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Is my hookah pretty standard quality?


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Does everyone else's stem look like this at the bottom, or is my hookah
just crappy.  Its about 27 inches and i bought it for 50 dollars
at my local middle eastern grocery store.  I got the hose off of
Thehookah.com
Pictures of the stem:
[img]http://img108.imageshack.us/my.phpimage=stem13pz.jpg[/img][img]http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/5003/stem13pz.th.jpg[/img]
It looks a lot like it was soldered rather than welded, is this standard in hookah quality?

This is my whole hookah.
[img]http://img46.imageshack.us/my.phpimage=hook9es.jpg[/img]

Let me know if one or more images dont work.
My hookah smokes just fine besides some weak flavor issues (generic
sweetness and thick smoke, no real awesome popping flavor, but thats a
different thread)

I've been tossing around the idea of getting another hookah.  I
can't really decide exactly on a hookah or on a retail site.  I've
looked at every retail site i have been able to dig up and cant make
any decisions.

I look to you guys to help me out.  Here are some factors that would decide my purchase.

*Over 24 inches tall (not requirement)
*Washable premium hose over 60 inches long (or from a retailer that i can buy that item from)
*I like round "genie" bases as opposed to "bell" bases.  If
anybody knows which design smokes better let me know, i'd imagine the
larger rounder base could have more smoke chambered and more water to
cool the smoke.
* I am undecided whether I want a 1 hoser or 2 hoser. (i have ruled out rotating hookahs)
* Reliable retail site
* discount codes are a plus
* the more free accessories the better

I am not being lazy about this, i have looked through countless hookah
options on countless sites; but i feel i need some expert opinions
since i am not as expierienced as some.
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[img]http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/719/hook7zg.jpg[/img]
^ my hookah
Another picture of the stem below.
[url="http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8176/stem21ts.jpg"]http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8176/stem21ts.jpg[/url]
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The one picture I can view looks similar to my 26" Egyptian from Social.  My Spider doesn't look like that, though it sees much less use.  The interior of the pipe is nice and shiny though, so I think it's all good.  
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[quote name='Smashraj84']Mya QT.[/quote]

If i'm going for the mini-hookah route, has anybody tried that Junior 2 hoser hookah?

[img]http://www.socialsmokehookah/item--Junior-Two-Hose-Modern-Hookah-with-Carrying-Case--MODERN002b[/img]
[url="http://www.socialsmokehookah.com/item--Junior-Two-Hose-Mod"]http://www.socialsmokehookah.com/item--Jun...or-Two-Hose-Mod[/url] ern-Hookah-with-Carrying-Case--MODERN002b

It looks pretty awesome and its damn portable to boot.  If it smoked well its a good deal.
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Yeah my hookah shaft looks that, i've always wondered about it, but it smokes good so ive never payed too much mind to it. As for the junior, one of my buddies had one of those, a two hose one too and it smoked real good, until the glass broke from too much temp shoke (i.e. poring hot water into a frozen vase trying to thaw it) sont know if all hookahs would do that or not, but the glass seemed really thin compared to my hookah, just somethin to ponder i guess....
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[quote name='skiracerj1']Yeah my hookah shaft looks that, i've always wondered
about it, but it smokes good so ive never payed too much mind to it. As
for the junior, one of my buddies had one of those, a two hose one too
and it smoked real good, until the glass broke from too much temp shoke
(i.e. poring hot water into a frozen vase trying to thaw it) sont know
if all hookahs would do that or not, but the glass seemed really thin
compared to my hookah, just somethin to ponder i guess....[/quote]
Pouring hot water onto any frozen glass object will make it
break.  If this junior hookah smokes like a champ and is pretty
durable, i think it'd be a good hookah for me.
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[quote name='smokinshisha4life']mya qt man, I just bought one 2 days ago. They
hit great, its hard to tell your smoking out of a mini hookah the base
is large and no chance of tipping over. If You're gonna get a mini and
u want a 2 hose you could always get an adapter to make it a 2 hoser
and switch whenever u want.[/quote]
Can you provide a link to a site that sells the mya QT with such an adapter?
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I know i can get a discount on social smoke by typing "hookah forum" in
the promotions code box, but is there a discount for hookahcompany.com
and if so, how do i use it?
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Hydroformed is where they take acasting mold and using superheated steam, blow molten metal into the mold. Hydroforming is a relatively cheap way to make preformed, mass-produced metal items. It is very common in Egypt. Have you ever wondered how they make those curves "perfect" every time? They use all the same molds.There is no discount on Hookahcompany for forum members, he offers lower prices on shipping for everybody, except the poor guys from Canada due to new regulation, according to George.
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Have you seen the other way they form those egyptian parts on an arbor?
They start out as disks and are formed over a mold attached to the arbor...... they take a tools that look like a socket wrench and apply pressure to the disk. forming friction heat as it spins, that makes the steel maleable.... then shapes it over the mold.
 
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Lakemonster is right on this one. Did you watch the short video clip in my
office when you stopped by last fall? If you're ever in the DFW area gain, make
sure you come by.

Egyptian hookahs are not hydroformed. At least at the manufacturers I have been
to. They are hand spun using a lathe, mold, and a little elbow grease. Its
actually quite amazing to see stainless steel warped and shaped as if it was
clay... They then take the individual pieces and assemble them on the center
tube and solder/weld into place. Its actually a very time consuming process with
little to no automation. That explains the vast differences in quality from one
manufacturer to another which would not otherwise be explainable if they were
mass produced via hydroforming.

This goes for the hollow type Egyptian stems. They also make solid stems similar
to Syrian Hookahs out of Egypt which are cast brass then hand lathe to produce
very beautiful designs. They are usually chrome plated once cut but I have seen
them in natural brass. The solid stem models are more popular in the Middle East
than here, so they are not as common.
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Yeah... thats the one.  Tell ya what.. that would be neat to have made available on the net. Perhaps a shortened version (to cut back on bandwidth). Hell.. I'd even host something like that.
I was under the impression that the parts were stamped before hand.... really does put things into perspective as to how much time and effort goes into each rig. 
I do need to make a trip up there in the future... need some odds and ends and some Starbuzz........ got something to show you as well.  If I can just find the time.....
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that hookah pictured above looks like poor quality craftsmanship. i would complain to them or ask for some sort of compensation. if u really think about it though, ur smoking the tobacco, not the metal. plus u cant even see that part of the hookah since its covered around by the rubber piece and held in the vase.
like i said before, u cant be so picky, its a middle eastern tradition dating back many years. the authentic products are those that are hand made, not that chinese stuff that is made from molds.
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