Clay pipe

[TheSt0rm]

well so far smoking out of the clay pipe twice after soaking in salt water... it seems not so bad. The flavor was changed a little, but it still smokes pure... and no gurgling yet.

So lets see how long this lasts.

Also no moisture left on the bottom of the bowl either. and I'm also taking care not to overheat it at the end of the bowl... which has rewarded me with dry bowls at the end.. even though I didn't smoke nearly to the end as I would have before.

If anything maybe if you soak a brand new clay pipe (or unused) in salt water, it might help to preserve it longer, who knows.

 

[TheSt0rm]

well actually nevermind. There is still moisture at the bottom.

and the beginning of gurgling again.

 

[TheSt0rm]

Well since I saw that the salt water cleans the pipe after it turned black from firing... maybe I can just try that, and even if it turns black.. clean it afterwards with salt water.

I'll only do it underneath the bowl though, esp. right where it connects to the stem....

 

[TheSt0rm]

yeah 4 smokes in so far with no gurgling. except for what I thought were the beginning of gurgling on a couple bowls ... and I'll shake moisture out if I need to.

still moist at the bottom. that might be unavoidable... but i guess when i get my new one i can maybe minimize the formation of that.

taking great care not to heat up the bowl too much at the end.

but if it gets too much then I'll try lighting it with a candle lol... or a stick, if I can be careful not to char it too much, and clean it afterwards with the salt water but hopefully it does not burn it too much.

 

[The Clay King]

@TheSt0rm Do you only smoke clay pipes like me???

 

[TheSt0rm]

Yeah I think later on a pipe cleaner wouldn't be that bad. I'll keep some on hand next time, and run a pipe cleaner through carefully, before soaking in salt water.

 

[TheSt0rm]

@TheSt0rm Do you only smoke clay pipes like me???

Right now yes and hopefully for a while atleast until I can get the hang of it. Besides RYO of the same tobacco.

But I just got started into it. I'm learning.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

Feels like as good a place as any to ask this, can you actually clean a clay by throwing it into a firepit? Does it need to be a certain temperature, I've seen it'll strip the black off black clays.

Also has anyone had success with jerry rigging some kind of rubber pipe bit for clays? I'd love to clench these things since they're so light but I don't fancy gaining a hole in my teeth for my trouble.

 

[TheSt0rm]

Feels like as good a place as any to ask this, can you actually clean a clay by throwing it into a firepit? Does it need to be a certain temperature, I've seen it'll strip the black off black clays.

Also has anyone had success with jerry rigging some kind of rubber pipe bit for clays? I'd love to clench these things since they're so light but I don't fancy gaining a hole in my teeth for my trouble.

yeah supposedly that's how they would traditionally clean it.. in a fire. It does need to be hot enough though, otherwise it'll just turn it black. But I did learn that salt water helps to clean that.. but I dont know if it'll only clean mild burning or also severe burning..

Guess I'll see later on.

I still might just do a normal soak first on my pipe ,to see if it does anything about moisture once it's on the pipe as it is now. When I did the salt water soak initially it did not have any moisture on the bottom.... so now I can get to see if it does anything for that. But if nothing then I'll try lighting it again, only from the underside of the bowl.. to see if it can do anything about that moisture on the bottom of the bowl.

It could be just ruined because I smoked the pipe too hot... so it might have 'burned a hole' at the bottom.


Also just finished my 5th bowl with no gurgling, but what was 'the beginning' of gurgling... which has been on and off.

 

[The Clay King]

Right now yes and hopefully for a while atleast until I can get the hang of it. Besides RYO of the same tobacco.

But I just got started into it. I'm learning.

@TheSt0rm Keep it up; I recommend you get some pipe baccy to smoke in your clay pipes.
RYO tobacco isn't suited to clay pipes in my opinion. I know you're transitioning from cigarettes but pipe & cigarette tobacco are different...
I recommend smoking mild easy smoking blends as a beginner. Something too strong might make you feel buzzed...

 

[TheSt0rm]

well if I knew if Tins or pressed tobaccos didn't have additives then yeah I could try them.

I dont think it really has anything to do with the packaging of using tins, but I think for pressed tobaccos yeah. And often the ones that come in tins seem to come more heavily cased or with additives. So I think I'd like to just stick to this "RYO". I mean, technically it still is pipe tobacco.. it is more alkaline than American Spirit. And also more moist. But it is dirtier (but you just look carefully for anything foreign/stems or whatnot, and more fine pieces means more grit). So that tells me it isn't good for inhaling really, as much as people do like to. But it is cheaper.

I think it still is pipe tobacco, just cut for people who might want to roll it as well. You could do it with pressed tobaccos also, but i think you need a knife.. like people in other countries might do.

 

[TheSt0rm]

I had a D&R blend, Windsail and I didn't really like it as much. Was kind of strong. I could revisit it one day though. It's nice that it's an All Virginia blend, that's what I was looking for.

Eventually I think I'd like to try making my own blends using whole leaf tobaccos that I prepare at home with the RAW Hydrostone after I wash them in water and dry them... That's what I normally do. And I've been able to prepare very good cigarettes with them.

