SwitchPipe
420 Member
Greetings. My name is Curt and I am new to this forum and I am here looking for feedback on a current project of mine. This will also be a review by me of my own pipe (OSPCO SwitchPipe) as there are currently only a few other people in possession of the pipe i'm reviewing, and considering i'm the guy who invented it I would be the best person at explaining how it works and how well it smokes ect. I've had this design for awhile and its been pretty much secret up until recently, but I feel now is the time to get it out there and share with you what I've made and i'm pretty sure the community here would love to see something new.
I'm a machinist and a welder by trade, but also an inventor and 420 enthusiast. About 5 years ago I came up with a cool new idea for a switchblade style pipe. Being a machinist it was easy for me to create a simple prototype and test my idea. Time went on and improvements were made across multiple prototypes and the design gathered new features. This project was originally intended to be a personal hobby project. I just wanted to make a cool personalized pipe for myself using the skills I've learned over the years in the machining and manufacturing world. I wanted to make something I could take anywhere I went and would have everything I needed, but I wanted something truly unique, but also practical and functional.
I call this the SwitchPipe. (Patent Pending) made here in Colorado, USA
Its the worlds first switchblade action smoking pipe. It is fully spring loaded and button operated. There is a carburetor built right into the release button for convenience. It has a resin trap built into the bowl of pipe which catches about 90% of the resin generated from the smoking process and contains it in a more manageable way for easy removal with the included stirring pick. The resin can also be harvested. The design also prevents any ash or bits of weed from entering your mouth. I designed the resin trap to help keep the internal mechanism cleaner for longer and it drastically reduces the amount of resin that can build up inside the pipe which improves its service life between alcohol baths. I can get about 2 or 3 months of daily smoking out of it before the mechanism begins to bind.
I will clean out the resin trap any time I start feeling restriction in airflow. This tells me the resin trap is getting full and needs to be cleaned. Thats as simple as opening the pipe, removing the resin trap by pulling out on the brass tab at the end of the bowl and then scraping the channel clean with the stirring pick. This is one of my favorite features.
It comes with a stirring pick that is stored in the mouthpiece. It does not need to be removed to smoke from the pipe. It disappears inside the mouthpiece hole when you open it. A nice feature of the design is that when it is being stored in your pocket all openings are blocked. The bowl, mouthpiece hole and even the carb air inlet hole are sealed up in the closed position. This prevents dirt and lint from getting trapped inside the mouthpiece opening. A mouth full of lint is always an annoying thing if you carry your pipe in your pocket a lot like I do and this pipe eliminates that problem. This design also reduces the amount of smell coming from the pipe and of course it prevents you from spilling any precious green. Worried about it opening in your pocket on accident? There is an optional locking mode built in that prevents the button from being pushed so it never can open accidentally.
It disassembles with no tools. Just lift up the brass latch on the side, remove the button from the body of the pipe, unscrew the mouthpiece and remove the bowl and the main spring. Cleaning isn't as hard as you might think. I allow it to soak overnight in strong alcohol then clean out the gunk with pipe cleaners, q tips and paper towels. Then I give it a good rinse with hot water and dry. If its well soaked it takes about 15 minutes to clean and you are back in business. Its sort of like cleaning a gun.
Its constructed from high quality stainless steel and brass only. Most importantly the bowl is made from stainless and then polished to ensure you taste nothing but what you are smoking. The mass of the bowl also draws heat away preventing it from getting too hot. Being built from stainless also ensures there will be no corrosion.
It smokes really well in my opinion. It was important to me that I make something that I would want to smoke out of more than just show off. it had to function well and smoke well or I wouldn't use it. I've been testing various iterations for the past 5 years and they have been my daily smoking device for that entire time. The smoke feels cooler than a glass pipe of similar size and ash never makes it to your mouth.
This is just Model 1.0. Its the first model that I consider to be good enough to sell out of about 6 prototypes I've made already. I want to make more improvements though both cosmetically and functionally and I plan on making a new version eventually. Right now i'm just focusing on the version I've got. I want to see what sort of interest there might be in it. Id love to hear what sort of feedback you guys might have.
Let me know what you think!
