1. Home
  2. Login
  3. View Cart
  4. Checkout

Water Pipes

Bong History

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold Bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

Their use for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, these pipes are known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

The pipes employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

The pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.
The tobacco container with a lid.
A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.
During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (??) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

Headway Designs American Made Acrylic 8

Headway Designs American Made Acrylic 8"


Price: $11.99

Ref: Headway8

Headway Designs American Made Acrylic 10

Headway Designs American Made Acrylic 10"


Price: $13.99

Ref: Headway10

Headway Designs American Made Acrylic 12

Headway Designs American Made Acrylic 12"


Price: $15.99

Ref: Headway12

Silicone Honey Bear Skeleton Water Pipe with Glass Bowl

Silicone Honey Bear Skeleton Water Pipe with Glass Bowl


Price: $24.99

Ref: SPD-HONEYBEAR

Diamond Cut Silicone with Glass Slider

Diamond Cut Silicone with Glass Slider


Price: $29.99

Ref: SPD-SBONG11

3D Graphic Silicone Water Pipe with Glass Bowl

3D Graphic Silicone Water Pipe with Glass Bowl


Price: $34.99

Ref: SPD-SBONG8

Large 3D Graphic Silicone Beaker with Glass Bowl

Large 3D Graphic Silicone Beaker with Glass Bowl


Price: $44.99

Ref: SPD-SBONG7

Glass Screens  Sold Each

Glass Screens Sold Each


Price: $0.50

Ref: BS-5

More...

Recently Viewed