drowning Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Hi ! i'm new here, i only have my hookah for 6 months now, and i learned a lot in this forum. I can't understand quite clearly what is the best pattern for the holes in the foil. How big? how many? exceding the area of the coal?should i fold the foil in 2? etc.. I use a fork to make a 4 x 4 pattern, but the tobacco burns in less than 25 minutes and i get a harsh taste. Can anyone give me any sugestion? Thanks a lot for the feedback and hello to all ( as i'm new to this great forum ! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inimicus Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I find fork holes to be a bit large. In fact, I am not too keen on the Mya tong spine for use in making holes, either. I use a corn holder to poke my holes and I don't feel quite right when I use anything else (if I'm away from my poker and am packing a friends, or have forgotten/lost my own temporarily).Perhaps it comes down to habit, though, because using other utensils in head preparation make little difference in smoke quality, I find. I'd emphasize the even placement of the holes over their size as it helps with a more even roast.I'm unsure if harshness and poking holes with a fork have any correlation. If you have more holes concentrated over a given area you may simply be exposing a single spot to more heat than the others, burning the tobacco in that region — thus harsh.I will post a picture of my ritual hole poking later tonight. It will forever taint your opinion of me (as a perfectionist and neat freak). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpico Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Hahaha... you crazy kids.I poke about 30 to 40 holes with a push pin. Make it fairly even.Smokes wonderfully...I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drowning Posted April 11, 2006 Author Share Posted April 11, 2006 Hehe, thanks for the replys! i bought my hookah in a trip to Greece, and the guy of the shop (open air marketplace) told me that i would have to use a needle to make as much tiny holes i could. But the result was not so great, that's why i searched on the forum and found out the fork idea Although it's much better, i still have some harshness.. but maybe it's the narguileh quality or another factor that eludes me :S i'm doomed to harshness ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I use a pushpin, and always have. I just evenly space out around 65-75 holes over the entire bowl. I used to only put 40-45 a while back, but have more recently tried putting 2x that much, and it has worked wonders for me. With a ton more holes, the pull on the hookah is much more flowing, not constricted.I don't really think any special patterns makes a durn difference. Just make sure your holes arn't too large, and you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drowning Posted April 11, 2006 Author Share Posted April 11, 2006 so you all make the holes in a larger area than the coal? do you leave the coal always in the center? sory if i ask too many questions but i can't quite find this specific topic in the search engine Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Holes all over - rarely put the coal in the center. Usually dance it around the edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aronparsons Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I use the standard hole poker that's on most tongs. I put maybe 8-16 holes depending on the size of the bowl. I do a circle around the outer edge and then 2 more inside of that (somewhat symmetrical). I break my 3K coals into halves and put them on the outer edge and rotate; since it's the bowl heating that cooks the ma'assell properly, putting it in the center gives less than superb results. I haven't had a harshness/burning or lack of heat problem in months since switching to this method. I typically use a large clay bowl, a regular clay bowl, or a stainless bowl; the method works on all of them, with the stainless only requiring 1 coal vs 1.5 on the others. I'm sure I'll have a problematic session or two when my Tangiers arrives though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold493 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I think that your harshness problem probably isnt super related to holes. Do you smoke normally, or have you ever smoked before? If not then a little bit of "harshness" is normal I think. Also it depends more I think on your heat management and amount of shisha in the bowl. Try this. Put just a small amount of shisha in the bowl less than normal make sure there is a ton of room between the foil and the shisha. Poke alot of small holes, like I dont know 30-50 I just usually prick with the end of a sharp knife or a push pin works and space them about maybe 3mm apart and just cover the whole foil. Now start with just one coal. See what you get. If it gets harsh take the coal off let it cool. If your not getting enough smoke add a coal (you will probably get harshness at some point now take both of them off let it cool and then add just one back on then the 2nd one later). This second coal probably isnt necessary, I just happen to have a very wide bowl so I find that the smoke is much thicker with 2 coals which are partially burned up rather than just one coal. Experiment. You should get something that works. I hope that helps, but if I am wrong some others can feel free to correct me. Good luck. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Its my experiance that "patterns" in the foil do absolutly nothing. In fact, I can say with confidence that they dont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmexx Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Patterns do nothing but it helps to keep your holes consistent. I normally make a spiral, starting from the outside of the bowl, moving on the inside. I've found that if you make the holes too small, the ash will get stuck in the holes and clog the burning process. If you make them too big, the coal will just burn your tobacco rather then cook it.Look around the house and try different things. I have a small nail that I disinfected so that I could use it for my holes, it works perfectly!Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioannisds Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I have had the most success with a pattern (I know they don't matter) like the one on the Hookah Culture website here:[url="http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm"]http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm[/url]After reading these posts last night, I tried using a push-pin to make a bunch of holes in the foil as you guys described (I had always used the poker on the tongs), and I was not as successful as I have been with the above pattern and bigger holes. Smoke thickness was ok, but little to no flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzletodasmizzle Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 [quote name='ioannisds']I have had the most success with a pattern (I know they don't matter) like the one on the Hookah Culture website here: [url="http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm"]http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm[/url] After reading these posts last night, I tried using a push-pin to make a bunch of holes in the foil as you guys described (I had always used the poker on the tongs), and I was not as successful as I have been with the above pattern and bigger holes. Smoke thickness was ok, but little to no flavor.[/quote]that works the best for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inimicus Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 After working out a few computer issues, I return with the promised picture.[img]http://www.inimicus.com/pictures/bowl.jpg[/img]This is loaded with Romman Sweet Melon. Other flavors require more holes, but I've found this to give my setup with this flavor the best, tastiest smoke.Amount of holes on the inside vary, but always the same radial pattern around the edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 i use screens myself..avoids all this. $.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Foil...lots of holes...I use a small fork to make good sized holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenWizard Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I'm with Mush- screens all the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Screens are for doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EsOva Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fooshie18 Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 hah, that took me like 5 seconds to catch on to that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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