Cake Questions
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This is what my bowl looked like after 2-3 smokes:
Don't see any cake there, or the beginning of one. But then again, I have never seen any cake before.
Don't see any cake there, or the beginning of one. But then again, I have never seen any cake before.
When breaking in new bowls I like to dry out some Carter Hall for a few days till it is bone dry, then I grind it in my wife's mortar and pestle (when she is not looking)
Then I sand out the carbon coating inside my pipe if it has one (i just don't like them)
When the inside of the bowl is all sanded away, I coat the inside with a very thin layer of honey. I then dump the powdered CH into the bowl, give it a good shake, dump it out and then then load the bowl with regular CH or a virginia. and smoke from top to bottom. Afterwards, I then smoke 1/3 and half bowls to develop a lower cake and then work my way up to the top.
Usually by the time I am done breaking in a new pipe, I have already bought a new one and start the process all over again.
Then I sand out the carbon coating inside my pipe if it has one (i just don't like them)
When the inside of the bowl is all sanded away, I coat the inside with a very thin layer of honey. I then dump the powdered CH into the bowl, give it a good shake, dump it out and then then load the bowl with regular CH or a virginia. and smoke from top to bottom. Afterwards, I then smoke 1/3 and half bowls to develop a lower cake and then work my way up to the top.
Usually by the time I am done breaking in a new pipe, I have already bought a new one and start the process all over again.
Instead of a coating of tobacco fines, try sugar- let it dry and then dump out the rest. That will carbonize with the heat of a bowl, and you'll have a head start on cake building.
Bosmer, that sounds like rather a convoluted process to achieve something just regular smoking will give you.
Oftentimes folks overthink these things where just normal procedures and the passage of time is all that is required.
Regards,
Jay.
Oftentimes folks overthink these things where just normal procedures and the passage of time is all that is required.
Regards,
Jay.
Cake building is a fine old pipe smoking tradition, but just to mention the alternative, a devoted minority of pipe smokers do not build cake, but scoop out the ash after every smoke and wipe out the bowl with a paper towel or paper napkin. This results in a thin hard carbon layer that protects the bowl but does not reduce the size of the chamber nor ever require reaming. I have thirty and forty year old pipes that have never been reamed. I'm not being a killjoy about cake building, but just noting this alternative way of going. It works well for some of us. I don't own a reamer.
LOL. That's exactly what I have been doing with my pipe, mso489! Good to know I'm not doing things wrong.
RE: the photo. Although out of focus, based on the (in focus) heel of the chamber, I'd say you have a fine start on cake building. Like mso I like a very thin, hard cake. Water rinse and paper towel after most smokes.
Not true! I smoke a pipe and keep it as simple as possible. I do not dissect the experience, I simply enjoy it. Buy a pipe which pleases my eye, smoke in it what I like, keep the cake thin and the tool reasonably clean. Others like to deeply explore all the possibilities, experiment with different blends, try to match bowls to tobaccos, all that stuff. It simply doesn't interest me and would give me no pleasure. That said, do what pleases you, fits your personality, and makes for a pleasant diversion. I do believe that each of us is seeking a pleasurable experience. That is the common denominator for us. Excepting the trolls of course. They are here for the pure entertainment of their posts.
One can make the experience as simple or as convoluted/complicated as one desires. The pipe is personal. If you are an engineer you might endlessly examine how a pipe is constructed. You'll no doubt come up with hard and fast rules. A person who likes a well regulated life will most likely establish a an unvarying routines. Your personality has a lot to do when establishing how you are going to smoke. Some will try almost any suggestion which appears on this site in an effort to find nirvana. This is why so many different suggestions work for some and not for others.
One can make the experience as simple or as convoluted/complicated as one desires. The pipe is personal. If you are an engineer you might endlessly examine how a pipe is constructed. You'll no doubt come up with hard and fast rules. A person who likes a well regulated life will most likely establish a an unvarying routines. Your personality has a lot to do when establishing how you are going to smoke. Some will try almost any suggestion which appears on this site in an effort to find nirvana. This is why so many different suggestions work for some and not for others.
I'm all in favor of dicking around. What's life without whimsy?
I think this is a worthwhile experiment.My experiment ultimately was to compare how cake building differs from burleys to virginias to englishes. Perhaps I will attempt to break in a pipe just with perique next time and hopefully i will live to tell the tale
As for me, I'll just break-in a pipe with blends from the genre (s) I will be smoking.
Last three posts: a good turn in the direction of this thread. Thanks, gents.
Bos- Do try my method among your experiments!
Bos- Do try my method among your experiments!
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