FAQ
Postage We offer free shipping as standard, but please be aware this option is not insured and therefore not covered for losses or breakages in the post, if you would like to upgrade to recorded delivery or special delivery please add the option to your cart.There is a minimum order amount of £15 for free shipping. Where is my order? If your glass is in stock we aim to ship within 2-4 days of your order. Please be aware that stock statuses on the website may not be accurate, if you would like to know if your item is in stock, please Contact us . If your item is not in stock it will be added to the studio list and we aim to have your glass made within 2 weeks, though this may take longer at busy times. Are photos the actual pieces for sale? Unless otherwise stated, the photos are only visual representations of the pieces being offered for sale. Each piece is unique due to the hand crafted and creative aspects of the art of glass blowing. Your glass will look similar in shape and design, but there will be some variation from piece to piece. All of our work is guaranteed to meet and exceed customer expectations. If you want a specific colour combination, let us know by adding a gift message to your order and we will do our best to accomodate. Why buy from Original Glass? Our glass is made from borosilicate, commonly referred to as Pyrex. It is the strongest glass. We carefully inspect for defects and cracks in our workmanship. Our product is carefully made and all seals and welds are perfectly fused together. We use heavy wall glass tubing so your piece is thicker, heavier, and consistently stronger. We eliminate all stresses induced on the glass when being made by annealing the glass and allowing it to cool evenly throughout the piece. We keep in mind structural integrity as well as artistic design in all of our pieces. Our pipes are aesthetically and ergonomically sound. Some pieces are designed to stand up (with water) others are designed to lie down (Gandalf pipes). We also do custom work with the ability for you to design your own smoking tool, from shape and form, to colors and design. Things like which side your carb hole is on, where is it placed, how big it is, how deep your bowl is, hole size, decorative/grip marbles, etc,.. are endless options you can choose for your own personalized piece Why is Glass a healthier choice than other common materials on the market such as wood, steel, plastic or aluminium? Glass doesn't burn, give off any odour, or add any impurities into the smoke or flavour. When heated, wood and plastic can burn and melt giving off toxic fumes. Steel and aluminium can vaporize with torch lighters and give off poisonous fumes and may cause serious health problems in your future. Glass is chemically inert. There is nothing burning when you hold a lighter up to it for a long time, it just gets hot. With glass, you will be smoking nothing but what is in your pipe. Glass can be cleaned to brand new condition every time you clean it. Woods and plastics cannot. Although there are many available cleaners on the market for cleaning smoking tools, anything made out of wood or plastic will have a residual smell and taste no matter how hard or long you try to clean .It is also nice to be able to see the smoke through the pipe and the translucent optical qualities of glass allow you to clear stale smoke before taking a next hit.. Clearly glass is the best to smoke out of. 95% of the people who smoke prefer glass. What is the difference between Hard and Soft Glass? Hard glass is commonly known as borosilicate or Pyrex. Soft glass is known as soda lime. Borosilicate glass is a very unique and specialized variety of glass. Its composition is different from the "soft" glass that is normally used for beads, paperweights, art glass bowls, ornaments, etc. Borosilicate glass is far stronger than "soft" glass and has been used for everything from stovetop cookware to nuclear waste containment. One of its most frequent uses is to make scientific glassware such as beakers and test tubes. Chemically speaking, borosilicate glass substitutes boron oxide particles in place of the soda and lime particles found in soft glass. The boron oxide serves as a flux or glue to hold the silicate particles together with aluminium oxide and sodium oxide. Because the boron oxide particles are so small, the silicate is held together more closely resulting in a much stronger glass. One big reason we only work with borosilicate glass is because it results in a much stronger finished piece. It will stand up to a lot of wear and tear without having to treat it as carefully as soft glass jewellery. It often amazes people how many "accidents" this glass can survive without breaking or cracking. The other major reason I prefer borosilicate glass is the colour palette available. There are actually fewer colours available to work with but each one is an organic, living colour that can be manipulated and shaded with careful torch work and annealing. The finished piece appears much more dynamic and subtle in my