Finishing The Last Little Bit?

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Lifer
Oct 6, 2021
1,519
7,244
NE Wisconsin
For me, a small minority of tobaccos taste good and burn well till there's nothing left. Penzance comes to mind. Almost all others become a pain to keep lit, or taste bad, or both, towards the end.

That's been my experience, and I feel better hearing from ya'll that I'm not alone in that.
 

OzPiper

Lifer
Nov 30, 2020
5,761
30,598
71
Sydney, Australia
Judging by HopHand's description of his ash, he has already learnt how to smoke without gurgle or moisture.
In that respect he is streets ahead of a lot of the guys on this forum.

Why would he need such irrational ephemera like pieces of meerschaum etc ?
The OP asked about finishing the last bit of tobacco in his bowl and how to avoid a mouthful of ash.

Just reporting that that Philtpads and meer chips help do just that.

Perhaps I should have said that I was experimenting with both as an alternative to a drilled coin at the bottom of my meers.

I also often don't have time to get tobacco dry enough due to lack of forethought. Philtpads and meer chips make for less relighting.
 
Jun 25, 2021
1,369
4,443
England
The OP asked about finishing the last bit of tobacco in his bowl and how to avoid a mouthful of ash.

Just reporting that that Philtpads and meer chips help do just that.

Perhaps I should have said that I was experimenting with both as an alternative to a drilled coin at the bottom of my meers.

I also often don't have time to get tobacco dry enough due to lack of forethought. Philtpads and meer chips make for less relighting.
Thank you for your patient response.
I have no wish to deny your experience, and have no reason to doubt that it works for you.
I simply find that by means of judicious tamping, and an efficient breathing method, all obstacles can be overcome.
I deliberately don't dry my tobacco and prefer it moist, but it always dries out as I smoke and there is never any moisture at the bottom of the bowl.
I've had not a single gurgle in ten years. The first 4 years though, I could have done with a snorkel ?
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
For me, the smoke is over when the good taste ends. If that means some dottle, a little dottle, or none at all, that's all fine. Be damned if I want to suck on an ash tray just for the economy of smoking five or fifteen bits of tobacco. That said, I find that MM cobs often smoke up the whole bowl with no effort on my part. I coast to the end, and there is clearly no burnable tobacco left, and when I scoop out the ash, it's powder gray. It is not rare to get the same results from various briar pipes, but I don't fret a bit of dottle.
 

danish

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 12, 2017
245
490
Denmark
Out of just opened tins, when I smoke eg RM Scottish Cake, I can smoke it to the bottom with almost only fine white ash remaining, no problem, whereas with eg Capstan, of which I have also smoked many bowls, I usually end with a wet dottle and I toss too much tobacco. But as is well said by @gamzultovah above, the dottle may work as a filter: For the Scottish Cake, I have considered using a filter pipe, since I don't like the look of my pipe cleaners, when cleaning a pipe after smoking an otherwise nice bowl to the bottom.
 

HopHand

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 17, 2021
198
387
37
Montrose Colorado
Lots of helpful information here especially concerning the term "Dottle" as I was previously under the impression that term referred specifically to the gurgly foul tasting Tar that could be left behind when smoking overly wet Tobacco. Didn't realize it referred to all the unpleasant remains at the bottom of a finished bowl so thanks for the education.
 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
I was impressed by the kick that, theoretically, could be had by smoking dottle. After all, at the bottom, whatever tobacco left should have been made much more potent and flavorful by each puff's deposit being drawn down the chamber and touching it before exiting through the draft.

So i collected dottle and finally sat down to what I hoped would be a magnificent tobacco repast. It was not. The flavor was harsh. Potency? Didn't find that either.

Theory unsupported by fact.
 

FLDRD

Lifer
Oct 13, 2021
1,668
6,203
Arkansas
Since the horse still has a few breaths left, I'll confirm that (in my limited experience) it seems best to stop simply when the flavor tells you it's done; and in truth the amount of tobacco always seems greater in the bowl then when I've decided its done and simply dumped it. On the other hand, learning which pipe that particular tobacco loves the most is an adventure limited only by your degree of PAD.
 

That Guy

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 8, 2021
509
1,649
Central Florida
If it happens it happens but I don't try to force it. It's a play it by ear type of thing. You can tell when it's starting to go bad but then there's times where everything falls into place and your enjoying the smoke so much your pipe goes out and you look down and there's nothing left but fine ash.
 

Dudditz

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 3, 2021
623
1,315
New Jersey
Thank you for your patient response.
I have no wish to deny your experience, and have no reason to doubt that it works for you.
I simply find that by means of judicious tamping, and an efficient breathing method, all obstacles can be overcome.
I deliberately don't dry my tobacco and prefer it moist, but it always dries out as I smoke and there is never any moisture at the bottom of the bowl.
I've had not a single gurgle in ten years. The first 4 years though, I could have done with a snorkel ?
Do you give lessons??? LOL!!!