Guess Which One Is The Mini Phunnel

[Giant Ninja Robot]

I chose the red because the stem of my mini is much shorter than my medium. By alot.

I was kinda dissapointed that the one I ordered for myself was a full lip's width larger than the two I got for friends but I've used it enough now to absolutely love it and because I don't have a small to compare it to, no big deal.

[Dom]

now for the answer:





the RED one is the mini.





i received it the other day from IV. the blue/green one is a small that i bought in a hookah shop a while back. (and yes it is a legit Tangiers Phunnel). i have yet to smoke out of the mini, but i noticed (as many others did) that the small and the mini are very similar.

since no two phunnels are exactly alike, i'll just show you what my experience is with mine. so don't take this as the most accurate description of a mini.

a view from the bottom shows that my mini has a much narrower inside:


a large is shown along side the other two. notice that the bottom inside diameter is approximately the same size as the small. (actually, the large's bottom hole is just a tad-bit smaller than the small. believe it or not) the mini is much smaller, though:

that's not the part that matters anyway

although both bowls have the same depth, a vew from the top shows the inside diameter of the center hole on the mini is much smaller:


notice the large and the small have the same inside top hole diameter.


both the small and the mini hold the same amount of tobacco. ironically, i'd say that it appears that the red mini holds just a little bit more than the blue/green small.

yes, IV, this was to prove a point.
and the point is:
not all phunnels are the same. the smaller and smaller the phunnels get, the harder it is to guarantee that they will be consistantly all the same size and shape.
that's what makes them unique. they are hand-made.

i was just expecting it to be shallower and maybe hold less tobacco.
oh well. i'm happy to have another phunnel.

better luck next time i guess??

[likespaceships]

your large looks about the size of my "medium"

[ExSmoker]

At the risk of alienating myself here, can I ask why everyone seems to feel obligated to defend poor quality control and consistency by stating that it's hand-made?

I don't understand why anyone would take 'it's hand-made' as a valid excuse for something not fill its function (in this case, the function being to hold less tobacco than a small phunnel).

I know I'm new here and I know that Eric is well loved by the community (and with good reason) and so I'm kind of doing something risky with this post. I'm not trying to stir **** up for no reason, but I'm genuinely confused why anyone thinks it's OK to get a substandard product just because it's hand-made.

[Victim026]

My questions would be why you think the size makes it substandard? It's true handmade products are subject to varying from item to item, and frankly this is just part of the fun of getting something that's handmade, and it's also a risk you need to be aware of before purchasing....

[Scoop]

called that shit.

i have like 5 small phunnels. my gf has 1. the one she has is literally tiny compared to one of the smalls i have.

hand made just means each batch is different. its just hard to figure out what batch you have. in the case of the minis at least you know they are going to be small, instead of a large small.

[mattarios2]

eh hem, i called it as well

[ExSmoker]

My questions would be why you think the size makes it substandard? It's true handmade products are subject to varying from item to item, and frankly this is just part of the fun of getting something that's handmade, and it's also a risk you need to be aware of before purchasing....

Well it's called a mini phunnel, not a small phunnel. The whole intent of the minis is to be smaller than the smalls. Based on the thread about the mini phunnels, people clearly weren't ordering 'mini phunnels' because they wanted a 'small phunnel', it was because they wanted a mini.

So presumably there was a size standard for the 'mini phunnel' that this one didn't meet, making it sub-standard. That, or there just isn't any standardization at all.


I'm an artist and I totally appreciate the concept of 'hand-made', but we're talking crafts and product here, not a painting. I think it does add charm and even real value that these are hand made (if you check the mini thread, you'll see me grumbling about missing the mini shipments ), but if they are hand made with such disregard to quality control that they don't even match their product description........ I guess I'm just surprised people aren't a little put out by it. I know I would be.

[Bye bye now have fun]

kind of makes me want to gamble on getting a small

[JDHarding]

I thought about getting a mini till I saw this. They're not much smaller than a small. Are the MNH mini glass phunnels smaller? If it's not much smaller than a Tang small, then it ain't worth the price.

