Pipe "Smokes Hot" (Or Cool)

[mordy18]

People sometimes say that a particular pipe "smokes cool". Does that have any meaning from a technical perspective? Some people say that a pipe that is basically properly drilled and constructed will smoke fine. Drilling, quality of briar, size, wall thickness (cake??) are all factors from what I understand.

My one castello -- a shape 55 sea rock -- is one of my pipes that consistently produces hotter smoke than most of my other pipes, even though it has thicker walls. I know, I know -- packing technique, type of tobacco, and cadence all probably have more bearing on taste and temperature than structural issues.

But I find that the shape 55 is less forgiving and generally smokes hotter than most of my other pipes even when packing, cadence and tobacco are the same (and I generally try to be more careful with the castello, including using a pipe cleaner mid smoke to soak up any moisture).

Can it be the pot shape? Holds more tobacco and as a wider bowl there is more tobacco burning at one time than in a taller narrower bowl. It is also a relatively short pipe. I have smoked roughly 20 bowls in it -- maybe it isn't "broken in" sufficiently.

Any thoughts?

 

[BROBS]

People sometimes say that a particular pipe "smokes cool". Does that have any meaning from a technical perspective? Some people say that a pipe that is basically properly drilled and constructed will smoke fine. Drilling, quality of briar, size, wall thickness (cake??) are all factors from what I understand.

My one castello -- a shape 55 sea rock -- is one of my pipes that consistently produces hotter smoke than most of my other pipes, even though it has thicker walls. I know, I know -- packing technique, type of tobacco, and cadence all probably have more bearing on taste and temperature than structural issues.

But I find that the shape 55 is less forgiving and generally smokes hotter than most of my other pipes even when packing, cadence and tobacco are the same (and I generally try to be more careful with the castello, including using a pipe cleaner mid smoke to soak up any moisture).

Can it be the pot shape? Holds more tobacco and as a wider bowl there is more tobacco burning at one time than in a taller narrower bowl. It is also a relatively short pipe. I have smoked roughly 20 bowls in it -- maybe it isn't "broken in" sufficiently.

Any thoughts?

Could be not all the way broken in. Could just be something in particular about the briar or drilling that causes it. Hard to tell.

Proof for the theory that regardless of price some pipes smoke like crap compared to others. Just happens.

could be that the slot isn’t funneled.

 

[mordy18]

Could be not all the way broken in. Could just be something in particular about the briar or drilling that causes it. Hard to tell.

Proof for the theory that regardless of price some pipes smoke like crap compared to others. Just happens.

could be that the slot isn’t funneled.

What is the slot and how can I tell if it is funneled? Thanks.

 

[BROBS]

What is the slot and how can I tell if it is funneled? Thanks.

the slot is on the end of the button of the stem where the smoke comes out.
the airway should be set inwards quite a ways from the button with a "funnel" opening to the end.

if it's a newer Castello it's probably not funneled

 

[mso489]

I am smoking a Kaywoodie of fairly recent manufacture that has bowl walls of about 1/8th inch, and I'm smoking medium cut PS Amsterdam loose tobacco in it, which burns fairly fast. Unlike some of my pipes with similar bowls, this one remains cool enough to hold with no problem. I recall that in the 1950's Kaywoodie was "the expensive" pipe, costing more than Dunhills for example, though both were still somewhat affordable to the casual smoker who was not well-off. My Kaywoodie cost about $43. I won't moralize or sermonize about it, but take the facts for what they are worth. This is a Kawyoodie blast straight billiard with a tapered stem.

 

[mordy18]

So on the topic of slot funnels, here is the castello, a vauen (pocket pipe but one of my best smokers although it has a 9mm filter so not apples to apples) and a cheap peterson. Looks like the castello and vauen have a funnel but not the pete?

 

[BROBS]

looks like they are all funneled.

how old is the castello?

 

[mordy18]

looks like they are all funneled.

how old is the castello?

