Why is the 2nd half of the bowl better than the first?

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tucson

Might Stick Around
Aug 3, 2014
54
1
I am new to smoking a pipe. I am finding that with my new pipes, the 1st half of the bowl of tobacco stops smoking frequently. The best I can get are very small wisps of smoke. This is OK, but by the time I get to the second part of the bowl, it is much easier to smoke and stay lit. And I get much mor flavor too.
Do I need to beak it in for the pipe to smoke better? Or is this normal?

 

J. Mayo

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 18, 2012
234
3
Texas
Sounds like you need to work on your charring light a little like mcitinner1 said. Get a good charring light to let the tobacco expand and fluff up. Let the pipe go out and tamp it down evenly all the way around. Then relight, make sure to get as even of a light a possible around the top surface. Generally the first 2/3's of the bowl are best for me. Toward the bottom is when the pipe will start going out if it's going to happen.

 

apatim

Can't Leave
Feb 17, 2014
497
0
Jacksonville, FL
Not sure about the lighting, etc.but I do find the flavor improves as the bowl burns down. Might have something to do with the amount of single malt consumed too. :rofl:
Seriously though, the last half of a bowl is the best for me in terms of flavor and overall enjoyment..

 

kcvet67

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 6, 2010
968
0
It sounds as though your tobacco is too damp. Try drying it a little before packing your bowl and I think you'll have better luck.

 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
Both pipes and cigars draw each puff through the entire bowl/cigar en route to one's mouth. When they do so they deposit some of the chemical goo that we find pleasurable on the remaining tobacco, and thus when that incinerates, it is generates a good bit more flavor.

 

tucson

Might Stick Around
Aug 3, 2014
54
1
I am going to try the charring light, and let the tobacco dry out a bit. The tobacco is a little damp.

 

shutterbugg

Lifer
Nov 18, 2013
1,451
21
Why is the 2nd half of the bowl better than the first?
It isn't for me. The top half is the tasty one. The bottom half acts like a filter, trapping all the oils and tars and whatever crap from the top half.

 

derfargin

Lifer
Mar 3, 2014
2,028
28
Kennesaw, GA
The best I can get are very small wisps of smoke.
The type of tobacco you're smoking also plays a part in this. I haven't been at this but only a year, but being active here I've learned a ton. Specifically about Straight Virginia tobacco. That type of tobacco, actually produces less smoke. Wispy with VA is what you're after, and for that matter lots of other pipe tobacco. You want a smolder in your pipe, not a bonfire. Too much heat will kill flavor. Pipe smoking is unlike cigar smoking when you're looking for billowing clouds of smoke. You want just enough heat to release the essential oils of the tobacco. That's where the flavor is.

 
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