Cake… Is it worth it?

[Mantis_Shankman]

Howdy fellers,

Some members of this forum insist that cake just isn’t worth it. I’ve seen more than a handful of you like comments where someone says they wipe the inside of the bowl clean after every smoke.

Is there something I am missing? Nearly everyone talks about the virtues of Cake, but some of you seem to disavow this portion of pipe orthodoxy. Why is that?

 

[olkofri]

No.

 

[OzPiper]

I don't think anyone is advocating taking the bowl to bare wood after a smoke.

Whatever you do, you will get cake forming after smoking. The loose, friable cake does absolutely nothing for the pipe. You should remove that either with folded pipe cleaner(s) or a scrunched up paper towel

What you want is a thin (0.5-1mm) layer of hard cake that will hopefully prevent burnouts to your bowl.

I fall into the camp that believe that the benefits of a thick layer of cake is generally over-rated.

There are some who like thick cake and their opinion is equally relevant. Perhaps the rational is that thick cake will ptovide insulation for the briar.

If you have more than one pipe (perhaps you can buy 2 new cobs) conduct an experiment - one allowed to build a thick cake, and the other not -to see where your preference lies.

And report back.

 

[Eye-level]

Cake happens

 

[aquadoc]

Agree with OzPiper. I maintain a thin, very thin cake and think thick cakes ruin the taste but like every piper, my opinion is worth no more or less than anyone else's. Pipe smokers are not exactly rule followers. Or consistent.

 

[peregrinus]

virtues of Cake, but some of you seem to disavow this portion of pipe orthodoxy.

In an unscientific and possibly illegal poll conducted here last year, the persistent myth of “cake” was proven to be pointless pipe dogma perpetrated by pallid and pedantic pipe shop nincompoops.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

A thin slice of cake please Mrs Wilberforce.
But in a cob it is best to let the cake build up so that it is impossible to get any tobacco in the offending article and it can't be smoked ?

 

[mikethompson]

The efficacy of cake is one of those things that pipe smokers will always debate, like cobs, drying time, and whether @cosmicfolklore is a real person or just a bot.

Everyone has a different view, and they are all right ?

 

[fireground_piper]

I’m in the no cake camp. The walls of my pipe are just fine to burn my tobacco in, I don’t need a carbon layer. I’ll knife the walls every 8-10 bowls just to prevent any start of it.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The efficacy of cake is one of those things that pipe smokers will always debate, like cobs, drying time, and whether @cosmicfolklore is a real person or just a bot.

Everyone has a different view, and they are all right ?

 

[telescopes]

Howdy fellers,

Some members of this forum insist that cake just isn’t worth it. I’ve seen more than a handful of you like comments where someone says they wipe the inside of the bowl clean after every smoke.

Is there something I am missing? Nearly everyone talks about the virtues of Cake, but some of you seem to disavow this portion of pipe orthodoxy. Why is that?

Being a contrarian is fertilizer for those suffering hubris. This may or may not apply here.

 

[Davy Jones]

I believe in a thin layer of cake, from 1 to 1.5mm max. Briar is extremely resilient against burns but it's still wood and the chamber does need some kind of protective layer. I do remove any excess beyond that thickness as eventually too much of a layer will kill the tobacco taste.
Various manufacturers, also, recommend the cake layer for a very specific reason. Otherwise, they would not recommend it.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Even with water flushing and wiping the bowl, cake will form. I like a thin layer.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Even if you rinse your pipe in water and ream with a paper towel after every smoke, you're still going to get cake. How hard it is to build cake is way overblown by guys who don't smoke very often, IMO. I can't keep the cake beaten back 100%. Cake is gonna happen. Even with a rigorous cleaning after each smoke, I still have a little cake in my pipes, which I try to keep cut back to a credit card's thickness.
I personally prefer to smoke as much tobacco as I can get into the chamber, rather make room for the creosote that inhibits how much I can load into my pipes.
I've been doing this long enough to know what I prefer. YMMV

 

[captpat]

Cake, like many things, is best in moderation.

 

[Donb1972]

I don't allow any cake in my pipes. I follow the example of my Grandfather. He never let cake build up in his pipes, cleaning them fastidiously after each use. I have his pipes today, and some of them are practically shiny inside ~ and they still smoke great!

 

[MacMarty89]

I have never developed a large amount of cake in my bowls. They smoke fine without it.

 

[STP]

Since I been using the water flush technique over a year ago on my newer pipes, they only have a thin superficial coating. Cake is overrated… and unhealthy?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Since I been using the water flush technique over a year ago on my newer pipes, none of them have any cake. If any, it’s just a thin superficial coating. Cake is overrated… and unhealthy?

View attachment 131780

Do you not even have a creosote covering the briar? Even rinsing and reaming a pipe from brand new bare briar, I eventually get a carbon coating. That's all I need.

 

[STP]

^^^ Ha. I edited while you were responding. Yes, a thin coating…