Discontinued Gn0me - lighter based vaporizers

[gn0me]

I got halfway through college for engineering, then I ran out of money for tuition (and I didn't really want to be an engineer any more anyway) so I decided to start lampworking as a profession... I've always wanted to find a use for those damn handles, but aside from using them as handles again (crappier the second time around) or as rods for removing glass from a work in process, I just can't think of any (maybe a very fragile windchime xD).

At any rate, I do have some neat glassware coming up. My strong suit lies more on the technical/scientific side rather than the artistic side of lampworking (at least at the moment), but everyone has their talents. Whenever I can afford a lathe I will be in heaven. If anyone has ideas or needs for custom pieces for their ground glass fittings, I'm happy to work with you, and if they're popular I'll consider adding them to my normal lineup. I'm not exactly sure how much I want to include accessories for other manufacturer's vapes along side my own, but keeping in mind the difference between my products and theirs, they may be compatible enough.

 

[cluffy]

BUMP!!
No, I just had to say that I just took one of the nicest smoothest bong rips with the Gnome yet. I started hitting as soon as the flame got yellow and didn't move the flame away till I was getting some pretty thick vapor. Gadzooks! I'll be doing that more often! I'd been contentedly puffing away on my CRZ for a couple hours and decided I needed a slingshot hit... One more like that and I'll be ready to grab a shower and face the day (lol, afternoon)!!!
I'll be shooting you an email shortly Mr. gn0me, I need a couple pieces of custom glass.

CHEERS!!

 

[NeverClever]

I'm loving mine, been only been using my gnome attached to a water bong. It's my favourite way to toke.
I'll be writing a review soon.

If anyone is having a hard time getting good hits try heating the "bowl" a little bit.. Need to be careful about combustion but you can get VERY yummy dense hits.

If anyone would like I'll post a video or such.

 

[VaporBoxed]

I would love to see a video. This may be my next pickup. How do the hits compare to the supreme?

 

[mephisto]

They are not as thick/dense. The gn0me lets all the flavor through. I feel that the Supreme
comes 2nd for flavor. Don't get me wrong, this is not the MFLB. It will kick your ass!

 

[caseball2051]

i see alot of you have the waterpipe verson.

does anyone have experience with the handheld portable version?

 

[VaporBoxed]

Thanks for the answer mephisto. I guess ill decide once i see Neverclevers videos.

 

[mephisto]

@ VB glad to help.
@caseball, I think AV will be able to comment on the handheld "classic"
His reviews were the motivation behind my purchase.

Another comparison to the Supreme: Much less heat up time, less butane use.

 

[VaporBoxed]

Sweet. I hated waiting so long to heat my supreme. Ive been looking for an all glass vape because my supreme started making this weird black residue that chipped off hard. I know it didnt come from my weed and i have no idea how it got there. Kinda freaked me out so i put in retirement.

These gnomes are alot cheaper that the supreme too!

 

[mephisto]

Yeah, I agree w/ the Supreme retirement. I put mine away due to the aluminum/heat
concerns. Don't know there are any, just don't want to chance it. The Supreme is very
capable of a serious beat-down as you know. I tended to get way past vaked by the time
I was done. Love the density, the high was a little tall....
Calen (the gn0me) is a good guy. He does a fine job, custom work for prodo prices.
The all-glass path is hard to beat..

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

Been in contact with Calen about getting a bundle sent. Soon I'll join the ranks of gn0mes that went before me. Did someone say Hi-Ho

 

[mephisto]

Welcome to the all glass path....

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

Thanks mephisto. Already got the Vapocane, which is an all glass vape similar to the gn0me in style of use. I really like it and can't wait for a more artistic glass piece. Glass really does get addictive!

 

[mephisto]

Hell yes, it does! The glass vapo-bowl is good as well, not as clean tasting though.

 

[Bananiq]

^I would not recommend glass vapo-bowl since mine corroded apart after profound fogging + the material is not SS like Vaporstar's so it's not safe I guess.

