Let Me Ash You a Question.

[waznyf]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9) - Bob

Hey folks,

Do you find yourself smoking the majority of your bowls to ash or do you knock them out and repack?
Since getting back into smoking again I find that I am not finishing my bowls as much as I used to. I believe that this has more to do with the fact that I am not sitting long enough for a complete bowl. When I finally get back to the pipe the next day I just knock it out and start fresh.
Yesterday though I smoking 2 or 3 bowls down to ash.

Are there any consequences to not finishing a bowl? The only thing that came to mind for me was that there may be uneven cake buildup.... But, I clean my pipes regularly enough that a cake does not really form.

I would love to read what your thoughts are!

Frank

 

[trouttimes]

Some I smoke to ash, some not. It is according to taste. I don't tend to smoke areos to ash but it is a sin not to smoke Orlick Golden Slice to ash.

 

[mikestanley]

I try to smoke to the bottom. In my experience, a little cake at the bottom of the bowl is fairly important. You don't say what tobaccos you smoke but, a Virginia or VaPer can be left and finished later. Even if it's just a few puffs, I'll finish a nice va flake if some is left at the bottom of the bowl. Some blends, like aromatics, I have a hard time smoking to the bottom. Just too mush moisture. Since I make most of the pipes I smoke, I use a bowl size that allows me to finish what I started far more often than not.

Mike S.

 

[ray47]

Mostly I'll smoke down to ash or nearly ash. As the taste goes, so does the ash. If relights become a pain that bowl is getting dumped.

 

[cigrmaster]

If I have not finished a pipe at night I will not smoke it the next day. I would much rather smoke a fresh pipe to start the day than a half smoked ashy tasting left over. Pipe tobacco is so cheap I don't feel bad tossing 40 cents of tobacco.

I also have no issues smoking to the bottom as I have done it for long enough it is habit now.

 

[samuelgawith01]

I smoke right down,and light up the ashes.Not so much as to char the bottom of the chamber,but to where some cake will form.I don't like to see bare wood at the bottom.But this whole thing about smoking technique is really subjective, anyhow.I guess as long as you're not causing physical damage to the pipe, and you're getting an enjoyable smoke is the important thing.Happy smoking.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Most bowls are smoked to ash, even if that needs another day to finish.

Smoking to the end requires tobacco that is well dried. Added benefit: the heat in the heel will make for a nice dry pipe.

 

[sablebrush52]

Generally, I finish a bowl. It's not a requirement, just what I does. On the occasion that I've left a bowl unfinished, I fire it up later or the next day.

 

[olkofri]

I toss the last quarter.

 

[mso489]

Some pipes and some blends burn down to the ash with no deterioration of taste at all, and those I am pleased to finish. On the other hand, if the taste sours in any way, gets ashy or stale, I gladly throw out a bit of dottle, figuring it has served as a filter for the smoke that tasted good. I am kind of a thrifty guy, but throwing out a little unburnt leaf at the bottom of the bowl offends me not at all. I don't build cake; a number of Forums members don't. We scoop out the ash and wipe out the bowl with a paper towel and never need to ream. The thin carbon layer does everything cake would do, and the bowl stays the same diameter forever, for decades I can attest.

 

[snoopy311]

I’m with Mike Stanley in that you need to develop a cake at the bottom on your pipes. With that said, it’s more about the time you have to dedicate to a specific bowl than anything. Sometimes you just have to be somewhere else and that last little bit gets sacrificed.

 

[smokiespipesmoker123]

70% of the time I’m dumping dottle.

 

[shanez]

Dottle? What is dottle?

Just kidding. I have often dumped perfectly fine unsmoked tobacco. When I'm done I'm done. I have however, learned to pack less in my bowl and therefore be less wasteful.

 

[bullet08]

Depends on which blend and which pipe. Don't really care for cake, and don't really care if I smoke to ash. If there's too much moisture in the bottom, it won't take relight and left over gets dumped. If I feel like I had enough and less then 15 min of smoke left, it gets dumped. I like DGT, but I don't save when there isn't enough tobacco left in the bowl to enjoy the smoke.

 

[olkofri]

That's the advantage of small bowls (>39 mm): even a third of them tossed is no great loss. Let's see the Cap'n toss one third of his Moretti, eh? ?

 

[waznyf]

I try to smoke to the bottom. In my experience, a little cake at the bottom of the bowl is fairly important. You don't say what tobaccos you smoke but, a Virginia or VaPer can be left and finished later. Even if it's just a few puffs, I'll finish a nice va flake if some is left at the bottom of the bowl. Some blends, like aromatics, I have a hard time smoking to the bottom. Just too mush moisture. Since I make most of the pipes I smoke, I use a bowl size that allows me to finish what I started far more often than not.

Mike S.

My apologies for not mentioning that. I have been smoking a light aromatic from my local brick and mortar.

 

[gervais]

Due to being in extremely high demand at all times of the day (between work, wife and kids), It takes me, on average, 2-3 sessions to finish a full bowl almost every pipe I smoke. That one pipeful could last me an entire week. In fact, I've left pipes sitting for days / full week half full and returning to a smoke of as good quality as the initial light. I do not notice any difference in taste, personally

 

[didimauw]

I always smoke to ash. But my ash always contains a few big pieces of tobacco left over. Not enough to relight. Trust me, if there's still enough tobacco in the bowl, I smoke it. Haha

 

[adui]

I smoke it till it starts to taste bad, either sucking ash or just the end of the bowl sour (its not sour, but I don't have a word for the flavor that sometimes pervades that last little bit)

That said, most of the timer there is at least a small amount of dottle left in the bowl. I chalk it up to the cost of smoking a pipe.

 

[hauntedmyst]

With Englishes, I suck them right down to the ash but like trout with aros I usually have a little unsmoked.