Not a Beginner... But did I Break this new Stanwell?

[ElatedErieLotus]

I haven't bought a new pipe in several years. I ordered myself a Stanwell featherweight earlier this week and after my first bowl last night, I noticed a rather odd odor at the end, almost woody. After cooling and cleaning, here's what my draft hole looks like. Is this normal? All of my other draft holes are round? Is this brand new pipe burning out? Is this a manufacturing error?

I am one to smoke to the bottom, and dump out white ash, and white ash almost exclusively. Is this not the best practice for long term pipe health?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Looks like you got it a bit hot at the bottom and charred things a bit. The odd outdoor (and likely taste) at the end was burning briar. Not a big deal at all as long as you back off a bit moving forward. I would think the heel was feeling more than warm so you could tell. Try smoking 90% of the bowl for awhile and definitely back off extended lighting near the end of the bowl.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Seasoned members have said they don’t smoke to the bottom.

 

[solideogloria86]

Chuck Stanion has addressed this very subject rather well. I always post this article whenever the subject comes up.

Smoking Your Pipe To The Bottom Of The Bowl | Smokingpipes.com

Should you smoke your pipe to the bottom of the bowl? We're covering the question with advice from a range of expert pipemakers.

www.smokingpipes.com

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

Looks like you got it a bit hot at the bottom and charred things a bit. The odd outdoor (and likely taste) at the end was burning briar. Not a big deal at all as long as you back off a bit moving forward. I would think the heel was feeling more than warm so you could tell. Try smoking 90% of the bowl for awhile and definitely back off extended lighting near the end of the bowl.

Pipe never got warm, though the advertised "20-30 minute smoke" did take me an hour. Will that draft hole being warped/burned cause further problems down the line? I've never had an issue like this.

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

Chuck Stanion has addressed this very subject rather well. I always post this article whenever the subject comes up.

Smoking Your Pipe To The Bottom Of The Bowl | Smokingpipes.com

Should you smoke your pipe to the bottom of the bowl? We're covering the question with advice from a range of expert pipemakers.

www.smokingpipes.com

Thank you for the link. Excellent profile picture by the way. My wife surprised me with tickets to the new movie about him yesterday, going tomorrow afternoon.

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

Seasoned members have said they don’t smoke to the bottom.

More of a habit for me, I just smoke, and every once in awhile I tamp it down. Usually this leaves nothing but white ash. Perhaps my other pipes being properly seasoned have allowed for a simpler go at it.

 

[karam]

Pipe never got warm, though the advertised "20-30 minute smoke" did take me an hour. Will that draft hole being warped/burned cause further problems down the line? I've never had an issue like this.

Who advertised 20-30 min smoke? Even my smallest pipe lasts me 45 mins.
The draft hole is not where the char happened, should be fine if you don’t try to burn every last molecule.

 

[solideogloria86]

Thank you for the link. Excellent profile picture by the way. My wife surprised me with tickets to the new movie about him yesterday, going tomorrow afternoon.

Nice! I don't have any showings near me, so I'll have to wait for streaming. I have seen the "On Stage" version produced by the same company, and it was excellent.

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

Who advertised 20-30 min smoke? Even my smallest pipe lasts me 45 mins.
The draft hole is not where the char happened, should be fine if you don’t try to burn every last molecule.

P&C. It's a Stanwell featherweight, bar far the smallest pipe I own, gets smaller every time I look at it. (It's almost too small, but bubbles don't come out, so I think I'm ok)

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

More of a habit for me, I just smoke, and every once in awhile I tamp it down. Usually this leaves nothing but white ash. Perhaps my other pipes being properly seasoned have allowed for a simpler go at it.

I followed their advice since I suffered from tongue bite.

Far be it for me to advise, but since learning to retrohale , it’s all about taste and ash don’t taste good to me

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

I followed their advice since I suffered from tongue bite.

Far be it for me to advise, but since learning to tetrohale, it’s all about taste and ash don’t taste good to me

Burnt doddle and/or ash are not fun. Again, maybe I've been spoiled with some of my older pipes broken in long enough ago I don't remember breaking them in.

 

[mso489]

I'd smoke a few bowls in a pipe and maybe not to the very bottom of the bowl and develop that carbon layer before you go for the total white ash result. It appears to me the pipe is drilled a little close to the bottom, but this should correct after you have a carbon build-up. I don't built cake, but this still works. Also, for the next dozen or so bowls, you might go to lighting with a match, for that really soft flame. I don't think this is a process, but go slow to get this pipe started.

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

I'd smoke a few bowls in a pipe and maybe not to the very bottom of the bowl and develop that carbon layer before you go for the total white ash result. It appears to me the pipe is drilled a little close to the bottom, but this should correct after you have a carbon build-up. I don't built cake, but this still works. Also, for the next dozen or so bowls, you might go to lighting with a match, for that really soft flame. I don't think this is a process, but go slow to get this pipe started.

Thanks. I know things happen, but at $122 msrp, you'd expect things to be fairly well drilled and ready to go. I use a soft flame sutliff lighter, as matches hate the outdoors, but I can give it a shot. If it's a flaw in workmanship, P&C should take the return, would that be worth the hassle, or is this par for the course for new briar and nothing to worry about?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Thanks. I know things happen, but at $122 msrp, you'd expect things to be fairly well drilled and ready to go. I use a soft flame sutliff lighter, as matches hate the outdoors, but I can give it a shot. If it's a flaw in workmanship, P&C should take the return, would that be worth the hassle, or is this par for the course for new briar and nothing to worry about?

What you're showing has nothing to do with the drill. I think you're making a mountain of of a mole hill. Smoke the pipe, it will be fine.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Surely that sort of cake build-up in a new pipe after just one smoke is impossible.
Was it actually new or was it an estate pipe ?

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

What you're showing has nothing to do with the drill. I think you're making a mountain of of a mole hill. Smoke the pipe, it will be fine.

Hopefully I am. None of my other pipes have a pyramid looking thing coming up from the draft hole, that mixed with the briar smell/taste made me think perhaps that wall or something was drilled wrong and chipped in manufacturing or burned out with the first bowl. I didn't want to just roll with it if things were going to get worse. I appreciate the confidence, you are probably right, but I wanted to check with those more experienced.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Surely that sort of cake build-up in a new pipe after just one smoke is impossible.
Was it actually new or was it an estate pipe ?

I don't think that is Cake, impossible after one smoke. I think he charred the shit out of it which isn't a big deal if he takes it easy moving forward.

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

Surely that sort of cake build-up in a new pipe after just one smoke is impossible.
Was it actually new or was it an estate pipe ?

Stanwell coats their bowls with some sort of black paint or residue to help them break in faster. It is in fact brand new and that was the first bowl.

Personally, I'd prefer an uncoated bowl, but that's just me. I haven't had an issue with or without coatings before, but I like knowing the cake is all mine.

 

[ElatedErieLotus]

I don't think that is Cake, impossible after one smoke. I think he charred the shit out of it which isn't a big deal if he takes it easy moving forward.

I can assure you I didn't char it all the way down. It was coated black from the factory, perhaps leading to the confusion. I loaded it with some Peterson Sunset Breeze and took well over an hour sipping on it to the bottom, with a few breaks to help the wife cook dinner. I've been smoking pipes for years, I know when a pipe is getting warm or hot and has been pushed a little far, this one did not have that opportunity. This is my first new pipe in awhile, but not my first time smoking a pipe, if I had steam-engined it, my tongue would remember.