
Limey
limey
Member
Ah, just reviving this as I have figured out (finally) how to resize photos effectively such that I can post better shots on here. So here's an overview shot that shows off my pieces better than the individual posts above (click on the image for a proper view, if it's small on your screen) ...
limey
Member
Ha! yes, go do that fireman. But no sucking remember: draw from deep down.
I just ordered a chillum (so happy), it's a clay one
gonna be smoking some real nice afghany hash with it
gonna be a nice christmas
gonna be smoking some real nice afghany hash with it
gonna be a nice christmas
G
guest5703
damn nice chillums everyone! I've only smoked on the new age glass ones, dont have any myself atm but I'll show a pic I find on the net.
Kaneh
Member
Sorry guys, I have to piss on you parade! ;P
Pretty much all the chillums on this thread are bunch of turist crap!
(except one)
If you guys are going to buy chillums, there are some easy rules to follow if you don't know your shit.
#1 Chillum is made from clay. Brown, black, red or white, doesnt matter as long as its clay.
#2 Inside of chillum is what counts, it has to be straight and walls has to be smooth, like mirror.
#3 Buy one that is made in Italy, Sweden or Finland. If someone knows some new chillum-maker in some other country, educate me!
Again I'm sorry, don't take me too seriously. I've been smoking too much with chillum snobs, and couldnt help it!
edit: OK, I admit it: I'm chillum snob myself! LOL
Pretty much all the chillums on this thread are bunch of turist crap!
(except one)
If you guys are going to buy chillums, there are some easy rules to follow if you don't know your shit.
#1 Chillum is made from clay. Brown, black, red or white, doesnt matter as long as its clay.
#2 Inside of chillum is what counts, it has to be straight and walls has to be smooth, like mirror.
#3 Buy one that is made in Italy, Sweden or Finland. If someone knows some new chillum-maker in some other country, educate me!
Again I'm sorry, don't take me too seriously. I've been smoking too much with chillum snobs, and couldnt help it!
edit: OK, I admit it: I'm chillum snob myself! LOL
Last edited:
Smokeythbear
Member
I love my chillums, does anyone else like put between your pointer and middle finger and then I like inhale through your fist in a way, kinda hard to explain at the moment but my bro said its how jamaicans smoke
yeah^
fuck i love chillums, it's really not a common practice in america
it's really nice that in India it's part of sadhu culture, religion
but what's most important, is what you put inside
fuck i love chillums, it's really not a common practice in america
it's really nice that in India it's part of sadhu culture, religion
but what's most important, is what you put inside
"#3 Buy one that is made in Italy, Sweden or Finland. If someone knows some new chillum-maker in some other country, educate me!"
mine was fired over a cow pat in india... but I guess its just not good enough....
mine was fired over a cow pat in india... but I guess its just not good enough....
Smokeythbear
Member
I know a lot of people that make chillums my roommate is a glass blower, very nice having him around
Sorry guys, I have to piss on you parade! ;P
Pretty much all the chillums on this thread are bunch of turist crap!
(except one)
If you guys are going to buy chillums, there are some easy rules to follow if you don't know your shit.
#1 Chillum is made from clay. Brown, black, red or white, doesnt matter as long as its clay.
#2 Inside of chillum is what counts, it has to be straight and walls has to be smooth, like mirror.
#3 Buy one that is made in Italy, Sweden or Finland. If someone knows some new chillum-maker in some other country, educate me!
Again I'm sorry, don't take me too seriously. I've been smoking too much with chillum snobs, and couldnt help it!
edit: OK, I admit it: I'm chillum snob myself! LOL
I agree with you man,I think the only good chiloom is mine,an Alverman,made in italy...the others are really bad,and the difference when you smoke these are incredible..it's like if you smoke a plastic bong instead of roor.de..
some crappy chiloom is really unpleasant to smoke
I looked up alvermann and they look really nice
dunno the price, but I am not one who would like to spend more then 20$ on a chillum
that would be high way robbery...
k I just read that some people pay over 200$ ?
....
this one is taken from another thread:
is it just me or that mix has a lot of tobacco ?
I guess you can only buy those in Italy ?
dunno the price, but I am not one who would like to spend more then 20$ on a chillum
that would be high way robbery...
k I just read that some people pay over 200$ ?
....
this one is taken from another thread:
is it just me or that mix has a lot of tobacco ?
I guess you can only buy those in Italy ?
Last edited:
Kaneh
Member
I agree with you man,I think the only good chiloom is mine,an Alverman,made in italy...the others are really bad,and the difference when you smoke these are incredible..it's like if you smoke a plastic bong instead of roor.de..
some crappy chiloom is really unpleasant to smoke
Yes my friend, your chillum was the "except one" one my post!
Good looking piece.
BOM!
Kaneh
Member
More than 20$ is too much!!!???
You must be fucking kidding me!
I guess smoking cornpipe is your thing! LOL
But if you're connoisseur that wants to smoke best possible hash with best possible equipment, then you know what me and Bered are talking about.
No offence anyone, if youre happy with you're glass "chillum", so be it.
Just remember it's doesnt have anything to do with the BOM!!!
Limey, I hope I didn't ruin your thread. But when you get that first really good chillum, you'll thank me (I hope
)I have also collection of chillums like you, theyre in plastic bag in my attic.
They are nice souveniers and bring back lots of memories, but they are not for smoking (anymore).
thanks Kaneh,..Alverman is the top in the world...
whiterabbit:my Alverman cost about 80€ a couple of years ago,but nowadays I think it cost 3/4€ at centimeter for the normal kind but you can pay a lot of cash if you want some custom chiloom with gold ring or other expensive things..
I think you can buy it only in italy or in a big reggae or goa festival oround the world,somentime Alverman have a stand in this big festival
whiterabbit:my Alverman cost about 80€ a couple of years ago,but nowadays I think it cost 3/4€ at centimeter for the normal kind but you can pay a lot of cash if you want some custom chiloom with gold ring or other expensive things..
I think you can buy it only in italy or in a big reggae or goa festival oround the world,somentime Alverman have a stand in this big festival
