Pictures of What Good Cake Looks Like?

[snagstangl]

Show don't tell. What does proper cake in a pipe look like? Any pics would be appreciated. Thanks.
Edit: Corrected capitalization in title per Rule #9, L.

Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine

 

[cortezattic]

8O A dark hole lined with carbon doesn't make for particularly informative pictures.

I keep the cake thin, and rarely fill the pipe enough to build up anything near the rim.

Notice that the bottom does have enough cake to protect the wood. I don't know if this is

considered "a proper cake", but it's the only picture I have of a used bowl's interior.

 

[kashmir]

It's hard to get good pictures of cake, but I'll try. I used to have to ream my pipes a few times a year. But an old timer suggested wiping out the bowl with a bit of paper towel inserted into the cleft of one of those old time wooden clothespins. A few swipes before racking insures that the cake is self maintained. I find nowadays that I rarely use the reamer unless its on an estate that comes in. I try to keep my cakes fairly thin, like a dime or less. Never the thickness of a nickel. Also before racking, I'll wipe the rim down clean with a bit of spit and paper towel. And when I do this I'll go into the chamber about 1/16th of an inch. This insures that the cake doesn't begin at the rim, but some slight way down. Of course, this makes it even harder to photograph. But it makes for a neater appearance.

 

[snagstangl]

Paper towels it is, thanks, i would still appreciate any pics anyone could take as well.

 

[crazypipe]

This is what a good cake looks like.

 

[tbradsim1]

Teddy you read my mind, by the way it was a great cake.

 

[snagstangl]

I knew those were comming, and now I have to get the stuff to make my own in the oven instead of the bowl.

 

[canadianbiggame]

Great thread I have wondered this myself. I get estate pipes with so much cake I don't know how they smoked the darn thing. I guess there is a fine line between good for your pipe and way over kill

 

[crazypipe]

Cajun that is one fine looking cake :worship:

 

[shaintiques]

This is a great question. Seen lots of posts about bad cake, but none on good cake pics. I'll try and post one soon.

 

[sallow]

Not the easiest thing to photograph.
I try to keep a small amount of cake in the bowl. About the most cake I would consider keeping in the bowl is like this (mostly because I need the room in there for tobacco). The cake is the black wall of hardened soot creeping up the inside of the pipe.

My cake maintenance consists of covering the bowl with my fingers and shaking the dottle around after I smoke (if I think of it). I tell myself that this will evenly distribute the ash, and perhaps it does. I also ream the bowl when the cake gets too thick, but I try to leave some inside. I believe that a small bit of cake keeps the rim from charring too much, as it keeps the heat away from the sides when lighting. That is, I think it helps to keep the bowl in the round, but I could be wrong about this.
Cake takes a while to form, just keep smoking your pipe. I hope this answers your question.

 

[cortezattic]

The topic of "a proper cake" reminds me of a practical, if homely, maxim offered by none other than Russ Ouellette.

If you never smoke a pipe all the way to the bottom of the bowl, then don't worry about how thin the cake is down there.

"A proper cake", therefore, is not formally defined; it's what works for you. ::

 

[snagstangl]

I have been shaking the ash around after a smoke and leaving it until the next day and swabbing the ash out. It seems to be building something up on the inside of the bowl. I will have to try wiping out with a paper towel instead of swabbing out with a pipe cleaner.

 

[bryanf]

I am too embarrassed to post a pic of my pipes. Burnt rims, Cake creeping over the rim and about 1/8th thick in the bowls. When there's just too much cake on the rim, I just carve it off with my knife. A pipe is just a tool to me and I like the way they smoke with a thick cake. Every time I've reamed a pipe I've disliked the way they taste until the cake is thick again so now I just don't ream at all. Thick cake keeps the memories of old smokes and good times, smokes cooler and drier, and to me just looks good like a pipe that gets smoked. Just my opinion and how I grew up seeing pipes.

 

[loneredtree]

I will not say this is perfect cake. In fact, you can see that the bottom is not caked. I am trying to burn to the bottom but, oh well.

 

[bryanf]

I changed my mind and decided to shame myself by posting pics of a couple of my pipes, but don't know how and don't have photobucket. I'll have to look into that.
Hi Roth-

I'm just really hard on my pipes, and I guess I always saw oldtimers that were, also. Dropped my favorite pipe into the ocean once while fishing. Luckily it floats. Some of the cake fluffed off, but rested her for a week and smoked it a bunch and before long she was good again. I've dropped my pipes a few times on the sidewalk. Actually, I'm hard on everything I own....my truck....my toys...but I love to smoke my pipes, and I look at it as building "character"! I just don't really treasure anything based on it's looks- I'm all about function with everything...keeps me sane. But, I totally understand, and that's why I will never buy a really expensive beautiful pipe, car, truck, knife or gun. Too hard on stuff to care about a scratch here or there. As long as it smokes good, drives good, is sharp, and shoots straight, I love it and it's priceless to me dings and all. I think my wife feels the same way about me!

 

[lqjones]

I'm with Branf and Roth, although I'm too picky with the looks of my pipes. I wish I could just see it as a tool and be a little more carefree, but dam I'm anal about the looks of my pipes. can't help it. LOL

 

[mortonbriar]

I have two different pipes that at some point I convinced myself the cake build up was becoming excessive in and although i gained back some chamber space after going at it with a hammer drill, (possible hyperbole) it was at the price of flavor and dryness...

 

[lqjones]

I definitely feel that the more cake you have, the better tasting the smoke. My cake in my pipes has never been trimmed and I don't really know if cake just continues growing. I think for some folks it does as I've seen totally cake encrusted pipes. Bet they smoked great until they cracked. Could be the way I clean my pipes. I scrub out each bowl with a folded over pipe cleaner and I don't have excessive cake. I also was real anal when breaking in my pipes and did not do this cleaning until the heel had a good cake buildup. Once the cake in the heel is built up good, I just let the rest of the pipe bowl build up cake from there as it naturally does. Works for me, anyway.