Do You Ash?

[Swiss Army Knife]

I'm sure it's subjective but do you ash throughout a bowl? I've heard some guys won't touch it with anything but a tamper/finger until it's done and dusted. Personally I'll get to a point, usually halfway down, where it starts to get difficult to light and I'll agitate and then dump the really fine white ash. Repeat when necessary.

Have I been committing a cardinal sin? Is this a testament to my poor smoking abilities?

 

[OzPiper]

I'm sure it's subjective but do you ash throughout a bowl? where it starts to get difficult to light and I'll agitate and then dump the really fine white ash. Repeat when necessary.

Have I been committing a cardinal sin? Is this a testament to my poor smoking abilities?

Often a smallish to medium bowl will smoke down with no relights and the occasional tamp

A lot depends on the cut of the tobacco, how dry I get it and how well I pack.

A large, deep bowl may need the ash dumped as a thickish layer of ash may impede airflow and cause the cherry to snuff out.

No hard and fast rules.
Relights, tamping, dumping, cleaners as and when needed.
I don’t strive for the “perfect”bowl each smoke.
Just an enjoyable one

 

[Chasing Embers]

Personally I'll get to a point, usually halfway down, where it starts to get difficult to light

Sounds like you're packing to tight or tamping too hard.

 

[Ghosted Tamper]

I find the need for ashing a bowl dependent upon a few forefront factors: tobacco cut, packing technique/finesse, tobacco moisture (when packed to be smoked), and the casing/topping applied.

Flakes and coins almost always seem to need an ashing if I don't rub them out enough before packing. Deeper chambered pipes can facilitate the need for an ashing moreso than shallower chambers, especially so if you are a wet smoker, or the tobacco is otherwise too wet (gurgling and the need for excessive relights during the last ~third of your bowl). If you are excessively relighting from the get-go, try drying the tobacco out a bit more before packing, pack lighter, and/or get an even initial charring light and ember going. Remember to tamp lightly. These will mitigate the "need" for ashing, though may not eliminate it. The internal engineering of the pipe will also be a huge factor on the burn of the tobacco. Is your pipe broken in? Couple all of this word-salad in with your smoking prowess (i.e. cadence, clenching, technique, etc.) and I'd say there's an amalgam of possibility in the age-old question of to ash, or not to ash, or rather, the need to (or to not).

I try to kick the ash, rather than getting my ash kicked whilst smoking. Some great advice that I can (mostly?) remember goes something like this: dry longer than you think, pack (and tamp) lighter than you think, smoke slower than you think, and you'll enjoy more than you think. This should aid in attaining your ashless smoking experience. Sometimes a pipe just abides, man.

 

[LeafErikson]

I almost always ash. Sometimes when I don’t ash, I end up tamping the bowl down a touch too hard because I can’t tell where the ash ends and the tobacco starts. Then I end up having to run a pipe cleaner through the bowl. It’s easier for me to just ash but what works for me may not work for you.

Also as an aside, I smoke meerschaum more than briar or cobs at this point so I have noticed a few things about the material. Meerschaum is so darn absorbant that if I’ve over-tamped a touch or have moisture in the bowl, all I have to do is set the thing down for 5 minutes. The meerschaum absorbs any excess moisture in the bottom of the pipe and the draw is perfect again when I go for a relight.

 

[Gimlet]

I've got one pipe that I sometimes have to do it with. It's a large, deep bowl and I smoke strong English flakes in it which tends to burn to a fine ash.
I just invert the bowl and tip out the fine white ash off the top, tamp gently and relight. I don't need to do it with smaller pipes. Sometimes I don't need to do with the big one, suggesting perfect packing avoids it. But no one always gets every pack perfect.

 

[Bdtroch]

Sometimes I ash, sometimes I don’t need to. For me, it seems the biggest factor is deep bowls, especially skinny ones, as they get a thick enough ash layer to snuff the cherry and/or make relights too difficult.

