my hookah, and questions

[goatling]

I've smoked an ordinary briar pipe for many years and enjoyed it very much. I've tried hookah here and there, and never really 'got' it until I had one at a friend's place a few months ago. After that, I decided to get one of my own... so here it is:

[url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/72429846@N00/276565938/"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/72429846@N00/276565938/[/url]
[img]http://static.flickr.com/97/276565938_8cc5d51f9d_o.jpg[/img]

The hookah came with a normal Mya hose which is okay I guess, but I don't really like the feel of smoking through a metal mouthpiece, so I got the hose pictured. It's not entirely airtight, but it doesn't really seem to matter, because it has kind of a softer, darker taste and feel and smokes well. It's not washable (I don't think, the interior has wound metal wire of some sort I doubt is stainless) so I hope it lasts a long time.

I'm used to pipe smoking, where you don't inhale. But I figured, I can smoke pretty strong pipe tobaccos (archaic, very stuffy-sounding British blends like Gawith Black Irish Rope X) and not yak all over everything in sight, so for my first shisha I guess I'll try Nakhla double apple...

...well I didn't hurl but it did sort of feel like my skull had blown open and bits of my brain were all the way in another county wondering 'what the hell was THAT?' So over the next week or so I kept trying that (yeah I ain't smart) and I loved the taste but smoking it never really stopped ripping the top of my head off. So I'm now trying Al Fakher Bahraini apple, which is a little less of a psychotic maniac running around inside my head with a chainsaw, and tastes great, but I still get a little woozy.

Are these shisha extra-strong or something, or do I just need to slow the hell down?

Also, I've been using Al Ajdad coals and I've learned not to overheat the shisha, but when one coal is done if I put another on the bowl it often starts to actually burn the shisha. How do I get it not to burn when I put another coal on? I know there's shisha still left down inside the bowl...

[SanguineSolitude]

nakhla is an unwashed tobacco meaning it had more nicotine than the washed varietals. .5% versus .05%
i believe al fakher is also unwashed but could be wrong.

i know that havana (one of my favs), starbuzz, al amir, and i think layalina are washed. these might be better for you starting out since your body isnt used to the nicotine. Im a big fan of havana as a good everyday(not that i smoke that often) shisha.

the trick with not burning the shisha is to keep the coals moving around the bowl. i usually move my coals every time it begins to get harsh. you often can even come back to places you had coals before. some brands are easier to burn while others are more or less foolproof.

[mushrat]

Very nice hookah. For the record, MYA does make washable with metal tips.

As for your "hookah head" as many of us refer to it as. Nkahla, being unwashed and therefore stronger nicotine wise, will effect you more than a washed brand like Al Fakher. Since you noticed a reduction in headache, that could be a tie in. Also, if you are smoking by yourself, you could be making a classic mistake of FORGETTING TO BREATHE. This is where, since there is no one to pass to, and you arent talk to anyone, you are actualy smoking a LOT more of the shisha than you would have had you been doing it with friends. This is a common problem with newer people, if you are smoking alone you have to pace yourself. I make myself put the hose down every few hits, I drink something so I actually stop to drink, that sorta thing. Remember this is still TOBACCO and you are now actually INHALING it as opposed to puffing on your pipe. (I loved 3 Nuns, too bad you can't get it in the US anymore. Condor is great but you can't get it here eaither.)

I'm unfamiliar with the charcoal you named, What kind is it? Quick light, finger, or bulk?
Either way, whatever kind it is, it should be white all over before putting it on the bowl. If its not that could also be adding to your headches.

I still get headaches if I smoke too long on a bowl or I smoke more than 1 bowl in a sitting.

[Sonthert]

Oh, no. Briar pipe people are used to the nicotine...same as us.

Beautiful pipe, then.

[SanguineSolitude]

when i smoke a traditional pipe i dont feel a nicotine buzz.

[lwieise]

Like mushrat said, pace yourself. Drinking a sweet beverage helps and eating does too. Something about sugar or whatever...the point is, it helps.

And BEAUTIFUL hookah...I'm not really a fan of the more traditional stuff but yours if very nice. That hose would be awesome if it was A) Washable and Longer.

[DarthHookah]

you know, ive found that eating and smoking shisha makes me ill.

[Adi]

Where did you get that great hose?

[entrailsgalore]

thats nice man

[Macho555]

I rather like that hookah. Usually I don't like the traditional, or gold for that matter, but that things gorgeous. As for the headache, I don't tthink I've ever gotten one that was THAT bad. I myself smoked a pipe at one point, and I'm not certain that the nicotine would be THAT bad, to make you feel like you had a shotgun go off in your mouth...I know that when I use a certain type of coal, than I end up with a nasty little headache.

[Seraph]

[quote name='DarthHookah']you know, ive found that eating and smoking shisha makes me ill.[/quote]

You aren't supposed to eat the shisha


j/p, sometimes I feel the same, but a lot of nights at home the missus and I will eat dinner and then smoke and watch a movie, and I'm usually fine with it.

[[LB]]

that is one sexy hookah.

[Donkeema]

Nice hookah man, ive been a victim of forgetting to breath, it happens at times, you just puff puff puff and then youve got a headrush and next minute im outside puking my insides out...not nice, thats why not im less stingy and share the hookah more often!

[Joseph]

Amazing hookah and hose. It could be the CO in the smoke as much as the nicotine making you dizzy, make sure you have plenty of ventilation wherever you are smoking.

[web250]

Beautiful hookah.

[goatling]

Thanks for the hints all, slowing down & moving the coal around the outside of the bowl definitely fixed everything up. I'm going to try some of those Japanese coals as well to see if they make things a little less touchy.

Adi, I found the hose on tulumba.com. It was expensive and... well it's not entirely perfect, it had a glue spot on the fabric handle, really it's kind of overpriced I think. But I like it.

Mushrat thanks for the help, also I actually had some Three Nuns a few weeks ago, that made its way over here from Europe. Great stuff, I think you can actually order from European tobacconists like FF Piber and Synjeco.