Buy Hookah Pipes

Last week I was looking for a wholesaler of hookah pipes to buy from in the UK and boy let me tell you it’s hard to find someone good. So let me tell you about my experience and findings…

This summer I’m holding a bash for my wife’s 40^th and wanted to hire some hookahs. I made some calculations that we would need at least 50 hookah pipes and 20kg of different flavoured hookah tobacco for the 600 guests to consume throughout the evening.

The first thing I thought is I would hire the pipes and a couple of staff to serve the hookahs to our guests but after looking at the prices that the rental companies charged it soon started to add up and came close to £1,500 just for the hookahs and a waiter!

I concluded it may be best to simply buy hookah pipes from a wholesaler, make a saving and get someone local to serve them… and I was right although it took a while to find a good wholesaler to buy hookah pipes from in bulk.

On my trails I found many retailers that offered prices very similar to that of the rental companies, however one of them, www.smokeshisha.com  gave me the details for High-Life Hookahs the Uk’s number one wholesaler of authentic hookahs.

To cut a long story short I ended getting all that I needed the 50 hookah pipes and 20kg of tobacco (although it was a herbal tobacco) for half of what the hookah rental companies and retailer could offer.

Not sure what I shall do with the pipes after the bash, but guess I may be able to sell them on eBay or maybe I should consider opening my own rent a hookah business.

Hookah Smoking Toddler!

Hookah Toddler

I came across this picture on the internet the other day and really was disgusted. Okay I could give who ever took it the benefit of the doubt and perhaps the hookah pipe was neither loaded nor smoking but all the same it’s hardly a great idea to introduce your son/daughter to the hookah, and at such a young age it can only lead to encouraging them and them smoking hookah later on in life.

My advice to anyone smoking hookah is to keep it away from children and especially toddlers, smoke it outdoors and after the kids are in bed this way neither can you harm their health from the smoke nor show them that you except hookah or any type of smoking!

And to who ever took this photo of the toddler with hookah, please think before you do such things again and when your son comes home at 14 years of age with a hookah don’t be surprised.

When I saw this photo I just had to share it and make a blog post out of it. I’m sure It certainly sums up the feelings of many a girl friend, wife or partner that don’t appreciate the joys of a good hookah.

Paid to be with Hookah!

The photo was part of a webpage including a poll on the hookah pipes question – Hookahs make you feel good? At the time of writing this post about hookah pipes, five hundred and sixteen people had voted “Yes” and just thirty five people had voted “No” to the question. So I guess the answer to why “Janice couldn’t understand why Nick paid to be with hookahs” is obvious, it’s simply because he liked smoking hookah pipes and not anything to do with hookers!

The photo shows an ornate Indian or perhaps Iranian hookah pipe with an exceptionally large base and hookah tobacco bowl with twin hoses coming from the hookah for Janice and Nick to share!

If anyone else has any photos like this, famous people smoking hookah pipes, pictures of antique hookah pipes or funny hookah photos then please contact us so we can share them here on buy hookah pipes.

Watch out for these new hookah pipe tables. Hookah bars around the world can now buy hookah pipes tables with multiple hookah hose connections. The tables can be custom made to the buyer’s specifications or alternatively selected from the several standard sizes and designs available.

Hookah Pipe Table

The benefit for those who buy the hookah pipe tables for hookah bars is they reduce the risk of any accidental breakages of the regular hookah pipe or even worse accidental fires created by hookah coal. Although the hookah pipe tables still use hookah charcoals there is considerably less chance of the table be knocked over and hot charcoals rolling over sofas, chairs and people, reducing the risk for your hookah bar.

The hookah smoke created by the tables is equally as good as a standard hookah however it is a lot more convenient for hookah smokers been easier for multiple smokers to share and enjoy hookah.

The manufacturer HookahTables.ca in the USA offers a design service where you can customise almost every part of the hookah pipe table. They even designed and created the multi function hookah pipe table which includes hookah and table football for the ultimate entertainment.

