How to smoke wax? Have you seen the rapidly increasing number of cannabis concentrates now available on the cannabis market? If you’re looking to get caught on these red hot products, you’re in the right place!
Cannabis concentrates are one of the most potent THC concentrates that deliver a powerful high and incredible taste, not to mention an extraordinary experience.
Stick with us as we cover the 5 ways to smoke wax so that you can enjoy this concentrate safely no matter what supplies or budget you have.
Cannabis Concentrates 101
Put simply, cannabis concentrates are processed and potent products made from the cannabis plant. The plant matter is left behind as chemical processes are used to extract the valuable compounds we want most. The top priority is the cannabinoids, but terpenes are also extracted depending on the process.
Usually, these extraction processes will focus on getting out all the THC or CBD inside cannabis flowers. Some methods pull out single compounds resulting in what are called isolates. In other cases, terpenes are also extracted to produce full-spectrum concentrates.
Some products are made using fresh cannabis flowers without the use of a drying process. These cannabis concentrates will have the word ‘live’ in the name, such as live resin.
The process of making cannabis concentrates goes nearly as far back as smoking dried flower, with hash being the earliest known concentrate. While hash is made using only physical processes, newer concentrates take advantage of advanced chemistry to create never-before-seen cannabis products.
All of these concentrates share the fact that they are potent and contain far less or even no plant matter. Leaves, stems, and other plant parts are left behind to make pure products.
Now, we’ll focus on one of the most popular cannabis concentrates, wax. And once we are all on the same page, we’ll move onto the critical topic, how to smoke wax.
What is Wax? How to smoke wax?
Before we get into the details, we should note that you may hear this product called shatter, wax or even budder. Essentially, these are all similar products, but with different consistencies.
These alterations are due to differences in the raw material and the precise process used. Nonetheless, they can all be considered roughly the same as shatter and wax.
Shatter is a hard glass-like concentrate ranging in colors from amber to brown, or even caramel. If the product you have looks more creamy, it may be Budder. If the product looks more like beeswax, it just may be wax.
Wax has a translucent appearance that varies in opacity based on the exact product. As will be mentioned often, wax also contains a ton of THC.
You may find shatter that has as high as 90 percent potency or even greater. This purity requires complex tools, technologies, and time, leading to high prices compared to dried flower. That said, the potency of these products and the fantastic dabbing experience make these prices more than worth it.
Since this product is so high in THC, it often contains smaller amounts of terpenes than some consumers may like. That said, taking a dab of shatter releases a brief but robust flavor that’s extremely pleasing to the palate
Most commonly, concentrates such as wax are made using butane Hash Oil or CO2 as solvents.
As the times change so do these processes, and more seem to be found each day. Since you won’t be making shatter, we won’t go into detail here. What is critical is that the solvent-based extraction method is done safely so the product is pure.
It is essential for safety that there is no residual solvent at all. Regulated laboratories such as Hooti’s can easily get this done, so there’s nothing to worry about as long as you’re purchasing from a well-trusted vendor.
How To Smoke Wax
There are many safe and easy ways to consume wax. That said, there’s a wide spectrum in terms of options around smoking and vaping gear. You can use supplies you have at home, or go out and spend hundreds or even thousands on beautiful dab rigs.
How to Smoke Wax – 5 Simple Ways
Regardless of your budget and what you have on hand, you will find at least one way on how to smoke wax right now.
1. Add Wax to Your Dried Flower
In terms of safety and lack of special supplies, you can’t beat this method. It is truly as easy as it sounds. You can sprinkle some wax onto that next bowl before you smoke your pipe or bong. Rolling a joint? Sprinkle a little bit of wax inside of it and make a twax joint.
Other than taking a few extra seconds to sprinkle the wax, there is nothing else to do. Once you are ready, smoke the joint or bong as you normally would. Keep in mind that the potency will be much higher than your usual all-flower smoke. Stay within your tolerance, and exercise caution.
Due to the fact that shatter is multiple times more potent than the flower, you’ll likely need to consume less than normal. This is a positive thing and is one of the best parts of shatter.
