Syrian Engineer Or Syrian Glyph?

[New2Hookah]

As far as the Green and Gold...the VASE is green. The stem, however, is just gold/chrome/polished. I think its rather beautiful.

Custtomer service for JandR is hands down the best IMHO. Dont take my opinion only...read the reviews. Its unanimous.

JandR\'s Snakes Vase is Green GLASS, its not painted green. If you have issues or qustions with their products ask them, dont assume.

Paying more for brass is a justification for the quality and care it took to make them. Plus Brass is better.
JandR does give freebies. I have ordered from them twice and both times, freebies were included. Its not stated on their site, and I dont know why, but they do in fact include freebies. Again, you have issues or questions just use their contact page. It takes 2 seconds to find out answers.

Shipping to Canada should be just about the same for everyone using USPS, which I believe HS would use shipping to Canada. I just did a quick calculation, and for a box of about 12 pounds (hookah, hoses, tobacco, coals, accessories) shipping to Canada from anywhere in the US is about $30. This should be universal for everyone in the US. JandR\'s package will weigh more because their hookahs weigh more. Ask them to give you a quote. I had a problem during checkout and I contacted them and they got to it within 5 minutes. Its very easy for them, or any vendor, to adjust shipping prices. Again, just ask.

All of JandR Syrians can easily be 2 Hoses. As a matter of fact, when making a Syrian purchase, just tell them you want the 2 hose option and most of the time they do it at no extra cost.

Give them a chance you wont be disappointed. Besides, it doesn\'t hurt to ask a few questions.

[waterboi]

Custtomer service for JandR is hands down the best IMHO. Dont take my opinion only...read the reviews. Its unanimous.



Give them a chance you wont be disappointed. Besides, it doesn\'t hurt to ask a few questions.

Very true statements. He will answer all and any questions. Believe me, I had a lot of them.

[gaia.plateau]

I was just about to scream
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
but then i read the rest of your post. Whew!

I don't even consider them a company. YUCK.

Well, to their credit, when their shoddily stem broke they sent me a new one free of charge with no questions asked, fairly quickly. The bastards made me pay S&H for it though.

[gaia.plateau]

As far as the Green and Gold...the VASE is green. The stem, however, is just gold/chrome/polished. I think its rather beautiful.

JandR\'s Snakes Vase is Green GLASS, its not painted green.

Well, obviously I haven't seen them in person... but if these statements are true JandR seriously needs to upgrade their camera... the plating on the Green and Gold looks cheap in the picture, at any rate, and the gold paint on the snake's basin seriously looks like something that I could paint with my toes. In my sleep. I'm not saying it's a bad product, I'm just telling you what the picture makes it look like.

If you have issues or qustions with their products ask them, dont assume.

I didn't assume anything, I perceived. Very different.

Again, you have issues or questions just use their contact page. It takes 2 seconds to find out answers.

Its very easy for them, or any vendor, to adjust shipping prices. Again, just ask.

Vendors tend to be quite biased, since, you know... they only make money if you buy from them. I asked questions here on the forum to get relatively objective answers and personal opinions.

All of JandR Syrians can easily be 2 Hoses. As a matter of fact, when making a Syrian purchase, just tell them you want the 2 hose option and most of the time they do it at no extra cost.

Do you mean that they will actually custom-build the heart chamber for you? Or that they will add a hose mod to the purge valve?

Brass is better.

No argument there. But brass being a superior hookah material does not mean that brass hookahs are better than steel hookahs. There are a lot of things to look for in a hookah purchase besides the material of the stem.

[ZenSilk]

Actually... im pretty sure that buying a 2 hosed hookah is about 10 bucks more than a 1 hose on JandR. He just has different hearts, a 1, 3, and 4 i would bet, 2 would be a waste because a 3 hose heart could be made into a 2 hose by placing a Purge valve piece in place of a stem adapter.

[gaia.plateau]

Actually... im pretty sure that buying a 2 hosed hookah is about 10 bucks more than a 1 hose on JandR. He just has different hearts, a 1, 3, and 4 i would bet, 2 would be a waste because a 3 hose heart could be made into a 2 hose by placing a Purge valve piece in place of a stem adapter.

