Did I Damage My Pipe?

[annapolispipes]

During my daily smoke I noticed my pipe got really hot! I mean almost too hot to handle. The only thing different about today is I smoked Escudo for the first time. I love this tobacco! Maybe I smoked it too much or too hard.. I'm sure that's what happened but one thing I noticed is at the top of the rim of my bowl the briar has turned a nasty black. No cracks though thank God but I'm wondering if I either packed my bowl too high and the combination of smoking it too hot may have done damage. God I hope not. It's my new Jacopo Picto15. Is it normal the the top of the rim get black? I hate to think I may have damaged my favorite pipe.

 

[annapolispipes]

Here's a pic of the bowl.

 

[nsfisher]

Making a pipe really hot never does it any good. If it runs hot on you, as some baccys will do, just set it down for a few minutes an let it cool. Packing too tight on a hot running baccy will do it as well. Puffing to hard/fast as well. I have run them too hot to touch on occasion and it's definitly a wrong thing to do. If there are no cracks or black spots on outside of the bowl or shank you should be ok. It is hard to see your pics but I think the black on the rim is scorching, perhaps from your lighting. Just keep above info in mind for next time. enjoy

 

[annapolispipes]

Thanks nsfisher. I will definitely keep this in mind on future smokes. No cracks and black spots on the outside of the bowl or shank thank God. I wonder if I should try not packing so much in the bowl... maybe go with 3/4 full. I use matches and no lighters as well. Also one other thing I recall about today's smoke is I tried not to do a relight... but instead just tamped and puffed heavy to get the tobacco to stay lit. Maybe that's contributing to the overheating I experienced.

 

[hanymamdouh]

+1 nfisher

 

[nsfisher]

I smoke one of the hottest tobacco's made. Drum ROY! Often I do layer it with Penzance or 1792 Flake, or Latikia, but depending on the pipe I use, I have to be careful of overheating. In 15 yrs I have only had one burnout and have over 50 pipes in my racks. I seldom rotate as I have 6 pipes that I love and use everyday, 365 days a year. I do, sometimes catch myself puffing a bit hard and fast as well. Re-lighting is just part of the pipe experience. I never mind the occasional re-light.

 

[jchaplick]

For the scorching on the rim, one thing you can do to prevent that is to put some saliva around the rim after every smoke, just lick your finger and run it around the top, it should help. A reason why it happened is maybe on your false light, when the tobacco expanded it went above your bowl and spilled over onto it, burning it. It happens, just have to be super careful on those expensive/loved pipes

 

[ssjones]

Mike @ BriarBlues just posted a lead-in to a huge estate pipe deal he was putting up. In it, he begs folks not to pack any pipe too close to the rim to avoid scorching. I sometimes don't heed that advice, but if you want to keep your pipes as pristine as possible we should. That kind of scorch mark does seem to be caused by what lighter you use and how you light the pipe as well.

 

[shawn]

I would agree with all the advise offered here.

 

[juozapas]

Puff lightly, that usually works for me... ::

 

[adam12]

+1 jchaplick.
Don't light your pipe at an angle. Light it as you're holding your pipe straight and even.

 

[olderthandirt]

Also one other thing I recall about today's smoke is I tried not to do a relight... but instead just tamped and puffed heavy to get the tobacco to stay lit.

This is exactly why the bowl got so hot.

If you manage to have a bowl the smokes to the bottom w/o relighting enjoy the moment, it don't happen often.

But if you try to make it happen, you've already seen the results.

Relighting your pipe is simply part of smoking your pipe.

 

[adam12]

Here are your instructions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-0aBhTyUHY

 

[annapolispipes]

I will heed all the advice given here from this day forward. Time to force that type B personality. If I'm looking for a rush then I'll dip. I'm takin it easy with my most treasured pipes from this day forward. Thank you everyone!

 

[spartan]

For the scorching on the rim, one thing you can do to prevent that is to put some saliva around the rim after every smoke

I do this before every relight so that the top doesn't get scorched if it's windy out... Or if you're overly worried about the top of the pipe. Water or saliva on the rim will help prevent burning of the rim.
Doing it after a smoke doesn't make any sense.

 

[pipetrucker]

I doubt you really damaged the pipe. They are far more durable than many may think. As for getting hot, just don't puff as hard. I am an Escudo fan myself, love the stuff, but you do have to smoke it a bit more slowly to keep the pipe from getting too hot.
If it didn't break, yer ok. LOL
Seriously, the measure of whether it's too hot is the "cheek test". If you can't hold it against your cheek for 6 seconds without pain it's too damn hot. If you can, you're good.

 

[lordnoble]

Seriously, the measure of whether it's too hot is the "cheek test". If you can't hold it against your cheek for 6 seconds without pain it's too damn hot. If you can, you're good.

Remember that your fingers have way more sensitivity than your cheek. They're supposed to. Did your mom ever check your temperature with her cheek? If she had used her hand, it would've seemed like you were always running a fever. The "Cheek Test" is fairly accurate, although all the other tips are all excellent ones and will help make this occur less. Your bowl may get hot from time to time, depending on the blend and its moisture content, but if you heed the sugestions of the other members, you'll do ok.
HERE is a lengthy article about tactile sensitivity of our fingertips.
-Jason

 

[annapolispipes]

I'm buying @pipetrucker with the cheek test. I've actually been doing it without even thinking about it and yes...there's no way I could have held the bowl at my cheek for 6 seconds yesterday. Today I smoked the same Escudo only this time I didn't shread it to small... i sort of rolled the coins out into longer strips and packed the pipe gently and certainly not so tight this time. I did a few relights yes... but like you said... it's okay to relight and it's actually one of the enjoyable parts of smoking. Pipe was super cool the whole way down.
And my momma always checked my temperature with her lips actually... I've been doing that with my pipe too. Escudo makes my pipe and hands smell heavenly!!!! I am hooked for sure. I think this is my new favorite.

 

[drcarlo]

I also had a problem with smoking the pipes too hot. The solution for me was to completely change the way I fill the bowl. Rather that the classical 3-step procedure, where you increase pressure used for packing, I fill the pipe using gravity, adding just a little preassure. The, when using the tamper, don't press it down, just utilize its own weight.
After switching packing method, I keep the light, the tobacco burns very nice, and can sip and smoke slowly with a limited number of relights.

 

[javajunkie]

It is cool, and something of an accomplishment to me in an arbitrary way, to finish a bowl down to ash without relights (which i am at about a 70% success ratio), but don't try to do it at the expense of the smoke. Try pulling LONG and SLOW on the pipe, while slightly stirring or repositioning the tobacco with your tamper, sometimes with and sometimes without pressure. But if it ain't to be, just clean out a little ash and relight. No one but you is keeping a score. o)