Looking For Fastest Method of Cake Building

[Dave760]

I thought I heard somewhere that if you cover the top of the bowl with your thumb and then shake the ash and dottle around (after it’s cooled), it will cover the chamber and help build up cake more quickly.

I tried this with a couple of pipes and found that it does build cake faster, but the cake was fairly porous and therefore fragile.

 

[didimauw]

He wants a cake layer, not a plug of carbon.

They say a dime thickness. I like it in the form of two nickles.

 

[The Benedictine]

They say a dime thickness. I like it in the form of two nickles.

Well it does still equal 10

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Smoke back to back bowls and don't clean the chamber. Just run a pipe cleaner and load the next bowl.

 

[renfield]

Smoke the pipe often and wipe the bowl out between smokes. You’ll build a better cake that way, IME.

 

[didimauw]

Smoke back to back bowls and don't clean the chamber. Just run a pipe cleaner and load the next bowl.

This is the way.

I'd normally suggest Carter Hall, but the massive cake it makes chips away easily.

 

[Sig]

In my opinion you don't want a thick cake. It stays moist and smelly.
Thin walled pipes are going to feel more hot. Just smoke slowly and let a natural, thin carbon layer build.
I have very thin walled pipes with very thin, hard carbon. I've been smoking them for decades without issue.

 

[WerewolfOfLondon]

This is why I have so many unsmoked pipes. Can't be bothered to break them in and build up the cake to make em smokeable. Life's just too short, can't be arsed. Although the odd time I do break one in, I find virginias that have high sugar content work best.