Spots

Spots (also known as Knifers, spotting, Knifies, blades, knife hits, dots or hot knives) is a method of smoking cannabis, where small pieces of the plant (dots or spots) are placed between two very hot knives, squeezed together and the smoke produced is inhaled. Alternatively, hashish or hash oil can be spotted, though this practice is less commonplace than spotting plant material. The term spotting is native to New Zealand and perhaps Australia, in other parts of the world it is known as hot-kniving.
Technique

The knives are generally handled (driven) by a person other than the smoker, who inhales the smoke usually through the mouthpiece of a funnel-like vessel (spottle, bowser or hooter) of some description - commonly a plastic or glass bottle with the bottom removed. Some people will drive spots to themselves, which affords the added danger of having hot knives near their lips. A common technique to smoothen the 'hit' is to store the spottle device (esp. glass ones) inside a freezer for some time prior to the session.

Care should be taken to not touch the edges of a bottle with the hot knives when a plastic spottle has been chosen. Vapors emitted by burnt or melted plastic are highly dangerous and carcinogenic.

Spotting knives are easily recognizable, owing to the discoloration they sustain as a result of consistent, long-term exposure to heat. Often, the knife handles are wrapped in insulation tape to minimize heat transferring up the handles, and to reduce the risk of burns to the driver. Bone-handled knives are often preferred. The most common heat source for spotting knives is a stove-top element. Other heating methods, particularly whilst camping and holidaymaking or when a stove-top element is unavailable, include gas cookers and gas heaters; indeed any other heating device with a grill in which the knives can sit safely can be used. Toasters are not recommended as this can cause serious injury or death by electrocution.

Note the use of a flattened spoon to reflect heat from the elements back onto the spotting knives. This heat-trapping technique is considered by some to be the mark of a connoisseur. Conversely, many consider it to be unnecessary and an added inconvenience although with a ceramic (flat-topped stove) the reflector serves a useful purpose (Note: ceramic-topped stoves are very easy to scratch).

Also note the knives are "weaved" under the second outermost coil of the element. The effectiveness of this technique is debatable, proponents would argue this ensures maximum heat transfer from the element to the knives, by ensuring a large area of contact with the heating element and it holds the knives firmly in place. But the movement caused by withdrawing and replacing knives may result in occasional visits to your local hardware store to replace the elements as the continual activity will inevitably cause scratching which can increase the resistance of the heating coil. This increased resistance combined with heat can cause the heating element to fail and break down.

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