When it comes to concentrates, shatter is the cream of the cannabis crop. Whether it’s made from leftover trim or premium nugs, high-quality shatter can be up to 90% pure THC. Shatter provides several benefits to cannabis connoisseurs, including:
- Super-concentrated shatter reduces the amount of smoking needed.
- Consumers can liquefy shatter to add to vape pens.
- Removing plant matter results in fewer carcinogens when smoking.
- Well-manufactured shatter offers the unadulterated flavor of pure cannabinoids and terpenes.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at some of the most popular ways to make shatter and home, and how to do it the safe way.
What exactly is shatter
Shatter is a specialized type of hash oil that has a glass-like appearance. Classic shatter is light yellow to amber in color and has a brittle texture that can break like glass. The texture of the shatter depends largely upon the strain used to make the extraction. Some strains produce a “pull and snap” shatter, which is more like taffy.
Can you make shatter at home?
Making shatter at home is a dangerous process. Like wax, budder, or honeycomb, shatter is a type of BHO (Butane Hash Oil) extracted using butane gas. Butane is extremely flammable, and DIY shatter has been the cause of many household explosions and fatalities. It’s no wonder that making butane extracts at home is illegal in many areas.
If you’re still determined to try out the process for yourself, make sure that you follow these critical safety precautions:
- Always work outside in a well-ventilated area. Professional extraction facilities have specialized exhaust systems.
- Keep all open flames away from the work area. Leave all lighters, cigarettes, or any other source of combustion inside and away from the extraction site.
- Buy unadulterated Vector butane. Most butane canisters are contaminated with other gases that won’t purge properly and can be hazardous to your health.
- Use heat and cold-resistant gloves. When you fill the tube with butane, it will freeze and can give you frostbite.
- NEVER put butane in the freezer. Butane fumes will escape closed jars, seek an electrical spark, and explode your refrigerator.
How to Make Shatter at Home
ATTENTION: This information is provided for educational purposes only.
Equipment:
- One to two ounces of cannabis trim or buds
- Glass or stainless steel extraction tube
- 2 canisters of Vector butane
- Heat/cold-resistant gloves
- Vaporizer or face mask
- 2 oven-safe glass baking pans (One small, one large)
- Single-edged razor blades
- 2 unbleached coffee filters
- 1 metal pipe clamp
- Electric hot plate (NEVER use a gas stove or any other open flame!)
- Tea kettle or saucepan filled with water
- Silicone parchment paper
- Vacuum oven or vacuum purging kit (optional)
Procedure Part I: Blasting the Cannabis with Butane
- Set up your workspace in a suitable outdoor area.
- Boil the kettle or saucepan of water on the electric hot plate.
- Meanwhile, place the small glass pan into the larger pan.
- Grind your cannabis trim or buds with a coffee grinder. Grinding will allow the butane to access more of the trichomes.
- Fill the extraction tube with the ground cannabis. The tube should be packed enough to eliminate large air pockets. Don’t stuff the tube too tight or the butane won’t get to all the areas, and the tube may break.
- Place the two coffee filters on the end of the filled extraction tube. Secure the filters with the pipe clamp.
- Put on the ventilator/mask and cold-resistant gloves.
- Hold the filled tube filter side down over the small glass pan.
- Remove the cap from one of the butane cans and insert the tip into the hole in the narrow end of the extraction tube.
- Slowly fill the tube with butane. It will become freezing cold, and the liquid butane/trichome mixture will begin to filter through the coffee filters into the small glass pan.
- Add the second butane can in the same manner.
- Let all of the butane seep through the filters to cover the bottom of the baking sheet.
- Fill the large glass pan with hot water. It’s okay if the smaller pan floats.
- Refill and boil more water.
- When the water around your pan of shatter turns cold, refill the large glass pan with hot water. The hot water helps to evaporate some of the butane out of the shatter.
- Let everything cool before proceeding to the purging procedure.
Procedure Part II: Purging the Butane
The point of the purging process is to eliminate as much butane as possible from your shatter. During the purging process, the shatter will bubble and move. When the bubbling settles into a stable form, the shatter will be as pure as it can get with the methods you have available.
- Use a single-edged razor blade to scrape the shatter from the bottom of the glass pan.
- Transfer the shatter to the parchment paper.
- Let the shatter cool.
- If you have access to a vacuum oven or purging kit, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to purify your shatter further.
- If vacuum-purging is not possible, place your shatter in a well-ventilated area free from direct sunlight for at least 48 hours before use.
Buying Shatter Online
Generally, making shatter at home isn’t worth the risk. Homemade shatter doesn’t even come close to the purity of professionally manufactured concentrates. Getting a glass-like shatter texture takes a lot of practice, and as we saw above, the process is downright dangerous. Not to mention that homemade shatter ends up as an amorphous goo that’s full of residual butane.
Instead of experimenting with hazardous material like butane, it is better to order your shatter online. At Online Dispensary Canada, we provide you with high-quality shatter made from premium cannabis strains.
Professional concentrate labs have a host of advantages, such as:
- Licensed facilities have specialized knowledge and equipment.
- The best labs can purge shatter to within .1% butane.
- Shatter made by commercial manufacturers must pass rigorous tests for purity and cannabinoid content.
- Only professionally manufactured and tested shatter is safe for use in edibles.
If you’re waiting for your shatter order to come in the mail, you can safely whip up some cannabis concentrate using the Rosin Technique:
- Place a nug or some kief between a folded piece of parchment paper.
- Press the parchment-wrapped cannabis with a hair straightener on a lower setting.
- Let the rosin cool before scraping it from the parchment paper.
- Repeat the process until you have the desired amount of rosin.
- That’s it. Now you have an uncontaminated concentrate to use in your vape pen or dab rig.
If you have any more questions about our premium shatter, please contact us at Online Dispensary Canada. We’d love to help you out in choosing the right product for your needs!