Preventing Cake in a Cob

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sean81

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 26, 2013
126
0
I just finished reading the article on Cobs that Russ Ouellett posted to this sites Home Page (you can read it here: Function over Form). In this article he mentions not letting cake build up in his cobs. I pose the following questions to all of the cob smokers out there:

1) Do you let the cake build up in your cobs?

2) If you don't, how do you go about preventing the cake build up?
As for me, I have several cobs in my rotation, and all of them have a good cake built up.
I await your responses.

 

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
35
Bethlehem, Pa.
I never really thought about this until this week. sampling the new MM blends in a new cob was fun and enlightening. I believe I will wipe out the bowl when I'm done.

 

derfargin

Lifer
Mar 3, 2014
2,028
28
Kennesaw, GA
I too wipe out the bowl on my cob after every smoke. It helps keep the cake down, considering I only have one cob at the moment, and I smoke it about 3 times a week, it seems to be working well at keeping the walls clean.

 

eastwoodaudio

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 23, 2013
164
1
I usually use a very dull pipe "knife" and kind of scrape the walls of the bowl with that. Just enough to make sure nothing is built up, but not enough to dig into the walls. I tried wiping out the bowl afterwards, but I kind of feel like it's a bit wasteful with paper towels.

 
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sfsteves

Lifer
Aug 3, 2013
1,279
0
SF Bay Area
I 'brush' the inside of the bowl with a bristle pipe cleaner that I have folded around my forefinger after every smoke ... periodically, I scrape the inside of the bowl with the knife blade of my pipe knife ... these steps prevent the buildup of cake, both in my cobs and briars ...

 

settersbrace

Lifer
Mar 20, 2014
1,565
5
I 'brush' the inside of the bowl with a bristle pipe cleaner that I have folded around my forefinger after every smoke ... periodically, I scrape the inside of the bowl with the knife blade of my pipe knife ... these steps prevent the buildup of cake, both in my cobs and briars ...
SteveS

de gustibus non est disputandum

"If there is no smoking in Heaven, I shall not go." - Mark Twain
+1

 
Jan 8, 2013
1,189
3
I use the edge of the spade on a pipe nail, it's not real sharp, but its enough to scrape away any serious buildup after each bowl. Then I scrub it out with a folded pipe cleaner, after running it down the stem. This is my first cob, but it seems to be working well. I have smoked about 50 bowls through it in the last few weeks and the cake doesn't seem to be building up, except down in the bottom along side the remaining portion of the inner shank, but I want it to build up there and fill those little spaces.

 

cobguy

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
3,742
15
I "brush" the inside of the bowl with a bristle pipe cleaner that I have folded ...
Same here ... the last pipe cleaner used doubled over itself

and just lightly brush the entire inside of the bowl.
A little bit of cake is - IMHO - a good thing. Just not a lot in cobs.
Speaking of which ... an Old Dominion Cob (Virginia Planter) is on it's way! :puffy:

 

pipejunky

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 16, 2014
210
2
I use the back of my Czech tool and burnish the end side after the pipe cools and that seems to be just right for me.

 

dochudson

Lifer
May 11, 2012
1,635
12
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racerx

Might Stick Around
Feb 21, 2014
62
2
Southern California
I do the same thing, with the folded pipe cleaners that I used to swab out the stem and shank after smoking it. Kind of scrub it out.
Every now and then I wrap a strip of sand paper around a wooden dowel and sand the bowl down to a very thin layer of carbon buildup.

 

appointed

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 8, 2013
117
0
I just scrape the bowl out a little when the cake starts building up. All of my cobs are cheap and I know they are unlikely to last for more than a few years tops, so I do not afford them the same care I give my briars. I love my cobs, but I just don't obsess over them the same way I do my briars. That's one of the many reasons I love my cobs so much because they're such good work horses and I don't have to worry if I should accidentally drop one in the lake or something.

 

dochudson

Lifer
May 11, 2012
1,635
12
actually I buy 10ga when I can find them.. they fit all my MM cobs with no problems. if a cob is particularly nasty I use a pipe cleaner to soak the bowl with everclear then chuck one of the brushes in a variable speed drill..

 

antbauers

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 12, 2013
675
0
I use a pipe knife and then sandpaper on a dowel. Comes out nice and clean. Although to do like the brush and drill idea.

 

larrylegend

Lurker
Jan 3, 2014
47
0
I use a folded up pipe cleaner to swab the bowl when I am done smoking. If there is any particularly heavy build up I use the spoon on the Czech tool to scrape it away. I have one cob that has been smoked a few times a week for about a year and a hardwood that has been smoked daily for about 3 months, neither one has much build up.

 
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