You can get just as high as you normally would, but with far less burnt plant matter. This is especially important due to the known harmful effects of smoking on our lungs.
2. Vaping Wax
Shatter can be vaped using vaporizers that have tanks suitable for concentrates. These are often portable devices that come in different varieties.
While these devices may be a tad expensive, after the initial investment they provide lasting returns. For those who are able to grab one, they make for an easy and convenient way to get your daily dose of wax.
3. Dabbing
Dabbing is probably the most popular way to consume shatter, and requires a dab rig. These dab rigs are similar to standard bongs but have slightly different designs. These devices range dramatically in price, with top-end pieces costing thousands of dollars.
The major difference between dab rigs and bongs arises at the stem. While bongs and bubblers use standard bowls, dab rigs use bangers. These are also called nails, and they are deeper, thinner, and often made from quartz to withstand the high heat.
This heat comes in the form of blow-torches. While you can use regular ones, the smaller kitchen-sized ones are more appropriate for dabbing.
Learning how to dab is simple, and you might end up preferring dabs over regular flower and other forms of smoking/vaping once you understand the basics.
You can also buy electronic nails, or e-nails, which are metal bangers that are heated by plugging them into the wall. While these are slightly over the top for the occasional dab, they are great for groups or frequent dabbers. All you do is plug them in and set the heat and you’re good to go.
Either way, the banger is heated up till red hot. At this point, the nail is too hot, so give it a few moments to chill. After that, all you do is drop in the small piece of shatter you want to vape. If you have a carp cap, you will use this to cover the top of the banger after you drop in the shatter.
4. Hot-Knife Method
Need to smoke wax without any expensive supplies? Are you saving up for a dab rig but don’t yet have one? Luckily for you, we have two final methods that can be done with materials you likely already have at home.
We should begin by noting that this method is somewhat dangerous and certainly not the optimal choice. That said, if you have no other method and you want to smoke some shatter today, you’ll already have everything needed — two butter knives and a homemade funnel.
All you need to do is turn on your stove and use it to heat one of the knives. Take a bit of shatter and place it on the other butter knife. Once the first knife is red hot from the stovetop, simply squeeze the two knives together with a modest amount of force.
During the process, use the funnel (half of a plastic bottle) to inhale the vapor slowly.
5. Electric Car Lighter Method
This method requires the use of a car lighter, and is great in a pinch. Basically, you heat it up until it glows hot red, placing a funnel over the lighter. Then, drop a little bit of shatter on the car light, using your funnel to inhale the vapor.
While this method is great in a pinch, there are some safety concerns with this method, so don’t go with it unless you need to do so.
Now that you know five ways on how to smoke shatter, you’ll be good to go no matter what you have on hand at home.
Although extra caution should be exercised when smoking shatter. This is especially the case when using a blow torch or using the final two methods.
Wax Safety
While many cannabis consumers start with experimentation when it comes to wax, many progress to more regular use. That said, tokers should be careful to ensure they minimize the increases in dosing and frequency that can occur over time.
Managing your consumption and taking breaks will also help prevent increasing tolerance and subsequent dollars spent on weed per month. You could separate your wax so you have enough to last you all week, for example. There are a few points to discuss beyond moderation, as you’ll discover below.
How is Wax Made
If made appropriately then the wax is a safe, albeit potent product. That said, if they are made poorly, residual solvents can remain inside the shatter.
In this case, these products can be highly dangerous. Making shatter itself can also be dangerous if the laboratory does not use standard safety policies.
Make sure your buy shatter only from reputable cannabis dispensaries to secure yourself from buying poor quality products.
How To Smoke Wax – Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it! You now are fully caught up on the topic of shatter and how to smoke wax in five easy ways.
On that note, one final reminder that shatter is extremely potent and should not be consumed without cannabis experience. Starting with shatter would be like drinking fine scotch, and smoking more than a tiny piece would be like chugging that nice scotch. Treat shatter like the potent cannabis concentrate that it is, and exercise caution around staying within your tolerance level.
Shatter is better with friends, especially if you’re able to get someone to help you work that dab rig the first time. We should also state that there is a fire risk with most of these methods, so practice good fire safety rules at all times.
Enjoy it safely!
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