Thanks!
I'm a machinist and a welder by trade, but also an inventor and 420 enthusiast. About 5 years ago I came up with a cool new idea for a switchblade style pipe. Being a machinist it was easy for me to create a simple prototype and test my idea. Time went on and improvements were made across multiple prototypes and the design gathered new features. This project was originally intended to be a personal hobby project. I just wanted to make a cool personalized pipe for myself using the skills I've learned over the years in the machining and manufacturing world. I wanted to make something I could take anywhere I went and would have everything I needed, but I wanted something truly unique, but also practical and functional.
I call this the SwitchPipe. (Patent Pending) made here in Colorado, USA
![IMG_20151209_135504.jpg](https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/939/IMG_20151209_135504.jpg)
![IMG_20151209_135658.jpg](https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/939/IMG_20151209_135658.jpg)
![IMG_20151209_135936.jpg](https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/939/IMG_20151209_135936.jpg)
Its the worlds first switchblade action smoking pipe. It is fully spring loaded and button operated. There is a carburetor built right into the release button for convenience. It has a resin trap built into the bowl of pipe which catches about 90% of the resin generated from the smoking process and contains it in a more manageable way for easy removal with the included stirring pick. The resin can also be harvested. The design also prevents any ash or bits of weed from entering your mouth. I designed the resin trap to help keep the internal mechanism cleaner for longer and it drastically reduces the amount of resin that can build up inside the pipe which improves its service life between alcohol baths. I can get about 2 or 3 months of daily smoking out of it before the mechanism begins to bind.
I will clean out the resin trap any time I start feeling restriction in airflow. This tells me the resin trap is getting full and needs to be cleaned. Thats as simple as opening the pipe, removing the resin trap by pulling out on the brass tab at the end of the bowl and then scraping the channel clean with the stirring pick. This is one of my favorite features.
![IMG_20151218_220107.jpg](https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/939/IMG_20151218_220107.jpg)
It comes with a stirring pick that is stored in the mouthpiece. It does not need to be removed to smoke from the pipe. It disappears inside the mouthpiece hole when you open it. A nice feature of the design is that when it is being stored in your pocket all openings are blocked. The bowl, mouthpiece hole and even the carb air inlet hole are sealed up in the closed position. This prevents dirt and lint from getting trapped inside the mouthpiece opening. A mouth full of lint is always an annoying thing if you carry your pipe in your pocket a lot like I do and this pipe eliminates that problem. This design also reduces the amount of smell coming from the pipe and of course it prevents you from spilling any precious green. Worried about it opening in your pocket on accident? There is an optional locking mode built in that prevents the button from being pushed so it never can open accidentally.
![IMG_20151218_220706.jpg](https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/939/IMG_20151218_220706.jpg)
It disassembles with no tools. Just lift up the brass latch on the side, remove the button from the body of the pipe, unscrew the mouthpiece and remove the bowl and the main spring. Cleaning isn't as hard as you might think. I allow it to soak overnight in strong alcohol then clean out the gunk with pipe cleaners, q tips and paper towels. Then I give it a good rinse with hot water and dry. If its well soaked it takes about 15 minutes to clean and you are back in business. Its sort of like cleaning a gun.
Its constructed from high quality stainless steel and brass only. Most importantly the bowl is made from stainless and then polished to ensure you taste nothing but what you are smoking. The mass of the bowl also draws heat away preventing it from getting too hot. Being built from stainless also ensures there will be no corrosion.
It smokes really well in my opinion. It was important to me that I make something that I would want to smoke out of more than just show off. it had to function well and smoke well or I wouldn't use it. I've been testing various iterations for the past 5 years and they have been my daily smoking device for that entire time. The smoke feels cooler than a glass pipe of similar size and ash never makes it to your mouth.
This is just Model 1.0. Its the first model that I consider to be good enough to sell out of about 6 prototypes I've made already. I want to make more improvements though both cosmetically and functionally and I plan on making a new version eventually. Right now i'm just focusing on the version I've got. I want to see what sort of interest there might be in it. Id love to hear what sort of feedback you guys might have.
Let me know what you think!
Thanks!