A hand pipe is about as simple as smoking gets. No papers, no rolling, no water. Just a bowl, a mouthpiece and a little hole on the side that confuses almost everyone the first time. Once you understand how a pipe moves air, though, packing and smoking one becomes second nature.

Here is the whole thing, start to finish.

The Parts of a Hand Pipe

Most hand pipes, often called spoons, have the same basic layout. The bowl is the round opening where the flower goes. The mouthpiece is the end you put your lips on. The stem is the tube that connects them, and it is where the smoke travels and cools a little on its way to you.

Then there is the carb, short for carburetor. It is the small hole on the side of the bowl. You cover it with your finger while you light and pull, and you uncover it to clear the smoke out of the pipe. That little hole is the secret to the whole experience.

You will also see other shapes. A chillum is a straight tube with no carb. A sherlock has a long curved stem. A steamroller is a wide tube with a bowl in the middle and an open end that works like a giant carb. They all work on the same idea.

Step 1: Grind to a Medium Grind

For a pipe, you want your flower broken into pieces that are a bit chunkier than you would use for a joint. A grind that is too fine falls through the bowl hole and gets sucked into the stem, and it burns up fast. Our post on why you should grind your flower explains why an even grind makes such a difference.

Step 2: Pack in Layers

This is the trick most people never learn. Put a slightly larger piece of flower at the bottom of the bowl first, right over the hole. It acts as a natural screen and keeps smaller bits from getting pulled through. Then add your finer grind on top.

Pack it gently. You want it firm enough to stay put when you tip the pipe, but loose enough that air can pass through it easily. If you pull and get no air, it is packed too tight. Loosen it with a pick or a paper clip and try again.

A glass or metal screen at the bottom of the bowl is a cheap upgrade if your pipe has a large hole.

Step 3: Light It the Right Way

Hold the pipe with your thumb or a finger over the carb. Put your lips on the mouthpiece, hold the flame just above the flower, and pull gently as you light. You do not need to jam the flame down into the bowl. Let it hover so the flower catches and glows.

Once the flower is lit, take the flame away and keep pulling slowly. The smoke fills the stem and the chamber.

Step 4: Clear It With the Carb

When you have pulled as much as you want, let go of the carb by lifting your finger and keep inhaling for a second. Fresh air rushes in and pushes the smoke that was sitting in the pipe into your lungs. That is called clearing the pipe.

If you forget the carb, you end up with stale smoke hanging in the stem, which tastes worse the longer it sits. If you uncover it too early, the smoke rushes out before you finish your pull. It takes a few tries to get the timing.

Take it easy on the size of your hits. Big pulls make you cough and do not give you anything extra but a sore throat. Start small and let each one settle before you go back.

Corner the Bowl When You Share

If you are smoking with friends, cornering is basic courtesy. Instead of torching the whole top of the bowl, light just one edge. That way you burn only a small section, and the next person still gets a fresh, green hit instead of a bowl full of ash. It also makes each bowl last longer.

If you are packing for the group, the person who packed it usually gets the first hit. That is just good manners. Our guide to cannabis etiquette has more on sharing.

Know When the Bowl Is Done

You will know a bowl is cashed when the flower has turned to grey ash and pulls taste like smoke instead of flavor. Tap the ash out into an ashtray, give the bowl a quick blow from the mouthpiece end to clear loose bits, and you are ready for the next one.

How to Clean Your Pipe

Resin builds up in a pipe over time. It clogs the carb and the stem, and it makes everything taste harsh. A quick cleaning every week or two, depending on how often you smoke, keeps things tasting the way they should.

The common method uses isopropyl alcohol and coarse salt. Put the pipe in a zip-top bag, pour in enough isopropyl to cover it, add a spoonful of coarse salt, seal it and shake. The salt scrubs and the alcohol dissolves the resin. Let it soak for a bit on tough spots, then rinse well with warm water and let it dry completely before you use it again. A pipe cleaner helps get through the stem.

Handle glass gently when it is wet. A slippery pipe is easy to drop.

Pipe or Joint?

Both have their place. A pipe is quicker to set up, easy to share in small amounts, and lets you taste a strain without committing to a whole joint. A joint is great for a longer session or a group. If you want to try both, our step-by-step on how to roll a joint is the perfect companion to this one.

A Couple of Extras

Some folks like to sprinkle a little kief on top of a bowl for a stronger hit. If you are new to that, read what kief is first and go easy. And if you would rather skip butane, hemp wicks give you a gentler flame that is easy to aim at the corner of a bowl.

Stock Up at Lit

A pipe will turn an eighth into a lot of small, flavorful sessions. If you are not sure how far an eighth goes, here is our guide to how many grams are in an eighth. Browse the menus for our Federal and Broadway stores, order ahead online or in the Lit app, and ask our budtenders which of our home-grown strains have the best flavor out of a pipe right now. We have opinions.