Walk into any smoke shop and you’ll find two types of glass: the stuff that breaks when you sneeze near it, and Thick Ass Glass. For over a decade, TAG has been the antidote to an industry obsessed with cutting corners, charging luxury prices for mediocre products, and treating customers like they’re too dumb to know the difference.
I connected with Brian Handschuh, TAG’s founder and resident glass engineering obsessive, to find out how a company with such an aggressively straightforward name became the go-to choice for smokers who value their lungs—and their wallets. What followed was a masterclass in calling BS on industry standards, the physics of getting properly baked, and why your bong’s base thickness matters more than its Instagram appeal.
Jonathan Pierce: Brian, TAG has been around since 2013. What made you look at the glass industry and think, “Yeah, I need to fix this”?
Brian Handschuh: Pure frustration, honestly. I kept buying pieces that claimed to be “premium” or “heavy duty,” and they’d crack from normal use. Not dropping them—just regular temperature changes, light contact with a sink, normal wear and tear.
I’m particular about products—I hate when something doesn’t work the way it should. And the glass industry was full of stuff that didn’t work. Percolators that added drag instead of diffusion. Joints that were so thin they’d crack if you looked at them wrong. Bases so light the whole thing would tip from the weight of the bowl.
So I thought, screw it. Let’s make glass the way it should be made.
JP: The name “Thick Ass Glass” doesn’t exactly scream “subtle marketing strategy.” Was that intentional?
BH: [laughs] Absolutely. I’ve never been one for corporate doublespeak. We make thick glass. Really thick. Ass thick, if you will. Why dance around it?
Plus, it immediately tells you what we’re about. No confusion, no wondering if we’re another company making pretty but fragile art pieces. You want thick, durable glass that won’t break? That’s literally our name.
JP: Your blog content reads like engineering textbooks sometimes. You’ve got posts breaking down joint sizes, bowl measurements, percolator physics. Who’s asking for this level of detail?
BH: Everyone who’s ever bought the wrong downstem size. Everyone who’s wondered why their bong has so much drag. Everyone who’s tired of guessing what parts work together.
The cannabis accessories industry treats customers like they should just magically know this stuff. But why? If you’re dropping $100+ on glass, shouldn’t someone explain how it actually works?
We published a guide on measuring joint sizes using a penny. A penny! If it fits in the opening, you’ve got 18mm. If not, probably 14mm. Simple trick that saves people from ordering wrong parts. The response was huge because no one else bothers explaining basics.
JP: Speaking of basics, let’s talk materials. You’re pretty adamant about borosilicate glass. Break down why that matters to someone who just wants smooth hits.
BH: Borosilicate is lab-grade glass. It’s what they use for equipment that needs to handle extreme temperature changes without cracking. Regular soda-lime glass—what most cheap bongs use—has a high thermal expansion rate. Heat it up, cool it down, and eventually it cracks.
Borosilicate can go from ice water to torch heat without flinching. But here’s the kicker—we don’t just use borosilicate. We use THICK borosilicate. Our beaker bases are 12-16mm thick. Most competitors? 3-6mm if you’re lucky.
That thickness isn’t just about durability. It affects stability, heat retention, even how the piece feels in your hands. When you pick up a TAG piece, it feels substantial. Like it means business.
JP: You’ve called out the industry for “racing to the bottom” with thinner, cheaper glass. But isn’t that just capitalism? Give people what they want at prices they can afford?
BH: Sure, if what people want is to replace their bong every three months. But I don’t think that’s what they actually want. They’re just conditioned to expect glass to break.
During COVID especially, we could have gone cheap. Thinner glass, simpler designs, higher margins. Everyone else was doing it. But every cost reduction leads to worse function and durability. I’d rather sell someone one piece that lasts a decade than ten pieces that break in a year.
JP: Let’s get into the technical stuff. You talk about “Super Slit” diffusers. What makes your diffusion better than everyone else’s?
BH: It’s not magic—it’s math. More slits equal more bubbles. More bubbles equal more surface area. More surface area equals better cooling and filtration.