The standard size hookah pipe tables cost in the region of $600 with custom designs and the table football version costing $1000 plus!

Please let us know if you have ever smoked from the hookah pipe tables.

So what’s the reason so many of us have either tried or smoked from hookah pipes?

A few friends of mine told me they smoked hookah pipes to relax and socialise with others. But when asking some of the patrons at my local hookah bar I discovered there were numerous other reasons why so many people buy hookah pipes. Some of the reasons that came up were;

After Sex – Some of the male hookah smokers and even one female admitted they smoked hookah pipes after sex. And sometimes as a romantic ending to a candle lit dinner with their partner.

Birthday and Wedding Celebrations – Many of the people I asked mentioned that they had started smoking hookahs at birthday or wedding celebrations and because they enjoyed it so much went on to buy hookah pipes after.

To Stop Smoking Cigarettes – One of the guy’s in the hookah bar said he had used the hookah pipe to help him quit smoking cigarettes. I got to say I think it’s switching one bad habit for another, but anyway he seriously believed that smoking a hookah pipe a day was better than a pack of cigarettes.

Mixing Cannabis with Hookah Tobacco – Even though it’s not the intended purpose of the hookah pipe and most likely illegal where you are there were quite a few people that mentioned they had mixed cannabis with hookah tobacco for a flavoured high!

Decoration or stage prop – The hookah bar I was in had actually purchased some large brass hookah pipes to decorate the interior, they where lamps that stood about seven feet tall. And thinking about it I have seen the hookah pipe appear on stage quite a few times so I guess that’s yet another reason why we buy hookah pipes.

Why would you buy hookah pipes?

I was on YouTube earlier today and came across this great animated how to hookah guide from High-Life Hookah Pipes. According to High-Life Hookah pipes they are the UK’s largest importer and wholesaler of authentic hookah pipes, so if anyone should know how to hookah I guess it should be them.

Check out the how to hookah video animation below.

Personally I love the way the Genie pops out of Aladdin’s magic lamp at the beginning, but obviously more importantly the detail in which the four an half minute video goes into is great.

As you shall see if you watch the animation the how to hookah guide lists all the parts that should be included with your hookah pipe which is perfect for anyone that’s new to hookah smoking and does not know what should be received.

Following the listing of the parts included the guide talks you through the setup process and checks that you should perform prior to smoking before loading the bowl with hookah tobacco and igniting the charcoal.

I was surprised at the end when the credits came up that the how to hookah video was made in 2005 which to my knowledge was before hookah smoking became popular in the UK. There’s also another animation from them about cleaning and maintaining your hookah pipe.

Did this help you? Then let us know.

Did you know that if someone using a hookah pipe has a cold sore (or oral herpes) and you smoke from the same hose without changing the mouthpiece, you are extremely likely to catch oral herpes. You may not be aware but sometimes you cannot even see cold sores especially if the hookah bar has low lighting.

Cold sores are not only painful but embarrassing with no cure. There are some creams like Zorvirax (i think!!) that help to soothe the sore and if caught early enough reduce its size. But once you have contracted the oral herpes virus it never goes away and you can end up suffering from cold sore for the remaining of your life.

Hookah Pipes Warning

So if you are going to share a hookah pipe use your own mouthpiece every time or buy your own hookah pipes hose, even a disposable hookah hose that you can use for several uses and take to your local hookah bar.

Sharing hookah pipes can also increase the risk of other illnesses such as tuberculosis and hepatitis, not to mention the common colds and various flu viruses. If you change the hygienic mouth tip it shall reduce the risk, however not remove it.  Nasty micro-organisms shall still be present inside the hookah pipe hose.

Check out the NHS supported hookah smoking warning (right).