Well, I contacted them, and apparently they only have single hearts for Syrians. So that's a bummer. I asked him about the functionality of their valve adapters, but I'm really hesitant to do this again after bad experience with this feature.

Shipping really isn't too bad, $31 as opposed to $25 from H-S which is reasonable with the added weight, and JandR is willing to swap nammors for the stock hoses when more come in. I also like that they throw in exotica coals.

Still, it would be about $35 more than the Glyph, and I'd have to settle for an adapted 2nd hose. Dubious.

Is there really any advantage of brass over ss if you care for your hookah properly? Edited November 21, 2007 by gaia.plateau

[ZenSilk]

I have to say, yes.

I have had 4 SS hookahs. Actually... as a matter of fact, almost all of the ones that have rusted were traditonal Egyptians style, with no brass parts, and i didnt air dry them, i used a very thin flimsy sponge and a rod i got from H-S to dry them all out.

The 2 that didn't (havn't) rust(ed) were my Mod hookah from H-S and my current Mya Acrylic also from H-S. Since the

Parts on the glyph are all machine made, i'm pretty sure everything will be smooth and completely nickel-plated to make them "Stainless steel", and the stems will be fine if not air-dried.

One of the reasons i like brass over SS is because f the weighty, durable feeling i get from Brass, even in the downstem. I love having a nice heavy thick hookah, not a flimsy one.
*****But in regards to SS being flimsy, it was thick on my Mod and is thick on my Mya, and extremely smooth (no bad weld marks and such).

Your choice would be perfectly fine. BUT, JandR does have the Syrian deal going on, and 500 grams of shisha AND 1 kilo of Exoticas is unbeatable with the other freebies you recieve through Jimmy. Then again, he won't have Nammors in til december, and i dunno about H-S.

[gaia.plateau]

I have to say, yes.

I have had 4 SS hookahs. Actually... as a matter of fact, almost all of the ones that have rusted were traditonal Egyptians style, with no brass parts, and i didnt air dry them, i used a very thin flimsy sponge and a rod i got from H-S to dry them all out.

The 2 that didn't (havn't) rust(ed) were my Mod hookah from H-S and my current Mya Acrylic also from H-S. Since the

Parts on the glyph are all machine made, i'm pretty sure everything will be smooth and completely nickel-plated to make them "Stainless steel", and the stems will be fine if not air-dried.

One of the reasons i like brass over SS is because f the weighty, durable feeling i get from Brass, even in the downstem. I love having a nice heavy thick hookah, not a flimsy one.
*****But in regards to SS being flimsy, it was thick on my Mod and is thick on my Mya, and extremely smooth (no bad weld marks and such).

Your choice would be perfectly fine. BUT, JandR does have the Syrian deal going on, and 500 grams of shisha AND 1 kilo of Exoticas is unbeatable with the other freebies you recieve through Jimmy. Then again, he won't have Nammors in til december, and i dunno about H-S.

Mmm I hadn't heard of any deal, what do you mean? What types of shisha can you choose from? I don't know about unbeatable... 1kg of exotica coals would mean an extra $12-20 shipping, and I already have 2kg on the way.

JandR and H-S are in the same boat regarding nammor shipments.

Regarding SS rusting... of your 4 SS hookahs, how many have rusted? How long did it take? Did you ever neglect to dry them after cleaning?

Edit: does anyone own both a H-S Syrian and a JandR Syrian? Which do you prefer? Edited November 21, 2007 by gaia.plateau

[PirateNinja415]

does anyone know when JandR will restock their hookahs? it seems like all of their bigger Syrians are out of stock

[New2Hookah]

The deal he was referring to was posted on the other forum (that we\'re not allowed to discuss here). From what i read on that deal, you get 1 Free 1Kg box of Exoticas and 2 Free boxes of Layalina or Al Fakher. 500g total. Pretty damn good deal; i\'d jump on it in a second, but I already got one lol.

They also just posted 3 new Syrian designs, 2 of them 26 inches and 1 of them 29 inches. They are gorgeous.

If you want to know something about JandR or when they\'ll get more product in, just ask, lol. They are the ones who can give you the most accurate answer to anything they carry.

[PirateNinja415]

The deal he was referring to was posted on the other forum (that we\'re not allowed to discuss here). From what i read on that deal, you get 1 Free 1Kg box of Exoticas and 2 Free boxes of Layalina or Al Fakher. 500g total. Pretty damn good deal; i\'d jump on it in a second, but I already got one lol.