I usually smoke flakes or cakes, rub them out, dry them, and gravity fill, and only end up needing to ash the deep pipes.

 

[proteus]

Never had to shake that ash. I smoke all types of tobacco in all types of bowls under 2 inches depth and widths about .75 to .95. Just never had that much ash to shake.

 

[PaulRVA]

Often a smallish to medium bowl will smoke down with no relights and the occasional tamp

A lot depends on the cut of the tobacco, how dry I get it and how well I pack.

A large, deep bowl may need the ash dumped as a thickish layer of ash may impede airflow and cause the cherry to snuff out.

No hard and fast rules.
Relights, tamping, dumping, cleaners as and when needed.
I don’t strive for the “perfect”bowl each smoke.
Just an enjoyable one

“I don’t strive for the “perfect”bowl each smoke.
Just an enjoyable one”

Probably the best statement made all week! Heck it could even become your signature!

 

[PA Piper Mike]

I rarely ever do, and when I do, it's because I accidentally bumped or jarred my pipe that it disturbed the ash and tobacco in the bowl. At that point I'll just give it a gentle tap.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

As a matter of habit, no.
Most of my pipes are on the narrow to narrow and tall side. I can consume an entire bowl under 90 minutes.

In some of my larger pipes where I may set the pipe down and come back to it - when I return I'll often discard the top layer of ash before relighting.

 

[Jbrewer2002]

I don’t think there is a “correct” answer. My personal preference is when a relight becomes difficult then I just dump the ash. I actually find sometimes it improves the flavor towards the end. Sometimes not. I just go with it and enjoy without following any “rules”.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't think that it matters whether one ashes or not. I usually don't, but if I am having an issue with draw or taste, I might ash gently. But, I am definitely not dogmatic about it.

 

[hoipolloiglasgow]

Only when I have to, but that is almost never.

 

[ThermionicScott]

I’ll admit it: much of my reason for favoring shallower chambers (1” to 1-1/8” deep) is less ash accumulation to deal with toward the end of a bowl. But it’s not a big deal to tip out some ash if relights seem harder than necessary.

 

[sardonicus87]

I have "average" size pipes that will hold 2/3 to 1 whole rubbed-out flake (depending on the flake). I've taken to not drying my tobacco much (5-10 minutes at most, just as long as it takes me to make my coffee), so whatever it is in the tin, that's pretty much dictating how dry my smoke is.

Depending on the tobacco, smoke lasts anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour.

I ash the pipe most times at least once, sometimes twice. It's generally not necessary (like I'm not being forced to ash because the draw is bad or something), but it helps me to see how far in I actually am and I also find if I have to relight at some point, it relights easier. I don't thump it out or anything like that, just a quick dump, maybe 2 gentle taps on the bottom with my finger.

I don't think it's necessarily a testament to poor smoking abilities, and it's definitely not a cardinal sin. I haven't noticed any difference between dumping or not dumping it with regards to the smoke loosing flavor or the pipe going out more or less easy—everything seems to be the same regardless of whether I do or don't. But if you have to dump ash often specifically because it's smoking poorly, that could be a sign of some kind of poor technique.

 

[El Capitán]

I never ash but that's just my preference.

 

[bullet08]

Sometimes I do. Sometimes I forget and the tobacco is done. So it depends on the situation.

 

[Chalaw87]

Often a smallish to medium bowl will smoke down with no relights and the occasional tamp

A lot depends on the cut of the tobacco, how dry I get it and how well I pack.

A large, deep bowl may need the ash dumped as a thickish layer of ash may impede airflow and cause the cherry to snuff out.

No hard and fast rules.
Relights, tamping, dumping, cleaners as and when needed.
I don’t strive for the “perfect”bowl each smoke.
Just an enjoyable one

^^^^^ +1. Pipe wisdom

 

[warren]

"Ash" is now a verb? What the hell has happened to the English language?

I dump ash only if it becomes necessary to do so. If ash impacts my enjoyment of a bowl, I dump it.