Do Bowls Breathe?

[mso489]

The first time I smoked an unfinished pipe, I had the distinct impression that something had been freed up, that air circulated through the bowl and kept the smoke cooler and the burn more even. Likewise, around the same time, I developed the idea that glossy finishes somehow kept the ember more contained and elevated the flavoring in aromatics. These were totally experiential, not pet theories. Now I am not convinced of either of these notions, but they were certainly strongly defined at the time. Any thoughts?

 

[jvnshr]

It is all about the surface area, the more surface area you have cooler your pipe will smoke. That's why a corn cob pipe with a natural finish smokes tad cooler (or gets warmer later) than a corn cob pipe with a smooth finish.

 

[ChuckMijo]

I was curious about this myself. Everything I read on briarwood on different pipe maker forums. Say No. They did all this different tests, experiments. I guess it was a hot topic years ago. So I can only rely on their conclusion.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

All wood will exchange moisture with the environment, I suppose that could be called “breathing,” but I don’t think it’s the same thing people refer to when speaking of the pipe breathing. I think it’s a myth, personally, though I don’t know everything. I just don’t see moisture and heat being quickly transferred from the chamber through the walls of the pipe, to the ambient air in a quick fashion. Wood in general is an insulator to heat, and doesn’t transfer it well, and briar is dense, making it fairly slow to exchange moisture, either in or out. But again, I don’t know everything. I could easily be wrong.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Maybe the breathing doesn't help the pipe smoke cooler.. but maybe natural pipes do dry out quicker and are less likely to get funky. Just a hair brained opinion..

 

[sasquatch]

Briar loses moisture when heated, like any wood. And like any wood, it re-absorbs some moisture from the air. If you live in a super moist climate, your briar will have a higher % water in it than, say, mine, up here in the semi-arid prairie. So does it "breathe"? No. It's dead, it has no lungs. Does it exchange moisture with the air around it? Absolutely. And there's any number of ways to prove it, the easiest being how many pictures of pipes we see with bubbled up skins - that bubble comes from moisture escaping the wood.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I had the distinct impression that something had been freed up, that air circulated through the bowl and kept the smoke cooler and the burn more even.

Sounds like you experienced a wider bored draft hole.

 

[Chasing Embers]

less likely to get funky

Keep any pipe clean and it never will. Briar's extreme density not only makes it burn resistant, but not very absorbent.

 

[sablebrush52]

Do pipes breathe? No, of course not. But they do sigh from time to time.

 

[anotherbob]

Briar loses moisture when heated, like any wood. And like any wood, it re-absorbs some moisture from the air. If you live in a super moist climate, your briar will have a higher % water in it than, say, mine, up here in the semi-arid prairie. So does it "breathe"? No. It's dead, it has no lungs. Does it exchange moisture with the air around it? Absolutely. And there's any number of ways to prove it, the easiest being how many pictures of pipes we see with bubbled up skins - that bubble comes from moisture escaping the wood.

and am I right in assuming that moisture could transfer heat from the pipe in some fashion even if minor?

 

[anotherbob]

Do pipes breathe? No, of course not. But they do sigh from time to time.

occasionally they roll their eyes and mumble about the blend you're smoking in them. More for some smokers and some pipes.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Moisture exchange, yes, and pretty darn slowly. Whether or not it has shellac or some impervious coating on the stummel.

 

[luigi]

Some sweat from time to time but it's probably condensation from the cold air.

 

[sasquatch]

and am I right in assuming that moisture could transfer heat from the pipe in some fashion even if minor?

I... don't really know. I don't think it's pouring out of the pipe, and the wood itself is a pretty good insulator, given it's 700 degrees in the chamber and you can hold it in your hand.....I tend to think of pipes as little thermos bottles, containing just enough heat to keep the burn going (and evaporate the water that is a product of combustion) rather than as being importantly conductive of heat.
Which is to say, I think a "cool smoking pipe" would keep all the heat in.

 

[gerryp]

Idk about finishes...but I do know that a rougher surface area creates more...uh, surface area for heat to dissipate into, e.g. cooling fins on a V-twin motor.
Sorry if I'm repeating a previous post

 

[jaygreen55]

I just got a Wilke pipe unsmoked from the 1970s. It came with the original box and brochure which said the following:

" No paint, stain, varnish or chemicals of any kind are used on Wilke Pipes. The pores of the briar root are left open so that the moisture that accumulates during smoking works through them..."

Whether that's a true fact or marketing BS I have no idea. I do know that some of my natural pipes show a sheen of moisture on the exterior when I smoke them.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I just got a Wilke pipe unsmoked from the 1970s. It came with the original box and brochure which said the following:

" No paint, stain, varnish or chemicals of any kind are used on Wilke Pipes. The pores of the briar root are left open so that the moisture that accumulates during smoking works through them..."

Whether that's a true fact or marketing BS I have no idea. I do know that some of my natural pipes show a sheen of moisture on the exterior when I smoke them.

I remember those words, along with a sign in the shop that said, "Don't smoke paint"

I believe it's true, but to such a minuscule degree it makes no practical difference.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Plug the top of the bowl and try to suck through the stem. Tell me how much it breathes. Briar is very dense, I cannot believe there is any appreciable "breathing". If it were porous enough to breath, you'd see a lot of tar and other moisture leaking on the outside of the bowl.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yeah, then we'd have tons of threads on how your briar is coloring....

 

[Old School 3319]

I had a pipe yell the other day. I had a Dr. Grabow blue spade lark and like an idiot I tapped it against a trash can a cracked the stem. I am still smoking it and put a pipe clamp on it but it was still an absent minded thing to do