Acorn/Pear/Dublin pointers...

[TakeThisCobAndStuffIt]

Ok so I have a new pipe which has a conical bowl. Try as I might I find the bottom third or so to be a difficult smoke. Hard to keep lit, hard to reach with flame etc. Have thought many times that I have reached bottom only to tuft up a bunch of raw tobacco. So, do you all just tamp that back down and relight? It ends up being a mishmash of ash, charred bits and some new nice tobacco. Is this part of this pipe shape or are there pointers to improve my technique? Other pipes smoke all the way to bottom without so much work. This is not a question about relights.

 

[AJL67]

A picture might help. Tamp as you feel you need to, tamping lightly just about letting the weight of the tamper do the work pushing the cinder a bit further into the tobacco, nothing says you have to smoke a bowl all the way to the bottom, i rarely do many times i'll dump the last 15% or so of the bowl, sometimes it smokes all the way down, just depends on how i feel, there are very few "wrongs and rights" of smoking pipes, most people just do what works for them.

You might try drying your tobacco more than you think you should and load less tobacco in the bowl than you think you should that should be a good start and you can adjust from there.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Drier tobacco and lighter packing. How deep of a chamber is it? Many of mine are 2-3 inches and take little effort to relight near the bottom.

 

[proteus]

Perhaps you are packing using the thirds method and packing the first third too hard? Try packing it lighter in the first third.

 

[VDL_Piper]

I use this method for conical bowls, not just Petersons and it works a charm

How to fill a System pipe – Peterson Pipe Notes

petersonpipenotes.org

 

[bullet08]

To be a pointer, you must have a red laser dot. Drives all the cats crazy.

 

[OzPiper]

I've had zero issues since I started using meerschaum chips or Nording Keystones at the bottom of my bowls.
Most (almost all) bowls smoke down to ash.
Certainly minimises dottle/tobacco waste and gurgles.
Irregardless of the shape or size of the chamber

 

[TakeThisCobAndStuffIt]

It's late for me. I am going to try that Peterson method with my coffee tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your feedback.

 

[FLDRD]

Ok so I have a new pipe which has a conical bowl. Try as I might I find the bottom third or so to be a difficult smoke. Hard to keep lit, hard to reach with flame etc. Have thought many times that I have reached bottom only to tuft up a bunch of raw tobacco. So, do you all just tamp that back down and relight? It ends up being a mishmash of ash, charred bits and some new nice tobacco. Is this part of this pipe shape or are there pointers to improve my technique? Other pipes smoke all the way to bottom without so much work. This is not a question about relights.

I too have noticed that with one or more of my conical shaped bowls. It seems that sometimes I just can't get to the bottom like I would in other pipes and I waste leaf that would not have been wasted otherwise.

I didn't see a relevant answer in the replies above but unfortunately I haven't figured out the issue myself. I haven't noticed that it's the depth that is the culprit, but again, I haven't figured out the reason / solution...

 

[VDL_Piper]

It's late for me. I am going to try that Peterson method with my coffee tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your feedback.

How was the coffee and did this help?

 

[didimauw]

I always tend to have more luck with conical bowls. However, when I get to that point, I attempt a relight twice, if it won't stay lit, I dump it.

 

[TakeThisCobAndStuffIt]

Ok guys, so my bear paws are to big to do the Peterson method with even my pinky. I am trying various tools to see if I can make it work. I am currently smoking mostly flake and my best guess is that while it is not packed down hard to start, an hour of drawing on is as it moistens and changes as being smoked it just slowly converges into the bottom. Draw is not affected but it does seem to have trouble staying lit at the bottom third. Ribbon is not "as much" of an issue. I have tried tufting up the bottom and if I am careful I can continue on. Bottom line is that I really like the pipe, it's a good smoker and I also feel that I am currently wasting more tobacco than I am comfortable doing. So, as I figure this out I will share my progress. If you figure it out let me know.
Cob

 

[greysmoke]

At the bottom is a British-made no-name acorn that was my "travel pipe" 20 or so years back, when traveling on business with a pipe was less of a hassle than it is now. I commissioned Mark Tinsky to carve something similar for me in his black and tan finish. He supplied a couple of stems. Mark's variant is chunkier but both smoke great.

Despite the conical bowl, I don't find this shape to have unusual smoking properties or need special care with packing. I smoke mostly Latakias and pack as I normally would, pressing a tad bit more around the edges of the bowl to leave a springy surface on top. Mark's version is less conical, but even my original smokes fine.

I guess I'm writing just to share my pipe picture. Not much else to add. Smoke in peace.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Simple physics my friend (A = π r2 or the area is equal to the number 3.14159 times the radius squared) And (A=F/P or the Area is equal to the force of packing or tamping and inverse to the pressure. Conical bowls therefore concentrate the pressure of any packing / tamping in the smaller bottom with the same pressure applied by packing or tamping in a logarithmic fashion. The pressure of the tamper is applied over the larger top area, but the same pressure is transmitted over a smaller area in the bottom resulting in more force packing the tobacco in the lower pipe. Moreover, the canted sides will slide the tobacco together.

Pack lightly, tamp extremely lightly, and all shall smoke to perfection.

 

[OzPiper]

Simple physics my friend (A = π r2 or the area is equal to the number 3.14159 times the radius squared) And (A+F/P or the Area is equal to the force of packing or tamping and inverse to the pressure. Conical bowls therefore concentrate the pressure of any packing / tamping in the smaller bottom with the same force applied by packing or tamping in a logarithmic fashion. The pressure of the tamper is applied over the larger top area, but the same pressure is transmitted over a smaller area in the bottom resulting in more force packing the tobacco in the lower pipe. Moreover, the canted sides will slide the tobacco together.

Pack lightly, tamp extremely lightly, and all shall smoke to perfection.