- Hash is a concentrated form of cannabis that is powerful and easy to make.
- You can safely and efficiently make hash using everyday items at home.
- Hashish is the byproduct or separation of the trichomes, but hash results from applying pressure and heat to the matter.
- Hash comes from solvent-based and solventless methods, but the latter is safer and easier to perform at home.
- You can make hash using solventless methods using your hands, shoes, blender, silk screen, dry ice, or a hot water bottle.
Hash is also commonly known as hashish, an Arabic word for “grass.” This concentrated form of cannabis has been present for centuries and is famous for its potency and ease of production. Anyone can learn how to make hash from scratch, and this guide gives you all the tips you need to get started.
In This Article
What Is Hash?
Hashish is the final product of a cannabis plant after you separate the trichomes, which are hair-like structures on the cannabis buds. You can see them up close through a microscope or magnifying glass; alternatively, you can feel them with your fingers as the sticky resin.
Most importantly, separating trichomes from cannabis doesn’t mean immediate hash production. The result is called kief, another cannabis concentrate or the main raw ingredient used to make hash. Making hash involves further steps, which include exposing the material to heat and pressure treatment until you break down the trichomes to create a consistent flavored product.
How Is Hash Made?
While many believe that hash making is tedious, it is pretty simple, provided that you have the tools and ingredients. It entails collecting kief and converting them into a ball or block using various methods.
Essentially, there are two main ways to make hashish, solventless and solvent-based extraction.
Solventless Methods
You can tell from the name that this method doesn’t involve using solvents. Here, making hash entails mechanical processes where you can use your hands or a silkscreen (rubbing dried herb on a screen for trichome separation).
After separating the plant materials and turning them into kief, the next step is picking them up, heating them, and forming blocks or balls.
Solvent-Based Methods
Solventless methods are the ancient ways to form hash, but advanced systems led to the rise of modern solvent-based methods. This process involves using propane, butane, or CO2 to create terpenes from trichomes.
It is a more complex process than pressurizing and heating the plant matter. You must ensure that the hash is safe by extracting the solvent residue. For instance, you can eliminate BHO by converting it into wax with a hot plate or vacuuming it, but it is flammable and unsafe to perform at home.
How To Make Hash at Home: Different Methods
If you are wondering how do you make hashish most simply and safely, the following are the best solvent-less techniques.
Hand Rolling
This method is one of the simplest ways to make hash. Going by the name, it entails taking a massive amount of dried or cured cannabis into your hands and rolling it within your palms. It is the most traditional way to ensure the trichomes separate from the plant.
You don’t need special tools for this method, although it can be tedious and messy. You first wash your hands to avoid dirt and oil contamination.
When rolling, you will notice a sticky, black resin form layer on your palms, and the process will be complete if you can press the material into small balls.
Shoe Method
This method of hash-making is equally simple, but it uses a shoe, tape, a pin, a small amount of kief, and parchment paper.
- First, enclose the plant matter in the paper and secure it with tape to avoid unfolding.
- Next, take a pin, dig a tiny hole through the enclosure for better air circulation, and insert it in the heel of a shoe. The most preferred are boots or shoes with stiff soles for extra pressing.
- You intend to apply your weight as you walk in the shoe, and the pressure alongside your body heat will do the rest. The entire process can take anything between 5 minutes to an hour.
Dry Sifting
The dry sift method requires only one extra item besides the dried herb. You will need a silkscreen with tiny holes to help separate the trichomes.
- The first step is to place the screen on a flat surface, followed by the buds at the top.
- Secondly, slowly rub the cannabis in a circular motion, checking that the trichomes fall underneath.
- You can keep sifting as long as you want until you are confident that you have the best quality hash on the screen.
- For better results, you can freeze the cannabis for a few hours to make it simpler for the trichomes to separate from the plant material.
Blender Method
You will need a blender and a silkscreen for this process.
- First, pour the trim into a blender and add water and ice, blending for about a minute.
- Then empty the content into a jar while sieving with a silkscreen.
- Let the material settle for around an hour, and the trichomes settle at the bottom of the jar.
- Afterward, empty the water but be careful not to lose the trichomes, then refill the glass and let it decant again.
- You can repeat this process more times to empty as much water as possible.
- Finally, use a filter to separate the water and trichomes, remove all the excess water, and let the kief dry.
It can be quite involving, but the final product is ready for consumption without heat or pressure application.
Dry Ice Method
The dry ice/ bubble hash method is famous as one of the purest ways to make hash. It is solventless despite using dry ice, and the end product doesn’t contain any plant matter.
You will need dry ice, a bucket, a credit card, a bubble bag, and a pollen press.
- Initially, you place the flower in the bucket with dry ice and gently stir for some minutes to separate the plant matter from the resin glands.
- Next, tie bubble bags around the bucket’s top, turn them upside down, empty the contents onto the bags, and place them on a clean surface.
- Shake for a few minutes, scrape off the leftover matter using a credit card, and put the content on a pollen press to make hash in the form of tiny kief coins.
Hot Water Bottle Method
This method is almost the same as hand rolling, but the exception is that you need more heat to melt off the cuticles of the trichome heads; all you need is a wine bottle and parchment paper.
- Place the matter on the paper/ cellophane, fold it in two, and add boiled water into the wine bottle.
- The next step is to place the bottle on the folded paper, leaving it for about 30 seconds, after which you will notice the resin darken.
- You can gently roll the bottle over the paper, and the pressure and heat will quickly melt the wax.
- You can repeat the process while turning over the paper each time for better results.
- The content should turn into a flat, sticky patty ready for consumption.
Brian Miller is a passionate advocate for the legalization of cannabis. He studied law and has a deep understanding of the legal and political landscape surrounding the plant. Despite being a recreational cannabis user himself, Brian's support for legalization goes beyond his personal enjoyment of marijuana. He firmly believes that legalizing medical marijuana will provide much-needed relief for millions of people suffering from various medical conditions.
In addition, Brian is a strong proponent of legalizing recreational marijuana as a means of regulating safe use. He recognizes that legalization would allow for a better understanding of the drug and its effects, leading to increased safety for users and reduced negative consequences.
Brian is also a huge fan of the current variety of weed products and the supportive community that has developed in recent years. He is grateful for the progress that has been made in terms of legalization and is eager to see what the future holds for the cannabis industry. Brian joined with Heather to found Concept420 in 2022.