[Bye bye now have fun]

I thought about getting a mini till I saw this. They're not much smaller than a small. Are the MNH mini glass phunnels smaller? If it's not much smaller than a Tang small, then it ain't worth the price.

well even if you wanted to buy one they arent making them unless you are talking about the glass ones

[JDHarding]

I thought about getting a mini till I saw this. They're not much smaller than a small. Are the MNH mini glass phunnels smaller? If it's not much smaller than a Tang small, then it ain't worth the price.

well even if you wanted to buy one they arent making them unless you are talking about the glass ones

Yeah, I'm talking about MNH's glass minis. $24 would be a waste if it weren't smaller than my Tang small.

[Fluffy]

im gonna say niethor. one of the is a small phunnel that is to small, and the other is a mini phunnel that is to big.

[arhutch]

i knew it was the red one.

kind of makes me want to gamble on getting a small

i agree, but then again ive seen a few minis that were truely "mini", noticably smaller than a small phunnel.

[wilarseny]

I mean, presumably one could just ask one's vendor to look through all the small phunnels in stock and find the smallest one. That being said, my mini is much smaller than my small--which I'd never really considered an especially big small--and it'll be interesting, when/if mine ever comes from the mini sale at MyspaceHookah, to see how that varies from what I already have. And to the person comparing the large and the medium above, at first they look the same size, but the large really does hold quite a bit more; at the width it's at, you don't need to increase diameter much to get a large change in volume. Maybe tonight I'll take a picture of all four... all authentic Tangiers... from what I can gather they are all in their "correct" proportions...

[Dom]

smoked out of it yesterday and today. it smokes great

just like the small.

[An1m]

I ordered a Large from MNH once, it was only a bit larger than my medium which is slightly smaller than the average medium. Either way they both smoke amazingly well. I could see being upset that you don't have a true "mini" phunnel, but you could easily unload it on someone who will gladly take it, not that you should have to but it may serve as counselation.

[Boricua]

I just got a new Tangiers Small for my gf and it ended up being quite larger than the first Tangiers Small I bought. From the pics and comments I've seen on the forum, my original Small is pretty much the same size as a mini. I guess I lucked out with my first one.

[natgnat]

I do like how people are still voting in the poll after the answer has been revealed...on top of that, voting for the blue/green.

[engineonmute]

ahahahahaha i was right based off their colors lol

[delSol_si]

My questions would be why you think the size makes it substandard? It's true handmade products are subject to varying from item to item, and frankly this is just part of the fun of getting something that's handmade, and it's also a risk you need to be aware of before purchasing....

Well it's called a mini phunnel, not a small phunnel. The whole intent of the minis is to be smaller than the smalls. Based on the thread about the mini phunnels, people clearly weren't ordering 'mini phunnels' because they wanted a 'small phunnel', it was because they wanted a mini.

So presumably there was a size standard for the 'mini phunnel' that this one didn't meet, making it sub-standard. That, or there just isn't any standardization at all.


I'm an artist and I totally appreciate the concept of 'hand-made', but we're talking crafts and product here, not a painting. I think it does add charm and even real value that these are hand made (if you check the mini thread, you'll see me grumbling about missing the mini shipments ), but if they are hand made with such disregard to quality control that they don't even match their product description........ I guess I'm just surprised people aren't a little put out by it. I know I would be.

I would totally agree with ExSmoker on this one. Aren't people paying a lot more for these "mini" phunnels? I noticed in the trades section someone unloading a couple for a good $30 a piece if not more. If you look on any site for a small phunnel, they are only $14+shipping. I think that whenever they make mini phunnels, if it comes out larger than it is supposed to, they need to classify it as a small rather than a mini. Just saying "owell, its a big bigger than expected, but since I made it by hand, its ok" is bullshit. Like I said, I don't expect them to make every phunnel in the "mini" batch the same size, but just be decent enough to reclassify the phunnel as a small if it turns out a bit bigger than expected. I have small Tangiers phunnel, wish it was a bit smaller, not that big of a deal with the tea light mod. It's about 2.75" rim to rim, same as the standard clay bowl that came with the hookah.

[Sonthert]

See? This is why I didn't want to sell them.

Clay is not homogeneous, how much the pottery guy pounds it, but it will be different from time to time. The amount the clay shrinks varies. Since it is a high fire clay, the clay will shrink more than a lower fire clay, making for more variance. The temperature the kiln gets up to varies and can influence the amount of shrinkage. Some glazes seem to make the body shrink more, too.

