Bowl Coating?

[PiperCalvinist]

So I bought my first two briar pipes - a Morgan Bones and a Rossi. Both of them came with a black coating inside the pipe. Is this common? I’ve heard a number of smokers talk and debate about creating a carbon cake in a new pipe, and they spoke as if there was no coating at all inside the bowl. Are most pipes sold with this coating or do the two I bought just happen to be in the small percentage of those that come coated? Just curious.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Is this common?

Yes, all the way up through the biggest name brands.

 

[fireground_piper]

Yes, all the way up through the biggest name brands.

And I can be very polarizing for some!

 

[AJL67]

You can wipe it out with a wet paper towel but it just is a "starter cake" in the bowl.

 

[Chasing Embers]

And I can be very polarizing for some!

I've always liked the look of it. It gives a pipe a finished look.

 

[fireground_piper]

I've always liked the look of it. It gives a pipe a finished look.

Very much agreed

 

[PiperCalvinist]

You can wipe it out with a wet paper towel but it just is a "starter cake" in the bowl.

Thank you!

 

[PiperCalvinist]

I've always liked the look of it. It gives a pipe a finished look.

Yes, me too. Makes that Morgan Bones look pretty cool!

 

[kcghost]

It isn't anything to be worried about. Just build your cake as normal. If it does bother you can remove it easily enough.

 

[FurCoat]

I detest the stuff. I remove it before I smoke a pipe, but that is my personal preference.

 

[Medy]

You can wipe it out with a wet paper towel but it just is a "starter cake" in the bowl.

If it’s a starter cake does that mean less break in time ?

 

[AJL67]

If it’s a starter cake does that mean less break in time ?

i suppose technically the point of the coating is so you don't have to "break in" the pipe as there is already a thin layer of stuff. Others can answer better than I.

 

[Chasing Embers]

If it’s a starter cake does that mean less break in time ?

It's really more of a preventative against burnout. You'll still get new pipe taste.

 

[Lumbridge]

Most of my briars came with naked chambers, and I kind of prefer them that way for no particular reason.

 

[Medy]

So I bought my first two briar pipes - a Morgan Bones and a Rossi. Both of them came with a black coating inside the pipe. Is this common? I’ve heard a number of smokers talk and debate about creating a carbon cake in a new pipe, and they spoke as if there was no coating at all inside the bowl. Are most pipes sold with this coating or do the two I bought just happen to be in the small percentage of those that come coated? Just curious.

I just got my Morgan Bones today and it had the coating also. Which one did you get?

 

[PipeIT]

As Chasing pointed out, coatings are about protection.

But, if you smoke carefully with a new pipe, there is no need for it.

Uncoated chambers also allow you to experience the natural flavors of briar, that typically get masked with a coating.

For an experienced pipe smoker, buying an expensive pipe, a coating makes zero sense. You buy that ultra high end expensive pipe to experience it, in it’s full glory, and with an uncoated chamber, it’s like you make it your own too, forming a carbon layer over time.

P.S. Yeah, those pricey Dunhills have coatings which is odd, and the Danish like coatings too… The Italians don’t like coatings, but you can occasionally see them. Viva La Italy! LOL

Oh my a Castello with a chamber coating, that would be horrific! LOL

 

[PiperCalvinist]

I just got my Morgan Bones today and it had the coating also. Which one did you get?

I got the bent billiard, and I’m pretty pleased with it. I think I might buy another one of their pipes. I happen to like the look of them. I just smoked it for the first time tonight with some Shepherds Pie. Good smoke! It was also my first smoke with an unfiltered pipe. The only difference I noticed was I could slightly hear some gurgling of moisture towards the last 1/4 of the bowl.

 

[sablebrush52]

So I bought my first two briar pipes - a Morgan Bones and a Rossi. Both of them came with a black coating inside the pipe. Is this common? I’ve heard a number of smokers talk and debate about creating a carbon cake in a new pipe, and they spoke as if there was no coating at all inside the bowl. Are most pipes sold with this coating or do the two I bought just happen to be in the small percentage of those that come coated? Just curious.

It's quite common. The original idea was to save smokers having to break in a pipe by pre-coating the chamber walls with a carbon mixture. Some people hate it. Others like it. And some, like me, don't care one way or another.

 

[BrightDarkEyes]

Most of my pipes are Vauen, which all come with a bowl coating. Their newer bowl coatings are black and some of the older ones are grey. I have no idea what the old coatings are. There was never an off taste I experienced from one though.

I have a few unfinished Savinelli seconds that came without a bowl coating and didn't notice much of a difference. It may have taken a bit longer to form a bit of a cake, but I don't like more than a thin layer.

On one of the early pipesmagazine.com radio shows Brian Levine said he preferred bowl coatings and he believes it makes the first five or six smokes of a break in time more enjoyable.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Oh my a Castello with a chamber coating, that would be horrific! LOL

Castello


Dunhill


Bruce Weaver


Bo Nordh