The Handcrafted wood dugout has stood the test of time. With the onset of vapes and bongs and all of the other colorful contraptions that people use to smoke marijuana, the dugout remains a top selling device. It is not easy to make but it sure is easy to use. This all in one smoking device looks discreet yet holds your dried herb and one hitter pipe safe and secure.
Somehow my sister got a hold of one and my first memory of smelling the aroma of weed was around our kitchen table on a cold winter night(circa ’85). Sitting by the woodstove I remember my sister and her friends puffing on a ribbed brass bat and shoving it back into a wood box. I think that was the first and last time I came across a wood dugout until decades later.
I was at a trade show in Denver Colorado in 2014, the first legal Cannabis Cup was about to go down and I was sitting in a small stall selling my branded PRO 420 trim scissors.
https://www.pro420.com/product-category/pro-420-smoke-shop/pro-420-scissors/
I had a fun weekend talking to growers and industry buyers, but I couldn’t help but notice the stall next to me selling out of their dugouts.
They had a line around the corner and the three young guys were busy filling out order slips. I bought a dugout from them and it brought me right back to night by the woodstove in my youth. I asked them if they would sell to me at wholesale, and of course they obliged. We became fast friends that weekend and within a week I had opened up Dugoutking on Etsy and started selling their Walnut and Cedar dugouts.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1459400889/american-cherry-wood-dugouts-handcrafted
Well, the young guys at Pine Street Woods had a rocky road in front of them, trying to stay in business and get along, I guess. I had been selling their dugouts slowly on my Etsy site but one day they announced that they were out of business. I was heartbroken for them and me, but I quickly got out the old Google and found The Mill, a well established company that made exquisite dugouts and pipes.
I had stumbled on the Nirvana of dugouts. Their work is out of this world and some customers cannot bring themselves to use the pieces because of their beauty. Luckily for me, the boys at Pine Street Woods figured things out and created a new company called 3rd Grain. Now I had two dugout makers to source my products from. I realized that most customers wanted to upgrade their pipes from the cigarette metal pipes that came in a standard dugout. I started sourcing high quality pipes from manufacturers around the world. Customers love choice, and they love to customize their orders. I was able to focus on that aspect of my customers smoking experience while the wood masters were able to craft the dugouts. It was a match made in heaven.
Over the past 10 years I have been able to add at least a half dozen North American dugout makers to my roster of manufacturers, providing customers with tons of choices. From wood dugouts with swivel or slider lids to Aluminum Alloy dugouts with magnetic pop up lids, I am always surprised at the evolution of the dugout. I love the grains on our most popular dugout, the Cocobolo slider lid dugout, but I am amazed at the build quality on the new Ukiyohi black metal dugout with secret compartments and built in cleaning tools.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1599767697/ukiyohi-aluminum-alloy-dugout-ultimate
It’s nice to see that creative craftsmen are pushing the boundaries and making dugouts into practical, functional pieces of art. And after 10 years of selling, ironically, that ribbed brass bat that I remember from my kitchen table turned into my number one selling item.
https://www.pro420.com/product-category/pro-420-smoke-shop/brass-one-hitter/
I am proud to be a part of this industry. Marijuana has been around much longer than Big Pharma, and it still stands the test of time and provides a lot of pleasure and pain reducing benefits for people with chronic conditions. I hear so many stories when I pick up the phone and a customer is on the other end asking for advice on which dugout to purchase. I am glad they are choosing a natural choice to treat their pain or pleasure and I am happy to provide them with beautiful pieces that help them consume their favorite dried herbs in style.