Do you clean the inside of the bowl?

shawnofthedead · Jul 24, 2015

After smoking a bowl of tobacco, I know that you are suppose to run a pipe cleaner through the stem and the shank; but then I'd also rub the inside of the bowl gently to get rid of extra ash. Is this necessary? Would it affect the forming of the cake (especially in the case of new pipes)?

jiujitsubowl · Jul 24, 2015

I rub out the inside of the bowl every 4-5 smokes personally. Dont ream it hard or scrape it out intensely and it shouldn't affect the cake buildup. A good guide of healthy cake build up is about 1/16" of an inch. That sounds precise i know, but I am an engineer lol.

phil67 · Jul 24, 2015

I simply rub out the bowl with a folded up napkin or paper towel and will also do this with a new pipe. Doing so, in my experience, will not impede the build up of cake. Either way, you only want to have a very thin layer and try to keep it under control. There are those who dislike having any cake in the bowl whatsoever.

jpmcwjr · Jul 24, 2015

I do the same. I dislike the idea of inhaling old ash.

ericthered · Jul 24, 2015

After every smoke I scrape out the ash and dottle with the spade end of my pipe nail. Then I run a bristled pipe cleaner through the stem & shank, then I form it into a "U" shape and twist the "U" around the interior of the bowl a few times. I then repeat these steps with a fluffy (non-bristled) pipe cleaner. I don't know if it's my process or just because I don't smoke very often (once every week or so), but I haven't seen an appreciable accumulation of cake in any of my pipes, and that's just how I like it.

warren · Jul 24, 2015

I do nothing regarding cleaning a pipe until Sunday. Well, I do give the last smoked pipe a knock and a great puff after emptying the ash and whatever dottle is remaining, then the pipe is returned to it's resting spot until the bowl. Sunday I clean all of the pipes smoked the previous seven days. I only run a cleaner through a pipe if the draw is becoming restricted or is blocked while smoking. Sunday is pipe cleaning time. Sundays are for reaming, cleaning, a rub over the side of my nose (oils) and a quick buff with a soft, clean cloth.
I've not experienced taking ash into my mouth. I don't inhale, so it's not a problem.

cortezattic · Jul 24, 2015

Mostly I just wipe the bowl with the pipe cleaner I used in the stem & shank.

On meers, which shouldn't have any cake, I'll stuff a paper towel into the bowl and twist it like it is a reamer.

Ordinary printer/Xerox paper (even junk mail) is a wonderful reaming material if crumpled sufficiently. Just use care not to scratch the rim of a meer.

frozenchurchwarden · Jul 24, 2015

Lately I've been using a chunk of paper bag to scrape out the dottle. I think dottle is what I'm concerned about most, that wet puddle of tobacco bits at the bottom of the bowl (I smoke out of the pipe as much as drawing in, so I probably have more dottle than most).

Anyway, I don't get much of any cake, but I also find it leaves a very even black film around the entire bowl when you rub it out every time.

atskywalker · Jul 24, 2015

I gently use the "spoon" part of my pipe tool to clean the dottle and anything clinging to the walls then I stuff a napkin and twist a couple of times. Sometimes I use my pipe cleaner in U shape and twist instead of the napkin.

sablebrush52 · Jul 24, 2015

I always give the chamber a wipe with either a few bristle pipe cleaners or a piece of paper toweling at the end of a day's use. You'll still build up a thin layer of carbon, which is all you need, and it will be of much higher quality than the kind of cake, loaded with bits of unburned tobacco and easily crumbled, that builds in an uncleaned chamber. Some folks like the stale stink of an uncleaned chamber and don't want to taste the blends that they're smoking. I'm not one of them.

homewaters · Jul 24, 2015

I remove the ashes with the spoon part of my pipe tool and then clean the inside of the bowl with a regular or bristle pipe cleaner folded in half. That technique gives me a thin even layer of cake.

aldecaker · Jul 24, 2015

Add one more vote for the jpmcwjr and phil67 method. Ashy cake bad, protective carbon layer good.

lostandfound · Jul 24, 2015

Some folks like the stale stink of an uncleaned chamber and don't want to taste the blends that they're smoking. I'm not one of them.

Here Here!
So much so, that I wipe out my bowl with a paper towel, after every smoke.

easterntraveler · Jul 24, 2015

Yes I do. I wipe out the ash with a paper towel or pipe cleaner every couple of days.

zekest · Jul 24, 2015

Why would you not want a clean pipe?
Some nutter once said that he *never* cleaned his pipe. I suppose he also eats off of yesterday's dirty plates, and crusty silverware.
Yes, clean your pipe *every now and then* if you are lazy, or after you are done using it. Or smoke corn cob pipes. After a few smokes you can just toss them out the car window and only be out a few bucks.

mvmadore · Jul 24, 2015

I too use the spoon end to clean out the bowl after every smoke. I also blow through the stem to push any moisture out of the shank and into the bowl...generally not very much.

Every few smokes I use cotton swabs dipped in Captain Morgan Spiced Rum to clean out the bowl. I buy a "nip" of the stuff, and other liquors as well...inexpensive, lasts a long time and I change them as my mood changes.

warren · Jul 25, 2015

Some are more compulsive than others. At the end of the bowl the question is: "Did I enjoy that?"

newbroom · Jul 25, 2015

My briars will get a swipe with a simple inexpensive tissue when they appear ashy. I use Qtips on the inner shank and a pipe cleaner regularly. It's a good idea to purge the system with a blow before you re-fill.

My cobs still get the pipe cleaner and Qtip treatment, but I let them go for a few bowls, usually, and only an occasional tissue swipe. I have no logical reason for that.

sablebrush52 · Jul 25, 2015

Some are more compulsive than others.

Compulsive? More like, like to enjoy the flavor of what they're smoking instead of the stale ghosts of what they smoked.

cosmicfolklore · Jul 25, 2015

I hate cake build up. I ream mine with a paper towel after every smoke. Despite this, I still have to scrape it out with my pocket knife every now and then. I just prefer a clean smoke and the aromas of the warmed briar to ancient tars and ash. To each his own.

Do you clean the inside of the bowl?

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