If you think its a question of quality control, you obviously don't understand the production process. We don't just cut a piece of clay to the exact size. There is no way to control the amount of shrinkage that does or doesn't occur.

Since its obviously a problem, and variances beyond human control are obviously unacceptable to people with their heads stuck in binary reasoning and I'm all about quality, the next time you guys want something custom made, you know what the answer will be...standard price $35/unit.

Edit: I made these phunnels for IV, with a particular price in mind. His order came out a certain way, that's the breaks. Would you like him to say "They're too large, I'll just take a loss and reorder them?" an then wait six more weeks for them? That's not very fair. You have this idea of a warehouse of bowls where we can just pick out the ones we want. Not the case. Each one is made after its ordered. Do you know how to make production pottery? I'm surprised they come out even close the way he gauges the size. He cuts blocks of clay and then spins them on a wheel using a wire to size it. If a given block of clay is on the large size, it comes out slightly larger or thicker. The price I did them for was a favor to IV and you guys. I usually charge $35/unit for a custom order to make sure its the right specs and it can take a LONG time to get right. I think IV's price and the turn-around time were quite good. Sorry I did you guys a favor. Reasonable criticism is fine and encouraged, but several people just don't know what they are talking about and are being assholes. Order smalls, they vary too. Larges as well. Or don't order them. Buy a Chinese phunnel, they vary too. Don't buy Tangiers tobacco, it varies too. So does Al Fahker. Don't order chicken at a restaurant, one thigh might be smaller than the other one. Just don't bug me with petty assembly-line thinking bullshit when I cut you guys a deal.

[joytron]

See? This is why I didn't want to sell them.

Clay is not homogeneous, how much the pottery guy pounds it, but it will be different from time to time. The amount the clay shrinks varies. Since it is a high fire clay, the clay will shrink more than a lower fire clay, making for more variance. The temperature the kiln gets up to varies and can influence the amount of shrinkage. Some glazes seem to make the body shrink more, too.

If you think its a question of quality control, you obviously don't understand the production process. We don't just cut a piece of clay to the exact size. There is no way to control the amount of shrinkage that does or doesn't occur.

Since its obviously a problem, and variances beyond human control are obviously unacceptable to people with their heads stuck in binary reasoning and I'm all about quality, the next time you guys want something custom made, you know what the answer will be...standard price $35/unit.

Edit: I made these phunnels for IV, with a particular price in mind. His order came out a certain way, that's the breaks. Would you like him to say "They're too large, I'll just take a loss and reorder them?" an then wait six more weeks for them? That's not very fair. You have this idea of a warehouse of bowls where we can just pick out the ones we want. Not the case. Each one is made after its ordered. Do you know how to make production pottery? I'm surprised they come out even close the way he gauges the size. He cuts blocks of clay and then spins them on a wheel using a wire to size it. If a given block of clay is on the large size, it comes out slightly larger or thicker. The price I did them for was a favor to IV and you guys. I usually charge $35/unit for a custom order to make sure its the right specs and it can take a LONG time to get right. I think IV's price and the turn-around time were quite good. Sorry I did you guys a favor. Reasonable criticism is fine and encouraged, but several people just don't know what they are talking about and are being assholes. Order smalls, they vary too. Larges as well. Or don't order them. Buy a Chinese phunnel, they vary too. Don't buy Tangiers tobacco, it varies too. So does Al Fahker. Don't order chicken at a restaurant, one thigh might be smaller than the other one. Just don't bug me with petty assembly-line thinking bullshit when I cut you guys a deal.

well i for one am pretty damn happy with my mini....



come to think of it its the only bowl i have smoked since i got it.

[joytron]

also i just wanted to point out i dont see why everyone who got one is lumped in as an asshole. I have been happy with my bowl, and am pleased to have a handmade product that is so rare to find these days. i think most of the members who got one were more then satisfied (just look at some of the responses in the mini phunnel thread) with their purchase and yet suddenly the whole forum is lumped together as a bunch of whiny children. its too bad a few people had to complain about some pretty meaningless details, but its just as bad that we all viewed as ungrateful.

enough ranting,

imma smoke my mini

[likespaceships]

I have been happy with my bowl, and am pleased to have a handmade product that is so rare to find these days.

I feel you on that. I like this bowl and I think the size is great. Anything smaller I think would be more difficult to load right.