Briar burned a bit

[caprider]

Hello,

I've been reading this forum for a while. Thanks for all the great info. I've only been smoking pipe for about 2 months. Before this, I've been smoking cigars for several years.

I have a pretty new Peterson pipe.' I've been smoking it for 15 or so times in the last two weeks. I have several other pipes and I rotate them. But I smoke the same pipe in one day, with half hour or several hours between smokes. After about every smoke I clean the pipe with a paper tissue and after it cools down, I pull the stem and clean everything with the cotton sticks.

I have just cleaned it more thoroughly today: gently with the spoon from the czech and firmly with a paper tissue. And I found that the briar is a bit thinner on one side. It looks burned. See images.

Is this normal? Or the normal is to use a pipe for several years without having the inside of the bowl change shape due to burned briar?

Thank you.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I have been there in my early days, seems like if the chamber has been overheated,I'd advice sand it clean and get some sort of new bowl coating in there

 

[Irish Piper]

Yikes. I'm a newbie as well, so take that for what it is, but if I saw that in my pipe I'd be concerned. Especially in a fairly expensive pipe like that.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

You say the pipe is pretty new, but you don't say whether you purchased it from new.
If it's an estate pipe, the problem may have been already there, and the previous owner filled it up with pipe mud, which has come loose.
Just a possibility that's all.

 

[caprider]

You say the pipe is pretty new, but you don't say whether you purchased it from new.
If it's an estate pipe, the problem may have been already there, and the previous owner filled it up with pipe mud, which has come loose.
Just a possibility that's all.

I've purchased it new.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I got my Pete new. Never really looked inside. As the Apostle Paul said regarding meat offered to idols, "don't ask". I'd advise to smoke the living daylights out of the pipe.

 

[kcghost]

Not sure that I see anything wrong. If it is the "light" spot about two-thirds down the pipe you could use you pipe nail to see if it is really bringing into the wood. Burning wood is usually pretty distinctive and obvious smelling,

 

[caprider]

When I touch the gray area with my finger I can feel that it's a small hole. I estimate it's about 1mm deep.

 

[mingc]

Yes, it looks like a burn out to me. The surface of the spot in question is crazed, which tells me it's burned. You can try to scrape the spot clean to bare wood and then cover with pipe ash or whatever bowl coating recipe you fancy.

 

[caprider]

I'm just curious, are able to use a pipe for tens of years and have the briar completely unaffected by burns?

 

[burleybreath]

I'm just curious, are able to use a pipe for tens of years and have the briar completely unaffected by burns?

Absolutely.

 

[scloyd]

Where did you purchase the pipe? You may be able to return it, if it's a burn out.

SmokingPipes return policy:

• Pipe Returns/Refunds: A pipe may be returned for any reason within one month of purchase, provided it hasn't been smoked. Pipes are warrantied, by us, for one year to be free of defects. If you experience a 'burn-out' during this time period, please email us to arrange a return. We will give you a refund, or an exchange, at our discretion. We do not warranty pipes against excess wear and tear, such as tenon breakage, cracking from dropping the pipe, etc.

Good luck.

 

[mso489]

You have the standard bowl coating there, and they can discolor. I don't see any burn-out process going on, just the gradual break in until the carbon layer evens out. What you can do is. mind your technique, so you are "sipping," that is drawing fairly gently on the pipe, and not puffing ardently. Everyone puffs a little to get lit or to get a blast of flavor, but generally, that's not good technique. Keep an eye on the chamber, but I doubt you have a problem.

 

[J-Evverrett]

I’d keep smoking it. Building a decent cake is important. It usually takes 40-50 smokes to build a cake that needs trimming down. If there is a recess in the bowl, eventually that will be even better protected than the rest.

 

[OzPiper]

It definitely looks like a burnout to me.

When that happens you will definitely get a "burning wood smell" as opposed to burning tobacco odour.

You may be smoking too hot, or it may just have been "soft" wood present and its not your foult.

Take some cigar ash and cautiously add water, drop by drop, and work into a "mud" consistency. Surprisingly less water is needed than you'll think. You want a consistency that will form a ball without breaking up.

Use the spoon bit of a Czech pipe tool to apply to the burnout and leave to dry for a few days.

It's safe to smoke once the mud dries and adheres firmly. Allow a slight layer of cake to form ie don't scrape out too vigorously after the next dozen or so smokes.

The same has happened to me with a new morta pipe. iIt smokes very well now.

 

[TheWhale13]

If it was my pipe I'd just smoke it or mud it if I felt like it needed it. It doesn't seem like cause for concern?

 

[caprider]

What I want to understand first and foremost is if I am doing something wrong. And I think most probably I am.

I think I tend to draw too hard because I expect more smoke, as with a cigar, tobacco too wet, windy outside etc. As I am beginner, I was also asking if this slight briar burning is expected. Seems not.

I've also noticed that ~dried tobacco is easier to smoke, has a more pleasant taste and you can easier control the burning. Can't understand how pipers that prefer rather wet tobacco can actually smoke it. If tobacco is sticky, you can hardly get any smoke when drawing, even when you have a decent sized amber.

Another thing, poking with the stick of the czech tool right next to the briar margin probably concentrates heat there and might cause burning the briar. I poke the tobacco sometimes when I notice it's about to go off, then tap it back. Can't remember if I read this or came up with it on my own. I've now started poking a bit away from the margin. I just poke in 4 points while drawing, then tap back gently.

Anyway, I don't see side effects of the burning. I think I'll keep smoking it for a few days and do the mudding patch at at some point.

What do you think?

Thanks again.

 

[mingc]

What I want to understand first and foremost is if I am doing something wrong. And I think most probably I am.

I think I tend to draw too hard because I expect more smoke, as with a cigar, tobacco too wet, windy outside etc. As I am beginner, I was also asking if this slight briar burning is expected. Seems not.

I've also noticed that ~dried tobacco is easier to smoke, has a more pleasant taste and you can easier control the burning. Can't understand how pipers that prefer rather wet tobacco can actually smoke it. If tobacco is sticky, you can hardly get any smoke when drawing, even when you have a decent sized amber.

Another thing, poking with the stick of the czech tool right next to the briar margin probably concentrates heat there and might cause burning the briar. I poke the tobacco sometimes when I notice it's about to go off, then tap it back. Can't remember if I read this or came up with it on my own. I've now started poking a bit away from the margin. I just poke in 4 points while drawing, then tap back gently.

Anyway, I don't see side effects of the burning. I think I'll keep smoking it for a few days and do the mudding patch at at some point.

What do you think?

Thanks again.

Don't smoke it outside when there is a strong wind blowing. Wind can really stoke a fire. Sometimes we puff too hard when we're not paying attention, so for a new pipe and for this for pipe, try to pay more attention until you see cake forming uniformly in the bowl.

It may not be your fault at all as it may have been a naturally soft spot. It's a natural product so it's going to have imperfections.

 

[PipeIT]

I'm just curious, are able to use a pipe for tens of years and have the briar completely unaffected by burns?

Yepper, people are smoking pipes here on the forum, 10, 20, 50+ year old pipes, and going as good as the day they bought them.

 

[burleybreath]

After returning to this thread, and spending over 18 seconds poring over the photos, I'm going to advance the theory that the wonderful Peterson bowl coating on your pipe is fighting a duel to the death with the honest cake build-up that is superimposed on it. Looks like the latter has flaked off or something, through no fault of its own. That would tick me off, and if I were you, I'd probably scrape and sand the hell out of it, and start over. Second option, send it back to wherever you got it and bitch like a wailing banshee.