Bowls - Bowls Blackened & Not

I suspect the blackening on the inside of pipe bowls is mostly cosmetic, although I suspect the pipe makers

would argue that it helps form a carbon layer and break in the pipe. The pipes that I've had without the

blackening have broken in just fine, maybe a little quicker and likely better. If you have a choice between two

pipes you like equally, I would say go for the one without blackening or any kind of finish or stain inside the

bowl. On the other hand, the blackening seems to cook off (or in) fairly quickly. Only occasionally, as with

a Parker I bought last year, there seems to be too much finish that lingers too long. At least one Forums member

has described sanding off the blackening on a new pipe. He is more patient than I am, and I'm not sure he gained

a lot of ground, but if he got it the way he likes it, more power to him. Machine, factory made, mass produced pipes

seem regularly blackened inside the bowl. Most hand carved artisan pipes, which tend to be quite a bit more expensive,

are unfinished inside the bowl. That gives a pretty good clue which is preferable. I wish the pipe manufacturers would

take the hint and leave the inside of bowls unfinished.

The N.C.carver Jerry Perry doesn't finish the inside of the bowls. I have four of his pipes and all came

nicely sanded but with no finish inside the bowl. Two are briar and two are Mountain Laurel. I bought

my first one in 2002.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't remember where I learned this, but with an unfinished pipe, I have taken a nail and scratched it up before smoking to get the cake to start and stick stronger. Bad or good practice? Unnecessary?

I wouldn't scratch up the inside of an unfinished bowl on the theory that the uneven surface might

tend to heat and carbonize unevenly. I'd go cautiously, with the half-bowl, then third-bowl, for the

first five or six bowls, before packing it to near the brim. Usually, a bowl burns down so the fire

isn't near the brim for long anyway. On less expensive pipes, I've just loaded them up and smoked.

It seems to work fine. But I think everyone enjoys a little ritual, to get used to a pipe, and the

cautious approach may be better.

The bowl coating are usually a mix of activated charcoal and a binding agent. Supposedly, the benefit is that chances of burnout are reduced. From a pipemaker's perspective, it's a whole lot easier finishing a bowl with a coating instead of sanding smooth and trying to remove the stain that invariably seems to creep down into the bowl.

Having a coated bowl is not an absolute show stopper for me. I do prefer the taste of naked briar on a new pipe as opposed to one that is coated. Some of the coatings taste horrible to me and I do not wish to spend a few hours sanding the coating off a brand new pipe before I smoke it.

My Brigham had the black coating, they claim it speeds up cake building. Mine sure built a cake quickly, wether it was the coating or not I don't know.