Watching Cake Build Up In New Pipe, Wondering If There's A Problem

[puffndave]

I've taken to smoking 1/4 to 1/3 bowls in a new briar, smoking all the way down to the bottom, and sipping the smoke as slowly as possible and stopping when the bowl heats up because I'm hoping to build up an even cake from the bottom up. After scraping out the ashes after each bowl I shine a light down the bowl and see only a lumpy build-up, from about 1/4 inch above the bottom of the bowl (the area below looks smooth). Is this a problem, and if so, am I doing something wrong?

 

[derfargin]

The problem is you're overly concerned about building cake. Just smoke the damn pipe and it will happen. A watched pot never boils.
Quit with the 1/2 and 1/4 bowls, load it up and go.

 

[webbie]

You are just too worried about it. Just smoke it and it'll build where the ember lives. Step away from the pen light :D

 

[puffndave]

So, are you guys saying that the break-in of a new briar isn't really that important? Or are you saying that a good breaking requires no more than slow smoking, and being careful of the heat buildup?

 

[webbie]

Pack well and smoke slow. I think the break in is important but it happens slow and when you watch it you worry. For me it seems like it doesn't build until I've given up on it.

 

[zekest]

I'm a fast pipe smoker; that's just my cadence.
I build cake far too quickly for my taste.
The cake will build regardless of the type of tobacco you smoke (Virginia versus Burley that is, don't know about aro's). I smoke Virginia-Perique's with the rare VA-Bur-Per bowl (Three Friers) and the cake builds up even though I wish it did not.
Don't worry the cake. It will build up unless you work hard to not allow it, as in the case of the meerschaum pipe.

 

[wilson]

A lot has been said, and written, about breaking in a new pipe. Now, there are differences of opinion, but a good many of the members here will tell you to just fill the pipe and smoke it slowly. About the only concession I make to a new briar (years ago, I did the 1/4 bowl, 1/3 bowl stuff) is to be sure that I will be able to smoke the whole bowl in a reasonable amount of time. You can let the pipe go out and relight later -- not a week later, but it doesn't all have to be in one sitting. But, go slowly. It is never a good idea to overheat your pipe, but this is especially true with a new pipe that doesn't have a layer of cake to protect it.
Cake happens. It is a natural part of the combustion process. Actually, I'd recommend "reaming" the bowl with a wadded up paper towel after each smoke. That will help remove loose stuff and help keep the cake layer a bit more even.
It is hard to get cake in the heel with some pipes. A few of my pipes burn to the bottom with little effort. A few always leave some dottle. For those, no worries. If you are not ever burning the last bit of tobacco, there is not much need for a protective layer of cake in the heel.
So, don't fret about it. I think they've already given out this year's award for best-cake-in-the-heel, so you've missed out on that. Instead, fill up, fire up, and chill out. It's not supposed to be a chore. If you smoke it, cake will come.

 

[derfargin]

Well, my view point is I think the break in period is overrated. New pipe or not, just fill it and smoke it. As long as you don't puff like a steam train, then you'll be fine. If the bowl is getting hot, put it down and resume smoking again after it cools.

 

[puffndave]

Thanks, All, for your perspective on this subject. While I have read a bit and watched a few videos regarding it, it's always better to know what the real smokers think. On just about anything, sometimes the pros give sound advice, but they can also be regurgitating memes (or selling them, when it helps their business).

 

[cortezattic]

Somewhere, shrouded in the mists of time, a wives' tale gained widespread acceptance that one should start with a pinch

of tobacco per smoke, and ever so gradually increase that amount over a long period of time until you're finally smoking

completely full bowls.
This probably had some merit back when pipe production was at its apex, and pipes were being cranked-out by the millions.

The idea was that pipes were being produced so fast, the briar they hurried to market did not have sufficient time to cure,

and was loaded with moisture and natural resins. Such pipes were believed to be at risk of cracking or splitting unless

they were smoked slowly and brought "into season" gradually. Somewhere along the line this notion became conflated with

the actual need to build up a carbon lining that would protect the wood from charring.
Pipe smoking is much less popular today than in previous generations, and existing briar stock is usually very well cured

by the time it's fashioned into a pipe. Further, many modern pipe makers routinely provide a protective carbon coating on

their bowls -- although pipes may remain uncoated to either show off particularly attractive grain, or to cater to the whims

of purists who want to build up the carbon coating themselves.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Smoke a cob. Sleep better at night.

 

[northernneil]

Cortez, where did you find this quote about old pipe manufacturing?

pipes were being cranked-out by the millions.

The idea was that pipes were being produced so fast, the briar they hurried to market did not have sufficient time to cure,

and was loaded with moisture and natural resins. Such pipes were believed to be at risk of cracking or splitting unless

they were smoked slowly and brought "into season" gradually.

I remember being called out as a blasphemer last time I said something along these lines.

 

[peteguy]

Previous posters called it - stop watching the grass grow and enjoy your hobby.

 

[settersbrace]

Not buying that story either. I never recall seeing anything written on shoddy craftsmanship in the pipe making world. If anything the old mantra on break in came from the fact that pipe smokers bought one pipe at a time and smoked the cowboy hell out of it. If care wasn't exercised it could easily burnout of worse, split in half. I doubt there many pipe smokers alive today that could actually burn out a decent briar pipe if they followed even the most basic care and feeding protocols. We just don't smoke the volume of tobacco those folks did back in the days when a guy lit a pipe in the morning and smoked it all day and into the night, then got up and did it again and again. When it gave it up, they got a new one.

 

[spartanfan]

I say watch it obsessively and get the micrometer out after every couple of puffs. Just kidding. My experience has been the less I have paid attention to breaking in a pipe the better it has gone.

 

[wilson]

I agree with settersbrace. Back in my grandfather's day, common folks had a lot less disposable income and a lot less stuff than most of us have now. One or two pipes was the norm and a pipe had to last years being smoked day in and day out. A new pipe was a rare thing and my grandfather could not afford to take chances. So, if friends, or the guy at the shop, said "smoke 1/4 bowls and only this blend and use honey and stand on your head and spin nickels while smoking the first 20 bowls . . . " Hey, it worked for others -- why ignore the conventional wisdom.

 

[nachman]

I have only one rule about breaking in a pipe. Smoke every bowl to the bottom. Wait, I do that with every bowl I smoke--you know, waste not, want not. It is a good rule for proper cake building though.

 

[cigrmaster]

On a new pipe I load it to the top and smoke it to the bottom. I then let it cool over night and then take a couple of pipe cleaners doubled over and gently wipe the bowl. I get a nice hard cake after a dozen or so bowls and have never had an issue with my cake.