Little more than a year. Got it from tabacherria corti. Came with the rim f'd up -- finish was rubbed off in a few spots, but wasn't worth sending it back. Otherwise seems like a well constructed pipe as far as I can tell. Drilling is straight and draught hole is the bottom of the bowl, the tenon is concave - just looks more finely finished than my savs and petes (kind of like an hk compared to a glock). But so far doesn't smoke any better (kind of like an hk vs a glock).

 

[BROBS]

hard to tell man.. could just need broken in more. some pipes are a bitch that way.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Even brand new Dunhills may need to be well broken in leaving alone Petersons,while all my Castellos in this regards were absolute trouble free

 

[anotherbob]

hard to tell man.. could just need broken in more. some pipes are a bitch that way.

yeah my Peterson was temperamental until it started getting some carbon going on.
Though I thing one that one must learn about pipes is that much of what makes a pipe work the way it is might as well be called magic. Any time you think you've got certain things figured out a blend or pipe will prove that you haven't figured out as much as you think you have.

 

[tenton]

Sometimes I get hot smoke with a pipe that has a very open draw, maybe pack a little tighter?

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Sometimes I get hot smoke with a pipe that has a very open draw, maybe pack a little tighter?

Absolutely, and sip it slowly,,also dropping some meerschaum chips or Nordic Key Stones in the chamber prior to loading up might be beneficial procedure ( if you are feeling you got a pipe with a bit too open airflow

 

[mordy18]

Even brand new Dunhills may need to be well broken in leaving alone Petersons,while all my Castellos in this regards were absolute trouble free

So do you think I get a lemon with this Castello, or maybe needs break in, or maybe it's me?

And packing tighter = less heat??

 

[bullet08]

What are you smoking in it? Some blends just smoke hotter. And some pipes take forever to break in. Just clench it and forget about it.

 

[BROBS]

So do you think I get a lemon with this Castello, or maybe needs break in, or maybe it's me?

And packing tighter = less heat??

What he’s saying is if the draw is airy it will be hot. Is the tobacco you are smoking really dry?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

People sometimes say that a particular pipe "smokes cool". Does that have any meaning from a technical perspective? Some people say that a pipe that is basically properly drilled and constructed will smoke fine. Drilling, quality of briar, size, wall thickness (cake??) are all factors from what I understand.

My one castello -- a shape 55 sea rock -- is one of my pipes that consistently produces hotter smoke than most of my other pipes, even though it has thicker walls. I know, I know -- packing technique, type of tobacco, and cadence all probably have more bearing on taste and temperature than structural issues.

But I find that the shape 55 is less forgiving and generally smokes hotter than most of my other pipes even when packing, cadence and tobacco are the same (and I generally try to be more careful with the castello, including using a pipe cleaner mid smoke to soak up any moisture).

Can it be the pot shape? Holds more tobacco and as a wider bowl there is more tobacco burning at one time than in a taller narrower bowl. It is also a relatively short pipe. I have smoked roughly 20 bowls in it -- maybe it isn't "broken in" sufficiently.

Any thoughts?

Larger diameter bowl, larger surface area burning. It's going to put off more heat. A dime thickness in cake isn't going to appreciably change how a pipe smokes. When I hear someone say a pipe smokes cool or hot, I think of the temperature of the outside of the bowl. Aside from bowl ID and possibly the drill, how will the pipe affect the smoking temperature? The tobacco smoked, the moisture level of the tobacco, how it is packed and the technique used by the person smoking the pipe play a much bigger factor.

 

[Mr.Mike]

Some estates I gave up on after 25+ smokes. Some pipes just inexplicably smoke like crap. My best smoker is the lowest line of the Brigham pipes, bought on IPSD new for 38 dollars.

 

[mso489]

Most of my Petes did fine right away. However one, a rusticated slightly bent author, was just okay for about a year and a half or two, and suddenly it bloomed. Big broad bowl just took off with a blend of five or six tobaccos, but it happened only after a time. I still puzzle over what could have changed it that much. I am not a cake builder, so it wasn't that.

 

[mordy18]

What he’s saying is if the draw is airy it will be hot. Is the tobacco you are smoking really dry?

Varies but generally Im not too careful about that. Maybe I should be.