Hookahs - Genuine Egyptian or Chinese Imposter? Egypt is definitely known in the Middle East like the best spot to buy a shisha and
hookah accessories. The land of your pharaohs, pyramids, and sphinx may also be the Motherland of your shisha (the Egyptian word for shisha). Egyptian craftsmen still make shisha the old fashioned way -- by hand and with a huge amount of pride in craftsmanship. Making hookahs remains to be a family tradition, and the best hookah makers in Egypt have earned their spots through the continuity of classic techniques. Glass bases will always be created from hand blown coloured glass, and artists still decorate them by yourself using paint, glitter, decals, or etching. Tubes are created entirely by hand, from the cutting in the fabric for the turning in the wood which can get to be the handles on the addition of decorative things such as braid, fringe, or fur. Shafts might be made of metals like stainless steel, brass, or chrome plated brass, but those metals are formed via the hands of master craftsmen, created by skilled welders, and often etched or decorated by artisans. Potters still make use of a potting wheel to produce the clay bowls we have call the "head." Briefly, every part of the real Egyptian shisha is crafted manually using classic methods which leads to a exclusive product every time. Egyptian hookahs are extremely admired & respected through the Middle-East that you would be hard pressed to discover a pipe in another Middle Eastern country that does not have some part which was made in Egypt!
When the hookah craze hit the usa, the cultural icon of your Middle East fell prey towards the assembly line mentality. It did not take long for the hookah to get included to a list of counterfeit products being mass produced in China for export into the American market. Because neither pet owners of manufacturing plants or assembly line workers in China have a cultural stake or identity related to the product, the shisha that they produce involve no craftsmanship. The glass bases are molded and next spray painted; the glass itself is not coloured. Any designs on the glass are likewise spray painted on by machines. Machine made plastic tubes with plastic or simulated wood ends haven't any decorative elements on it. Machines mold shafts produced from tin, aluminum, or simply a combination of those metals with stainless-steel; sometimes, machines spray paint these questions color to fit the glass. Porcelain, a fabric in which chinese people are famous, has replaced the traditional clay bowl made out of the rich clay of your banks on the Nile River. Cold, computerized Chinese machines have replaced the intimate touch of your Egyptian craftsmen whose tasks are a source of pride.
Because Egyptian shisha set the industry standard, it's become common for sellers to falsely label their Chinese look a likes as "genuine Egyptian" hoses. Many purchasers have been taken in by a inaccurate description together with a low price and imagine that they are getting a authentic Egyptian hookah when, in reality, they have an imposter. Don't be duped! Look for the identifying characteristics listed below to discover when the hookah you're considering buying is the real deal.
Characteristics of the Original Egyptian Hookah
Genuine Egyptian hookahs will still be hand made using centuries old traditional methods. Crafted by the hands of people which have a cultural stake & identity for their product, all aspects on the genuine Egyptian shisha involves artistry and craftsmanship.
The bottom of a geniune Egyptian hookah is hand blown coloured glass that comes in a number of shapes and colours with hand-painted designs. Probably the most telling part of a geniune Egyptian is made of its characteristic bands of genuine 18K gold or platinum paint.
Egyptian tubes are handcrafted using conventional methods and materials; they vary in fashion, color, and decorative things.
Shafts are hand formed stainless-steel, brass, or chrome plated brass in various heights, number of hose holders, designs, & decorative elements.
Egyptian shafts should never be product of aluminum or spray painted in a color to match the glass base!A geniune Egyptian shisha is definitely sold with the same number of tubes that this shaft holds. If you are choosing a 2-hose shisha, you get 2 tubes!
Anybody who sells authentic Egyptian hookahs could have replacement parts available. Glass bases break & hoses could be replaced every few months for the health of hygiene, so it is vital to have access to individual parts on your shisha.
Characteristics on the Chinese Imposter Shisha
The Chinese imposter hookahs are produced in higher quantities in factories by machines and those that have no cultural connection to the product. The hookahs all look a similar, as a possible would expect from anything made with an assembly line.
Chinese bases are constructed of molded glass or acrylic that's spray painted with material that washes off with normal cleaning. Designs, if any, are identical without any variation in pattern or style because machines are preset to make them look in certain manner.
Chinese tubes are constructed of plastic with plastic or simulated wood ends with no decorative things. Sometimes the tubes are known as "pleather," a promotional trick in order to make plastic sound better. Tubes are marketed as "washable." No shisha hose is actually washable because inside each is a wire coil around which the hose pipe fabric is wrapped. Running water through the hose pipe only increases the deterioration process of that wire coil! There's no such thing like a washable shisha hose pipe!
Shafts produced in China are machine made of tin, aluminum, or even a mixture of those metals combined with stainless steel or chrome. They are usually spray-painted to suit the colour in the glass. A hookah with a shaft that matches the color in the glass is not Egyptian! The shafts of Chinese hookahs are constructed of inferior metals that do not withstand normal deterioration. Egyptian shisha, alternatively, are constructed of strong and durable metals that can withstand some time and usage.
Because suppliers commonly don't have replacement parts or accessories, they sell the Chinese shisha straight from the container. Which means that multiple hose pipe shisha are often sold with only 1 hose. If you're buying a 2-hose pipe hookah, probably you'll get only one hose-pipe!
To make them more pleasing to the American customer, Chinese manufactured shisha are often times sold having a hard shell carrying case. What a great way to hide an inferior product!
With all the recent recall of several products manufactured in China, customers really need to be specifically careful of shisha manufactured in & imported from China as they're painted!
To seriously appreciate the cultural importance of your shisha and obtain the most of out of the hookah experience, you must have the actual thing! While the price of some of the Chinese imports may look attractive, please understand that this has to be a case of getting what we budget for. A product that can't face up to the usage in which it was actually made is not really a great deal if it needs to be replaced continuously. Buy an authentic Egyptian shisha & support the artists and craftsmen who, in a world covered with bulk manufactured goods, continue to make hookahs the way they as well as their families have for years and years.
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