Building a cake...
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No, no, no!! Ash is the pits. It is nasty to inhale, and it's a cause of thick but cheap and soft cake build up.
It will form a fluffy-like cake if you don't let your pipe rest. All my pipes have a hard-like cake. I understand what you're saying, and I agree, if you smoke ash it will be the worst feeling ever, although if you let your pipe rest for a couple of days, it will turn in a very nice cake
I can't agree that it's necessary to rest the pipe at all in order to build a good, hard and even cake. Removing as much as ash as possible will aid in developing high quality cake. Cooling the pipe is what's necessary for the cake to harden.
I bet the guy who started this thread 6 years ago has either a.) learned how to build a proper cake in his (then) new pipes. b.) quit smoking a pipe and moved on to vaping. :nana:
Well, he sure left the building a long time ago! But several early posters to that thread are here today.
All the theories on cake and cake building are interesting. I never much worry about it. When I'm done with the pipe, I clean out the chamber and swab down the walls with a couple of pipe cleaners or some paper towel. Then I give the pipe a couple of days to dry out. Eventually a thin hard cake will form. What I don't want is a cake with chunks of partially burnt, or unburnt, tobacco embedded in it. That produces the kind of cake that flakes off. It does take time to build a hard shell to protect the wood, but not a lot of time. Do what gives you joy and I will do the same.
I can't remember what happened 5 1/2 years ago that made a big chunk of guys leave, but looking back at the profiles of some of my favorites, something big caused a mass exodus.
It's kind of a recreational sport here. Every few years there is an explosion, followed by an exodus. Codgers crossing the Sinai desert...
If I remember I shake the ash around in the bowl to get it on the side and wipe it out before I smoke again. But the last part doesn't happen much so I get some ash in my mouth. I also have tendency to leave half smoked bowls laying around too. That helps with the cake in the top half of the bowl.
I just realized I have been making a huge mistake with my pipe by keeping the cake from forming in the bowl. I was told to take a pipe cleaner and bend it into a loop that fits snugly down inside the bowl, then fold the ends over to create little ears that fold down over the outside of the bowl. By turning on the "ears" you can wipe the bowl out after each smoke to clean it before you put it away.
I did not realize that I was keeping a cake from forming by cleaning the bowl out so thoroughly like this. Today I just started using a new unsmoked Oom Paul shaped Dunhill Ruby Bark estate pipe that I recently purchased for way more money than I will ever tell my wife. I am glad to know this information so that I can break this pipe in the right way by allowing the cake to naturally form on it and not damage it.
I did not realize that I was keeping a cake from forming by cleaning the bowl out so thoroughly like this. Today I just started using a new unsmoked Oom Paul shaped Dunhill Ruby Bark estate pipe that I recently purchased for way more money than I will ever tell my wife. I am glad to know this information so that I can break this pipe in the right way by allowing the cake to naturally form on it and not damage it.
^ Not necessarily a mistake. I clean my bowls out "completely" after each smoke. You'll still form a protective layer, regardless of how much effort you put in to cleaning it. It's inevitable.
Many don't subscribe to the "dime thickness" rule. I am one of those people.
Many don't subscribe to the "dime thickness" rule. I am one of those people.
Crossing the sinai desert hehehe
I think cake forming is important. When I began with pipe smoking, I cleaned all my pipes almost to bare wood, I had a nice smoke as well. But after some time I did try to form the cake in a pipe and I liked it too. I think that the most important thing about cake is that it allows a more even tobacco burning because the walls cool down the edges of the bowl etc. That is one of the reasons why pack tobacco too hard into the bowl makes the smoking experience impossible or unpleasant.
And yes, the cake will form no matter what. Now, the quality of it might be bad and flakes off quickly...
I think cake forming is important. When I began with pipe smoking, I cleaned all my pipes almost to bare wood, I had a nice smoke as well. But after some time I did try to form the cake in a pipe and I liked it too. I think that the most important thing about cake is that it allows a more even tobacco burning because the walls cool down the edges of the bowl etc. That is one of the reasons why pack tobacco too hard into the bowl makes the smoking experience impossible or unpleasant.
And yes, the cake will form no matter what. Now, the quality of it might be bad and flakes off quickly...
Couple of issues here: Big, little or no cake doesn't affect what happens when tobacco is packed too hard; it—the packing—is what makes for a difficult or unpleasant smoke when not done right.
And while a thick cake will make the outer walls feel cooler, the temperature of the ember will be virtually the same.
That you prefer a thickish cake is a personal preference, one that I think no one would take issue with!
I guess I have been "thoroughly" cleaning mine then. No cake buildup at all has even started yet. You know those pipe cleaners with the wire bristles do a fine job of cleaning a bowl out nicely, lol.
Bad pipe cleaner, bad pipe cleaner, lol.
Bad pipe cleaner, bad pipe cleaner, lol.
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