Protecting Bowl From Charring

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americaman

Part of the Furniture Now
May 1, 2019
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3,098
Los Angeles, CA
I am wondering how you all avoid charring/burn marks along the rims of your bowls. Is it avoidable or is it inevitable? Any techniques you use?

I remember a while back Steve Fallon (Pipestud.com) mentioned that you could put Vaseline along the rim of your bowl to protect it from burn marks. Is this safe to use or will it strip the finish?
 

Sonorisis

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 24, 2019
853
4,578
Thank you. That's what I thought I meant before I got confused in making a statement that reflected my thinking before I had thought it all the way through to the point of making a distinction that should have come to mind in the beginning before I spoke up and made a misleading statement.
 

python

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 8, 2009
3,756
7,251
Maryland
pipesmagazine.com
I do agree that there are temperature differences. However, I have been using lighters to light my pipes for well over 20 years and have no scorched or charred rims on any of them. It is all about proper technique.

I just find lighters to be more convenient than matches. But as you said, to each his own :)?.
 

cossackjack

Lifer
Oct 31, 2014
1,052
647
Evergreen, Colorado
I remember a while back Steve Fallon (Pipestud.com) mentioned that you could put Vaseline along the rim of your bowl to protect it from burn marks. Is this safe to use or will it strip the finish?
Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) is flammable; I use Vaseline soaked cotton balls as campfire starters.
A good coating of saliva on the rim works well for me, along with the above mentioned suggestions, to prevent rim scorching. It also works well to remove soot & tar from the rim.
 
Jan 28, 2018
12,952
134,606
66
Sarasota, FL
Keep the flame above the bowl and Tobacco. Do not let the flame touch the Tobacco. If you draw the flame to the Tobacco, it can never touch the rim (unless you're so far off center you're wasted). The other suggestions are good ones as well.

If you smoke enough, I think it's near impossible to avoid at least a little charring. The effort to do so isn't worth it, at least to me.
 

americaman

Part of the Furniture Now
May 1, 2019
943
3,098
Los Angeles, CA
A good coating of saliva on the rim works well for me, along with the above mentioned suggestions, to prevent rim scorching. It also works well to remove soot & tar from the rim.

Thank you, and thank you to everyone giving responses. I had heard this before, and used saliva to clean tar from one of my bowls, but I saw that it also stripped some color from the finish onto the tissue or paper towel I used to wipe it off. I haven't done it since. I am wondering if this is normal, and if it's normal to expect some of the finish to be stripped off when removing tar from the top of the bowl.

On my Stanwell I stripped off part of the film-like coating from the top of the bowl using water and a tissue (might have been a paper towel) to clean off the tar. I have had bad luck with pipe maintenance.
 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,206
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I don't beat my pipes up as a rule. They are tools in my estimation, I'm not a collector, and so there is wear and tear. I keep them in good working order. By and large the meers stay home. Briers go to work with me, rain, snow, dust, etc. they may take a beating, lose finish, get a scar or two but, they get used and take good care of me. Now cobs? Poor devils! I treat 'em badly, lose them often and yes, they will float away when unattended in the float tube.

None of my pipes have charred rims though. I've never felt the need to burn them.
 
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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,346
I saw that it also stripped some color from the finish onto the tissue or paper towel I used to wipe it off. I haven't done it since. I am wondering if this is normal, and if it's normal to expect some of the finish to be stripped off when removing tar from the top of the bowl.
Never had it happen here.

16547

16548

16549

16550
 
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