Here in Europe we sometimes get hash that is not so fresh, so we have to heat it up first, then we put the clump of hash in a pile of tobacco (from a cig or bag) and press it together to mix the hash and tobacco evenly. This would be my guess, and if I had a steady hash connection, this would be quite useful... wouldn't have to burn my fingers like usual.

I dont think it is meant for the high-quality hash, like bubble-hash tho...