I do. It's a health thing. At my age a lookout for blood in the stool and urine is simply a good health practice. So, says my MD and I find I agree with him. He's not happy with the smoking but, on that subject we agree to disagree.
Debate : Fine White Ash
- Thread starter cshubhra
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I find it has more to do with what blend I smoke then anything else. Frankly to me it stinks of senseless competitiveness. A none issue for people to brag about. The thing is the smokes that go that way aren't fundamentally better then ones where I have a little bit of dottle to drop.
I never look at the color of ash I dump. I have no idea where the whole "white ash" thing came from or why it would be a good thing. I care about the flavors I get from my tobacco and I care how my pipes perform. White ash is nothing I have ever cared about in over 20 years of pipe smoking.
So far … overwhelming opinion is that most people don’t care.
For me, when I first meet a man, the first thing I do is make him smoke a bowl of whatever my favorite tobacco is at the time. If he doesn’t have a pipe, I tie him to the roof of my truck, drive him to the tobacconist, and make him patronize the establishment. I never speak to him until he finishes this bowl. I simply stare at him, sometimes pacing in circles around him as he smokes. When he gets to the end of the bowl, if there’s nothing left but fine white ash, I’ll shake his and converse. If there’s anything other than fine white ash in the bowl, I spit on pinky toe of his left shoe, snap my fingers, and dismiss him from my presence until he learns how to behave as man.
Nah. Just made that whole thing up.
i do enjoy it when I see that white ash I’m the bowl, but I never strive for it. What’s funny is that literally every tobacco my dad has ever recommended to me, he says, “…and it burns to a fine white ash,” like it’s some kind of holy grail of a tobacco’s characteristic.
Nah. Just made that whole thing up.
i do enjoy it when I see that white ash I’m the bowl, but I never strive for it. What’s funny is that literally every tobacco my dad has ever recommended to me, he says, “…and it burns to a fine white ash,” like it’s some kind of holy grail of a tobacco’s characteristic.
Some tobaccos give you a ton of white ash while others not so much.
It's like you took the words out of my mouth!
When tobacco burns cleanly and completely, it will be white. Sort of like cigar or cigarette. But what's the chance that's gonna happen in a pipe? All the crap on the wall, moisture from everywhere, left over bits.. Unless you smoke that pipe completely to bone dry state, it won't leave virgin white ashes.
If it doesn't relight after a couple attempts, I figure the bowl is finished. Looks good to me.
The color of the ash comes from the kind of tobacco and the soil it was grown in. Has nothing to do with anything else (skill of smoker or quality of tobacco). At least, that's how it is with cigars...
Your intro reminded me of a song and I'm guessing you can't get no satisfaction until you see the fine white ash.
"But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me." - Rolling Stones
I’m with Warren on this one. Why let the trivialities distract me from that particular bowl being whatever its gonna be. Sometimes there’s dottle, sometimes not, never really cared.
I put all my dottle in Mylar and put ‘er in the ol’ cellar. Gonna check on it in five years.
I get a mouthful of ash more often than I care for. That's what people are aiming for?
I get it most with G&H blends. Fine white ash feels like a sign of ‘efficient’ tobacco— as if your tobacco doesn’t consist of stuff you’re not actually getting to smoke. So it’s satisfying in that way. But flavor trumps all, so I ash color/grain doesn’t affect my choices much or at all.
I always thought the "burns to a fine white ash" was just a cliche from pompous reviewers who wanted to sound sophisticated and learned, and it seems to be a bit of an inside joke amongst pipe smokers.
To me, all ashes are white. Even if, maybe, they're a little gray, they're still white. Like leaves are green, right? Some might be a different kinda green, but they're still green.
To me, all ashes are white. Even if, maybe, they're a little gray, they're still white. Like leaves are green, right? Some might be a different kinda green, but they're still green.
I'll go with pale gray. The other determinant is that a completely burned bowl is really powdery as opposed to charred and textured. I agree, this is not some kind of a honorific achievement. It's just good to smoke the entire chamber full, but only if the flavor is sustained and pleasing.
I've had this with various pipes, most often with MM cobs for some reason. But I really don't go after powdery pale gray ash. I'm glad when it happens, indifferent when it doesn't. Like warren says, pipe smoking isn't the roller derby. It's got to be pleasing and relaxing, and after that, I really don't give a damn.
I've had this with various pipes, most often with MM cobs for some reason. But I really don't go after powdery pale gray ash. I'm glad when it happens, indifferent when it doesn't. Like warren says, pipe smoking isn't the roller derby. It's got to be pleasing and relaxing, and after that, I really don't give a damn.
I also thought artificial additives/chemicals if any added to tabac, would yield a darker, even somewhat blacker ash, amd the purer the tobacco is, naturally treated, cased, topped, etc., in the processing of it, would yield a whiter cleaner looking ash.
Hmm ?
That may be the case with additives, however you can get a dark ash with tobacco that contains no additives or flavoring. So maybe additives and flavoring change the color of ash, but you can get dark ash without them.