Building a cake...

[spartan]

Well five brothers sounds like a love it or hate it so im thinking to go with SWR first. But thanks for answering my question strongirish. Just let the dang thing dry out for a while and all is well in the world. I keep wiping everything out with a paper towel after they rest for 24 hours but I will actually TRY to build cake in one of my pipes to see the difference. Thanks.

 

[cthulhu]

I'm not sure if building a cake is the same as breaking in a pipe, but here's what I got...
A tip my father in law gave me for breaking in a new pipe:
When you by a new pipe from a shop, pack it as tight as you can with tobacco (cram the stuff in there!). Get it lit, and hang the pipe out the window stem down. It will burn super hot, and will break in the pipe.
I've tried this, and it does work. However, if you buy a pipe made of cheap material, it can burn through the pipe wood. A friend of mine tried this with a bargain bin pipe, and almost burned the bottom out.
P.S. I never wipe out the bowls in my pipes unless I'm reaming the bowl. I smoke all the way to the bottom, then remove any ash / unsmoked tobacc from the bowl.

 

[strongirish]

That would be a terrible way to treat a new pipe. You are asking to burn it out. At best you will burn some wood and create soft spots. Best to smoke it normally.

 

[olderthandirt]

hehe

Seems the out-the-window-of-a-moving-car was put forward in another thread recently.

I still think it would be easier to just hook the pipe up to a shop-vac (-;
Not the decades of experience as some but I have seen the best results to be to just smoke the pipe.

Even with the regular dry ream that I do, I use a doubled over pipe cleaner and a light touch, a uniform solid cake will gradually form.
No worries

 

[rhogg]

I am definitely no expert here, and am relatively new to the pipe; however, I have been on a ridiculous PAD binge over the last 6 months. My keen observation has lead me to believe that the more I smoke.... that faster he cake builds
I also tend to think that the cake builds faster on bowls that are not pre-carbonized. I could be wrong, but I look for pipes without that junk in the bowl.
I don't bother wiping out the bowls.... I have had a partial burnout on a cheap churchwarden with a minuscule bowl, but it stopped after it happened so I am guessing it was a hidden flaw in the briar.

 

[thesmokindragon]

for me; lots of burley-blends 1st and then Vs with high sugar get that cake up-to-speed on all my pipes ::

 

[cthulhu]

I asked about the car window trick before trying it. He was taught this by his father, and his father learned this from a pipe maker back in the early 1900s. Apparently, all the briar they used was aged a minimum of 15-30 years, and only the best briar used. If the pipe could not stand up to this type of test, the briar was considered low quality, and wouldn't be sold. It's basically a low tech version of the video buckeye posted.

 

[spartan]

Again,the pipe mantra seems to be,
"If it works for you, then you are doing it right."
That goes here too. If everyone says OMG I WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO A PIPE. You can take that point of view from someonewith experience or you can say "screw it!" and make your own mistakes to see what works. :nana:
What a lovely pipe world we live in yes?

 

[pipesmokers66]

The best way to build a cake pipe so natural for me.Choose the appropriate for this new tobacco pipe Dry tobacco, make cutting very fine, fill the pipe 3/4 bowl light your pipe and smoke very gently, very fine cut tobacco dry promotes much smoke in the bowl .Good day to you all ::

 

[cigrmaster]

roth, could you ever see yourself hanging a lit pipe out the window like that? lol Some things in life cannot be rushed nor should they be. Cake will form if you smoke your pipe consistently in the beginning. I will smoke one bowl every other day for 15-20 bowls and a nice cake will have begun to form. Trying to take short cuts is not what it is about, it is the journey that counts. Trying to age your tobacco in an oven is another one of those things I would not do, time is what ages tobacco, not short cuts.

 

[gnatjulio]

Mmmmmm.....tobacco dust and jelly sounds delicious ..........
I think that I'll stick to stuff and puff. So far I have no problems with it.

 

[smokedogrememberthatsht]

as a wise person on here stated "break in a new pipe like the way you break in a new pair of shoes"

 

[captainsousie]

I just don't get how trying to put my foot in my pipe will break it in properly.

 

[smokedogrememberthatsht]

good quality pair of shoes, that fit properly, don't need much "breaking in" at all

thanks for the laugh :clap:

 

[cigrmaster]

roth, good things come to those who wait is a philosophy that is slowly going the way of the Dodo. Our society has no patience as you referred to and people miss out on the journey because all they want is the final product. Pipe smoking is all about slowing down, nothing should be rushed.

 

[captainsousie]

There have always been those who are without patience. There will always be those without patience. Same goes for those with patience. It is something I have always struggled with and pipe smoking is one avenue for learning it. Having patience for those without it is in itself a struggle.
The elders in every generation have seen the same in the youth of the next. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

 

[mrhooker93]

As many have stated, I would just pack the pipe with a good blend like SWR or Carter Hall and puff away. They will ensure a good cake is formed in the bowl of your pipe, but of course, each smoker has his own preferences......

 

[eduardonogueira]

Let me tell you something about cake.

Firstly, cake is not just carbon as many folks say. Cake is in fact, the combination of ash and hardened oils, said that you can now understand that cake will only form if you're patient enough to wait until the oils of the tobaccos harden, and if you know something about wood, you're aware that oils take at least a week to harden...
A quick way to do this:

1 smoke dry tobacco, until the bottom

2 spread the ash on the walls of the bowl evenly, you may want to compress the ashes against the bowl

3 wait a day or two for minimum harden

4 repeat the process

Final tip, let your pipe rest outdoors if possible, specially if you live in dryier areas with around 60% humidity

if not, dry it inside your home.

A good cake is a hard one. You may experience some problems with uneven spots after some time after the cake formation. If so, you don't need to worry, the normal smoking will fill up those spots again.

Almost anything highly in vanilla will burn into white ash, in other words, will burn completely. Stanwell sungold is a nice one.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

 

[didimauw]

I don't eat sweets anymore so this is the only cake I can enjoy.