Advice From St. Claude on Building Cake

[Briar Lee]

Here’s an interesting bit of advice of building a cake in a pipe from the St. Claude pipe shop.

A well caked pipe

What is a pre-coated pipe? How do you break in a new pipe? Why do you need to build up a cake when you buy a new pipe? We are going to answer all of your questions...

www.pipeshop-saintclaude.com

What I get from his advice is exactly what Harry Hosterman used to preach fifty years ago, plus every instruction manual that used to come with new pipes, save two things.

I still use honey to coat the chamber of a brand new or completely cleaned used pipe, but only a time or two. I think it masks the taste of briar during break in.

And I used to try and keep a cake “the thickness of a dime” but now I keep only enough carbon coating in the chamber to where I can say there is a slight cake, and no more. I think that helps get the subtle flavors out of the tobacco better.

One thing not mentioned in the article, is I’ll clean a used pipe clean down to bare briar, and especially clean the shank. Old cake and residue gets rank and should be completely cleaned.

But all in all, any new or newly cleaned pipe needs about a dozen, sometimes a couple of dozen, careful smokes to deliver the best flavor, I think.

 

[craig61a]

Groundbreaking stuff…

 

[Briar Lee]

Groundbreaking stuff…

I’ve been breaking in pipes for a half a century, but as the old poem goes, what is ought for me, to a fair haired youth may a pitfall be.

But the opinion of a man who makes a living selling pipes ought to be given more weight than most, you know?

I’ve learned from this forum I’m not alone in preferring far less cake than the traditional “thickness of a dime” recommended by pipe sellers back when I bought my first briar.

But I think that advice is for the men who clenched a pipe all day, and smoked pipe tobacco instead of cigarettes. It would insulate the pipe better from burnout.

Pipe smokers who join internet pipe forums tend to be pipe enthusiasts,,, to avoid the word hobbiests.

We can get by with less cake.

 

[ParkitoATL]

Here’s an interesting bit of advice of building a cake in a pipe from the St. Claude pipe shop.

A well caked pipe

What is a pre-coated pipe? How do you break in a new pipe? Why do you need to build up a cake when you buy a new pipe? We are going to answer all of your questions...

www.pipeshop-saintclaude.com

Thanks for posting that.

I recently mixed up some of PetersonPipeNotes APBC (All Purpose Bowl Coating) and treated a few of my pipes. One was a Peterson 303 estate that just wasn't doing it for me. It had been reamed back to mostly bare wood. I kept thinking I was tasting acrid old tar but then I realized it was the BRIAR that I was tasting. The bowl coating really seemed to jump start the process. She's smoking much better now.

What do you think about breaking in cobs? I have three more on the way. Do you think I should coat them?

My first two MM Prides seemed to be doing well, although the walls got black as night. I'm not sure if that is what they are supposed to look like or if perhaps this Noob hoofed it too hard at the start. In any case, I bought a Zippo lighter and the fluid ruined both of those cobs. Talk about ghosting! They both tasted like naphtha.

Thanks for your input.

 

[AJL67]

Thanks for posting that.

I recently mixed up some of PetersonPipeNotes APBC (All Purpose Bowl Coating) and treated a few of my pipes. One was a Peterson 303 estate that just wasn't doing it for me. It had been reamed back to mostly bare wood. I kept thinking I was tasting acrid old tar but then I realized it was the BRIAR that I was tasting. The bowl coating really seemed to jump start the process. She's smoking much better now.

What do you think about breaking in cobs? I have three more on the way. Do you think I should coat them?

My first two MM Prides seemed to be doing well, although the walls got black as night. I'm not sure if that is what they are supposed to look like or if perhaps this Noob hoofed it too hard at the start. In any case, I bought a Zippo lighter and the fluid ruined both of those cobs. Talk about ghosting! They both tasted like naphtha.

Thanks for your input.

Never coated a cob just smoked them. I would say personal preference. Now 20 people will also post this.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't understand the whole building cake thing. I certainly don't understand the logic of coating the bowl with honey. Smoke the pipe properly and the cake will build. It's that simple. Honey easily carbonizes and builds crap cake that breaks and crumbles easily.

I'd like to figure out how to retard the build up of cake. Even wiping the bowl after each smoke and using the water flush cleaning method, cake still builds. It's inevitable, you can't prevent it. Anything more than a very thin layer of cake is wasted.

To me, actually trying to build cake is like having a cut and purposefully rubbing salt in the wound. It only causes pain and does nothing to heal the wound.

 

[mso489]

Just enough carbon coating to keep the ember from burning the briar. That keeps the chamber its original size and prevents the cake from carrying much ghosting. I scoop out the ash and wipe out the bowl with an abrasive paper towel. I don't need to ream a pipe; I don't even own a reamer. It works for me.

If you enjoy building cake, by all means do so. It's just not for me, not necessary. Some of my pipes are over 40 years old and all are smoking great.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I thought of a better analogy. Wanting to build cake is like a 14 year old male wanting whiskers to sprout and make that passage into manhood. 20 years later, you wish your whiskers would stop growing completely so you wouldn't have to waste 5 to 10 minutes each morning shaving.

 

[warren]

so you wouldn't have to waste 5 to 10 minutes each morning shaving.

I contemplate my day as I carefully shave and trim the sideburns and handlebar. It's one of the most important parts of my day. Doing so keeps me at least a bit organized with a very flexible schedule. I've so little left I try not to waste much. Although the disinterested observer might think that I'm mostly wasting time. I try to only "well waste time."

 

[JackOrion]

This cake business reminds me of cast iron pans. There’s always questions about how to build up maintain and preserve seasoning.

I don’t think the two situations are that far apart. Clean well after use and eventually a strong cake or seasoning forms.

 

[ParkitoATL]

None of my briars seemed to be developing any cake until I started using the PetersonPipeNotes APBC (All Purpose Bowl Coating). It's only activated charcoal and gum arabic. He said it is the same recipe that Peterson uses for all of their coated bowls. Just a few smokes after coating and they are really starting to get some density.

I think I was perhaps a little too fastidious keeping the bowls clean when I got started and was thus preventing cake from forming.

 

[tbradsim1]

coke is a natural byproduct of combustion, it is an insulator and protects the briar. How do I know this, 31 yrs of decoking furnaces , you don’t need a lot, just wiping bowl with paper towel after a smoke is plenty.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

This cake business reminds me of cast iron pans. There’s always questions about how to build up maintain and preserve seasoning.

I don’t think the two situations are that far apart. Clean well after use and eventually a strong cake or seasoning forms.

As some who collects/restores pans and pipes, this is spot on.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Why someone would smoke briar pipes and NOT like the aroma of briar is beyond me. Just smoke a meerschaum or a clay if you don't like the smell of briar. I love the smell of briar, burning, gently warmed, or fresh off the lathe. Gorgeous stuff.