When smoking hookah be responsible; don’t share hookah hoses if you are unwell, have a cough or cold, sore throat or if you know you may have any other easily transmitted illness. Try to use your own mouth tip or hookah hose, even better buy a hookah pipe for your own private use.

When the time comes to buy hookah pipes it’s worth noting you are going to find many hookah shop online. Some of the shops shall be from the USA others from Europe and if you’re narrow your results using a country specific search engine like Google.co.uk then the majority of the results displayed should be online hookah shops from the UK.

Buy Hookah Pipes Search Results

While comparing shops for which hookah pipe to buy, make sure if your purchasing from an another country that you’re going to be happy with the quality of what you receive. Spend time speaking with the shop as if the pipe arrives let’s say from the USA it shall be extremely expensive to return it should there be a fault.

You should also note the currency the hookah shop is displaying its prices in. Not to mention checking the delivery time and cost to your home country or delivery address.

Buying hookah pipes from the USA will offer you a wider range of products to select from then the online hookah shops in the UK. But when you buy hookah pipes in the UK you have peace of mind knowing that delivery shall be economical and any faults or order errors can be resolved easily.

If you’re in the UK then you shall have no doubt seen or may even be part of the boom in hookah pipe smoking. From what was traditionally smoked out in the Middle East has spread to the West, becoming a pleasurable past time for many.

If you’re lucky enough to have a hookah bar nearby then you may not choose to buy a hookah pipe and just frequent the bar as and when. But for those of you that don’t you can buy hookah pipes for use at home.

At last count I think there were just over two hundred hookah bars in the UK and although many more are opening up all the time there clearly not in easy reach for all.

Hookah Bar

What you need to remember if you buy a hookah pipe is that you must maintain and clean it, just as any good hookah bar should. This helps maintain a quality of smoke and ensures a functioning hookah pipe.

I recommend that you clean your pipe after each use. Simply soak the glass base in warm soapy water brushing the insides with the wide bristle brush provided with most hookah pipes. For the stem of the pipe use the thin brush. You can even run hot soapy water through the stem at the same time as brushing to really thoroughly clean it. It’s quite a job so I would only do this every other smoke. Depending on the hookah hose type you may need to use pipe cleaners on the hose handle and input or you may even be able to wash the whole hose.

It’s quite common to find that even those that live near a hookah bar also have a pipe at home as the benefits of having a hookah pipe at home is that its ready for any occassion whether that’s in the middle of the night or mid afternoon, without needing to go out to the local hookah bar.

In order to get the best value for money and overall enjoyment from your purchase of a new hookah pipe then it’s important to select the right hookah shop to buy your hookah pipes. Ask yourself these 5 questions about the hookah shop you intend to buy from.

• How long has the hookah shop been in business? It’s not allows the easiest information to find, but the age of a hookah pipe shop shows you how long they have been trading and while not always the case its usually the better hookah pipe shops that stay in business.

• Does the hookah shop display a telephone number? A telephone number is essential when buying hookahs pipes, you may have questions regarding your order or problems assembling the pipe so make sure to take note of the hookah shop telephone number.

• What payment options does the hookah shop except? If you’re in a high street, bricks a mortar hookah shop then obviously cash would be one of the accepted methods of payment but with online hookah shops there’s various ways you can pay for your hookah pipes, Paypal, Google Checkout, 2Checkout, Credit Card, Debit Card

• Do they offer a good no quibble returns policy? The last thing you won’t is to find you have a broken hookah pipe upon arrival or once you get back from the shop. Check the returns policy of wherever you buy hookah pipes, making sure you are able to get a refund or exchange should the product be faulty.

• What do they charge for delivery and how long does it take? With online hookah shop it’s important to allow for carriage charges. Most delivery charges are calculated on weight however some hookah pipe shops use flat rate shipping. Time taken to process online orders varies; I’ve received goods in as little as 16hrs and in other cases 3 weeks from placing an order. Try and speak with the hookah shop if do not find delivery times stated in their shipping information or terms.