How To Save A Bad Bowl

[music4cash]

Hello pipe people this is my first post, I looked everywhere for this information but I can find nothing...As a new pipe smoker I'm still not great at packing my pipe, nor am I great at smoking it...So I'm looking for tips to save a bowl that I have screwed up...For example I have packed my pipe with Peterson Irish flake, and packed it too tight, which seems fine at first until the flake expands and makes a plug in my pipe so I get no pull anymore...or with ribbon cut tobacco's I have gotten a little overzealous with the tamping, and again created a plug...I've tried using the poker on my pipe tool to loosen the tobacco, and not really had any luck...It seems a waste to just dump out the half burned tobacco and pack a new bowl...what can I do to save a bowl in the middle of smoking it?


Welcome to the Forum! Fixed thread title, please see rule number 9. Pertinent portion: Please capitalize words in the thread titles. Thank you Robert.

 

[deathmetal]

Dump it on a sheet of paper, rub out further and let dry, then re-pack with less?

 

[music4cash]

Thanks for the advise deathmetal. I should mention I've been using the "fold and stuff method" when I smoke flake...I get good results about 25% of the time...half the time I have trouble keeping it lit, which I'm ok with because it still tastes good, and the other 25% of the time I get these disasters, is it ok to dump the tobacco out and repack after I'm a quarter of the way through the pipe, or will that ruin the tobacco that is still unburned when it mixes with ash and partially carbonized tobacco?

 

[mikestanley]

Assuming its already lit, take something like a straightened out paperclip and run it down the center of the tobacco to the bottom of the bowl.That should get you a bit of air flow. The pick on a pipe tool is ideal for this but, I'm assuming you don't have a Czech pipe tool. Welcome aboard BTW.

Mike S.

 

[music4cash]

Thanks for the advise Mike. I do have a Czech tool, I've been trying to use the pick to "loosen" the tobacco in the bowl...I will try just making one hole all the way to the bottom next time...thanks again.

 

[dadgy]

At some point, you should also acknowledge that the bowl you're not enjoying cost you somewhere between 25 and 85 cents and dump it out. I won't waste my time if it isn't working out. For our offshore Brothers of the Briar, more resilience may be required due to the obscene increase in cost.

 

[carbonmated]

I have only been smoking a pipe for 5 weeks now. Just slow down, practice packing the pipe, empty it, do it again, check the draw, do it again....... you get the idea. Go slow and enjoy the experience. It transformed my pipe smoking when I just relaxed and enjoyed the entire time. Packing the bowl takes practice but it will come. If you pack too loose you can always tamp it, pack too tight and its a bad smoke so better to pack loose at first and adjust as you go.

 

[prairiedruid]

Part of the learning process we all go through. Just takes time and trial to find what works best for you. Don't get too hung up on the problems; I've been only smoking since May and I do things way differently than when I started.

 

[deuce26]

I would use the rub out method before you pack and see how you like it. You may also consider letting your flakes dry a little while and cube cutting them, then gravity fill the bowl. If you want to keep folding and stuffing, dry the flake a little and fold it (don't use too many to allow for expansion). Don't stuff the flake all the way to the bottom of the bowl and trim it to leave some space on the top. Then rub out some of your flakes to gently place on top to act as tinder to get the flake going. Once lit, little to know tamping, very gently with just the weight of the tamper if needed. Keep practicing, you will develop your own techniques and have it down in no time.

 

[deuce26]

Oh, and plus one for Death Metal. I've dumped and repacked a bowl plenty of times.

 

[fordm60]

music, the pick to the bottom to gain air flow works well. I when I started and still use today a little trick to open up a bowl. I use the spoon on the Czech tool and run it straight down the side of the bowl to the bottom. Then I use the spoon to pull the tobacco up towards the rim gently. Not sure of that description... once the spoon hits bottom I push out and slightly up on the spoon to loosen up the tobacco. I repeat going around the bowl until it is all pulled up. Check the draw to see if I jammed the draft hole, if so I use a pipe cleaner and open it up. Then I usually have to tamp a little, real little lol. Then light and enjoy!
I know many say it is so cheap just dump and go. But me Scottish blood boils at the wasting of that wee bit of baccy me lads lol. Plus I enjoy a'fiddling with me pipe and fixing the issue!

