Crusty tobacco

[bluegrassbrian]

Loving that Crass vest.....went to see them around 79ish....great gig....poor locals though!
To much fighting and trouble....one of our lads ended up with a broken nose...I still have a gap where my tooth once lived..

Crass worked well as a collective but musically did little for me. I've always enjoyed counterparts like Omega Tribe (who have started gigging around the UK again!) and Rudimentary Peni.
The pictured band is Nausea (in case anyone wanted to check them out lol).

So many great bands and scenes in London, and throughout the UK, between the 60s and 80s.

 

[ryguy76]

Presumably you’re experiencing this in a pipe that hasn’t previously smoked liked this. If that’s not the case, then you may be smoking a pipe that wasn’t quite drilled correctly. Also, you don’t mention whether this was with a familiar tobacco or a new blend; could it be the tobacco? Or differences in moisture level of the tobacco, relative to the outside temperature? Depending on how cold it is where you’re actually smoking (below-freezing temps don’t matter if you’re smoking in your living room), the cold could be affecting your pipe’s response to moisture and heat.

Sorry. I guess that’s really just a lot of guessing…

Correct. Pipe is fine and all was working well enough (for a noob) until recently. Not a new tobacco either. I’m smoking it outside on my deck, bundled up with a heater. always smoke same place but temp has dropped significantly recently. My guess was it was either due to weather or me getting used to my new zippo pipe lighter which could have been having this effect at the end as I can’t see what I’m doing when the tobacco gets so low in the bowl. flame might not even be touching it and is just toasting it creating the crunch.

 

[Coreios]

I've had bowls like that before. I just dump it.

 

[ryguy76]

I've had bowls like that before. I just dump it.

Yep, I’m totally good with that but just wanted to know if it was something I may have been doing that was leading to this.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I believe tamping is overrated. Yes it's necessary and you can tell when the puffs seem airy. However, I can get through 3/4 of a bowl without tamping once. That's how I prefer it.

This is something I've been playing with recently. I too have found I get more consistent smokes if I don't tamp until absolutely necessary.
I think tamping can become a bit of a habitual action.