Pipe Bowl Gets Hot

[oklansas]

Let me start out by thanking all of you posters here at the Pipesmagazine forums. I'm a fairly experienced cigar smoker, but quite the newbie when it comes to pipes, and these forums have been essential in helping me to get started! Searching the beginner's thread almost always answered my question, and, oftentimes, answered questions I didn't even know I had. Anyway, THANKS!
On to the issue at hand,
My pipe smokes cool, doesn't often tongue bite, but the bowl of the pipe gets quite hot; no matter what I seem to do.
For one of my starter pipes, I picked up a Mr. Brog #14 churchwarden (pear wood) and have been using Peterson Old Dublin to fill it. After a period of trial and error, I believe by using the three-step fill method, that the pack isn't too tight. The tobacco seems to be at the right moisture, not too wet or dry. I usually try to sip the pipe, as well. No matter what I do, the smoke itself is fine, but the bowl is always just under "too hot to hold."
The Question,
Is there something I'm missing? I thought I might try some flake, as I read it tends to burn slower and therefore a bit cooler.
Any help will be appreciated.

 

[cavendish]

X1 on what roth said. I learned really fast in my first month of picking the pipe up again that the slower you smoke it the better the tobacco taste will come through. Also some blends might not have the satisfying strength and flavor your looking for coming from smoking cigars.
Just slow down and enjoy the slow pace of pipe smoking. I learned it and still sometimes I catch myself puffing too fast and have to remind myself to slow down a bit.
Welcome to the forums and the briar-brotherhood!

 

[ravenwolfe]

I have just found out how to properly use a tamper and my pipes seem much cooler now as I dont have to constantly be puffing on it to keep it lit.Figuring this out has multiplied my enjoyment so many times over and made the whole experiance of having a bowl in the evenings amazing.I too smoke churchwardens and believed it was quite cool smoking and the bowl seemed rather warm (I am an auto technician high heat tolerance in the hands)but once I got the tamper figured out I found out i was mistaken.The taste is also easier to detect for me since the tobacco itself is burning much cooler as apposed to just being cool smoke.

 

[numbersix]

Churchwardens, for those new to them, will often smoke hot and for someone also new to pipes, often very hot.

+1
Also, if you find yourself relighting a lot to keep a pipe lit, this will heat it up even faster. Try the "carburator" method where you hold a couple of fingers over the bowl to restrict the airflow. This will often get dying embers to reignite and preventing you from using a lighter, thus keeping the bowl a bit cooler.

 

[salewis]

Hot pipes usually happen as already pointed out because of smoking cadence. However, it may also have to due with the type of tobacco that you are smoking in your Churchwarden. For example, burley based tobaccos smoke hotter. Also, aromatic tobacco usually smoke hotter due to the casing. Finally, thin walled pipes will usually smoke a little hotter than heavier walled pipes. When my pipes begin to heat up I deploy the "cheek check" by placing the pipe against my cheek and if my cheek burns I place the pipe up for a few minutes and relight.

 

[ugh457]

Ah Ha! I just got learned, thanks, just had a bowl of Carter Hall and wondered why it was warmer than the other baccys I've had.

 

[bigmick]

I have the same Mr Brog pipe. The pear wood does seem burn a bit warmer than my other, briar, pipes. It's never been hot, well not since I learned to smoke it properly, but a little warm seems standard. For me.

 

[oklansas]

Well, turns out that I was indeed smoking too quickly. My experience with cigars was actively hurting my pipe experience - my favorite cigars were Ligeros (which give rich, velvety smoke that coats your mouth like cream. I really enjoy richer, luxurious smokes. The Peterson Old Dublin I was using has a thinner smoke than I tend to enjoy, leading me to be aggressive on the draw to get the desired density of smoke I desired.
Problem Solved!
I headed down to my B&M, Georgetown Tobacco, today and picked up some of their Reverie bulk blend (I've heard its a 1Q?). Let me tell you, the difference is night and day from the Old Dublin. Reverie's smoke is delicious and delivers the mouth feel that I have been craving. I took it for a spin on my new Ukranian Souvenir 'Volcano' Pear pipe. It was a fantastic smoke.
I'm still breaking in the pear pipe, so about the last 1/3 of the bowl I was getting quite a bit of taste from the pear wood. I enjoyed the wood's flavor so much) My favorite cigars were Davidoff, so I like wood flavorings quite a bit) that I will miss it when I break it in fully.
I can't wait to try it out on the Brog.
Follow up question
How soon should you run a pipe cleaner through the stem after finishing a smoke - should you let it cool?
EDIT: P.S. Thanks to all you took time to help me out!

 

[oklansas]

I have tended to take apart the pipe to clean it after smokes, especially the Brog. But, @rothnh that clarification clears it up for me. I have been exclusively using pipe cleaners so far, and have yet to get a shank brush. I do have both the soft and stiff bristle pipe cleaners though.
Could the stiff bristle pipe cleaners be considered as analogous to a shank brush?
BTW, for those that are interested - my pipes: L -> R Mr. Brog #14 Churchwarden; Savinelli unfinished; and a Ukranian Souviner 'Volcano' (great smoker and I love it)

I got the middle one today, it's my first briar and I am excited to try it out!

 

[petergunn]

I have tended to take apart the pipe to clean it after smokes,

I'm not comfortable taking pipes apart that often, generally if I get a bit of sour flavor from drawing on an empty pipe I'll run a soft cleaner with sweetener down it. Occasionally I'll run a dry stiff bristle cleaner down just for fun but most time it's just a soft. I let the pipe tell me when it needs to be taken apart then I'll use a shank brush dry on the bowl and a stiff bristle with sweetener on the stem, dry the stem and put back together fairly quick as I don't like to keep pipes apart.