They also just posted 3 new Syrian designs, 2 of them 26 inches and 1 of them 29 inches. They are gorgeous.

If you want to know something about JandR or when they\'ll get more product in, just ask, lol. They are the ones who can give you the most accurate answer to anything they carry.

lol, fair enough

[waterboi]

That is a killer deal! I just got one a week ago also. I would jump on that deal if not. Those new syrians are very nice.

[ZenSilk]

My Amer didnt rust, i took good care of it. My other 2 egyptians rusted in about 3 weeks, maybe 4. My Mod hookah from H-S didnt rust.

All of these were dried completely after rinsing them after use.

And i do prefer the JandR Syrian, someone in the Sig house has a Glyph, and i brought my JandR in and they loved it, preferred it over the Glyph.

[waterboi]

I would really like to add an Amer to my collection.

[gaia.plateau]

And i do prefer the JandR Syrian, someone in the Sig house has a Glyph, and i brought my JandR in and they loved it, preferred it over the Glyph.

Anything about it in particular? Did it smoke better, did they like the look of it better, or something else?

I've still got at least a week to decide between the Syrian Glyph at H-S and the Syrian Snake at JandR... the Snake drew up by a nose when Jimmy told me that he'd declare it as a gift and that he was fine with calling shisha "molasses"... but then today the Glyph drew back up ahead when I found out that for no extra charge they'd upgrade me to a 3-port heart chamber so that I can have 2 hoses with autoseal + a purge valve. The best that JandR can do is 1 main valve with autoseal and 1 adapted valve without autoseal. Jimmy also tested the Snake's second valve for me and apparently the draw off of it is a bit harder than off the main valve. I have to give JandR an audible "wow" for that level of customer service.

Right now, this is how the race is going. Obviously these pros and cons are according to my personal preferences, and points are not worth equal weight.

H-S Glyph
+ Fantastic customer service
+ Better aesthetically
+ 2 autoseal valves
+ Third purge valve at no extra cost
+ Better basin, aesthetically
+ 30" (round numbers appease my OCD)
+ Free carrying bag
+ Slightly cheaper nammors
+ Matching hose covers
+ 25% discount
+ Extremely accomdating (they changed my preorder like 8 times)
+- Lighter (less stable, but more portable and less for shipping)
- Steel
- Out of stock, won't ship for a week

JandR Snake
+ Fantastic customer service
+ Brass
+ Better basin, functionally
+ Free Exotica charcoal
+ Free 500g shisha (though no Tangiers or Starbuzz)
+- Heavier (more stable, but less portable and more for shipping)
- Only 1 autoseal valve
- No purge valve
- An inch shorter!
- Slightly more expensive nammors
- Nammors out of stock, won't ship for a week at least

It's still anyone's game

[ZenSilk]

And i do prefer the JandR Syrian, someone in the Sig house has a Glyph, and i brought my JandR in and they loved it, preferred it over the Glyph.

Anything about it in particular? Did it smoke better, did they like the look of it better, or something else?

I've still got at least a week to decide between the Syrian Glyph at H-S and the Syrian Snake at JandR... the Snake drew up by a nose when Jimmy told me that he'd declare it as a gift and that he was fine with calling shisha "molasses"... but then today the Glyph drew back up ahead when I found out that for no extra charge they'd upgrade me to a 3-port heart chamber so that I can have 2 hoses with autoseal + a purge valve. The best that JandR can do is 1 main valve with autoseal and 1 adapted valve without autoseal. Jimmy also tested the Snake's second valve for me and apparently the draw off of it is a bit harder than off the main valve. I have to give JandR an audible "wow" for that level of customer service.

Right now, this is how the race is going. Obviously these pros and cons are according to my personal preferences, and points are not worth equal weight.

