How do you know when your bowl is finished?

[judcasper]

How's that for a noob question?
Might sound silly that I'm having to ask, but how do you know? Does it just become impossible to light? Of course if you're the type who empties the ash as you go, then you can see for yourself, but I don't empty so I'm only ever looking at a bowl full of ash.
I suppose if you're an experienced piper you know your own cadence and how long the bowl of each of your pipes lasts, but I'm not there yet.

 

[bassbug]

You'll taste ash rather than tobacco. That's a pretty good sign you should stop and, if so inclined, reload

 

[judcasper]

You'll taste ash rather than tobacco.

Ah, okay. Heaven knows how much tobacco I've wasted, as when I've had enough (or grown frustrated with re-lighting) I tend to dump out a lot of fresh tobacco from the bottom of the bowl.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't empty ash, I tamp as I go. When a light produces air instead of smoke, I figure I'm done. More often than not, all that is left is ash and a minimal amount of dottle (if any).

 

[rdavid]

Sometimes it will surprise me and smoke all the way to the bottom with only one or two relights. It literally just stops smoking.
Most of the time, I can start to taste things getting a little bitter or ashy and that’s a sure sign it’s almost done. Depending on how much you dry your tobacco plays a big part also. Wet tobacco usually leaves a soggy bit of mess in the bottom that’s damn near impossible to light and usually tastes really bad. Another good argument for drying your tobacco.

 

[judcasper]

[...]a minimal amount of dottle

I've just learned a new pipe smoking term. Thanks.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

As others have said, I pretty much tamp as I go and when it goes out and won't relight to save my ass, I usually know I'm done. Of course you can tell from the change in taste usually when you get near the end. A soggy tobacco in the bottom won't relight for shit, so I typically just dump it. The last quarter of a bowl or so for some blends just turns into a filter and collects a lot of nasty flavors anyway, so you're not really missing out on much.

 

[mechanic]

I have never had a full ash bowl i stop smoking if the flavor gets shitty.

 

[cigrmaster]

When my pipe goes out I will gently stir the ash and then dump it. I do it maybe 3 times a bowl. Once I dump the ash, I use my tamper to scrape the edges of the bowl and then lightly tamp. For me, trying to light through a pile of ash is a pain in the ass.
I know when I am done by just looking into the bowl. Once in a while I get greedy chasing flavor and get a mouth full of hot ash.

 

[ray47]

Taste is everything. When I lose that, it's time to dump.

 

[mso489]

I concur that taste is usually the signal, but sometimes when a bowl stays good to the bottom, it just won't relight for more than a puff or two, and you can see there's little left.

 

[davek]

At first I did not understand how people could tell from the taste how their bowl was spent. I'd relight while looking at the reflection of the cherry in my lighter, stir, light empty bowls, etc.. I eventually gave up trying to figure it out by taste and didn't pay attention to that. Suddenly, one day I realized I could tell easily, by taste, that the bowl was essentially spent and had been doing it for a while. Let it go grasshopper. It will just happen.

 

[jaytex1969]

My wife lets me know. :rofl:
Similar to Harris, if it goes out half way through, I very gently poke around the top with the pipe nail scoop and dump the loose ash. Then, scrape the sides in and tamp a bit to level. Then relight.
Some blends, like ODF, have a great flavor waiting in the last third of the bowl and are worth the effort to me to smoke down. Others, not so much, so I dump them.
"Listen" to your pipe and your tobacco. They will often give you clues. When tamping, crunchy, smokeable tobacco bits will feel and sound differently under the tamper than just ash.
In the last quarter, if it won't stay lit, poke around a bit more and pay attention. If you hit the bottom briar without encountering much resistance, it's time to be done. Otherwise you're subjecting your briar to excess heat for a nickel's worth of dottle.
If you give a stir, you should easily be able to feel the difference between fine, weightless ash and (likely) soggy mass of heavier tobacco.
For you cob smokers, quit when you taste corn... :nana:

 

[sablebrush52]

The bowl is finished when your tobacco stops tasting good. Either that, or when the heel of the bowl turns to cinders and falls off.

 

[judcasper]

Let it go grasshopper. It will just happen.

I get this. So many things I didn't understand about pipe smoking eventually gave me a tap on the shoulder and said, "Hey, do it this way..."

 

[Chasing Embers]

How do you know when your bowl is finished?

When I have to refill the bowl to continue smoking.

I've just learned a new pipe smoking term.

Here's another.
Lunting - Taking a walk or hiking while smoking a pipe.

 

[64alex]

Generally the first sign is when the taste gets bitter and then a little bit later it stays light for only one or two puffs. The drier the tobacco, the more I can go close to the end without getting bitter, one main reason for me to dry the tobacco (the other being I find the taste fuller and with less risk of tongue bite with a well dried tobacco).

 

[pipehunter]

No more smoke.

 

[judcasper]

Lunting - Taking a walk or hiking while smoking a pipe.

Thanks. I'm yet to do this.
Thanks for all the replies, everyone.

 

[sablebrush52]

Lunting is what I do about 95% of the time that I smoke.