Cake formation
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No, if you're one of those guys who wants that nasty cake to get thick (I avoid cake in mine, because I can smoke slow enough to keep it cool without it) when the cake thickens on top of those flakes, they will cause fractures and parts of cake to fall off into your smoke. Guys who like cake usually keep those flakes picked out. Me, I just wipe the bowl out really well with a paper towel after each smoke.
Here's my take on this.
Cake formation IS essential to briar bowls as it insulates the bare wood from heat and if properly maintained, distributes the heat evenly over the surface area of the pipes bowl. The cake thickness should just barely be visible and a thick cake can actually damage your bowl because of uneven buildup. A well manicured cake in a pipe that's dedicated to a given blend can deliver an exceptional smoke. When I finish a bowl I run a cleaner or two through the stem and then take a bristled cleaner and bend it slightly in the middle. I twist it into the bowl just to smooth out the carbon on the walls of the bowl. I blow out the dust and place it on the rack to rest. Get a good pipe reamer like a Castleford kit and learn to use it to keep your cake even.
Cake formation IS essential to briar bowls as it insulates the bare wood from heat and if properly maintained, distributes the heat evenly over the surface area of the pipes bowl. The cake thickness should just barely be visible and a thick cake can actually damage your bowl because of uneven buildup. A well manicured cake in a pipe that's dedicated to a given blend can deliver an exceptional smoke. When I finish a bowl I run a cleaner or two through the stem and then take a bristled cleaner and bend it slightly in the middle. I twist it into the bowl just to smooth out the carbon on the walls of the bowl. I blow out the dust and place it on the rack to rest. Get a good pipe reamer like a Castleford kit and learn to use it to keep your cake even.
Well, just for the sake of argument, cake happens no matter what you do. Even wiping it out really well after each smoke, you will get cake. But, I'd also argument that if you kept it sanded down to bare wood, nothing is going to happen if you keep the bowl cool while smoking it. This is why I prefer the thinnest bowl walls possible to make sure I keep it cool. To "me" thick bowls and thick cake gives one the excuse to smoke too hot. But, to each his own. I do find myself actually puffing if I am stressed or anxious for some reason. And, having thin walls helps me stay aware when I let my mind unravel, ha ha. But, like I said, to each his own. :
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I think cake became a goal of pipe smokers back when many chain smoked their pipe and couldn't or didn't
take the time to wipe the bowl out after every smoke, so the resulting cake was defined as a benefit to the
smoking qualities of a pipe. To the contrary, in my opinion, you need just the thin layer of carbon in the bowl
to maintain optimal smoking qualities, and anything more, even the dime-width often cited as idea, will only
make the bowl smaller and lead to your eventually reaming the pipe, which will often cause damage. So just
wipe out the loose tobacco, ash, and any other debris, and maintain just that thin coating of carbon that exists
in any smoked pipe. The whole cake worship attitude is a holdover and does not improve the smoke. I have
40-year-old pipes that still smoke great, have never been reamed, and have essentially no cake, that illustrate
the point.
take the time to wipe the bowl out after every smoke, so the resulting cake was defined as a benefit to the
smoking qualities of a pipe. To the contrary, in my opinion, you need just the thin layer of carbon in the bowl
to maintain optimal smoking qualities, and anything more, even the dime-width often cited as idea, will only
make the bowl smaller and lead to your eventually reaming the pipe, which will often cause damage. So just
wipe out the loose tobacco, ash, and any other debris, and maintain just that thin coating of carbon that exists
in any smoked pipe. The whole cake worship attitude is a holdover and does not improve the smoke. I have
40-year-old pipes that still smoke great, have never been reamed, and have essentially no cake, that illustrate
the point.
Some rocking chair experts claim that cake should never get thicker than a nickle; dear God, in a large Peterson System pipe that might be possible, but in the Stanwell's I now favor that have a 0.72 or smaller bore, a dime thickness of cake would barely allow a standard tamper to pass through.
To quote Abraham Lincoln in one of his recent Facebook posts: "Cake Schmake".
