So, I'm at a loss to the real point of the spade in the Czech tool...it doesn't seem an effective reamer and the spike with a cork knocker gets excess ash out...what am I missing?
Czech tool spade
- Thread starter ccdeere
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The way I understood it was the tamper is for tamping, the pick is for picking and the scoop is for scooping.
I agree with the OP. The spade doesn't scrape well, I don't need the pick, and the tamper's off center head annoys me.
I have tried other tampers and tools, but I always come back to my Czech tool. The tamper is not the best, but I have acclimated myself to it. I find the spade/scoop useful for working tobacco toward the ember when I need to revive a bowl partway through a smoke - sometimes a bowl just needs a little stirring. The spade/scoop is, of course, also good for getting out any stubborn dottle after a smoke. The pick is nice for perforating a dense ash layer choking the ember.
I'm with blueyedogre & ckgdrums, a pipe nail is all I need. I have a Czech tool, but I don't like the small tamper and haven't yet needed the pick feature. Since I only smoke outside and don't have access to a cork knocker, when I'm done smoking I use the spade end of my pipe nail to loosen the dottle/ash and knock it out against my knuckles.
I have a GBD marked pipe tool from 40 years ago, and it's a beauty for tamping, scraping and once or twice, sticking! It was made in Japan.
For me a pipe nail or a long golf tee are all I need, and prefer. I have two fancy wood handled pipe tools, but very seldom use them.
I too remember reading that the scoop was used for both the taking of nasal snuff as well as spooning it over the freshly packed bowl as a fire starter. I've used both ways in the past. Not a fan of starting my bowl but I love me some good English snuff.
+1 aldecaker, the scoop is for snuff and the pick for cigars, or so I've heard. But, you can do with them what you want.
I'm in the pipe nail school, or horseshoe nail school, and use the scoop to remove dottle and ash. I'm one of those who follows this by wiping out the bowl with a paper towel or paper napkin before using a pipe cleaner on the stem. Unlike the majority, I don't want to build much cake, just that thin carbon layer. I think it makes the pipes last longer, maintains the size of the bowl, and mostly eliminates the use of a reamer, which, except for renovating pipes with cake, can be pretty destructive in any but the most trained hands.
I think the scoop might be dual-purpose for snuff and removing dottle. If it were designed exclusively for snuff I think the bowl might be deeper and more rounded at the end. I've tried it for snuff and it works OK as long as you have a steady hand and don't miss the mark. You still can't beat pinching for snuff IMHO.
I use the spade to scoop the dottle, however whatever works. I wouldn't say there is only one correct way to use any tool. I tamp with the check tool, nails, golf tees, sticks and twigs, chicken bones, roundy type poke objects etc.
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