H-S Glyph
+ Fantastic customer service
+ Better aesthetically
+ 2 autoseal valves
+ Third purge valve at no extra cost
+ Better basin, aesthetically
+ 30" (round numbers appease my OCD)
+ Free carrying bag
+ Slightly cheaper nammors
+ Matching hose covers
+ 25% discount
+ Extremely accomdating (they changed my preorder like 8 times)
+- Lighter (less stable, but more portable and less for shipping)
- Steel
- Out of stock, won't ship for a week

JandR Snake
+ Fantastic customer service
+ Brass
+ Better basin, functionally
+ Free Exotica charcoal
+ Free 500g shisha (though no Tangiers or Starbuzz)
+- Heavier (more stable, but less portable and more for shipping)
- Only 1 autoseal valve
- No purge valve
- An inch shorter!
- Slightly more expensive nammors
- Nammors out of stock, won't ship for a week at least

It's still anyone's game

Umm, well.... The Auto-Seal valves on JandR hookahs act as GREAT purge valves when needed, i have a picture on my review.

I would also reccomend somehting other than the Snake from JandR if you want a Multiple Hosed hookah. But i think you like the look of it best so that's fine.

I'd say, in your case, based on what you have said, if i was in your position i'd go with the Glyph if i cared about looks; but i don't care too much about looks, so i would go with a multiple hose Syrian from JandR over any H-S Syrian.

Look at it like this....
You have 2 choices.

A) the pull of one hose will be harder than the other. It doesnt have a purge valve. It's rather expensive.
B.) although it isn't brass and not as durable as the other, has 2 hoses + a Purge Valve, and the pull will be the same all around, and you like the looks of it better than any other.

Although i would always reccomend a JandR Syrian over anything, in your case i would go with the more aesthetically pleasing, more functional for your needs Glyph.

**********Unless you change your mind about the looks of normal JandR 29" Syrians with 2 or 3 hoses, then in a heartbeat i'd say jump on that shit.

Oh, and yes they liked the look of the JandR better, one of them said it looks more traditional than the Glyph, which he reffered to as "Flashy with a boring base". And i'm actually sure the pull is exactly the same, but in the JandR the common chamber has a built-in diffuser (i don't think the glyph has that feature, but i didn't look at the inside of the Glyph).
Actually, you should ask H-S what the heart looks like, and whether it's a common chamber or not. Edited November 21, 2007 by ZenSilk

[gaia.plateau]

Umm, well.... The Auto-Seal valves on JandR hookahs act as GREAT purge valves when needed, i have a picture on my review.

I don't doubt it... but I would have to take off a hose, unscrew the valve (likely using one of those hand-gripping things, those mothers can be tough to get off), take out the ball bearing (careful, they're teensy and if I've got a good buzz on I'll have butter fingers), blow hard, put the bearing back in, screw the valve back on, put the hose back in, and resume. So at that point you may as well lift the whole thing out of the basin to blow it out, and if I'm doing that every day the extra weight of brass kind of makes going with brass not worth the extra durability.

I would also reccomend somehting other than the Snake from JandR if you want a Multiple Hosed hookah. But i think you like the look of it best so that's fine.

What's wrong with the snake? I looked through them all, and it's actually the only one that I don't find terribly boring... hopefully we'll see some more innovative designs in the near future. I definitely want to own a JandR hookah eventually, but I only have the moola for one pipe right now

Oh, and yes they liked the look of the JandR better, one of them said it looks more traditional than the Glyph, which he reffered to as "Flashy with a boring base". And i'm actually sure the pull is exactly the same, but in the JandR the common chamber has a built-in diffuser (i don't think the glyph has that feature, but i didn't look at the inside of the Glyph).
Actually, you should ask H-S what the heart looks like, and whether it's a common chamber or not.

Ah, thanks for that info. I'm kind of a man of extremes, in terms of traditionality I don't really care about it at all unless I can get a completely traditional one, like, hand-made for me by some lunatic in a shack in Syria. Maybe next Winter I'll take a trip there.

How could a chamber have a built-in diffuser? Isn't diffusing just basically the standardization of the smoke from the downstem into the water? (At least... that's what my heba diffuser does). I believe the rep for H-S said that they do have common chambers, but I might need to check again on that.

Anyway, I think that's probably enough to make up my mind for now, unless I get some revelational new info. Thanks for your advice!

[waterboi]

JandR actually has a few new ones in. Just send him an e-mail. they are rather nice and gorgeous

[ZenSilk]

With the purge all you would have to do is take the hose off, when you blow the bearing moves out of the way and smoke pours out.

