Finely rub out the tobacco into ribbons and allow it to dry overnight. Gravity fill the pipe and smoke it very slowly. It may just be a matter of needing to be broken in.
Gurgling Woes
- Thread starter ksman75
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I can also accept that too. Though the pipe itself is several years old, it's barely been used. No more than 15 or 20 bowls. It's because of the gurgling that I bought the two cobs I have now.
Like you said, leave it out of your mouth. Try only using your lips at the button and small sips. See if that helps.
how many relights do you normally do? If not that many, then you may have it in your mouth more than you think.
i find that shape pools more saliva if clenched or smoked hot.
how many relights do you normally do? If not that many, then you may have it in your mouth more than you think.
i find that shape pools more saliva if clenched or smoked hot.
I suspected saliva, so tried holding it and only putting it in my mouth when drawing, but that only helped marginally at best.
the rest if the time, when I do keep it in my mouth, I try to be aware of drool, but you may have a point, I usually only need one or two relights.
I had to do this to the hobby block meerschaum I carved. It gurgled and steamed no matter what I did. Opening it up solved the problem and made it a pleasure to smoke. It was not hard to do, but a f@*% up is permanent.
Ok, two comments on "opening up" the airway. I'm guessing that means, to put it crudely, reaming out the opening through the shank into the bottom of the chamber.
Am I on the right track?
If so, how would you go about doing that? I'm guessing, find a close approximation with a drill bit, then incrementally drill it out with larger bits until you hit "the sweet spot"? Hypothetically, from 1/8" to whatever, by 16ths, 32nds, or even 64ths?
I used a drill bit just slightly larger than the existing hole. I mounted the said bit in a vise and slowly twisted the shank onto it until I reached the bottom of the bowl. Same process for the stem but stopped short as the stem became thinner. On one particular pipe I skipped the stem opening process entirely as the pipe responded nicely to the first step.
Thanks, that's pretty much what I thought, but just wanted to be sure, in case I ever needed/wanted to give it a try, which is highly doubtful.
I agree with most that the first step is to try drying the tobacco more and adjusting your cadence. Other than that, some pipes just gurgle. I had a beautiful Tim West pipe that gurgled like mad for me. Sold it on and saw it sell a few more times, mostly for the same reason.
You’re welcome! There used to be many discussions about this on the various forums years ago. Several artisan pipe makers would debate larger versus smaller airway sizes based on smoking preference. Might be able to Google some of those discussions. Always interesting.
No need to explain. That's where the change in background can mostly make up for lack of camera controls or operator error.
Dryer tobacco, loosen the pack and slow down a bit. Any moisture is channeled to the drought hole because of the shape. I’d only pack half a bowl and see if that helped.
The best advice so far, is to dry your tobacco. Not only will it likely address the gurgling issue, which is more common with bents, but you will get more pronounced flavors from your tobacco.
I've been smoking pipes for 49 years. My "collection" contains pipes of different sizes, shapes, makers, and eras, covering about 140 years of pipemaking, English, French, Italian, North and South American, factory made, artisan made, wide open draw, traditional draw, inexpensive pipes and some of the finest pipes ever made. I can make any of them gurgle, or not gurgle, by how moist my tobacco is, by how I pack.
Most tobaccos ship with more moisture than is optimal for smoking so that they don't dry out before purchase and they benefit from being dried before smoking.
Before you ring a bell that can't be unrung, try drying down the tobaccos that you smoke. Experiment with different moisture levels to get the balance that gives you the optimal smoke. Experiment with different packing methods and densities. Pipe smoking isn't rocket science, but there are best practices.
I've been smoking pipes for 49 years. My "collection" contains pipes of different sizes, shapes, makers, and eras, covering about 140 years of pipemaking, English, French, Italian, North and South American, factory made, artisan made, wide open draw, traditional draw, inexpensive pipes and some of the finest pipes ever made. I can make any of them gurgle, or not gurgle, by how moist my tobacco is, by how I pack.
Most tobaccos ship with more moisture than is optimal for smoking so that they don't dry out before purchase and they benefit from being dried before smoking.
Before you ring a bell that can't be unrung, try drying down the tobaccos that you smoke. Experiment with different moisture levels to get the balance that gives you the optimal smoke. Experiment with different packing methods and densities. Pipe smoking isn't rocket science, but there are best practices.
All these guys are wrong. Your Nording is cursed and will soon spread its accursedness to your other pipes, and believe it or not, to any small animals nearby, especially dogs. I can help but you must act now. Send me the pipe in a brand new box, along with all your tobacco, and (this next part is important) be sure to stuff a $20 bill into the bowl. You will never experience this problem again, and your dog, if you have one, will be gurgle-free as well. There's nothing more pitiful than a gurgling dog. You better hurry.
Drying the tobac is important, I’ve found with flake that it may seem dry and the outer layer crack when you fold it but the center can still be to wet. I like to fold and stuff it right before it’s so dry it cracks, then I’ll let it dry in the pipe for another hour or more. Also to me some tobac needs to be dryer then others, I had some Gentleman Caller that felt dry but smoked like it was wet. I let it dry until it felt brittle and it smoked great.
Woo, are you puffing too slow
Have you seen us Uncle Gurgles
We look pretty sharp with these pipes (with these pipes)
Unless we get sprayed with a hose
Ain’t it bad in the smoke
If it gurgles and chokes
Except in the winter, when it’s froze
And it’s hard when it spittles in your nose (in your nose)
Have you seen us Uncle Gurgles
We look pretty sharp with these pipes (with these pipes)
Unless we get sprayed with a hose
Ain’t it bad in the smoke
If it gurgles and chokes
Except in the winter, when it’s froze
And it’s hard when it spittles in your nose (in your nose)
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I've been doing that with the two flakes I have. I set out enough for one bowl, and let it sit for a few (3-6) hours, and it's still gurgling a little, but nowhere close to what it was. Its tolerable now!
CAlabama said:
I‘ve had good luck opening up the airway of a gurgling pipe. I admit, it’s not for the feint of heart.
At least open up the shank airway. It's easy. I've done it with an electric drill. Drunk. On a Dunhill. What is it--9/64ths or some damn thing?
I‘ve had good luck opening up the airway of a gurgling pipe. I admit, it’s not for the feint of heart.
At least open up the shank airway. It's easy. I've done it with an electric drill. Drunk. On a Dunhill. What is it--9/64ths or some damn thing?
5/32” seems to be my minimum preference if I have my dithers, but I like my airways on the “breezy” side. I couldn’t quite go that large on my meerschaum’s stem because it wouldn’t leave enough “meat” on that Teflon tenon, but on wood pipes I’ve carved, I always do 5/32” minimum.