Bowl Seasoning... help!

[dirtybearpipes]

Hey guys!

I'm new to this forum and relatively new to pipe smoking. Anyone willing to set me up with a link or instructional for proper seasoning a bowl? Thanks!

 

[crpntr1]

Hello and welcome.

What kind of seasonings are you referring too?

Breaking in a new one maybe?

 

[tokerpipes]

Seasoning a bowl? Well I have never seen a cast iron bowl, but I use olive oil.
Concerning building cake on a pipe bowl, smoke very slow. Wipe the bowl out with a paper towel once cool. Don't let the cake get any thicker than a dime.
This has worked for me many times over.

 

[gwtwdbss]

+1 tokerpipes

 

[dirtybearpipes]

Yeah, breaking in a new pipe. Thank you tokerpipes! Is it suggested to wipe the bowl out thoroughly after every time smoking it?

 

[gwtwdbss]

Yes I would. Take a paper towel(I use a 1/2 sheet) and kind of screw it into the bowl. This will help build a smooth even cake.

 

[crpntr1]

I do.

 

[dirtybearpipes]

Yikes, I've never done that! I probably have a pretty thick cake. The most I've done is swirled a pipe cleaner around in it. Thanks guys, great to know.

 

[barkar]

Don't let the cake get thicken then about a dime. You can buy reamer to removed extra cake when needed but it takes a long time before the cake gets that thick

 

[dirtybearpipes]

Could you use a Forstner Bit as a reamer?

 

[barkar]

You can use anything really, just don't cut into the briar and keep bore concentric.

As for breaking in a new pipe. You will get several opinions on this from the guys and all work fine. I usually smoke half a bowl a couple times, then a whole bowl. Repeat this a few times and when finished a bowl gently blow into stem which will coat the bore with fine ash, which helps build cake.

 

[tbradsim1]

Use a tobbaco that burns into a fine ash, Sq Leader, or old cogers like carter hall, don"t dump your ash right away let the heat temper the bottom of the bowl, you will get a fine ash , like Barkar said to coat the inside of the bowl The old cajun

 

[ssjones]

I do something similar to oldcajun. Smoke a 1/2 bowl, with the tamper blade, grind the ash into a very fine dust. Move that around the entire bowl, dump, run a cleaner thru it, smoke several bowls that way.

Than, for subsequent smokes, run the cleaner thru after each bowl and wipe the bowl with a paper towel. That way, the pipe only needs the reamer once a year or less.

 

[spyder71]

I just wanted to chime in here. The advice given about wiping the bowl after every use works awesome. Until a few months ago I did no wiping and just let the cake build. I was left with an uneven and spongey cake. With the method these felas have described my cake is even and seems to be pretty durable. It's a slow build but in the end I think it will be well worth the effort!

 

[mluyckx]

:rofl:
Couldn't resist.... But DON't put it in your bowl... Or if you do, let us know how it goes... ;-)

 

[dirtybearpipes]

Haha! Thanks Mick, I'll let ya know how that one goes! But thank you for all the advice, I just took a look at the cake and it seems decent. In spite of the fact that I have never wiped it out before, I must have caught it early enough!

 

[dochudson]

here's an excellent primer..

Peterson Pipes - how to smoke a pipe
I always use Carter Hall for the first 6 or 8 smokes.

 

[ssjones]

A burley blend is supposed to be a good break-in tobacco.

 

[crpntr1]

+1 Burleys for breaking in..I like pa.

 

[schmitzbitz]

Seasoning a bowl? Well I have never seen a cast iron bowl, but I use olive oil.

I suspect briar undergoes exactly the same process as cast iron to some degree. The wood is porous, allowing it to take in some of the oils, tars and sugars that go into forming a cake. To take it even further, briar is a vegatative matter, and when you apply heat it will undergo change, much like cooking (or, for hot-smokers, burning) a piece of wood.
Fred Hanna speaks at length about this in a few of his essays. One quip that he makes which stands out in my mind is a story he relays about a friend of his who actually keeps his briar cake-free and down to bare wood. He goes further to report that his friends pipes in fact taste wonderful, not exhibiting any of the qualities of a brand new pipe undergoing break in - despite appearing for all intents and purposes, to be just that.