opinion. Also, because of the chemical composition of borosilicate glass, different precious metals such as silver and gold may be used to colour the glass in some very unique and amazing ways. How are colours and other visual effects added into the glass? Silver and gold are held in the flame of the torch until it fumes (vaporizes). The glass is rotated in the flame until a layer of the fumed metal is visible on the surface of the glass. Then coloured and clear glass is applied encasing the fumed metal in between layers of glass. Numerous techniques and methods of applying the fumes and clear glass exist making an infinite range of different colours, and endless types of patterns. Silver can produce anywhere from a slight yellow tinge, to a bluish/purplish glow and can go even opaque or a shiny metallic finish. Gold fuming creates a spectrum or orange and reds. As you use your pipe, the fuming will become more visual, causing a colour change. By adding special supplements, glass obtains the most beautiful colours. Do all of the pieces change colour? Most of the pieces featured will change colour with use. Except some of the solid colour worked pieces.. What is 'inside-out' work? Why does it seem so much more expensive? What is a kiln, and why does glass need to be annealed? A kiln is basically an oven often used to fire ceramics. In glass, it is used to remove the stress that occurs to pieces as they are being made, and to prevent stress from occurring as the piece cools (this is what is known as annealing). Annealed pieces are surprisingly strong, especially since our glass is made of a harder glass called borosilicate (commonly known as Pyrex). They are very resistant to impact and thermal shock. Glass is still glass however, and it will break if abused. Water pipes come in many different sizes and designs. On each pipe, there is a bowl that you pack your smoking material into. When lit, the smoke is drawn through a water chamber in the pipe before it reaches your lungs. The water filters out a large part of the carcinogens like tar and other nasty things that would normally go into your lungs making the smoke more pure. The water also has a cooling effect on the hot smoke. What is a Bong? What is a Chillum or a Bat? The Indian Sadhu's (holy men) have been smoking chillums for thousands of years, and the spiritual meaning of this is comparable to the drinking of red wine by Catholics. Should I use a Screen or a Filter in Glass? You can use glass screens, but we advise you not to use metal screens in your glassware. We make glass screens that fit into your bowl to prevent ash being pulled through. We also make ashcatchers, which act as a double (secondary) water filter as well as keeping the water in your waterpipe or bong cleaner. What if the glass breaks on the way to me? Breakage is extremely rare, but if you receive broken merchandise please save all of the glass as well as the original box and packing material. Contact me at your earliest convenience and we will work out a solution. Repairs Custom Work Custom work is available. Please Contact us for further information.
Most glass pipes have a colour pattern on the outside surface of the glass . 'Inside-Out' work usually refers to glass that has the colour patterns on the inside of the glass. The colour pattern is magnified by the thick layer of glass between the outer surface of the glass and the pattern encased. As the inside work melts flush with the inner surface of the pipe, the colour patterns 'sink' into the glass creating 3d structures to appear deep inside the glass. Working on the inside is much more difficult and time consuming for the artist.
What is a Waterpipe/bubbler?
A bong is basically a large vertical waterpipe. There are bongs with a finger hole carb, and a pull bowl (where you pull the bowl out when you want to clear the chamber). The smoke is also inhaled through water, acting as a filter for the smoke. Waterpipes and bongs share the same filtering qualities of water.
The Chillum is like a vertical pipe, or funnel. A bat is a Chillum with a different shape. It is held in cupped hands forming an air chamber which creating vacuum with your lungs when you smoke.
We are happy to also offer Glass Repair service. Since we make our own product line, we also have the ability to do repair work.
We charge for time and kiln use.
Most importantly do not continue using the pipe after it has cracked.
Our success rate depends on the piece. A straight clean break can often be repaired, whereas jagged uneven breaks can be more troublesome. Please send us pictures of the break or broken piece before sending your broken glass. It needs to be assessed first (generally through e-mail correspondence).There are unfortunately no guarantees. Each break is unique. If it cannot be repaired to a good standard, we will let you know prior to working on it.
If your broken piece is unfixable, perhaps all is not lost. There may still be intact pieces (like mouthpieces, marbles, and coloured sections) that may be incorporated into a future piece of yours.
