Johs pipe issues

pipertom · Jan 23, 2019

Hi,
I recently received a Johs pipe and have had a couple of bowls of my favourite aromatic Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Flake.
The first time I smoked it, it left my hands stained orange.. I figure the finish wasn't buffed off properly.. buffed it up ok.
But more importantly when I smoke it... it tastes like nothing... literally hot air. I don't get this with any of my other pipes.. It smokes ok, right down to ash, but no flavour... Does this happen? Did I just happen to score a dud pipe?

seanv · Jan 23, 2019

Is this an estate buy?

I had a similar issue in an estate pipe i bought. I just kept smoking and it turned out okay.

pipertom · Jan 23, 2019

No a brand new one.

seanv · Jan 23, 2019

It just needs time. Keep smoking. This is the “break in period” you always hear so much about. Some pipes take longer than others to come around.

pipehunter · Jan 23, 2019

I've never had a pipe where the tobacco just tasted like air. Could it be that the airway and draw are different from your other pipes? Maybe experiment with packing the bowl differently to adjust? Nothing I can think of other than burn and draw rate should flatten the taste to much (although I'm certainly no expert).
The stain coming off is unfortunate. To be honest, I'd probably send it back.

voorhees · Jan 23, 2019

I bought a Johs pipe at the 2018 Chicago pipe show and missed an obvious issue. There is a small blemish on the bottom of the pipe that after I smoked realized was a thin spot from the when the bowl was drilled. Only after some very close inspection did I realize it. I fault myself for not looking closely, but a brand new pipe should not have been put out for sale like this. Thankfully I did not pay a bunch for it.

It smokes ok, but does get a bit warm due to the thinness of the wood.

mso489 · Jan 23, 2019

I have five or six Johs. I don't want to be goody-two-shoes on every brand. I've had uniformly good luck with Petes over the years. My Johs have been good to me, no issues, well-crafted, in some cases unusually lightweight pipes for their size, with really nice design and finish, and excellent prices as noted. As long as the blemish isn't become a process, a burnout, I think you'll do okay. Mogen Johansen is a crazy fast worker and turns out "too many" pipes a day, making it on volume rather than high price, but there are bound to be some misses. Hope yours is durable despite the flaw.

crashthegrey · Jan 23, 2019

Forgetting all of the other issues, briar is briar. I have broken in some pipes that are perfect from the get go, or darned near so. I have had a couple now that are just like this, they just taste like hot air at first. Once carbonized, they are good smokers. Just the break in was odd and seemed to absorb all flavor.

pipertom · Jan 23, 2019

Thanks and I know it sounds silly... but literally hot air and no flavour..
How many bowls do you think it takes to make a good carbon/cake layer on a new pipe?

mso489 · Jan 23, 2019

Since I've had success with Johs' pipes, I can only surmise, but I would think a dozen bowls or so would get a carbon layer going and you should get full flavor after that. I admit, I got pretty much full flavor from the start, just a bowl or three to get 'em going.

seanv · Jan 23, 2019

My only experience with this issue took about 5 or so bowls to get it going. Keep smoking. Good luck

crashthegrey · Jan 23, 2019

I find about a dozen.

cosmicfolklore · Jan 24, 2019

Greg Pease had written in a post a few years back, about how he attributes the lack of taste at the onset of a new pipe to the grain in the stummel part of the draft hole needing to be caked. These need to fill with carbon or whatever, and then you will start to get more of the flavors.
You can't put a number on it, sort of like asking "how many licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop."

crashthegrey · Jan 24, 2019

"how many licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop."

About 12. 8)

pipertom · Jan 24, 2019

What is a tootsie pop? It better be delicious... 12 licks is a lot to get to the center of something horrible...

Johs pipe issues

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