No need to set yourself on fire anymore! There is a technique for flawlessly lighting a bowl with a lighter and not burning yourself. The best part is that this method is also the most efficient way to smoke a bowl. While your cotillion days may be over, it’s important to remain respectful of others and obey the proper smoking etiquette for any situation. You may be aware of the correct dabbing rules or joint smoking etiquette, but do you know how to avoid embarrassment when someone hands you the pipe or bong? You would be shocked by how few people know how to light a joint correctly.

What is cornering a bowl?

Cornering: How to Light a Bowl without Burning Yourself 2

Although most bowls technically don’t have corners, the term “cornering” refers to only lighting a small portion of the bowl – it’s like taking a slice of pie instead of the whole top half. By burning a cross-section of the bowl from top to bottom, you leave an undisturbed section of “greens” for the next person in the circle. Greens refer to the section of the bowl that remains as un-smoked, ground and packed cannabis. As you might imagine, if you set the whole bowl on fire instead, the person next to you would be forced to take a hit of ash and half-burnt weed.

Why corner a bowl?

The answer to this question is simple – flavor and potency! Everyone knows the most enjoyable part of smoking cannabis is the terpene-rich smoke that leaves you feeling intensely euphoric. Beyond just tasting and smelling good, these terpenes actually help induce a lot of the medicinal benefits associated with cannabis. So, why corner a bowl? To let others in the circle have a taste too!

How to corner a bowl

Cornering: How to Light a Bowl without Burning Yourself 3

Cornering a bowl is not difficult; it just takes a little bit of finesse with the flame. We recommend holding the bowl at an angle and carefully touching the flame to the outer wall of the bowl while inhaling until just a section of the bowl has been ignited. Many people find that holding the lighter a bit further away from the bowl helps burn a smaller area – by inhaling, you will draw the flame into the packed bowl.

Is cornering for pipes or bongs?

Both! Cornering applies to handheld pipes, bubblers, and bong bowls. After all, the bowl itself is just the portion of the smoking device that holds the ground cannabis. Thus many different smoking devices contain a bowl – and if you’re smoking with others – it deserves to be cornered. Everyone ought to have a shot at smoking “greens”.

Snap vs. Party Bowl

Cornering: How to Light a Bowl without Burning Yourself 4

Let’s set the record straight, some bowls are packed with the intention in being roasted all in one hit and others are meant to be shared. Small bowls like one-hitters and tiny bong bowls are actually designed for single hit consumption (known as taking a “snap”). On the other hand, larger bowls in handheld pipes and bongs (known as “party bowls”) are designed to be shared amongst friends. Having said this, there are some situations in which cornering will not apply – like taking a snap out of a bong. When taking snaps, each person loads their own single hit in the bowl, takes the hit, and then clears the bowl for the next person – everyone benefits from “greens” in this scenario as well.

Table of contents

Table of Contents

VIEW ALL LEARN CATEGORIES