Carbon Cake

[firas nofal]

‏Does any benefit to breaking the pipe other than protecting the pipe
‏ Is it useful in making the taste better
making smoking cool,
making the taste more sweet
‏reducing the bite tongue

 

[cigrmaster]

I keep a nice hard cake up to a dimes thickness in all of my pipes. In my opinion the pipes smoke cooler and tastes better as I dedicate all of my pipes to either certain genres of tobacco ( Virginia,Virginia/Perique, Virginia/Burley/Kentucky) ot to specific blends. When I find a really great combo I stick with it.

I break in all of my pipes by using some type of flake. I load the pipe to the top and smoke it to the bottom and by 12-15 smokes a nice cake is developing.

 

[tokerpipes]

Yeah about a dimes thickness is perfect. I usually pack 1/4-1/2 bowls while breaking it in. Especially if the draft hole doesn’t quite hit the bottom of the bowl. I use a piece of Emory cloth to keep it at that thickness and to keep it nice and smooth. Add a little spit or water while doing that. Or a damp paper towel works, just a bit slower.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

‏Does any benefit to breaking the pipe other than protecting the pipe
‏ Is it useful in making the taste better
making smoking cool,
making the taste more sweet
‏reducing the bite tongue

Protect the pipe. Checkmark but probably a bit over rated.
Useful in making it taste better. I'd say avoiding ghosting the pipe with the wrong tobacco is more important.
Making smoking cool. Some but not significant I think.
Making taste more sweet. Suppose it depends on what blend(s) you use although I doubt it adds much sweetness, if any, to any blend.
Reducing the bite tongue. Minimal if any.

After water cleansing my pipes for a year and a half now, I believe cake is over rated. In my own experience, a very thin layer of very hard, solid cake seems to be sufficient to protect the bowl (as if it really needs it anyway) and render it enjoyable to smoke. The conclusion I draw is it is a lot more important to keep your pipes really clean than it is to build up a bunch of cake.

Cake seems to be a fascination by newer pipe smokers and one they quickly get over when they learn how to smoke correctly and realize what a PITA deep cleaning and reaming is.

 

[didimauw]

Yes all of the above.

 

[cigrmaster]

Hoosier, trust me a dimes worth of cake will make the pipe smoke cooler. There was a study done at MIT proving that cake is good. It i s a natural insulator and if you don't let cake build, you will be forever relegated to the average ability to taste. You won't have bionic taste buds like me.

 

[mso489]

I'm part of the Forums no-cake-building gang. Just scoop out the ash and wipe out the bowl with a paper towel to maintain a thin carbon layer that never needs reaming and maintains the original diameter of the chamber. It keeps the bowl from burn-out processes, maintains the flavor neutrality mostly, and saves the cost of a reamer. You need a nice carbon layer throughout the chamber and this will do that.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Regardless of the benefits, cake just happens. I like a small but rock hard cake, and so I never let ash be part of the cake.

A hot water flush is all I need to make that happen, and the airway gets cleaned as well.

 

[cigrmaster]

mso, take a pipe and let it build some cake. When you have achieved about a dimes worth get back to me so we can discuss. I know you have plenty of pipes for this experiment. If it is the last thing I do on this earth I will prove to you cake matters. It is now my mission in life.

 

[Sonorisis]

I used to have a nice carbon layer in my pipes. Trouble was, it was difficult to maintain it at an ideal thickness, and sometimes it would crack and I'd have to go back to the beginning. These days, I just wipe the bowl with a saturated pipe cleaner, then a paper towel, and call it 'good.'

I feel there are benefits to having a cake built up in the chamber. These benefits -- for me, apparently -- do not warrant the extra care necessary for achieving them.

If that makes me lazy, so be it.

 

[cigrmaster]

sonor, I only use flakes to build cake and it is hard as a rock and never chips off, you might want to try it.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The physics of the matter should be explored. My take is that a thick cake will insulate the chamber somewhat, so that the bowl will be cooler to the touch. But internally, the temp of the ember is the temp of the ember, and hence the smoke won't be cooler.

Cake is a very personal matter to many, and I generally prefer pie to cake. Boston Cream Pie is my favorite.

 

[ray47]

 

[johng99]

I'm new here, and enjoy the conversations. I keep a thin carbon layer in my pipes - not a fan of a thick cake. I have had thick and thin, and just find that I prefer to minimize it.

 

[Worknman]

Yes all of the above.

View attachment 27175

I'm calling the pipe police, I'm pretty sure that cake is thicker than a dime.

 

[Worknman]

The physics of the matter should be explored. My take is that a thick cake will insulate the chamber somewhat, so that the bowl will be cooler to the touch. But internally, the temp of the ember is the temp of the ember, and hence the smoke won't be cooler.

In fact, if the cake is indeed an insulator it would trap in the heat there by creating a hotter smoke. Same reason a thermos keeps coffee hotter than a regular mug.

 

[augiebd]

sonor, I only use flakes to build cake and it is hard as a rock and never chips off, you might want to try it.

At some point I should make the effort to try this experiment but at the low frequency I smoke, the relative number of bowls that are flakes and the number of pipes I have to convert to cake...the odds are not in my favour.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Cake makes your pipe stink and taste bad.. Maybe Its ok if you have 300 pipes, and allow a years rest between smokes. If you are new and have a small rotation, it won't help you enjoy your pipe smoking. Keep your pipes clean and dry. This will help you will enjoy your Captain Black much more.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Not if you keep them reasonably clean. A hot water flush does the trick with a minimum of effort. Cleans the airway, too.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Not if you keep them reasonably clean. A hot water flush does the trick with a minimum of effort. Cleans the airway, too.

Yes sir, this prevents the build up of cake. You made me a believer in the water rinse. Since then, my pipes do not cake and my smoking has been more enjoyable.