Czech tool spade

[ccdeere]

So, I'm at a loss to the real point of the spade in the Czech tool...it doesn't seem an effective reamer and the spike with a cork knocker gets excess ash out...what am I missing?

 

[alexnorth]

I use it to scoop out any dottle that may remain after a smoke

 

[jkrug]

I too use it to loosen dottle before before using the cork knocker. I also use it to gently scrape the inside of the bowl to remove any crusty lumps of crud. ::

 

[mranglophile]

The way I understood it was the tamper is for tamping, the pick is for picking and the scoop is for scooping.

 

[cortezattic]

I agree with the OP. The spade doesn't scrape well, I don't need the pick, and the tamper's off center head annoys me.

 

[blueeyedogre]

I prefer a pipe nail to a Czech tool.

 

[ckgdrums]

I prefer a pipe nail to a Czech tool.

Me too... seems to be all the tool(s) I need...

 

[buroak]

I have tried other tampers and tools, but I always come back to my Czech tool. The tamper is not the best, but I have acclimated myself to it. I find the spade/scoop useful for working tobacco toward the ember when I need to revive a bowl partway through a smoke - sometimes a bowl just needs a little stirring. The spade/scoop is, of course, also good for getting out any stubborn dottle after a smoke. The pick is nice for perforating a dense ash layer choking the ember.

 

[ericthered]

I'm with blueyedogre & ckgdrums, a pipe nail is all I need. I have a Czech tool, but I don't like the small tamper and haven't yet needed the pick feature. Since I only smoke outside and don't have access to a cork knocker, when I'm done smoking I use the spade end of my pipe nail to loosen the dottle/ash and knock it out against my knuckles.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I have a GBD marked pipe tool from 40 years ago, and it's a beauty for tamping, scraping and once or twice, sticking! It was made in Japan.

 

[aldecaker]

I read somewhere that the Czech tool was originally marketed as an all-in-one tobacco user's tool. The tamper was for tamping pipes, the spike was for piercing cigar ends, and the spoon was for taking powdered snuff. FWIW.

 

[michiganlover]

For me a pipe nail or a long golf tee are all I need, and prefer. I have two fancy wood handled pipe tools, but very seldom use them.

 

[settersbrace]

I too remember reading that the scoop was used for both the taking of nasal snuff as well as spooning it over the freshly packed bowl as a fire starter. I've used both ways in the past. Not a fan of starting my bowl but I love me some good English snuff.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

+1 aldecaker, the scoop is for snuff and the pick for cigars, or so I've heard. But, you can do with them what you want.

 

[mso489]

I'm in the pipe nail school, or horseshoe nail school, and use the scoop to remove dottle and ash. I'm one of those who follows this by wiping out the bowl with a paper towel or paper napkin before using a pipe cleaner on the stem. Unlike the majority, I don't want to build much cake, just that thin carbon layer. I think it makes the pipes last longer, maintains the size of the bowl, and mostly eliminates the use of a reamer, which, except for renovating pipes with cake, can be pretty destructive in any but the most trained hands.

 

[sw0snuff3r]

I think the scoop might be dual-purpose for snuff and removing dottle. If it were designed exclusively for snuff I think the bowl might be deeper and more rounded at the end. I've tried it for snuff and it works OK as long as you have a steady hand and don't miss the mark. You still can't beat pinching for snuff IMHO.

 

[cornleader]

I use the spade to scoop the dottle, however whatever works. I wouldn't say there is only one correct way to use any tool. I tamp with the check tool, nails, golf tees, sticks and twigs, chicken bones, roundy type poke objects etc.