Hand Rubbing to Make Hash.

2009.05.05

Hand rubbing live marijuana plants will allow you to collect the trichome resin that can be pressed into hashish or smoked as is. This method relies on the stickiness of the resin to separate it from the plant material.

Hand rubbing requires access to as many live marijuana plants as possible. A large crop grown outdoors is the only real option. It is not worth trying indoors unless you have a very large crop. The number of plants grown indoors is limited so the amount of hash collected will be very small.

The only time it is really worth hand rubbing indoor plants is when they are harvested and manicured. Your hands are going to come into contact with the plants when you manicure. Simply put on a pair on non-powdered latex gloves when you manicure, and collect any resin that sticks to them.

Outdoor growers should note that sativa plants can grow up to 20-25 feet in height when cultivated outdoors. Hand rubbing tall plants is not recommended, so indica plants (they don't get as tall and they produce more branches) are usually used to produce hand rubbed hashish outdoors.

The most commonly utilized marijuana strain for the production of hashish is afghan. It will usually not grow much taller than 6 feet, even when grown outdoors. It is also a bushy plant (lots of branches) so it will produce a large yield of rubbed, sieved, or water hash.

You can hand rub sativa plants but it might be best to just work on areas of the plant that can be accessed at an easy to manage height. Working with your hands over your head for extended periods of time is not easy.

Marijuana plants produce the most THC (primary active chemical in marijuana and hashish) when the plants are in the flowering stage of growth.

So hand rubbing should be attempted when the plants are flowering. 2-3 weeks prior to harvest is usually the best time to hand rub for hashish production, but rubbing anytime during the flowering phase should produce some trichome resin.

You will need a pair of powder free latex exam gloves. Packages of 10 pairs can be purchased for under $20. They do a very good job, but make sure the package says they are powder free. I'm not sure if non-latex gloves cause problems so stick to powder free latex gloves, they will work.

Before starting you should take care of any business that might interrupt you while performing the task. The trichome resin collected on the gloves is very sticky. Any small items (hairs, dust, etc) that come into contact with the gloves will stick, and get mixed in with the hashish you produce.

It is best to start a few hours (3-6) after the sun has risen. This is to allow water (that has accumulated on the plants overnight) to dry. If hashish is collected while the plants are damp, the quality of the hashish will be less potent than it should be.

Start by putting the gloves on. Then pick a branch of a marijuana plant that has flower clusters (buds). With both hands, start at the bottom of the bud and rub firmly against any part of the bud that your hands touch, as you slowly work your way to the top of the bud.

When you reach the top, start working your way back down in the same manner as you worked your way up. Apply as much pressure as you can without forcing vegetable matter off the plant.

The trichome resin that sticks to the gloves will be dark gold to brown in color. If you notice a lot of green (from leaves) or if the material seems to be more of a liquid than a solid, you are probably pressing too hard.

Do not touch anything other than the plants once you have started. If you have to do something, remove the gloves you are wearing prior to doing whatever it is that has to be done. When finished, put on a pair of new gloves. Material on the first pair can be collected later.

When you are finished rubbing all the plants in your garden, remove the gloves and place them in a plastic bag (to catch any trichome resin that might drop off). Put the plastic bag with the gloves in a freezer for 2-3 hours.

The trichome resin can easily be peeled from the frozen latex gloves and consumed the way it is. Pressing is only necessary with hand rubbed hashish if the hash will be stored for a year or longer. Pressing rubbed hash is not recommended unless you know what you are doing.

It should be kneaded like bread (by hand or with a tool) for hours before it is pressed, this is to evenly distribute the active ingredients and prepare the hash for pressing. The actual pressing should be done with a hydraulic jack or another method that can deliver over 10 tons of pressure.

You can rub the plants as often as new trichome resin is produced in quantities large enough to make collecting it worthwhile. However, marijuana that is produced from any buds that were rubbed will be less potent than buds that were not.