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sopsac

Lurker
Aug 8, 2018
13
0
Its commonly said that a bowl with a thick wall will smoke cooler, but I wonder if that's always the case. It will certainly feel cooler to the touch. But to some extent the thick wall will act like an insulator.
Most of my bowls are small to medium, with walls that are proportional. I notice that if I firmly grip the bowl with palm and fingers, it will keep much cooler to the touch. Eventually it may become uncomfortable to hold this way, but I believe it makes for a cooler more enjoyable smoke.

 

renfield

Lifer
Oct 16, 2011
4,231
31,391
Kansas
The thick walls can act like more of a heat sink but many other factors are at play as well. By itself it’s mostly going to keep the bowl cooler to the touch.

 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
My truth is that the thickness of the walls and shape of the bowl minimally affect flavor, and that simultaneous concentration and relaxing into the smoke, smoking technique and the will to taste with discernment have far more to do with the smoking experience than these or any other pipe qualities, outside of correct drilling.

 

workman

Lifer
Jan 5, 2018
2,793
4,219
The Faroe Islands
I guess a thick-walled bowl will be in less danger of a burn-out. But having made all the beginner mistakes and having had a lot of terrible smokes due to overpuffing, overtamping, overpacking and everything else, I've never damaged a pipe. I think you need to be really brutal to burn a hole in a good briar.

Whether the smoke is hot or not is simply determined by technique, nothing else.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
I agree. I will add that some people tend to smoke their thick walled pipes "hot" thinking it's ok because the bowl is not hot to touch. But what happens in this scenario is that the briar in chamber may get carbonized or burned and then it doesn't absorb moisture well and the tobacco doesn't taste right and the pipe smokes wet.

 

panamacharlie

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 13, 2016
228
27
I have two Petersen's, one with a thin bowl and one substantialy thicker. The thin bowl never gets to hot to touch, but the thick one gets so hot that I have to put it out mid bowl, I am afraid that the wood will actually start burning. Go figure.

 
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