Hey people!
It has been a while. The reason is that I am quite busy studying for exams recently and before that I was busy burning my toaster (accidently) and almost whole kitchen afterwards... well anyway I LOVE my gn0me classic! Good as a portable vape: during last couple of weeks I was taking my gn0me for a walk to mountains and my cheap small jim-beam torch did the job well (this one)..even though the outside temperature is not freezing there (10 - 15C) the heating time outside is significantly slower. It's necessary to heat rippled part 30+ seconds. Usually, I heat the rippled part from the beginning where it's closest to the herb and then I continue to the end. After a half of the length is heated I inhale and continue heating the rest. Big fogs guaranteed!
Here in erasmus pothead community, there isn't any vape lover and I wanted to share my gn0me so I passed around gn0me to circle of 6 friends and after short explanation and demo all of them coughed like bitches Its funny how combusters can handle their tar-stuff they inhaling but cannot handle pure goodness in the lungs Anyway they liked it and some of them told me they want to buy.

btw I cannot say a bad word about that torch, the only thing is small tank so I have to refill after each session. But it is all metal and survived extreme conditions like constant long time heating and washing it in the washing machine (!) .. we are talking about lighter for 2 euros.. Back in my country I ordered 10 of them and gave them to friends

Puting screen before mouthpiece is a good solution for gn0me classic since it happens quite a lot that I eat some of the flowers, especially when you prefer your herb grinded.

Abysmal: AMAZING gn0me rig&video! The twisted downpipe is sick. Funnily I was also thinking about bag-blowing style of gn0me,.. practicality of this device is epic win.. I have my eye on the g0ng version ..after I get home I will enrich the collection for sure

edit: Calen, it is possible to make g0ng heater with male end?

cheers

 

[gn0me]

Thanks for the review, Bana - I'm glad to see you're enjoying your glassware!

I'll get back to ya on the male heater - it's further away from the bowl area so will require more heat, but it should work otherwise - the wider bowl area in the female will need to be held upright, though... I'll probably pull it like a one piece sherlock. For the classic and GonGnome I recommend crumbling flowers between finger and thumb to take advantage of not needing a screen, but enough people like theirs ground up that I'm going to start punching some small circular screens to include with classic and GonG gnomes. Is there a particular mesh size preferred over the others?

 

[charliedontsurf]

So to keep it short, the glass on glass Gnome is every bit as awesome as the classic, maybe more so. I prefer to use a screen and found the task of installing one to be not too difficult. If you are an absolute purist than the very nicely-made 4-way ice pinch style bowl should do a very good job even without a screen, as long as your grind is coarse. The Gong Gnome works great with glass with some simple DBV tubing, just like the classic. The gong joints are very thick and high quality and generally stay cool enough to touch when in use. A little more gas is obviously required. Hits are flavorful and probably more dense than the classic. Again, I would give it a rating in the 8.5-9.0 range at this price point. Handheld or hooked up to glass, it's a great vape.

If I were to have only one, it'd probably be the Gong Gn0me. In the case of my 2 particular examples, the GonG places the heated portion about 2 inches closer to the user, which makes it slightly less convenient for hand held use. This will probably vary slightly between examples.

To address the above question from Gnome, I kind of like a somewhat looser mesh. It allows some particulate to get through, but it can go two or three times as long before it needs to be cleaned compared to a really fine mesh.

Calen, have you thought about adding two small "feet" balls to the end of the heater portion? This would allow you to set it down while hot, letting the hot portion hover over the table. Also have you thought about adding a kind of stirring rod to the Gnome classic? I was thinking that welding on a little "rod" extension on the Gnome Classic glass-screen would allow it effectively stir itself just by a quick twist of the device. Maybe more trouble than its worth, and maybe it would just quickly usher material through the glass screen and into your mouth, but I'm curious.

 

[NeverClever]

Aaand a friend broke it. It is by no means fragile as I've dropped it before and no cracks. But he had it in a water bong and dropped it. So no video till my replacement shows up.

 

[vorrange]

Hey guys!

I received my gn0me today, haven't tried yet because i don't have a torch lighter, i think i will have to buy online, i tried a big home depot kind store but they only have big torches which is not very portable.

so i have a kitchen torch my mother uses and i'll just buy some gas to fill it.

Tomorrow i'll post about the experience, can't wait!

Thank you Calen for the awesome work you do and for all your help answering my questions!

 

[charliedontsurf]

Had a little fun jury rigging a bag blower setup with my GonG Gnome, HA 2.1 airpump and extreme Q bag, plus an inch each of 7th floor and Arizer tubing. The classic is less well suited because it's only like 98% airtight, which means little under normal operation but in a bag blower results in a steady vapor leak.

