Ashy Taste

[Laird Thomas]

Why does my tobacco start tasting ashy and smoked out after only a half bowl? This happens with all my pipes and with all the different tobaccos. I must be doing something wrong.

 

[dmcmtk]

Are your pipes clean? And by that I mean the airways of both the stem and the bowl. Additionally the mortise (what the stem's tenon fits into) being clean is also very important. Are these new pipes, pipes that hven't been smoked in a long while, or estate pipes?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Could be several things. Tobacco not dry enough, tobacco packed too tight, lighting the pipe too aggressively, smoking too fast, or the pipe needs a good cleaning.

 

[Laird Thomas]

Good tips I'll give them a try. Also can a clay pipe be drilled to open the airway?

 

[bullet08]

I think drilling clay pipe will crack it. I never had clay pipes, but my understanding was if clay pipe was having an issue, you just buy a new one.

 

[Kozeman]

I've begun tipping out the top loose ash from the pipe before my relights and I find the light takes better and I avoid the ashy taste if my draw is a bit heavy on the re-light.

 

[F4RM3R]

How fast are you Smoking? Try slowing it down a bit and see if that makes a difference.

 

[prndl]

I'm with Kozeman.

 

[mso489]

Like the posts say, maintenance and technique. If you tune those, I think the problems will be gone.