Before modern solventless extraction became an established category, cold-water hashmaking was already circulating through underground growing circles.
Before Modern Wash Rooms
The original account traces cold-water separation to underground growing circles during the mid-1980s.
Growers used ice water and agitation to separate resin from plant material.
The basic process involved stirring cannabis trim in cold water, allowing resin to sink while plant matter floated.
This approach provided a way to collect trichomes without relying on traditional dry-sifting techniques.
The central historical question is who first introduced the method into wider cannabis culture.
1987–1988: Skunkman Sam's Published Method
In 1987–1988, Skunkman Sam, also known as David Watson, publicly sold a cold-water extraction guide through a High Times mailer.
According to the original account, this became one of the earliest documented and widely distributed explanations of the method.
Supporters of Sam's contribution point to the mailer as an important moment when the method became accessible beyond private circles.
However, the caption also acknowledges that the technique may have existed informally before its publication.
The Prior-Art Debate
Even Sam's account recognizes earlier contributors.
Nevil Schoenmakers reportedly said he learned the technique from an American named Mike.
This suggests cold-water separation was already circulating through informal networks before reaching Amsterdam or wider publication.
That history forms the foundation of the prior-art debate.
The distinction is between documenting and popularizing a method and being the first person to develop it.
Late 1990s: Reinhard Delph and the Ice-Cold Extractor
During the late 1990s, Swiss-American inventor Reinhard Delph introduced the Ice-Cold Extractor.
The original account describes it as a stainless-steel conical tank that used pressurized air bubbles to separate resin.
Delph patented the design and demonstrated it at the Cannabis Cup.
His contribution focused on engineering a formal extraction machine rather than simply describing the underlying separation process.
Method Versus Machinery
The original account identifies two different positions in the historical debate.
Sam's contribution centers on the method:
Cold water.
Agitation.
Settling.
Delph's contribution centers on the equipment:
Vessels.
Airflow.
Filters.
Engineered separation systems.
Supporters of Delph emphasize the machinery and patented design.
Critics argue that the patents overlapped with knowledge already circulating in underground communities.
The central distinction is whether inventing an engineered extraction device is the same as inventing water-based hash separation.
Mila, the Rose Brothers and Ice-O-Lator
Around the same period, in the original account, Eldon and Mark Rose observed Mila Hash Queen's XXXtractor.
According to the original account, they recognized that two nylon bags inside a five-gallon bucket could perform the same separation.
In the original account, Mark named the system Ice-O-Lator and began manufacturing it.
Bubble Bags were a separate creation — Marcus Richardson's, launched in British Columbia in 1999.
These developments helped make bag-based water extraction more accessible.
Bubbleman and the Wider Solventless Community
The original account connects the development of modern bag systems with BC Bubbleman and the wider hash community.
As these tools spread, discussions continued to involve:
Mila.
Bubbleman.
Reinhard Delph.
Skunkman Sam.
Each represented a different part of the development and popularization of cold-water extraction.
The Dispute Over Credit
The original account identifies three major positions in the debate.
Sam's supporters emphasize the 1980s mailer and underground techniques that existed before later patents.
Delph's advocates emphasize the engineered, patented machinery as the first formalized extraction system.
Writers and brands sometimes emphasize one lineage over another, contributing to disagreements about historical credit.
The debate is not simply about who built the first machine.
It concerns the difference between an existing community method and a formalized, patented system.
Legacy: Multiple Contributions, One Solventless Movement
The original account concludes that modern solventless extraction developed through several contributions.
Underground cold-water knowledge predates the later patents.
Delph introduced engineered machinery, while Mila and the Rose brothers helped develop bag-based systems.
Sam's published work helped circulate the method more widely.
Rather than assigning the entire history to one individual, the story recognizes the different roles played by the people involved.
Sources
nuggnotes. "Cold Water Origins: The Hash History Debate." Instagram, 21 Dec. 2025, https://www.instagram.com/p/DSipgyWko3a/.
The original nuggnotes post — sole source for the Rose brothers narrative (Eldon and Mark Rose observing Mila's XXXtractor, Mark naming Ice-O-Lator, and the line later shifting to Bubble Bags after a split), presented in the draft as one side of an unsettled credit debate.
Schute, Viviane. "The History of Cold Water Hash." The Press Club, 2 Jan. 2026, https://thepressclub.co/blogs/tips-tricks/the-history-of-cold-water-hash.
A recent history that closely parallels the draft: early-to-mid 1980s underground origins; Sam's 1987–1988 mail-order guide through High Times; a figure named Mike allegedly teaching the technique to Nevil; Delph's patented Ice-Cold Extractor (stainless-steel conical tank, pressurized air bubbles) shown at the Cannabis Cup; and Mila collaborating with Eldon and Mark Rose, with Mark coining "Ice-O-Lator." It is the only published source found carrying the Rose version, and it appears to share the caption's source narrative — treat as corroboration of the telling, not independent confirmation.
"Who Invented Bubble Hash?" Grand Cannabis, 30 June 2023, https://grandcannabis.ca/cannabis-corner/who-invented-bubble-hash/.
Dates Watson's High Times ad selling the water-hash method for $10 to 1987, but tells the chain differently: Nevil as Sam's mentor, with Sam believing the anonymous American originator was named Mike. Also records Mila meeting "a man named Eldon" before releasing the two-bag Ice-O-Lator (inspired by Delph's Cup demonstration), Marcus Richardson designing his own silkscreen-bottomed bubble bags, and Clarke's Hashish (1998) describing a PVC Aqua-X-Tractor derived from Delph's machine.
"In Memorium: Salute to the Skunk Man." Leaf Magazines, 3 Mar. 2025, https://leafmagazines.com/culture/in-memorium-salute-to-the-skunk-man/.
David Watson's obituary credits him with publishing the first pamphlet explaining how to make water hash in the late 1980s, and names Marcus "Bubbleman" Richardson alongside Watson and Robert C. Clarke as co-host of the Legends of Hashish dinners.
"Process for Purifying Glandular Trichomes." U.S. Patent No. 10,375,892, Justia Patents, 13 Aug. 2019, https://patents.justia.com/patent/10375892.
The patent's background section documents Delp's U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,591 (issued Dec. 2000): a cold water and ice wash extractor with a washing chamber and screen filter above a settling chamber — confirming the patented-machine core of the Delph claim — and notes the corresponding two-sieving-bag device sold as "Ice-O-Later."
"Marcus 'Bubbleman' Richardson." BubbleBag.com, Fresh Headies Ltd., https://bubblebag.com/pages/marcus-bubbleman-richardson.
Richardson's own company history: he developed Bubble Bags in 1999, founded Fresh Headies, Ltd. the same year, and created the first three-bag filtration kit and the first 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 bag kits — an independent British Columbia product line.
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