Thanks, yeah. That bare wood color at the bottom. I didn’t know if it was burning through or just took off the bowl coat.
Is this cake starting or is it burning out after 2 smokes?
- Thread starter Piperjd
- Start date
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Burning through would be charred/maybe grayish ashy surface. What I’m seeing is that the bottom of the chamber is bare from damp dottle collecting.
You may want to slowly smoke a couple/few half bowls of a well dried, easy burning blend (I like Five Brothers for this) to actually get a cake going in the bottom as part of breaking it in.
You may want to slowly smoke a couple/few half bowls of a well dried, easy burning blend (I like Five Brothers for this) to actually get a cake going in the bottom as part of breaking it in.
That’d do, I’d imagine-I know @Briarcutter smokes it from time to time, and has probably forgotten more about the mechanics of pipes than I’ve yet learned
It’s what I use if it’s handy.
Any tobacco will do.
Carter Hall is a famously mild codger burley blend, is all.
Get the entire bottom, all of it, allllll the way down, coal black, is what I do.
It only stinks and gets the pipe hot and sometimes snaps, crackles and pops for a few smokes.
You are within an eighth of an inch of victory, Pilgrim!
A burnout is when wood burns rather than tobacco.
You’ll know because you’d get the smell of burning/charred wood.
Quite a different odour to tobacco
As others have pointed out, your pipe is fine
You’ll know because you’d get the smell of burning/charred wood.
Quite a different odour to tobacco
As others have pointed out, your pipe is fine
All good. Relax and enjoy.
Worst case if it catches on fire or is destroyed you can buy a Grabow for 30 bucks that will last you years even after being treated like a rented mule.
Worst case if it catches on fire or is destroyed you can buy a Grabow for 30 bucks that will last you years even after being treated like a rented mule.
For a couple of smokes, I would fill about a quarter of the bowl with some almost dry tobacco and carefully smoke it down to fine ash. No blowing any smoke into the bowl just to make sure it does not get too moist, or you won't be able to smoke it all the way.
I'd avoid the rice crispy thing with the snap crackle pop, you really want to be careful not to char the airway. The transition of the air way to chamber can be thin and prone to charring.It only stinks and gets the pipe hot and sometimes snaps, crackles and pops for a few smokes.
I buy more used pipes than Doan’s has liver pills and at least 90% have never been smoked all the way down.
If they look really bare down there I’ll dab a little honey on them. It might not work but it doesn’t hurt anything.
When I finish breaking them in all the way down only a few snap, crackle and pop, many of those over 70 years old.
All of them taste like burning briar that last little 1/8 inch.
Only a Lee product or Pipe Maker tastes sweet (did they use an artificial sweetener?)
About all get extra hot.
When I rise to worlds unseen somebody will get some totally broken in pipes.
After they are completely broken in I don’t smoke them all the way down, just until they don’t taste as good.
My theory is a new pipe has so many thousand excellent smokes before they decline. (3,000-10,000 depending on maintenance)
The sap, or the goodies,or the mojos, or whatever inside briar that makes a briar pipe the standard of all the world for over 150 years needs a final cure all the way down.
This also cooks the briar in the shank a little.
I burned out exactly one pipe I bought brand new from a retired guy in Arizona. I still have it. It burned out the side not the bottom. He offered to carve me another or fix it, but I saw in his online information he went bald from chemo and I forgot to send it back, you know?
I’m really careful with smaller bulldogs to not toast the sides of the bottom of the bowl. I own a few that are toasted and I baby them.
I love seeing old Algerian briar turn oxblood.
Marxman Little Big Boy that fits in a shirt pocket
Makes me as happy as a clam.
It’s Such a Pretty World Today
Wynn Stewart and Don Rich live version
I never recommend anything I’ve not done myself countless times.
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burnout tastes and smells pretty bad. You'll know if you get it.
If its worth anything, ive never had a pipe burn out in 30 years. Ive probably broke in 200+ pipes. And according to the internet, ive broken every one of them in wrong. I just pack and smoke as normal, never had an issue.
I'm like you Sig, just fill a new pipe to the rim and let er rip! However, breaking in a new pipe after decades of experience and breaking in a new pipe with only months of experience are two different animals. With experience you are aware of the nuances, what to look out for, heat,taste etc... A new comer may not be aware of the sometimes subtle warnings. IMO, it's very important to get the pipe caked clear down to the bottom. Sometimes with a new comer the only way to achieve that is by 1\2 or 1/3 bowls. YMMV
Sure, but I was a new smoker once too. I just believe that the "7 tiers of breaking in a new pipe" are quite exaggerated.....like most things new smokers are supposed to follow.
Im glad I had experience before the internet. These poor new pipers get 142 different opinions for each question. In the 80s and 90s we just learned from experience. There were not 1000 videos on how to pack a pipe. We just packed and puffed. We didn't ruin pipes, or burn them out.
A pipe with a hole burned into it is a very rare thing in my experience. Of the hundreds of old, abused pipes ive bought on ebay, ive never actually had one. I've heard about them, but never seen one. I've had pipes with 1/4 inch divot on the rim from either a torch lighter, or a very aggressive puffer. I've had pipes so full of cake that they were literally plugged. But never had one with a burned out hole. I know they exist, ive seen pictures, but luckily ive never experienced one myself.
I always buy the ones with the wood plugs.....Diplomat/5th Avenue to be exact. Never burned one out.
The Diplomat/5th Ave is the perfect MM in my opinion. Its got a larger bowl than most, it has the wood plug, and its only $18.
Ive never had a Carolina Gentleman. I went from cheap Legends, to the Diplomat and haven't looked back.
The Great Dane was just a Diplomat with an hourglass bowl....they aren't made anymore. Here's the GD ive been smoking for about 15 years, and the Diplomat ive had the same amount of time but haven't smoked for some reason. The Diplomat has a Forever Stem on it, they come with regular MM stems.
I've also only burned out one pipe and it was exactly like that, mini cob, bottom felt soft after a smoke and when I tried to see whats up the bottom just fell out. To my detriment it was one of my first smokes after my long hiatus a few years ago and Im sure I was smoking it screamingly hot.
I agree, it looks normal to me. Looks like there just hasn't been burning tobacco at the bottom yet.