Black coating inside bowl...

[haim]

Hello!
Just received my 2 new pipes!

They're Mr Brog's, one briar and one pear, and I was wondering:

Inside the pipe's bowl there's this black coating... it's definitely not the wood, but something that was added...

Anyone knows what this is..?
Thanks!

 

[pagan]

Not sure what it is but the Brog briar pipes I have are the same way, and smoke good

 

[pipesmokingtom]

1. Make some popcorn.

2. Search the forum for "bowl coating."

3. Enjoy the show.

 

[crashthegrey]

A bowl coating, good luck figuring out what. Sand it off or smoke right through it. I don't like them.

 

[dochudson]

I'm willing to bet in a blind taste test of a coated vs noncoated bowls very few could tell the difference. Load them up and smoke them.

 

[jpmcwjr]

You can also overcoat the coating, either by just smoking a few bowls as crash says, or by coating it with honey or sugar, letting it dry, removing excess from sole of chamber, and then loading and smoking. If you're really concerned about the substance, you can "smoke" the bowl down by just exhaling through the stem gently.

 

[haim]

Thanks, everyone!

I guess this is the carbon layer I read about...

I'll try to smoke with it and build a cake on it....

 

[crashthegrey]

@dochudson, for many coatings this is true. Some companies, though, not so much. I was new to pipe smoking when I got my first coated pipe, and from a reputable company. I didn't even really think much about it, and didn't know what it was for the most part. My first bowl from that was awful, and I couldn't figure out why. I put a different tobacco in it, one I knew well, still crap. It took awhile to taste right, and that's how I learned about bowl coatings.

 

[aldecaker]

I agree, Crash. While some may be pretty benign, I've tasted some that you'd have to be dead not to notice they taste like horrible crap.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

My cobs don't come with bowl coatings - just sayin'.

 

[aldecaker]

One of the many things I love about cobs! When I buy a cob, I am looking for a piece of dried cob to smoke tobacco in. When I buy a briar, I am looking for a piece of wood to smoke tobacco in; no more, no less. ANY type of substance in the smoking chamber is not a plus for me; not stain, not "bowl coating". I just like it plain.

 

[mso489]

haim, more pipes come with the bowl coated than don't. Many of us prefer an uncoated bowl, but I don't bother to sand it out. Even many artisan pipe makers coat the bowl, so it isn't related to the level of pipe. I believe the idea is, many pipe makers think that a coating makes the first bowls you smoke burn more evenly and prevent any unevenness that would cause a burn-out of the bowl because of some minor irregularity in the briar or other wood. I've bought a number of new pipes with uncoated bowls and never had a problem; I always am happier with no coating. But it doesn't really seem to matter. Once broken in, coated or uncoated, most pipes do well.

 

[haim]

I already have 2 cobs which I love :] But I wanted to try a wooden pipe...
mso,

I realized after I posted this thread that I stumbled into some controversial territory and read a little about it. The thing is, as a novice, I don't know if I'll be able to tell the difference.. so I figured I'll clean up one pipe and one will leave as it is, and test them both!

 

[perdurabo]

Stain sucks, found some cheap Baraccini Knock offs, the plastic stems split, the bowl coating taste awful, the black stain that is used taste awful. It's so bad, when you run a pipe cleaner through the first couple of smokes, the cleaner has black dye from the stain used. Terrible. I have two of these pipes that smoke great, but the other two suffered from a defect in the plastic stem. The stems cracked. They are Basket Pipes, time to pay more than $30 dollars for a briar. Just sayin.

 

[ssjones]

Aren't corn cob pipes coated with plaster of paris inside the bowl?

 

[codecreatively]

The only coating I haven't minded was on my Eltang. The rest I could taste. Peterson is the worst. Wait, scratch that, the Gianmarco Ago pipe I had was the worst. He used some kind of vegetable glue.

 

[jeepnewbie]

I only remember them coating the outside of the cobs when I watched the documentary. I could be wrong but I don't see any coatings inside of my cobs.
As far as briars I've been lucky I guess, I've never tasted any of the coatings.

 

[haim]

Just a little update:
I'm saying this with nothing to compare to, but I didn't feel the coating on my Brog... Today I'll try the briar (I smoked my pear), from which I cleaned the stuff, and report back if I see any difference :]

 

[ahmadothman]

Well, most of the brands of pipes I have come with that thin layer. I guess they are pre-charred at the factory to be readier to use. I never had a problem with any. Just pack the bowl fully and smoke it to the bottom. And enjoy your new pipes

 

[jpmcwjr]

Big difference between charring and coating. Most of the discussion is about coatings. Don't know which makers, if any currently, send out pipes that have been pre-charred.