I Missed

[inino]

so i missed the mini phunnel train, but would it be possible if i took my regular phunnel to a ceramic place that they could make me one if i asked them? would it be reliable?

[Codename067]

Who knows.

Check the credibility of the people you are going to take you phunnel to.

[inino]

well i have a local place that makes ceramic plates and little ceramic decorative things, i assume they could make a mini phunnel, the only thing i would worry about is how it would hold up to heat and tobacco being put in it.

[Rayneuki]

Ask them about it. Make sure to get it glazed and the tobacco shouldn't bother it. But ask them "how well would this stand up to heat?" If you can put their ceramic plates in the micro/ dish-washer then it should be fine (theoreticaly of course)

[zachslusser]

most pottery glazes are of a food quality variety and therefore I also believe it would be dishwasher/ microwave safe. so it should stand up to the heat.

[rigor]

I had the same thought a few weeks back, but have yet to look into it. If and when I do, I'll report back to you.

[SmokinMoose]

If you take your phunnel you should be good.

Also there is some good info here:

Hello friends;

We have not changed the basic design of the phunnels in awhile. The phunnel height shrunk down a little (since they are handmade) and then I made the guy make them a little taller. Other than that, its the same.

All the clay and glazes we use for Tangiers Phunnels are certified non-toxic (and dishwasher safe...if the spirit ever moves you) including lead free. All the glazes we use are boron-based slip glazes rather than lead-based...

The fake phunnels tend to be thinner material and it has more "clutter" or blobby pieces of clay since they are cast and not hand thrown. The fake phunnels feel more like plaster to me (although they are clay) whereas the real phunnels feel more stoney.

Since we use high-fired clay, it conducts heat better so real phunnels consume less charcoal (I estimated the fake phunnel used about 20%-30% more coal to get the same effect). So that extra five bucks you save will get eaten up in more charcoal use in a week or two (depending how much you smoke). That is, a fairly closely sized real and fake phunnel (about a medium...) The Tangiers phunnel, using Tangiers tobacco, the fake one produced less smoke with four coals on the fake vs. four coals on the real one.

This makes sense because lower-fire clay is heated less so it vitrifies less (vitrification is where heated molecules rub and mix vigorously and then when cooled shrink and becomes more dense...the more vitrifed it is, the more dense it is), so it would have more tiny air bubbles in a low-fired clay, where a higher fired clay drives those out. Air is a poor conductor of heat (since it is very diffuse), so the more air bubbles, the worse a conductor of heat the clay would be and then the more heat it takes to heat up. So a lower fired clay is cheaper to make (it takes less energy nd uses less clay since the clay shrinks less), but it would inevitably be less sturdy, lighter, and use more charcoal.

Or thats what I read on the back of a bar napkin.

Edit: Rubber that smells that way is because of excesses of sulfur, generally. It should be safe...although it might taint flavor and still smell bad.