I just smoked a bowl with a Savinelli filter inside a Missouri Merrschaum Country Gentleman. After I finished I pulled the stem off and found that the filter was very wet. Are these meant to be single use items? I sometimes use a Brigham, and the rock maple filter does not get squishy like the balsa. Thanks in advance.
Savinelli filters, one time use?
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It's up to you, but on mine I will rinse them off and dry them out a few times. I don't use the balsa all of the time, but when I am smoking the really strong twists and such, they come in handy.
They do recommend you to replace the filter after every 3 to 4 smokes. I usually throw them away after single use just because they are cheap. Since their main purpose is to absorb moisture, I guess you can rinse them and let them dry before reuse, and throw them away only when they become too dirty.
I certainly wouldn't leave it in the pipe.
Savinelli says you can re-use them three times, but I actually haven't used one yet. In my 9mm filter pipes I use curled bits of pipe cleaner, which works just as well and is an order of magnitude cheaper.
Alternatively if you like the balsa filter you can find lengths of balsa wood at hobby shops for a few dollars a yard.
Savinelli says you can re-use them three times, but I actually haven't used one yet. In my 9mm filter pipes I use curled bits of pipe cleaner, which works just as well and is an order of magnitude cheaper.
Alternatively if you like the balsa filter you can find lengths of balsa wood at hobby shops for a few dollars a yard.
I don't use them as it doesn't make any sense to me. I want to get moisture out of my pipe. I do that with a pipe cleaner a few times per smoke. I don't want to add something to my pipe that is designed to keep moisture in the pipe lol.
Sure, because they are usually very wet, and they are usually very strong in flavor. The balsas are great at removing the moisture from the smoke to keep the steam from biting me, and they sort of curb the stronger acrid flavors to a more enjoyable one for me. They aren't filters (per se) they just remove most of the moisture.
They do get soupy wet, so if you use them more than once you almost have to rinse and dry them. I'm not sure if/how filters help. I tend to think that reducing the smoke increases the bowls you smoke, so the net effect is a wash. I do maintain a supply of both balsa and paper filters, but mostly use Savenelli adaptors to eliminate filters both in Savs and others like Dr. Grabow. If I want the flavor from a full-strength tobacco but not the full hit, I may use the filters, but rarely. Many seem happy to simply leave out the filter for a very open draw, but I find that too airy a draw that reduces the focus and flavor too much, so I use the adaptors, which also allows a clear pass for a pipe cleaner. You have to find what works for you. Filter pipes like Savs and Grabow are among my favorites, and of course Sav does make some pipes without the filter at all, and I have several of those.
I toss the filter, which I seldom use, after two or three smokes. It is just too messy to clean them.
Speaking for myself, I find filters to function primarily to reduce steam, additives in the tobacco that create a bitter or acidic effect, and pieces of tobacco that are pulled into the pipe and mouth. At times I have had to pull a filter because for whatever reasons it was creating more of a moisture issue than it was preventing. When, on rare occasion, I overdo my smoking while with good company for an evening, a carbon filter allows me to enjoy a bole more than I generally could have. For many tobaccos I use no filters at all, while others I would not smoke without one.
My old scandanavian hunting buddy, George, used to love to enjoy habanero and mayo sanwiches on white bread. I broke out in a rash just watching him consume them with great gusto and obvious satisfaction. 8O
Everyone has different tolerances, levels of enjoyment, and prejudices. It is only natural that these flow over into the hobby of pipe smoking. I would encourage those new to the hobby to be open to trying things. Find what works for you and do not be prejudiced for or against issues before trying them. Keep an open mind to everything or risk missing an aspect of the pipe which might have increased your personal enjoyment of pipe smoking. There tend to be many "rules". Some of which come from fact while many others come from someone else's personal preference. :roll:
My old scandanavian hunting buddy, George, used to love to enjoy habanero and mayo sanwiches on white bread. I broke out in a rash just watching him consume them with great gusto and obvious satisfaction. 8O
Everyone has different tolerances, levels of enjoyment, and prejudices. It is only natural that these flow over into the hobby of pipe smoking. I would encourage those new to the hobby to be open to trying things. Find what works for you and do not be prejudiced for or against issues before trying them. Keep an open mind to everything or risk missing an aspect of the pipe which might have increased your personal enjoyment of pipe smoking. There tend to be many "rules". Some of which come from fact while many others come from someone else's personal preference. :roll:
When I was smoking Savs, I'd get away with letting the filter dry out a bit, or sopping some of the juice on a paper towel, then reinserting it the opposite way. So I'd get two uses out of one. You could smoke more than one or two bowls with one, if it doesn't get too wet. However, any more than that and they tend to disintegrate inside the stem, which makes for a new PITA problem to deal with. If you don't need that filter, use the little adapter. I found that without the filter, the draw is too open for my smoking style and my baccy choices ( mainly VA ).
Okie, thanks for the encouragement. I really enjoy trying out different tobacco blends and seeing what works for me best. So far I like no filter, Brigham filter, and Savinelli filters. like Cosmic I find that some of the acrid flavors mellow a bit. I notice that when I get dark fired burley hot (puffing hard or on relight) they get really bitter. With the filters they still get bitter, but the flavor is not so rough.
If I'm smoking a Savinelli pipe, I use a balsa filter and always trash it after one use. They are plenty cheap, so I don't see the sense in trying to rinse them.
Three or four smokes - if it's black I take it out - but max 4 smokes is when I replace it. They work good in MM Cob pipes as well!
I make my own as well, but have purchased the Sav filters in the past. I use them in any of my 6mm filter pipes. I usually smoke well-dried tobacco, so I easily get 3-4 smokes before they get nasty. The only exception is my one dedicated aro briar; they get pretty wet pretty quick, and I usually toss them after one smoke. That's just from the nature of the tobacco, though. (Most aros I smoke in a cob sans filter, because cobs smoke aros a lot cleaner for me.)
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