Much wisdom, above. I'm of the "follow the flavor" tribe. And I'm lazy. Personally, unless a codger blend (Carter Hall for me - which I smoke to the bottom only by inattention), I never smoke to the bottom. With Latakia-infused blends I usually lose interest at half bowl anyway. What I often do is stop at two-thirds down, rest and ... dump the last third into a Cob which seems to "sweeten" the bottom-bowl nastiness and makes for a handy short pick-me-up smoke.
How Far down the Bowl do You Go?
- Thread starter Anchovies
- Start date
I stop puffing when it stops being tasty.
If a pipe smokes like a champ first time out, no breaking in is required.
Cake needs to evenly coat the bowl, You don't want thick cake.
So load a third of a bowl and smoke it all the way down the first few times
That should adequately coat the bottom.
When you start loading full bowls and adding cake to the top, ream the bowl when the cake thickens so the cake is evenly coated.
Some maybe disagree, but uneven cake can eventually cause problems over the long haul.
Some tobaccos are good for building cake, others are good for not causing a lot of cake build up.
Experiment. Enjoy. Don't stress.
If a pipe smokes like a champ first time out, no breaking in is required.
Cake needs to evenly coat the bowl, You don't want thick cake.
So load a third of a bowl and smoke it all the way down the first few times
That should adequately coat the bottom.
When you start loading full bowls and adding cake to the top, ream the bowl when the cake thickens so the cake is evenly coated.
Some maybe disagree, but uneven cake can eventually cause problems over the long haul.
Some tobaccos are good for building cake, others are good for not causing a lot of cake build up.
Experiment. Enjoy. Don't stress.
Once I even remotely question continuing, it's usually not worth it. Same with a cigar.
As much as I cherish the tobacco, and do find it difficult to let go of, I've been stopping a bit earlier lately and enjoy it more. I am trying to diminish the need to force myself to continue just because there's some left. The roach smokers are as off as the half smokers, at least relative to a cigar for instance. The sweet spot to end, on a high note, is somewhere between half and when it gets roach-y.
When I turn the bowl over I flinch when I see unburnt tobacco, but that stuff has been heated over and over already from the the rest of the bowl, no loss there.
As much as I cherish the tobacco, and do find it difficult to let go of, I've been stopping a bit earlier lately and enjoy it more. I am trying to diminish the need to force myself to continue just because there's some left. The roach smokers are as off as the half smokers, at least relative to a cigar for instance. The sweet spot to end, on a high note, is somewhere between half and when it gets roach-y.
When I turn the bowl over I flinch when I see unburnt tobacco, but that stuff has been heated over and over already from the the rest of the bowl, no loss there.
Some of my pipes smoke all the way to the bottom to the white ash..some do not...i actually taste more flavor from the lower part of the bowl..and smoke it as far it can be relightet and smokes..but this does not always means smoking all 100% of tobacco...many times there is like 5-10% left... If you feel you may do some fire damage to your airhole or sides stop.aim the match or lighter right in the middle of chamber...I do not remember my tobacco tasting bad at the bottom of the bowl,maybe when I smoked aromatics long time ago..If I have to stop smoking that pipe due some work i have to do I try to go back to it soon and relight it but if you leave it until the next day it taste pretty bad...You will learn your own experiences...Happy puffing!
In my experience, the next day- even the next week- it can be excellent. The key is that it isn't soggy at all.
Sometimes I smoke to the bottom, sometimes I smoke halfway down. Sometimes the blend I had the day before can taste “off” and doesn’t taste the same; there are many reasons for that: food and drink taken that day, weather changes, drying time etc. When that happens I might only get to the char light before realising imminent disappointment is inbound so I’ll swap to another pipe with something other baccy and return to it another time.
A general rule I have is the flavour rule though; if it starts to taste like I’m smoking hot mud I tend to call it quits then; same with cigars but cigars cost a sh*t ton more than pipes so I do try to finish them later.
I’ve rested pipes before, still loaded with baccy and forgotten all about them and, as has been pointed out by other members, it’s easier to smoke crispy dry tobacco down to the heel than fresh baccy, it all depends on what your prefer.
I personally like to find a happy medium between fresh and crispy and tend to put tobacco I am going to smoke over the next day or two into an old baccy tin with the seal gone. This gets it to where I like it in a day so I keep adding more to the tin as I go.
I rarely smoke to the heel though - my mouth can’t take it! ?
A general rule I have is the flavour rule though; if it starts to taste like I’m smoking hot mud I tend to call it quits then; same with cigars but cigars cost a sh*t ton more than pipes so I do try to finish them later.
I’ve rested pipes before, still loaded with baccy and forgotten all about them and, as has been pointed out by other members, it’s easier to smoke crispy dry tobacco down to the heel than fresh baccy, it all depends on what your prefer.
I personally like to find a happy medium between fresh and crispy and tend to put tobacco I am going to smoke over the next day or two into an old baccy tin with the seal gone. This gets it to where I like it in a day so I keep adding more to the tin as I go.
I rarely smoke to the heel though - my mouth can’t take it! ?