Short answer
A cannabis hemp wick holder is a small tool that grips a length of waxed hemp twine and keeps the flame away from your fingers. You light the wick, then touch the ember to the bowl. The holder replaces a butane lighter as the ignition source. Prices run $5 to $30. Common wick sizes are 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm.
How the tool works
Hemp wick is braided hemp fiber coated in beeswax. The wax holds the shape and feeds the burn. A holder is a tube, clamp, or spool that feeds twine from a chamber. Some models wrap around a standard Bic-style lighter, which measures about 8.1 cm tall and 2.5 cm wide. The lighter acts as the handle and the wick chamber sits on top.
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Tube holders carry a snuffer cap. Slide the cap on and the ember dies from lack of oxygen. Without a snuffer, the twine keeps smoldering and burns about 1 cm per minute.
Materials
- Brass and stainless steel: resist heat, weigh 20 to 60 grams, cost $10 to $30.
- Ceramic: stays cool at the grip, chips when dropped.
- Glass: shows the wick level, breaks on tile floors.
- Silicone sleeve: cheapest option at about $5, melts if the ember rests against it.
How to load and use
- Cut 15 cm to 20 cm of wick. A 200 ft spool makes about 300 to 400 pieces at that length.
- Thread the wick through the tube until 2 cm to 3 cm extends past the tip.
- Trim the frayed end with scissors. A clean end lights faster than a mashed one.
- Hold the flame to the wick tip for 2 to 3 seconds.
- Touch the ember to the edge of the bowl, not the center. Corner lighting keeps the rest of the bowl green.
- Snuff the wick between draws. A lit wick left on a table is an open flame.
Maintenance
Resin builds on the tube tip after 10 to 20 bowls. Wipe the tip with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab. Do not soak wooden holders. Replace the wick when the exposed end falls below 1 cm. Check the chamber gasket every few months. A loose gasket lets the wick slide back into the tube.
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What is not established
No peer-reviewed study has measured the difference in inhaled combustion products between a hemp wick and a butane lighter. Makers claim a lower flame temperature. Reported flame temperatures for butane lighters sit near 1,300 C to 1,400 C, and a hemp wick ember runs cooler, but the number shifts with wick thickness, wax load, and airflow. Treat the health comparison as unproven. Hemp wick is not a filter and does not remove tar.
Safety and law
Hemp wick comes from industrial hemp. Under US law, hemp is cannabis with delta-9 THC at or below 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, per the 2018 Farm Bill. The wick contains no THC. Open-flame devices start house fires. US fire data list smoking materials among the leading causes of home fire deaths. Snuff the wick. Never leave it lit.
Buying checklist
- Wick diameter: match the holder bore. A 2 mm wick will not fit a 1 mm channel.
- Snuffer: included or sold as an add-on.
- Grip: test the fit on your lighter brand before you buy.
- Spool size: 200 ft is the standard retail length.
- Refill wick: confirm the spool fits the chamber.