Question on Last 3rd of the Bowl

[Marie]

Background: I am cutting my noobie teeth this week on a churchwarden (Balzac 129) with a chimney bowl, and a generic brand aromatic ribbon. I have had some really lovely fleeting moments with this tobacco. Today I hit the middle of the bowl and tasted a new note of corn. Not so much shellfish this time, and of course the main chocolate note.

Question: I am finding that as I get to the last 3rd of the bowl the bite increases and the embers go out more often. I am becoming a little more familiar with feeling for the balance of resistance with the draw by covering the top of the bowl slightly with my fingers to compensate between tamping down (and I do draw a bit as I tamp lightly). But it seems in trying to keep the tobacco lit for the last 3rd, I am having to run the bowl at a higher heat. Any guidance to experiment with? Is it the ash build up? Is it because it is a chimney type bowl?

I have a few other sealed tins of different tobacco in the queue, and a couple of other different bowl-type pipes I could instead cut my teeth with, but I do not want to complicate the conversational dance further. Would rather get a better understanding with what I am already working with if possible.

 

[anotherbob]

The last third or so gets damp and what that means depends on how you packed the bowl and what tobacco. Some tobaccos get acrid and gross and some get awesome. But somewhere there the tobacco becomes mostly not worth smoking. In fact there is a name for the unsmoked last bit in a chamber, dottle. And it's best considered a sacrifice to the tobacco Gods, and I do mean when it starts smoking to hot and requiring too much attention to keep smoking.

 

[Marie]

The last third or so gets damp and what that means depends on how you packed the bowl and what tobacco. Some tobaccos get acrid and gross and some get awesome. But somewhere there the tobacco becomes mostly not worth smoking. In fact there is a name for the unsmoked last bit in a chamber, dottle. And it's best considered a sacrifice to the tobacco Gods, and I do mean when it starts smoking to hot and requiring too much attention to keep smoking.

Thank you! Still getting a handle on vocabulary here. Today, I filled the pipe too lightly, so needed to attenuate with my fingers over the top of the bowl more. I can sacrifice the last bit if necessary. Would rather wrap up a smoking session with the bowl on a good note and end it there or clean it out and refill to keep going.

 

[OzPiper]

I use meerschaum chips or Nording Keystones.

They absorb moisture leading to a drier smoke and less gurgle.
But more importantly they create an air well at the bottom of the bowl which helps combustion.

It’s an additional expense, but for me, in Oz, definitely much cheaper than having to turf out dottle.
They can be reused several times.

More importantly, I almost always smoke down to ash with minimal or no relights - much more enjoyable and tasty bowls

 

[Marie]

I use meerschaum chips or Nording Keystones.

They absorb moisture leading to a drier smoke and less gurgle.
But more importantly they create an air well at the bottom of the bowl which helps combustion.

It’s an additional expense, but for me, in Oz, definitely much cheaper than having to turf out dottle.
They can be reused several times.

More importantly, I almost always smoke down to ash with minimal or no relights - much more enjoyable and tasty bowls

Thank you for sharing. I like that the chips/keystones can be used several times being an added expense.

 

[OzPiper]

Thank you for sharing. I like that the chips/keystones can be used several times being an added expense.

They are cheap if you get a bulk pack.

 

[anotherbob]

Thank you! Still getting a handle on vocabulary here. Today, I filled the pipe too lightly, so needed to attenuate with my fingers over the top of the bowl more. I can sacrifice the last bit if necessary. Would rather wrap up a smoking session with the bowl on a good note and end it there or clean it out and refill to keep going.

Cool next vocab lesson what you called attenuate is called tamping by us fools here.
Doing well considering you just explained one of the first important pipe smoking lessonss at the end of this post.

 

[Marie]

They are cheap if you get a bulk pack.

That's nice! I do a lot of bulk ordering with my pantry and other auxiliary items. Definitely in my wheelhouse.

 

[bullet08]

Moisture. Moisture build up. Heated moisture gives tongue bite. And after awhile, the moisture will kill the light. Dry your tobacco more, and don't pack down to the bottom. And that picture is Eva, not Marie.