 

[bentbob]

Carbonmated is spot on: regardless of the packing method, check the draw as you pack the bowl. If too tight, take it out and start again - before you light it.
When using the fold and stuff method, only pack about 2/3rds of the bowl, then rub out enough to fill the last third. This makes it easier to light and get an even burn.

 

[bentbob]

Some excellent advice from Tamper Peterson here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFRlBqlUDtQ

 

[music4cash]

Thanks for the tip ford I never thought to use the spoon for loosening things...And thanks for the video you posted bent next bowl of flake I pack i'll try that method.

 

[deathmetal]

As an Irish Flake fan, here is my method: rub out partially, and fit into the pipe loosely. It will expand so do not pack, only fill. I used to dry it more, but now I just partially rub out and let it rest for a couple minutes before loading the bowl. Expect excellence
And yes, to those who will point out that today's IF is not what it once was, possibly, I say: for what's available to me, it's still wonderful. This may merely be my ignorance but, since the other is not available, I'll stick with it. I was just born too late for those wonder years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RCjEdeGmFk

 

[hawke]

Nothing worse than an unpleasantly smoking bowl. All the above I try when it happens to me. Different tobaccos have their own needs to smoke well. Fold and stuff method gives me the most trouble. However when the moisture content is right and the proper pipe is used it results in the best taste throughout the whole bowl. I don't worry about it not being fully lit as relights will fix it. The whisper of smoke coming thru lends well to doing about the same as sipping. Slender bowls work best for me with fold and stuff method.

 

[sablebrush52]

I'm not a huge fan of fold and stuff, but if you're going to do it, try folding and stuffing a flake the night before you're going to smoke it. That will give the tobacco time to dry without it drying out. Be sure to reserve a little bit to rub out and sprinkle over the top. It helps in getting the tobacco lit. Tamping isn't done to compress the tobacco. It's done to lightly compress the ash. Check the draw before you light up. If it's tight, it isn't going to improve once lit. Proper moisture level is important to get the most flavor.
The rest of the above suggestions are good ones.

 

[blackbeard]

Everyone covered it I believe. I will say, for flakes...my favorite thing to do...I take the flake, roll it up, cut off small pieces with a cigar cutter. It makes small squares/cubes whatever you wish to call them. It doesn't require much packing, burns cool, slow, and seems like the flavor comes out more.

 

[deathmetal]

I'm divided between the Sable method(tm), the cube cut method, and simply tearing off half of the flake and dropping it in the bowl. The moisture brings out flavor, but the dry tobacco burns without being so much of a pain in the ass. Cube cut is somewhere in the middle.
One of my favorites is to take a Peterson's Perfect Plug and shave it finely, resulting in a feathery almost-shag cut which burns very well even when damp. Delicious. What cake should be like!

 

[sablebrush52]

As I said, I'm not a fan of stuff and fold, and rarely use that method. Mostly I either cube cut or rub out, and let it dry out before packing. Flakes from different makers require different handling. Gawth flakes can be positively sopping wet, so the idea that one can just roll up any flake, stuff it, and have a wonderful smoke is wishful thinking.
Tobacco needs a little moisture, but not much, to give its best. As an outdoor only smoker I've put a lot of time into experimenting with a variety of blends to find out how to get the most flavor from them without the benefit of sitting in and smelling the cloud of smoke in the room that provides support to what I taste while sipping or smell while retrohaling. So I need to focus on getting the most flavor strictly through in the mouth and out the schnoz. And I experience the most concentrated flavor when the tobacco is very dry. Stuff and fold works in a room, stuff, fold, and let dry for a while sorta works for outdoors.