Water hash
Separation by density, also known as "water separation," has become very popular since the Ice-o-later, or Bubblebag, technology hit the market a decade ago. However, since this widely available combination of size and density separation has been described in several fine articles, it will not be covered here (CC#41, Bubblehash!).
Neville, of Neville's Haze fame, discovered one method of separation by density that can, with a bit of practice and patience, far out-yield dry sieving with any given trichome-laden material.
Begin with the driest material you can acquire. "Stays lit as a joint" dry isn't dry enough. We're talking crumbly here. It should powder easily. What you might call "too dry." As with dry sieving, yields will be enhanced and speeded by freezing the trichome-laden material prior to separation.
You will need a coarse sieve (such as a window screen or a strainer), at least two straight-sided glass containers (like a large mason jar), a spoon and some coffee filters.
Take the very dry material and grind through the coarse screen. Place the ground material into the glass container, making sure to not fill more than half of the way. Fill the glass container with cold water and shake or stir vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Set the glass container down and let it rest for 10 minutes. You should notice that the top of the container now has a thick layer of green plant matter, and the bottom has a thin layer of sand-like trichomes.
Carefully skim off the top layer with a spoon. Let rest for 10 minutes. Pour off all but one inch (four cm) of the water, being careful not to disturb the trichome layer at the bottom and refill with fresh cold water. Let rest for 10 minutes. (Tip: This second rinse can be repeated to remove mold from moldy stash.) Again carefully pour off all but one inch (four cm) of the water in the container.
Swirl the slurry of trichomes and water around and around in the bottom of the glass and pour quickly into a coffee filter. After letting the water drain out, you should spread the wet trichomes to dry overnight.
1> You will need a coarse sieve, at least two straight-sided glass containers, a spoon and some coffee filters. Use the driest material you can acquire. It should powder easily. Yields will be enhanced by freezing the material prior to separation.
2> Take the very dry material and grind through the coarse screen.
3> Place the ground material into the glass container, making sure not to fill it more than half of the way up. Then fill the rest of the container with cold water.
4> Shake or stir vigorously for at least 30 seconds.
5> Set the glass container down and let it rest for 10 minutes.
6> The bottom has a thin layer of sand-like trichomes.
7> Carefully skim off the top layer with a spoon. Let rest for 10 minutes.
8> Pour off all but one inch (four cm) of the water, being careful not to disturb the trichome layer at the bottom, and refill with fresh cold water. Let rest for 10 minutes.
9> Swirl the trichomes and water around the bottom of the glass and pour quickly into a coffee filter. After letting the water drain out, you should spread the wet trichomes to dry overnight.
Further reading:
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HASHISH!, by Robert Clarke. Red Eye Press, Los Angeles, 1998