Question about my first smoke.

[noone]

Hey everyone,
I just had my first pipe smoke and I am not sure if I smoked it correctly or if I smoked the whole bowl to the end.
I gently ran a pipe cleaner through the bowl after the smoke and saw that fe spots still looked fresh/unburned, especially at the bottom. I really think that I finished smoking the whole bowl but I am not sure.

So basically my questions are how can I tell if I smoked the whole bowl? And can someone check the attached photos and tell me if the unburned places are normal for a first smoke?

Sorry for the lame questions.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I think what came out of the bowl (composition and amount) when you were finished might be more of a clue on that.

 

[noone]

I think what came out of the bowl (composition and amount) when you were finished might be more of a clue on that.

Yes, almost everything was burned. Maybe few tobacco straws were unburned, but still wanted to ask just in case.

 

[jndyer]

I hate to say it, but an emptied pipe does not show much. It does appear, with how clean the bottom of the bowl is, that you may have not smoked all the way down to the heel of the pipe. Having said that, you may have smoked your bowlful to the point that no much more tobacco would have burned. Typically, new smokers have issues with the final third of the tobacco being overly moist due to the speed at which they smoked, the challenges of improper packing and not knowing how much to dry you tobacco before loading the pipe.

In the end, do not worry about smoking the bowl entirely to the bottom of the bowl. When you are done smoking it is time to dump the pipe and be finished with the smoking session. You will know when you are done because you are just finished, or because you can not longer keep the pipe lit.

Finally, welcome to the pipe world!

 

[AJL67]

Did you enjoy it, yes? Then you did it right.

 

[didimauw]

I hate to say it, but an emptied pipe does not show much. It does appear, with how clean the bottom of the bowl is, that you may have not smoked all the way down to the heel of the pipe. Having said that, you may have smoked your bowlful to the point that no much more tobacco would have burned. Typically, new smokers have issues with the final third of the tobacco being overly moist due to the speed at which they smoked, the challenges of improper packing and not knowing how much to dry you tobacco before loading the pipe.

In the end, do not worry about smoking the bowl entirely to the bottom of the bowl. When you are done smoking it is time to dump the pipe and be finished with the smoking session. You will know when you are done because you are just finished, or because you can not longer keep the pipe lit.

Finally, welcome to the pipe world!

Yes when it's done you will know. Don't risk burning your pipe or mouth but attempting to burn the last little bit of tobacco. Sometimes the bowls burn all the way down and sometimes they don't. I give the last 1/4 of the bowl 2 solid relights. If it doesn't take, I dump it.

 

[PipeIT]

There are various ways in which to smoke a pipe, which is basically not smoking tobacco to damp, packing to light or to tight, and smoking fast, which covers the basics.

Beyond this, smoking a pipe is anyway you choose, there are no rights or wrongs.

You want to smoke a quarter of a bowl, half a bowl, a quarter way from the bottom, all the way down, that’s your choice.

But, if you have a very expensive pipe, I find most don’t smoke them all they way to the bottom, burning out every last bit, because with the flame, you risk charring the airway, also you can create hairline cracks at the bottom, from to much flame hitting the bottom.

In an expensive pipe you care about, the flame should not be coming in contact with the bottom, so when you smoke close to the bottom, make sure you leave a layer of ash, which will act as a layer of protection against the flame.

All my nice pipes are only smoked a quarter of the way to the bottom.

 

[PipeIT]

Smoking Your Pipe To The Bottom Of The Bowl | Smokingpipes.com

Should you smoke your pipe to the bottom of the bowl? We're covering the question with advice from a range of expert pipemakers.

www.smokingpipes.com

 

[noone]

Thank you so much for the wonderful advise! Will keep everything you guys said in mind! Once again, thanks!

 

[bullet08]

Trick is not torching the bottom of the chamber. With experience, you'll notice when you are done. That could be due to number of reasons. Too much moisture, tobacco just not burning and so on. But one thing you don't want to do is keep putting what's left of tobacco at the bottom to light. If there's tobacco left to be smoked, it would catch fire rather quick without too much effort. You could dump the ashes before applying fire. But if it won't, just dump what's left in the chamber.

 

[mso489]

A little unburned tobacco at the bottom of the chamber is of no concern. When the bowl will no longer maintain a relight, and/or when the taste becomes less that delicious, it's time to scoop out the chamber and stop smoking or repack that or another pipe.

The unburned tobacco is called dottle. Sometimes you will smoke the whole bowl, and it will be delicious all the way, and there won't be any unburned tobacco left. That's pleasing, but it is happenstance. i've had that most often with MM cobs, but with briars as well.

 

[Dr. Van Loafer]

Hey everyone,
I just had my first pipe smoke and I am not sure if I smoked it correctly or if I smoked the whole bowl to the end.
I gently ran a pipe cleaner through the bowl after the smoke and saw that fe spots still looked fresh/unburned, especially at the bottom. I really think that I finished smoking the whole bowl but I am not sure.

So basically my questions are how can I tell if I smoked the whole bowl? And can someone check the attached photos and tell me if the unburned places are normal for a first smoke?

Sorry for the lame questions.

As others have said, when you are done smoking you are done smoking. Sometimes this is the whole bowl and sometimes not.

In my experience I know the bowl is done when it is hard to keep lit and I start tasting burnt ash, sometimes I get a harsh jolt of burnt flavor and then I really know it is done.