And the snake is great, i love it's style, but it is meant to be a One Hose hookah with a purge valve, so why not get something that has 2 hoses and a purge valve? It makes more sense functionally.

And the built in diffuser... In Normal Common Chamber hookahs, Like Myas, the heart is just a huge empty chamber, the downstem actually goes through the middle of the chamber, and there is no plate covering the entrance to the chamber. In JandR syrians there is a plate, and it has 4 small holes, the smoke is diffused through those holes, and it's a simple built-in diffuser (mind you, it doesnt diffuse as much as a Heba diffuser, but you will notice it).

Here are the pictures...
Mya Common Chamber, no Plate
[attachment=731:GetAttachment.jpg]

JandR Common Chamber with Plate Diffuser
[attachment=732:4.jpg]

[Edmond]

gaia.plateau,

If I were you, I would choose the Glyph. Not only if I were you but I believe everyone should consider their hookah not only as a smoking tool but mostly as a piece of pride. Nobody would conduct a chemical test to determine the material making your shaft, but anybody can can tell you what he/she thinks of the look of your hookah.

Also, I have been to many middle-eastern restaurants and hookah bars, here in the bay area, and I can tell you people there care less of the sturdiness of the shaft and I'll even say they don't pay extreme attention to the flavor or the right function of the hookah, they simply use it to facilitate the creation of the right environment: friendly and fun ambiance; in other words, make it easy on those who might share your hookah with you with two Auto-Seal hose connecters. ;-)

Now stop thinking and do it! Get the Glyph! Now!!!

H-S mgnt: mission accomplished, when can I get my comission check ;-) (just kidding gaia.plateau)

[gaia.plateau]

why not get something that has 2 hoses and a purge valve? It makes more sense functionally.

Well, that's why I'm likely going to go with the Glyph. I kind of like the Carved Blue Genie 4 hose, which is basically the same thing as the 30" Syrian... but I just don't think that it would make a good "center piece" for my living room table at a shindig. Beautiful, yes. Magnificent, not so much.

I think what I'll probably do is get the Glyph now, and order Snake in 9 or 10 months if there isn't a better (for me) brass hookah out by then.

[gaia.plateau]

gaia.plateau,

If I were you, I would choose the Glyph. Not only if I were you but I believe everyone should consider their hookah not only as a smoking tool but mostly as a piece of pride. Nobody would conduct a chemical test to determine the material making your shaft, but anybody can can tell you what he/she thinks of the look of your hookah.

Also, I have been to many middle-eastern restaurants and hookah bars, here in the bay area, and I can tell you people there care less of the sturdiness of the shaft and I'll even say they don't pay extreme attention to the flavor or the right function of the hookah, they simply use it to facilitate the creation of the right environment: friendly and fun ambiance; in other words, make it easy on those who might share your hookah with you with two Auto-Seal hose connecters. ;-)

Nicely put m8.

Now stop thinking and do it! Get the Glyph! Now!!!

H-S mgnt: mission accomplished, when can I get my comission check ;-) (just kidding gaia.plateau)

Lawl.

[ZenSilk]

gaia.plateau,

If I were you, I would choose the Glyph. Not only if I were you but I believe everyone should consider their hookah not only as a smoking tool but mostly as a piece of pride. Nobody would conduct a chemical test to determine the material making your shaft, but anybody can can tell you what he/she thinks of the look of your hookah.

Also, I have been to many middle-eastern restaurants and hookah bars, here in the bay area, and I can tell you people there care less of the sturdiness of the shaft and I'll even say they don't pay extreme attention to the flavor or the right function of the hookah, they simply use it to facilitate the creation of the right environment: friendly and fun ambiance; in other words, make it easy on those who might share your hookah with you with two Auto-Seal hose connecters. ;-)

Now stop thinking and do it! Get the Glyph! Now!!!

H-S mgnt: mission accomplished, when can I get my comission check ;-) (just kidding gaia.plateau)

Hey, i really do take pride in my JandR syrian, the same way you would a Glyph. It's all about how the single owner sees it.

But yes, i do reccomend the Glyph for you needs as of now Gaia. Good choice, and i hope you love it.

[gaia.plateau]

i hope you love it.

Does H-S make the stem-holes big enough for that?

[ZenSilk]

Hmm, i guess it really depends on how big you are...