It worked surprisingly well and was likely the most flavorful bagged vapor I've ever tasted. This setup can only fill about 1/2 to 1/3 of a 16 inch Volcano-brand bag before the heat temp drops too much and vapors starts to thin, at which point heat needs to be reapplied. If one could devise a convenient stand for the whole situation, maybe at the appropriate height for the torch, then you have one of the most simple, elementary, delightfully archaic bag blowing systems ever. You could even rig it up so the Gnome is suspended over a candle as its heat source, being moved in and out of the hot spot as necessary to build up or maintain heat.

One thing that's great about the Gnome, especially given its narrow and long bowl, is how consistent the ABV tends to come out.

When I have the time and patience and space and mindset to use the Gnome, I consistently enjoy the hell out of it. The bowl systems have their idiosyncrasies, and refilling torches is a daily hazmat task, but it's really my favorite vape of the moment. That honor moves around very capriciously mind you, but I love my Gnome.

 

[OhTheAgony]

I have to agree with Bananiq on the poor quality of the metal cap of the glass vapo bowl. I also discovered some sort of oily residue in a unused one I had that I took apart, and retired mine right after that. The cap of the metal vapo bowl seems of better quality though, you could still use that with the bowl of the GVB if they match (I have a pair that won't match unfortunately).

But I decided to stay away from lighter based vapes that make you inhale butane residue because I don't like the taste anyway.

CDS:

Do you think the GonG Gnome has still something to add for someone that already has a Vapocane and does not blow bags (cool experiment btw)? What was the total price for both the portable and the GonG if I may ask?

 

[charliedontsurf]

Continuing the related derail, my Vapobowl cap indeed looks less-than-great. I need to get around to posting a photo on that thread. I don't necessarily feel it's unsafe but it still is a little alarming.

Agony, its functionally very similar to the Vapocane so I'd say it's definitely not a strictly necessary purchase. On the other hand, the Gnome can be used by itself without any waterpipe at all and with great results. That would be the main selling point for someone who already uses the Vapocane retained heat method and is considering the Gnome line. To answer your other question, Calen actually shot me a free classic for sending him an email about FC a while back, and then I liked it so much I bought the GonG for like 42.50 shipped within the US.

 

[OhTheAgony]

That was a very nice gesture of him. I think I want to try one eventually but I would have more need for the classic first then I guess, since I don't really have a lighter based portable in my (tiny) arsenal yet.

How do you experience vapor temperature compared to the Vapocane? I find it a little difficult to keep the temps low with my Cane and often have a irritated throat after using my Cane several times in a row, I'm not sure if thats your experience as well, but I would like something similar that is a little easier to the throat.

The Cane Is the only vape I use with ice atm and it is making me consider a different piece with more filtration where I used to think that would be overkill with vapor (more filtration as well as ice).

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

Retained heat is great method. but it rips of the ability to control "constant" temp.. Most of the times i heat a bit enough to start visible vapor and begin to pull.. If the vapor is getting less dense i start torching it while still pulling..
It feels like walking on a rope.. It is visually very impressive because i can increase the vapor density from blue to thick white in less than a second if i don't let it cool too much.
In my brain it feels like i invited the psychadelic compounds of cannabis to a party.. and they are entering at facecontrol one by one each being authorized to enter by his effect expectations by visual appearance before inhalation (LOL). The more i increase the temp... the more and the heavier dudes are coming to the party... and i can hardly say Hi! to everyone
I do this both with gong and the classic.. My favorite method sofar .
I would call this semi-retained continual reheating method ..

 

[charliedontsurf]

That was a very nice gesture of him. I think I want to try one eventually but I would have more need for the classic first then I guess, since I don't really have a lighter based portable in my (tiny) arsenal yet.

How do you experience vapor temperature compared to the Vapocane? I find it a little difficult to keep the temps low with my Cane and often have a irritated throat after using my Cane several times in a row, I'm not sure if thats your experience as well, but I would like something similar that is a little easier to the throat.

Yeah, Calen's a real nice cat. I might be misinterpreting what you're saying, but the Gong is actually pretty much just as portable as the classic. It takes a little more torch time but otherwise is similar and hits larger.

You can definitely get nice low temp hits off the Gnomes and the way the glass starts to glow and deflect the heat is a great tell for how hot the glass is, and I haven't ever really thought of the Gnome as being harsh or irritating.