Learning When To Dumb Out The Bowl, Signs Of Diminishing Returns

[aimlesswanderer]

Cosmic, I assumed it was a typo that was mean to read "dump".
The nearest I've got to smoking the tobacco in it's entirity, is when I've used a Philtpad (which I haven't done for a while). I don't know if it was wholy the chalk absorbing the gunk, or if it was partly due to the reduced depth of tobacco meaning less gunk was produced to start with. Either way, from a tobacco perspective it was a less "wasteful" approach, and I generally consumed everything that was in the bowl.
The reason I stopped using them was occasionally I'd forget or more accurately lose track of the tobacco depth, and try to "relight" the Philtpad itself. Not in any way a pleasant experience, and something that can really ruin a pipe session with an utterly revolting taste.
I might give them another try as I still have a few packs here from when I first started learning to drive a pipe, and see if they improve or impare the bottom end of a bowl, now that I've got some more experience under the belt.

 

[bassbug]

I say suffocating because my observation is that re-lights become more frequent and less smoke is drawn through the stem.

Do you notice the draw becoming tighter at that time? Excuse the crude wording, but do you have to suck harder to get smoke?
If the draw has tightened, I'm thinking you've tamped too hard through the smoke up to that point and the tobacco has become packed too tightly. Add to that the moisture building up from the first half of the bowl and I can see why you might have a hard time. If the draw is consistent through the bowl, try just dumping the ash (leaving the unburnt tobacco in the bottom of the bowl) and relight.
I'd also be curious to know if this happens if you just fill half a bowl.

 

[atjurhs]

BassBug, yes I suppose to some degree the draw does become harder, which may indeed be over damping, but primarily less smoke comes through the stem unless I huff and puff and try to pull the house down (metaphorical language I admit), note, none of these comments apply to shag cut tobaccos like G&H Dark Kentucky, but those that are ribbon cut or heavier.
I'd also be curious to know what happens if I just fill half a bowl. I've been using the 1/3, 2/3, full-bowl approach to lighting.
I'll give a half-bowl empty or half-bowl full (depending on your view point) approach later this evening.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"The whole bowel or just the top half?"
First it's "dumb out the bowl" and now this.
Someone please send this guy a dictionary sharpish :roll:
Regards,
Jay.

 

[jpmcwjr]

BassBug, yes I suppose to some degree the draw does become harder, which may indeed be over damping, but primarily less smoke comes through the stem unless I huff and puff and try to pull the house down....

Try drying your tobacco down significantly before your next bowl. And post results, please!

 

[toobfreak]

"The whole bowel or just the top half?"
First it's "dumb out the bowl" and now this.
Someone please send this guy a dictionary sharpish [:roll:]
Regards,
Jay.

Jay, it's just a matter of syntax. In the modern lexicon when referring to the whole bowel, it is really best to smoke just the lower bowel, so long as one does not get too anal retentive about it. And when referring to dumbing out the bowl, the technique is to generally throw away the unsmoked lower half while retaining the smoked upper half for the accumulation of thicker cake!
Taken directly from Anniston's 21st Century Abridged Dictionary for the Modern Web Trouser. :rofl:
It is one thing to be working off a second language as many are and I give them a wide berth (as they try very hard), but when people are too lazy to proof read their own primary language, it really makes me weary!

 

[madox07]

atjurhs I think you are over complicating things a tad ... Just fill a bowl, smoke it to the point you feel comfortable, or you like the taste and dump the rest. Recently I have become more indulgent with myself, I try to learn how each of my pipes work, especially the newer ones, which tobacco I like in them and which I do not, and in addition to discussing things on the forum it takes a bit of trial and error also. Experiment, and if you have to throw a bit of tobacco away ... hey don't fret, don't forget that this is meant to relax you and to make you feel better.

 

[toobfreak]

Sorry for some of my posts, guys, don't mind me. My apologies. I do not mean to offend anyone. Some personal tribulations in my life are just getting the best of me and I will try harder to keep it out of my posts.

 

[crashthegrey]

Who was offended? That was funny.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Toobfreak you great