Every Dabber Needs a Hot Knife

You're all geared up, you have your dab loaded on your dab tool, your banger is piping hot ready for the action. You go to drop in your dab, you're already inhaling.. but wait.. there's still some wax left on your dab tool.

You go to roll it against the bottom of your banger again… nope still there.

You give up, put your dab tool down, the sticky mess of a half as*** melted dab starts to cling to everything. Dog hair, dust, whatever mystery debris on your table.. Wait? Is that a piece of shredded cheese?

We've all been there, I have one simple fix for you. A hot knife.

What is a Hot Knife? What are the Advantages to Using One?

These ingenious little devices are technically just a battery powered dab tool. One end contains a battery that powers up a heating element, which warms up the tip of your dab tool. The heated tip facilitates easier loading, your dab melts off tip and falls directly down into your heated banger. This method is much more efficient rather than struggling to maneuver your dab tool in a specific way so that your dab is fully vaporized.

On the flip side, the extra concentrate that gets stuck all over a regular dab tool is incredibly sticky, gets dirty rather quickly and it ultimately ends up being a waste. Most people end up wiping off any left over residue with some alcohol throughout your sessions, kissing goodbye to what could've been a perfectly solid dab.

Since the benefits to using an electric heated dab tool far outweigh those of a standard one, AND the cost of a hot knife is relatively inexpensive, more and more people are making the switch.

Why Every Dabber Needs a Hot Knife

No more Sticky Mess

Standard dab tools make it super hard to separate and load your dabs, especially when you are working with harder varieties of wax like shatter. A hot knife makes the whole process a lot easier, the heated tool can cut through your wax like butter. Allowing you to dose your dabs properly but also allowing your loading and dropping process way less of a headache overall.

The loading process is much more streamlined, letting your semi melted dab slide right off your hot knife down into the bottom of the banger. Unlike using a standard tool, where your dab MIGHT make it to the bottom, but sometimes it'll stick to the walls of your banger. Or your dab will sometimes get stuck in places closer to the opening of the banger where the quartz isn't properly heated. Since the upper portion of your banger isn't meant to reach full temperature, you kind of end up with a smeared dab with little to no vaporization.

Less Waste, More Efficiency

After your dab makes its way seamlessly to the hot bottom of the banger, your hot knife should have very little residue on it. The bottom of the banger retains the most heat, this is optimal placement for your dab so that your dab can completely and fully vaporize the way it's supposed to.

A simple addition of a hot knife increases your overall efficiency allowing you to take larger more consistent dabs, and reduces waste. Full dabs obviously mean less waste but the culprit can sometimes be the leftover wax stuck on your dab tool, or poor dab placement which is much more common with standard dab tools. A heated dab tool eliminates both of these problems.

Perfect For Any Type of Concentrate

Hot knives are LITERALLY perfect for any type of wax no matter what the consistency is like, from rosin, to shatter, to budder, to diamonds. They're incredibly versatile! With standard dab tools you might have a harder time dosing your dabs, especially with thicker or harder consistency concentrates.

Shatter is one of the hardest types of wax to work with when using a regular dab tool, the dab tool just chips away at it and breaks it apart in larger pieces. Pieces that you probably didn't intend to dab.. but you did it anyway and now look at you.

Sticky types of wax textures and hot knives are a match made in heaven. The tacky consistency is no match for a little bit of heat. A heated tip lets you portion your dabs easily, drop it exactly where you want it, and clean up with minimal effort.

Easy dosing. Easy loading. Easy cleanup.

Cleaner Electric Dab Rig or Dab Pen

With quartz bangers and dab nails aside, there's still electric dab rigs and dab pens.

Hot knives are especially useful for dab pen users, this is simply because most people will preload their dab pen and use it throughout the day. That means they'll load up their dab pen chamber with wax, and take a dab whenever it's needed. Completing this step with a cold dab tool and a cold atomizer coil, your luck of getting the amount of wax you want in there AND keeping things clean, is slim to none.

Same goes with an electric dab rig, most people use an e-rig as a cold start dabbing device, meaning the chamber isn't heated when it's loaded. Although you're most likely not preloading your atomizer, it still is a royal pain to get your dab inside a cold chamber without scraping it all over the place!

Avoid Scratching Your Dabbing Surface

Regular dab tools are usually made out of some sort of metal, either stainless steel or titanium. Rolling your metal dab tool around a delicate material, like the bottom of a quartz banger or an electric dab rig atomizer will create scratches all over the surface.

The scratches might seem like small little ones at first, but over time more and more scratches pile onto the surface, making the old scratches even deeper. This makes cleaning difficult, leaving behind old bits of burnt up wax stuck within the grooves. Besides that, scratches will make your dabbing surface weaker, increasing the risk of cracking, the surface will be rough causing poor heat distribution, reduced efficiency, the list goes on and on.

If you're not careful, using a metal dab tool will reduce the lifespan of your banger and atomizers in the long run. Hot knives keep your dabbing surface smooth so that you can take full advantage of your banger (or atomizer) without needing to replace it before its time is due.

Hot Knife vs Traditional Dab Tools

Are Hot Knives Safe to Use?

Hot knives are incredibly safe and easy to use, heated dab tools have tips that are made out of some sort of ceramic, most are medical grade ceramic. The tips are removable making them easy to clean and replace, preventing buildup that can harbor bacteria or other nasty stuff you don't want to vaporize with your dab.

On another note, the heat produced by a hot knife is very low and controlled. It will not burn your or vaporize your wax materials, the heating is meant to melt it slightly so that it's easy to work with. No combustion, no vapor, just easier handling!

Who Benefits Most from Using a Hot Knife?

I feel like anyone can benefit from using a hot knife but the people that benefit the most are:

• People using more expensive concentrates that they do not want to waste.
• Anyone that works with thicker or harder wax consistencies.
• Those that are looking to reduce waste in general and are looking to improve efficiency.
• If you'd like to keep things cleaner, especially with an electric dab rig or a dab pen.
• Low temp dabbers, or cold start dabbers.

How To Use a Hot Knife?

1. Scoop Desired Amount: You can cut your desired dab using your hot knife tip, or scoop it directly out of the jar using the tip depending on your wax consistency!
2. Hold Over Chamber: Hold your hot knife in position over your banger or atomizer, it helps if your dab tool is slightly tilted to let your dab slide off seamlessly.
3. Press Button: Your heated dab tool should have a power button, press the power button to direct power to the heating element. The heating element will slowly start to heat up your ceramic tip so that your dab starts to melt.
4. Let Your Dab Slide Off: As your dab starts to melt you'll see it start to slide off of the tip, towards your banger. It should drop into your banger within a few seconds.
5. Release Button: Once your dab falls in, you can release the power button on your electric dab tool and start to inhale from your rig or bubbler!
6. Wipe Tip if Needed: After you’ve completed your dab you can wipe off whatever remains, if any with an alcohol wipe. If the residue is still warm you might be able to get away with using a swab to absorb the tiny bit of remaining oils off.