Bottom of Bowl

Its normal. If your draft hole isnt exactly at the bottom of the bowl, it leaves a space where the tobacco has a hard time burning. Alot of pipes are this way. That leftover bit of tobacco is called dottle, or the plug. Some save them and smoke them, like Sherlock Holmes did. I generally just pitch it, it isn't worth saving to me. I used to try to stir and smoke it, but I have given up, once lit, it's usually pretty hot and doesn't taste too great.

Nah
I'll suffer through relighting it for several bowls in a new pipe just to get the heel cake started but after that, whatever. Every once in awhile there's that magic bowl that is fantastic all the way down and I'll keep trying to relight, usually if out and about, but eh.

I am glad to hear that is normal.

This is what I do. After smoking I do let pipe cool down and tap on the cork.

If there is still left over tobacco using a cosmetic blush or Q-tip clean out only bottom part of pipe.

After that finally insert pipe cleaner and let it dry for couple of day.

I do using a dollar little bottle RUM with pipe cleaner once in a while.

I prefer to have that little plug...acts sort of like a tobacco filter to keep me from puffing up ash.

Speaking about building up a carbon cake on the bottom of the bowl, I like Russ Ouellette's take on it:

if you never smoke the tobacco all the way to the bottom of the bowl, it doesn't really need any cake down there. :lol:

+1 Cortez. If the draft doesn't allow you to smoke to the bottom, then why worry about getting it caked?

A while, i have a pipe I have been smoking daily for over a year, I have had to thin the cake down once, a few months back. Now, I only smoked it once, maybe twice a day for most of that year. Trust me, you will know when it is time to scrape it back.

It depends on what you smoke, how often, and your pipe hygiene habits.

I bought my latest pipe, a Falcon 2 friday's ago. Smoked it daily about 10 bowls a day. It measured .875 inch when I got it. I used calipers. After 10 days, I measured the inside and it was exactly .750, which is a 1/16th inch cake, which is what the experts recommend.
I usually leave the dottle and pack more tobacco on top. It usually ends up getting burned. I don't pack very carefully, but when I do, there is next to no dottle.

Just how long does it take to build up cake that is thick as a dime?
POSTED 4 DAYS AGO #
This is one of those questions that could have a thousand answers and they all might be right.
What I learned to do years ago with a new pipe is that after you've smoke the bowl all the way down, (or as far as it allows), take a match box, cover the bowl and shake. All that fine white ash will cling to the inside of the bowl. Let it cool, knock out the dottle or ash, smoke and repeat. Some pipes will take on a cake sooner or faster than others and it seems that once it becomes visible to you, it thickens rather quickly and you must watch out that it doesn't get too thick.

I never bought into coating the new bowl with honey jazz, just let it happen.
On the subject of unburnt tobacco or dottle, a bowl that is drilled flush with the bowls bottom should smoke all the way down. If your a wet smoker, run some pipe cleaners through during a smoke to keep it as dry as possible and you should get the blissfully satisfying experience of tasting the last curls of ribbon cut or smokey chunk of Latakia as it turns to ash. Those last few puffs can be the best part of the bowl IMHO. Other pipes just aren't drilled as such and a plug of dottle is just part of doing business with said pipe. You can still enjoy a satisfying finish but don't try to force the issue by attempting multiple relights on that soaking wet plug or you will get bit, literally.