Pipe Mud Mixed with Honey?

[lukifer]

I have 3 estate pipes and my first pipe(bad Luke!) that have damaged bowls due to general pipe abuse/smoking too hot. Some have minor pits due to shrinkage and charring, others have cracks, fissures and deformation. I was hoping to just smoke them and rebuild a solid cake over these but my patience is waning and I am fearful that the combustion temperature of charred briar may be too similar to the burning temp of tobacco. One pipe in particular has a very "burnt wood" taste to it no matter how slow I smoke, it is the least noticeably damaged but had large sections of extremely charred and fragile briar that I mostly removed.

I am planning on repairing these with a pipe mud/mortar (mixture of cigar ash and water) I have found mentioned on here in numerous places here. Then the hope is that, in time, I will be able to build a nice hard (thin) cake over top of the repairs. My only concern is that the pipe mud is essentially going to become a "soft cake" and simply flake off.

I have seen several posts mentioning using jb weld and compounds bought at the hardware store, but due to the chemical nature of these, I would like to avoid them. Yes I know tobacco isn't a vegetable, but just because I consume something harmful doesn't mean I should eat Tide Pods as well.

My question is: would mixing a bit of honey with my pipe mud before applying help form a harder, more durable cake? If so, what ratio would you recommend?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Ash and water would be harder on its own than adding honey to it and tobacco is a nicotine containing vegetable in the nightshade family like potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.

 

[lukifer]

Ash and water would be harder on its own than adding honey to it and tobacco is a nicotine containing vegetable in the nightshade family like potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.

Lol yes I suppose it is a leaf and as such, technically a vegetable, I simply meant it isn't "good for you". I bet a bit of DFK and Perique mixed with spinach and arugula would make a mean salad. 8P

 

[OzPiper]

Ash and water would be harder on its own than adding honey to it

Yup. Keep it simple

I bet a bit of DFK and Perique mixed with spinach and arugula would make a mean salad. 8P

I would not bet on it
But then I’m Chinese and as my wife keeps telling me, we Chinese eat all sorts of thing most would not think of as edible

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yup. Keep it simple

I would not bet on it
But then I’m Chinese and as my wife keeps telling me, we Chinese eat all sorts of thing most would not think of as edible

I'm decended from Native Americans and mountain people, I completely understand.

 

[Scottmi]

currently researching pipe mud/mortar/cement for repair to my Lorenzo Sponge that is burning out a chamber wall side. Some great old posts in the pipe repair forum. this one is especially interesting suggesting wood ash. Also great posts/videos here and here

 

[UB 40]

Activated charcoal, Plaster of Paris, salt.

 

[woodrow]

Activated charcoal, Plaster of Paris, salt.

And the recipe is 2 parts plaster, 1 part charcoal, 1 part salt. I’m very pleased with this mixture. Great for filling some burn spots inside the bowl, decreasing bowl size, and coating if you wish.

 

[ADKPiper]

I don't think the honey would produce anything resembling sweet. It would likely be very bitter when burnt.

 

[woodrow]

I don't think the honey would produce anything resembling sweet. It would likely be very bitter when burnt.

Exactly. Maple Syrup and charcoal can be used as a bowl coating but not a repair. I prefer sour cream and charcoal for coating. I use that AFTER a bowl repair.
the plaster, salt, and charcoal mix is surprisingly hard and inert.

 

[Scottmi]

I went with the pipe mortar and very happy with the ease and result to repair the burnt part (and line the whole chamber) in my Lorenzo Sponge Chimney

Honey or sugars are good for building cake. Newcombe has some good comments on that in his book "In Search of Pipe Dreams." In Chapter 23 (first edition) discusses using sugar to treat a "hot spot" and to help build cake quickly:
"Are there easy ways to develop a cake quickly? You bet. There are dozens, but my favorite is to moisten the inside of the bowl. You can dip your finger into water and rub the inside walls of the tobacco chamber, or you can use a wetted pipe cleaner and do the same. Make sure you put a pipe cleaner in the pipe, and keep it there for the next step, which is to pour granulated sugar to the top of the bowl. Then dump out the sugar. You'll see that plenty of grains of sugar are stuck to the side of your bowl. Just fill it up with tobacco and enjoy your smoke, and you won't believe how quickly you can build a smooth, even cake using this method. If the cake is uneven, use your finger to rub id down gently so it becomes even again."

 

[kcghost]

It isn't going to help any by adding honey to pipe mud.

 

[onestrangeone]

When I bought my first cobs I didn’t like the idea of leftover Dottle packed in next to the part of the shank that protrude’s into the bowl, nor did I want to sit there and pick it out, so I mixed up some pipe mud with cigar ash and water to make a ‘bottom’ after a dozen or so smokes this stuff is like concrete. I don’t think I could dig it out if I tried.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Honey may help build Cake fast but it will be crumbly Cake, not hard, firm cake like you want.

 

[OSOBUCO]

I bought an estate and the inside of the bowl had several crevasses. I cleaned sanded and coated the bowl with a mix of honey and powdered bamboo charcoal. Hardened like stone. The mix was the consistency of mortar. I haven’t smoked it yet but I’m happy so far.