But you can’t just drill a bunch of holes and call it good. The slits need to be precisely sized and spaced. Too big or too many, and you lose all resistance—no proper percolation. Too small or too few, and you can’t pull through it.
We use CAD modeling to optimize our diffuser designs. Each slit is calculated for optimal airflow. It’s time-consuming and expensive to produce, but the result is worth it. You get smooth, cool hits without the drag that plagues most percolators.
JP: Your recent blog post literally ranks different bong types and tells people which ones to avoid. How does telling people NOT to buy certain products help your business?
BH: Because trust is worth more than a quick sale. If someone wants a novelty bong shaped like a saxophone, and I know it’ll function like garbage, I’d rather tell them upfront. They might go elsewhere for that piece, but they’ll come back to us when they want something that actually works.
We straight up tell people that gravity bongs are harsh for beginners. That multi-chamber bongs are harder to clean. That certain percolator styles add too much drag. It’s not always what they want to hear, but it’s what they need to know.
JP: You offer “Made To Order” services, which seems insane for a production glass company. How does that even work financially?
BH: It doesn’t, really. MTO is a pain in the ass from a business perspective. Custom colors, specific modifications, one-off designs—none of it makes sense at scale.
But we kept getting the same requests. “Can you make this in green?” “Do you have a left-handed version?” “Can I get this piece with a different joint size?” After saying no for years, we figured out how to say yes.
It’s not about maximizing profit. It’s about taking care of people who support us. If someone’s been hunting for a specific piece for two years, why not make it for them?
JP: Your customer service is weirdly personal for 2025. Calling people about mismatched orders? That seems almost quaint.
BH: Returns suck for everyone. Customer pays shipping both ways, waits weeks for exchanges, gets frustrated. We eat the shipping costs and deal with inventory issues. Nobody wins.
So yeah, if someone orders parts that won’t work together, we call them. Five-minute conversation saves everyone two weeks of hassle. Plus, people appreciate it. We’ve had customers literally thank us for stopping them from wasting money.
JP: Let’s talk competition. You’re pretty open about calling out overpriced brands. Any pushback from the industry?
BH: What are they going to say? “Our $800 beaker is totally worth 5x more than TAG’s because… uh… branding?”
Look, I respect quality. RooR makes good glass. Illadelph has some innovative designs. But when you’re charging luxury car payments for basic pieces with 5mm walls? That’s not quality, that’s marketing.
We make a 16″ beaker with 9mm walls and super slit diffusion for about $150. Comparable “luxury” piece? $600 easy, with thinner glass. So who’s really providing value?
JP: What’s the most ridiculous glass trend you’ve seen?
BH: UV reactive, color-changing, glow-in-the-dark everything. Don’t get me wrong—it looks cool. But manufacturers focus so much on the visual that function becomes an afterthought.
I’ve seen $400 pieces with gorgeous worked sections and percolators that barely function. All that intricate glasswork, and it hits worse than a basic beaker. That’s like buying a Ferrari with a lawnmower engine.
JP: Where’s TAG heading? Still planning to be the thick glass crusaders?
BH: We’re doubling down on education. Planning video content showing stress tests, airflow comparisons, maybe some slow-motion footage of different percolators in action. Not sexy, but useful.
Also working on some new designs that push function even further. Can’t say much yet, but imagine diffusion so efficient you’d think the smoke was filtered twice. All while maintaining that TAG durability.
JP: Final question—what’s your message to someone using a gas station bong right now?
BH: You deserve better. Seriously. You don’t need to drop $500 on some Instagram-famous artist collab. But you should have glass that doesn’t crack from normal use, that actually filters your smoke, that feels solid in your hands.
Grab a basic TAG beaker. 12 inches, 9mm walls, diffused downstem. It’ll run you about what you’d spend on two or three cheap pieces. Use it for a month. Then try to go back to thin glass. You won’t be able to—it’ll feel like smoking through tissue paper.
Life’s too short for bad glass. And definitely too short for glass that breaks every time you clean it.
Check out TAG’s full lineup of engineering-focused, thick-as-hell glass at thickassglass.com. And remember—if your bong tips over in a light breeze, it’s not thick ass glass.
