Czech Tool Wizardry

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newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,088
6,406
Florida
I use the pick part of my Czech frequently to clear an airpath through my tobacco after having charred and smoked a portion of my initial 'pack'.

Typically, I'm smoking a crimp, ribbon, or shag cut or a mix of these presentations and they tend to expand and choke themselves after a char if I haven't packed just right. (a lot of the time)

I simply pierce that bowl's tobacco right through to the bottom of the bowl and thereby opening a draft which allows me to sip contentedly.

There's usually an airspace I've left at the bottom, using a 3 step packing method.

 

admiral

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 15, 2017
272
5
I usually do something similar - running the pick through the shank of the pipe (you need to remove the stem).

Somehow better if compared to a hole done through the bowl (which also tends to get blocked by the next tamp).

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,088
6,406
Florida
I guess maybe I should have said that I tamp after I char, then plunge.

I'm just sayin, it helps me.

Sure, I've had bowls that tend to occlude at the draft hole, but even then, I can clear it with the pick.

I use pipe cleaners to maintain the stem and shank up to the bowl.

 

seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
2,958
10,405
Canada
It’s something I usually do near the last third of the bowl. I have found that the best airway is made by poking through opposite side of the airway.

 

jazz

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 17, 2014
813
65
UK
Hmm, makes sense to open up the airway. What is the pick on the Czech tool supposed to be for?
Damn! It seems I have been doing it wrong. I have been using it to poke those pesky amateur anti-smoking thespians in the chops when they do their arm-flailing and pathetic cough cobblers.
Apparently, I still have much to learn.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,075
Carmel Valley, CA
Typically, I'm smoking a crimp, ribbon, or shag cut or a mix of these presentations and they tend to expand and choke themselves after a char if I haven't packed just right. (a lot of the time)
Moisture. If dried to a lower level, you will find that the tobacco won't expand such that it blocks airflow. And then packing is easier and almost failsafe. I smoke mostly ready rubbed, but this is true for flake and cake, both of which require a lot more drying time than shag or ribbon.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
That's an astute recommendation of the classic Czech tool, and a really good suggestion on the use of the pick. I am deeply devoted to the pipe nail for its sheer simplicity which is really an elegance of design despite it's mundane look and price. But the pipe nail doesn't provide this airway opening function in a packed bowl. Luckily, I have a cluster of nails and Czech tools (one of the Czech's dating back to my grandfather). I also have a nice stainless steel pen-knife-like tool. But I always grab the nail first. I like the horseshoe nail too, but its tamper is not quite as broad and effective as the regular nail. I've always used the pick on a Czech tool to loosen and stir a bowl before I tamp it gently and relight.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
Good points.
I would like to use my Czech tool as a mini wizard wand. I could vanquish my neighbors when they complain about the pipe smoke blowing over and "getting in their face and making their outdoor furniture smell horrible".

 

3rdguy

Lifer
Aug 29, 2017
3,472
7,293
Iowa
I use the czech only after I am done with a bowl for cleaning.
These ended up being my favorite tamper
https://www.pipesandcigars.com/mobile/p/horseshoe-nails-pipe-tools/1481887/

 

bnichols23

Lifer
Mar 13, 2018
4,131
9,554
SC Piedmont
Shoot, I thought everybody did that. Yeah, even me, every now & then I'm not paying strict attention to my pack, or else a new bowl takes it differently, & rather than dig the leaf out & start all over I just punch a few cores in it till it's either right or I can get it right. Yeah, I'm lazy, I admit it.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
One does what one needs to do to get a decent smoke. Well, short of dumping the pipe and starting over. I'm too mulish to do that! That's a logical solution to some problems. But, I'd have to admit I mucked up the process first. Not my nature.

 
Jan 28, 2018
12,953
134,628
66
Sarasota, FL
It doesn't plug up on me often but when it does, I use the tool in the same manner. This solution works rather well. Most often, it is just to loosen up the ash when I'm done.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
While I have found a pipe-related use for each of the tools on a Czech Tool, it is my understanding that it was originally marketed as a more generic tobacco users' tool. The tamp was a pipe tamp, the spoon was for taking nasal snuff, and the pick was for piercing cigar ends.

 

weezell

Lifer
Oct 12, 2011
13,653
49,163
The tamp was a pipe tamp, the spoon was for taking nasal snuff, and the pick was for piercing cigar ends.
NICE! I knew the tamp and pick,didn't know the snuff spoon. Good stuff, Thanks Brother. I'm a horseshoe nail guy myself...

 
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