Love the idea of puttin cheap stuff in the bottom of the bowl. I keep three jars for the last bit of remnants from tins - one for Virginia, one for aro and one for English. I think I'll start using those for the bottom of the bowl filter/ moisture catcher.
Partial Bowl
- Thread starter Gerald Boone
- Start date
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You and I are alike. We have some tobacco that is okay just not the best. That tobacco is great for the bottom of the bowl.
Why, it can and will toss the flavor when you burn down to it.
If your afraid of smoking to much of your favorite blend consider a smaller pipe
If your afraid of smoking to much of your favorite blend consider a smaller pipe
I find the relight flavor to be unpleasant so I typically try to finish instead of resting the pipe.
The only time I find a relight pleasant is by scraping off the top crusted layer of ash and burned tobacco, then it’s game on. 
I seem to smoke rather slowly and bigger pipes seem to last forever, and I never have time to finish them. I usually dislike the taste of tobacco that has already soaked some of the tars in... Removing the ash crust is mandatory, but even then I find the tobacco has changed its taste significantly. I don’t think I’ve ever resumed a bowl and the taste was to my liking.
Since I hate wasting tobacco, I’m actively trying to rectify that. I pick my pipes more practically now, not simply by what pipe I would like to smoke/handle. So I reach for smaller, even tiny bowls when I know I won’t have the time or patience, or even just smoke half a bowl or 2/3 of a bowl instead of a full one. It takes some getting used to, but it’s better for the pipes, the baccy, and me.
Since I hate wasting tobacco, I’m actively trying to rectify that. I pick my pipes more practically now, not simply by what pipe I would like to smoke/handle. So I reach for smaller, even tiny bowls when I know I won’t have the time or patience, or even just smoke half a bowl or 2/3 of a bowl instead of a full one. It takes some getting used to, but it’s better for the pipes, the baccy, and me.
The tobacco at the bottom acts somewhat as as filter for the tobacco burning on top... have you found that the taste changes with removal of that bottom filter? Maybe leave that bottom half bowl for a session or two and refill and replace the top half. Kinda like using a carbon filter for 2 or 3 smokes before replacing it.
When at leisure, I like to sit and smoke a pipe from start to finish, however long it takes. When working on the farm or gardening, the pipe will often get put down between tasks and then picked up, relit and smoked for a while, by way of a small reward, before being put down again. The flavours of the same tobacco in the same pipe can differ surprisingly, I find, between those two different kinds of smoke.
Hmmm, well I agree that it’s sort of a filter, but again it seems wasteful to me... I did experiment at one time with unpacking the dottle, spreading it on some paper and leaving it to dry overnight, Sherlock-style. Sadly the taste of that tobacco seems to never recover from the infusion of tars. My theory is that the act of cooling down is what cements the nasty flavours, turning a bad taste into a worse one. Because the last third of a bowl during regular smoking, while not necessarily sweet, is stronger but still mostly flavourful. (I say mostly because, well, if the tobacco is too wet or too dry, or if one’s technique is suboptimal, there won’t really be much flavour to speak of by the end.)
If I need a sort of filter at the bottom, there are still plenty of options. I could use those Denicool silica stones and pack up the pipe. Once upon a time people packed their pipes using a special kind of paper filter, I guess for the same reasons. Unlike a recycled dottle, these products are neutral and impart no aftertaste. But mostly I find that I don’t really want to think about any of that and just enjoy the smoke. The best way for me remains to pick a properly-sized pipe, and if I find I want more, then pick another appropriately sized pipe to prolong the pleasure. That’s why in recent times I’ve been consciously acquiring smaller to medium pipes (basically Group 3 or smaller) to have that flexibility.