 

[Marie]

Cool next vocab lesson what you called attenuate is called tamping by us fools here.
Doing well considering you just explained one of the first important pipe smoking lessonss at the end of this post.

I have been enjoying lots of pipe-smoking themed youtube videos (Hobbiton Piper I like...very easy approach without looking down one's nose at the audience or individual), and observed the tamping you describe. I thought the word only referred to the action of the tamper tool...so I am grateful for the clarity you provided.

 

[instymp]

I normally toss the last 1/3 of the bowl.

 

[Marie]

Moisture. Moisture build up. Heated moisture gives tongue bite. And after awhile, the moisture will kill the light. Dry your tobacco more, and don't pack down to the bottom. And that picture is Eva, not Marie.

Eva Green the actress, yes. I chose her as an avatar both for the cool photos of her pipe smoking, and I am a fan of the HBO series Penny Dreadful that she starred in. This in lieu of not wanting to post my own image in a public forum like many here.

 

[bullet08]

Eva Green the actress, yes. I chose her as an avatar both for the cool photos of her pipe smoking, and I am a fan of the HBO series Penny Dreadful that she starred in. This in lieu of not wanting to post my own image in a public forum like many here.

Family friendly folks here. Unless someone talks about water flushing technique. That tend to bring out the animals.

 

[lukifer]

If the bottom 1/3 of my bowl goes out I toss the dottle in the "mystery jar" and give it a stir. Every once in a while when I am significantly vitamin N deficient I will pack up a bowl of dottle mixture. Always provides a heavy, intriguing and rather pensive smoke.

I don't mess around with too many aromatic blends outside of Lakelands but when I do I find the flavor gets weird past the last half. I assume the trick with aromatics is to smoke more slowly and gently. As others have said its most likely moisture and heat related. Along with modifying your packing and lighting methods you could try just going a little slower and more gentle.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I often smoke stack pipes. There are times (not always, depending on the tobacco cut), later in the smoke, when the compressed ash truncates the flow of oxygen and hinders keeping the tobacco lit—this may be a no-no to some purists, but I find stirring the compressed white ash with a pick and dumping it helps a lot. The result is better airflow in the last part of the smoke and the pipe stays lit.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I often smoke stack pipes. There are times (not always, depending on the tobacco cut), later in the smoke, when the compressed ash truncates the flow of oxygen and hinders keeping the tobacco lit—this may be a no-no to some purists, but I find stirring the compressed white ash with a pick and dumping it helps a lot. The result is better airflow in the last part of the smoke and the pipe stays lit.

I just smack the open end of the chamber against my palm.

 

[Marie]

Family friendly folks here. Unless someone talks about water flushing technique. That tend to bring out the animals.

Yes I am grateful for the many family friendly folks here. I do see that you have a lego avatar with a handle that most likely is not your given birth name if I had to wager? Although if it is...let me clear a spot by the campfire to hear the backstory! I am sure you can relate.

 

[OzPiper]

If the bottom 1/3 of my bowl goes out I toss the dottle in the "mystery jar" and give it a stir. Every once in a while when I am significantly vitamin N deficient I will pack up a bowl of dottle mixture. Always provides a heavy, intriguing and rather pensive smoke.

Storing in a (well-loved) Turkish slipper may help impart intriguing notes to your smokes

 

[proteus]

Don't smoke to the bottom. Especially aros. They aren't a dry type of tobacco and you need bone dry to smoke it all the way. That last little bit isn't worth it for aros. You could stop and smoke it another day. Or just dump and repack.

 

[Marie]

If the bottom 1/3 of my bowl goes out I toss the dottle in the "mystery jar" and give it a stir. Every once in a while when I am significantly vitamin N deficient I will pack up a bowl of dottle mixture. Always provides a heavy, intriguing and rather pensive smoke.

I don't mess around with too many aromatic blends outside of Lakelands but when I do I find the flavor gets weird past the last half. I assume the trick with aromatics is to smoke more slowly and gently. As others have said its most likely moisture and heat related. Along with modifying your packing and lighting methods you could try just going a little slower and more gentle.

Thanks for your reply. Aromatic is what attracted me to pipe smoking...I look forward to eventually branching out. Does vitamin N stand for tobacco? I spotted this in a few posts, but wasn't sure.