But I wont get into fermenting or anything like that, or aging.

 

[TheSt0rm]

Also there were some possible additive free Cavendish blends of pipe tobaccos that come in bags... but I think I'm trying to stay away from sugar for now and I dont know what sugar might be in them either because I think I'd like to know.

Or maybe some stuff with perique or Latakia I dont know. But I was looking into Cavendish more recently.

But really to keep it as pure as possible I shd just stay away from these.. because I dont want to get any symptoms if I try a bad one. I already got a bad Cavendish blend last month... so harsh on my throat. Tasted good though. I think also inhalability is essential.. even if it might be more alkaline it shd still be inhalable (and it might be dirty so you still dont want to inhale it long term but a few pulls is probably fine to taste it...)


If I want to Really mess with Perique or something like that I could also just get it whole leaf, and try to prepare it at home. Would be interesting to see how it works.. esp. leaves like Fire Cured, and Perique...

Ive already done burley, and virginia flue cured, and some dark air cured wrappers... they all came out great after washing, drying, and rehydrating with the RAW Hydrostone...

This stuff is really good also, because a lot of "Frontos" they sell popularly in the stores seem to have some additive maybe like Propylene Glycol? Well... preparing it at home there is none of that so... it gives me no headache.

 

[TheSt0rm]

yeah so no more for me. I ruined my pipe trying to fire it, and it didn't clean off with salt water. I guess the salt water only cleans superficial burns... not severe burns.

Oh well, i'll still try it when it dries but it wont be pretty..

yeah I think I'm done with clay pipes. Or uh.. basically since I have no means of fire then, I may have to only rely on those salt water soaks... and well i still need more time to see how well that works. maybe it Can dry a pipe after excessive moisture.. but then it comes back in a day or less. And/or depending on how much you've messed it up before starting to do the soaks.

So that means I would have to keep a few pipes in rotation... and I would like to replace them atleast once a month if not once every 2 weeks. That would be quite expensive.... but I was thinking I could just replace American Spirits... if I just got a pipe and smoked RYO pipe tobacco. but seeing as how I have to replace these pipes so often... it doesn't seem like a good choice... atleast with the pipes. I can do it with papers but a pipe gives a person more freedom ie you just have a pack a bowl whenever you want to smoke... you dont have to roll one which takes time.


Anyways, if I can keep a Few clays on rotation on a monthly basis and replace them, it may be possible. If not.... then w/e. I guess I'll be sticking to RYO.. and I dont like that option as much as pipes...

 

[TheSt0rm]

I can even try other things nobody has mentioned but that's gonna take some time. And also clay pipes are delicate so it can easily break during any kind of cleaning process..

So I just want to see what salt water does by itself before moving ahead with other cleaning materials/techniques.

 

[aspiring_sage]

well actually nevermind. There is still moisture at the bottom.

and the beginning of gurgling again.

A little moisture is going to happen. No big deal.

You’re not exhaling through the pipe, right?

 

[TheSt0rm]

no I'm not...

A little moisture is going to happen. No big deal.

You’re not exhaling through the pipe, right?

no I'm not.

 

[condorlover1]

This has got to be the longest series of posts on clay pipes I have ever encountered on this forum. I am afraid I am not an expert in this field, but to paraphrase Oddball from the movie Kelly's Hero's 'I just used to smoke the things'. Perhaps a possible solution to your gurgling clay might be a 'Philt' pad. These are a compressed chalk plug that sits at the bottom of your pipe and absorbs moisture. I use them along with the carved meerschaum variety in my meerschaum pipes as they aid in the coloring process. If you are in the mainland U.S I am sure someone on here will happily send you a packet of the things, I myself would oblige but I am running low until I return to the U.K. This might assist you in getting a dryer smoke. In terms of cleaning the things I used to put them in the embers of my fire grate at night before going to bed, you should remember to leave the tipped end protruding otherwise the glaze will get burnt off.

 

[TheSt0rm]

This has got to be the longest series of posts on clay pipes I have ever encountered on this forum. I am afraid I am not an expert in this field, but to paraphrase Oddball from the movie Kelly's Hero's 'I just used to smoke the things'. Perhaps a possible solution to your gurgling clay might be a 'Philt' pad. These are a compressed chalk plug that sits at the bottom of your pipe and absorbs moisture. I use them along with the carved meerschaum variety in my meerschaum pipes as they aid in the coloring process. If you are in the mainland U.S I am sure someone on here will happily send you a packet of the things, I myself would oblige but I am running low until I return to the U.K. This might assist you in getting a dryer smoke. In terms of cleaning the things I used to put them in the embers of my fire grate at night before going to bed, you should remember to leave the tipped end protruding otherwise the glaze will get burnt off.

wow that sounds like a good idea. No worries though I know where to buy them.

well nevermind they all come from overseas. Weird... I'll have to see if I can try one of those then.

 

[TheSt0rm]

yeah it's alright, I probably just need to find a good store. Maybe ebay.

But it sounds like a great idea.