To quote Abraham Lincoln in one of his recent Facebook posts: "Cake Schmake".
Cake is one of those things I don't put much thought in to. I worried about it years ago when I first started pipes but these days, as long as the inside of my pipe is black, I'm good. I've seen pipes used for aromatics develop quite a thick cake but for me it's never been an issue. I wipe the inside of my bowls out between smokes. Usally with a bent cleaner or a wadded up paper towel. The only time I really use my reamer is when I'm restoring an estate.
I allow no cake buildup in my briars, the carbonized layer of briar on the inside of the bowl is all that I believe you need to keep your pipe in optimal condition. I have been smoking for 25, nearly 26 years now and gave never once let cake build up in one of my pipes; and I have never had a pipe crack on me. Is this definitive, no, it is an empirical sample of one pipe smoker, my smoking style may be why I can do without a cake layer, but I don't believe it so. I think the dime/nickel thickness rule comes from a time when men would smoke one pipe all day long, they would keep refilling the same pipe over and over, thus resulting in a very hot and saturated briar. In this case I can see the logic in adding a extra layer of carbon to help insulate those poor, abused pipes, such as the ones we have all seen at the flea market with so much cake you can barely fit the point of a tamp inside the bowl. In conclusion, if you treat your pipes well, keep them clean and rotate them regularly I don't believe a cake is necessary and could in fact be detrimental to the longevity of your briars.
I maintain an ultra-thin cake. I scrape the bowl with a pipe tool after every smoke, and I often ream it with a wadded paper towel.
I keep the cake in my pipes to about a dime's thickness and have always done this. In my opinion having a nice hard cake in a pipe gives me a cooler more flavorful smoke. After I am done smoking a bowl, I let it sit overnight so the cake can harden, then I break the pipe down, take a couple of pipe cleaners, double them and wipe out the inside of the bowl and then blow through the shank getting any loose tobacco out of the chamber. I smoke flake tobacco exclusively and can build a rock hard cake in as little as a dozen to 15 bowls. When the cake gets a little thicker than I like I will use my pipe knife to gently scrape the bowl and even out my cake.
I tend to keep the cake to a minimum but I always run a pipe cleaner all the way through and leave it there until my next smoke. I find that it absorbs the moisture and keeps things cleaner.
Burning organic materials produces carbon and that’s (mostly) what cake is. Tobacco only builds cake when it’s burned.
Cake develops during the smoke, not after it, so wiping a bowl will remove loose ash and tobacco but it doesn’t reduce the cake (unless it’s scraped). If you smoke, cake will build.
Pipe smoking is all about the transfer, conduction and dissipation of heat, and carbons conduct heat extraordinarily well. The quicker the heat leaves the tobacco chamber the cooler and more consistent the smoke. Cake becomes an insulating transfer layer that protects against hot spots, spidering and burn outs.
Cake puts pressure on the bowl and in rare instances can exploit a weak point in the wood causing the bowl to crack so it’s wise to maintain (trim) the cake. Cake does reduce capacity.
Cake builds and influences pipes differently so maintain to your preference. Trim the cake when it gets too thick (and ream all the way down the bowl), if the smoke quality declines or ghosting becomes more persistent and defined. Many complaints are actually due to cake buildup over the draught hole that constricts air flow. Chip rather than cut cake in this area to avoid enlargement. Always use care when trimming cake that you don’t cut the briar.
From what I have read, carbon does not conduct heat "extraordinarily well", which is precisely why it may serve to protect the briar: it is an insulator.
But it's not even a great insulator, judging by its coefficient of thermal conductivity. I guess if it were truly a perfect insulator, the briar wouldn't be a factor at all in getting a "cool smoke", as there's nowhere for the heat to dissipate.
Now, the absorption of moisture, that might be another matter.
But it's not even a great insulator, judging by its coefficient of thermal conductivity. I guess if it were truly a perfect insulator, the briar wouldn't be a factor at all in getting a "cool smoke", as there's nowhere for the heat to dissipate.
Now, the absorption of moisture, that might be another matter.
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