Question on Last 3rd of the Bowl

[Marie]

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.

Thanks! I was wondering if this was also a viable option.

 

[Marie]

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.

Thank you. This is very helpful!

 

[hoipolloiglasgow]

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.

Don’t pack too tightly, the tobacco should be springy and slightly loose in your bowl. Different blends are different, especially flakes, but you’ll figure that out with time. Don’t over tamp your tobacco, only enough force to get some nice smoke going. Often times the weight of your tamper is enough. Lastly, always make sure to sip your tobacco. With time, most, if not all bite will be gone unless it’s just something known to be bitey and harsh. Try as many different blends as you can to find out what you like. If you have to relight, relight. Don’t try to huff and puff just to keep the bowl running, it’ll affect the taste and burn of your smoke. Also, I wouldn’t recommend a chimney style bowl for a beginner to get packing down, but you will figure it out.

 

[Auxsender]

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.

Vitamin N is nicotine.

 

[Sig]

Its most likely a tobacco issue.
Some blends leave a lot of moisture in the bottom.
I usually just toss the bit of dottle that doesn't burn.
As you experiment with other blends, you will notice the difference.
More moist blends need to be packed a bit looser for a good burn.
Also try knocking out the ash and LIGHTLY tamp the tobacco before a relight.
It will come to you.

 

[OzPiper]

Does vitamin N stand for tobacco?

Vitamin N = nicotine.

A “nic hit” results in light-headedness, dizziness, nausea and can be rather unpleasant.
Smoking after a meal can help avoid this

 

[mortonbriar]

It is mostly just familiarity. Familiarity with your breathing, specific pipes, the blend types and current moisture of your tobacco, and just with lighting a small fire inside a bit of wood.

Anyone in my family can start the fire in the evening, but to build a good bed of embers so that the morning fire can get started again without paper or matches is a 'knack' that I cannot seem to explain to my kids, because it is learned through doing.

 

[Marie]

Its most likely a tobacco issue.
Some blends leave a lot of moisture in the bottom.
I usually just toss the bit of dottle that doesn't burn.
As you experiment with other blends, you will notice the difference.
More moist blends need to be packed a bit looser for a good burn.
Also try knocking out the ash and LIGHTLY tamp the tobacco before a relight.
It will come to you.

Thanks Sig. This is helpful as well. Coming into it new, my thought was a typical one...no matter the blend, smoke it down to the bottom of the bowl. I also do not have a range for moisture in the tobacco yet by feel. So I could be thinking my aromatic is dry enough, when it could still have too much moisture.

 

[Sig]

Thanks Sig. This is helpful as well. Coming into it new, my thought was a typical one...no matter the blend, smoke it down to the bottom of the bowl. I also do not have a range for moisture in the tobacco yet by feel. So I could be thinking my aromatic is dry enough, when it could still have too much moisture.

If you smoke slow enough and relight enough, you can dry out the wettest blend by the second half. Its some work, but worth it for the right blend.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

A chimney is not the best choice for an aromatic. The bottom filters the top smoke, and the aromatic will have more deposit / condensation than a non-aromatic. Nothing you are doing wrong, tobacco just gets too much moisture and 'gunk' as you smoke it down. Dump the ash, consider dumping the tobacco when it gets unpleasant, or choose a more traditional bowl size. Stay with the aromatic if that is what you enjoy.

-Doc

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Thanks Sig. This is helpful as well. Coming into it new, my thought was a typical one...no matter the blend, smoke it down to the bottom of the bowl. I also do not have a range for moisture in the tobacco yet by feel. So I could be thinking my aromatic is dry enough, when it could still have too much moisture.

Aromatics are moist, and most contain PG (polyethelene glycol) to keep them moist. Most are intentionally hard to dry out to keep the flavor. Dried aromatics typically lose their flavor. Don't fight it, find the right pipe and don't be afraid to relight!

 

[Marie]

It is mostly just familiarity. Familiarity with your breathing, specific pipes, the blend types and current moisture of your tobacco, and just with lighting a small fire inside a bit of wood.

Anyone in my family can start the fire in the evening, but to build a good bed of embers so that the morning fire can get started again without paper or matches is a 'knack' that I cannot seem to explain to my kids, because it is learned through doing.

Appreciate your reply. The 'knack' you speak of seems more like an incredibly refined skill!

 

[Marie]

Aromatics are moist, and most contain PG (polyethelene glycol) to keep them moist. Most are intentionally hard to dry out to keep the flavor. Dried aromatics typically lose their flavor. Don't fight it, find the right pipe and don't be afraid to relight!

You are most kind, thank you. I will try my other two non-chimney pipes and make notes.

 

[OzPiper]

Thanks Sig. This is helpful as well. I also do not have a range for moisture in the tobacco yet by feel. So I could be thinking my aromatic is dry enough, when it could still have too much moisture.

When judging dryness, I take a pinch of tobacco.
Drop the tobacco - if the tobacco clumps/sticks together, it needs further drying

A lot of aromatic blends use PG solution to maintain moisture level. Short of nuking these, they won't get dry enough.
These will still smoke fine if you gravity fill, maintain a loose pack and tamp lightly.

 

[mortonbriar]

Appreciate your reply. The 'knack' you speak of seems more like an incredibly refined skill!

I don't wanna brag, but I can also beat my 8 year old daughter in an arm wrestle...so kind of a big deal round here.

 

[sablebrush52]

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.

It's not unusual for new pipe smokers to look for the significance of everything they experience and maybe wonder if any difference is due to something they did or didn't do. Maybe if they really understand they can absolutely control the result.

Maybe yes, maybe no. More like no. A blend may be subtly different from bowl to bowl because the mix of components is slightly different at different points in the tin, or the amount of flavoring might have been applied a little unevenly. It's an organic product, so it's going to vary. Very slight variations in moisture or packing or whatever can lead to variations in the smoke. Different chamber shapes can produce differences in flavor profiles of the same blend.

It's great to notice characteristics of a smoke. That's part of the experience. And becoming familiar with how blends change as they burn down can be useful. Just don't allow concerns over the mechanics get in the way of enjoying pipe smoking as a relaxing pastime.

 

[Marie]

I don't wanna brag, but I can also beat my 8 year old daughter in an arm wrestle...so kind of a big deal round here.

Thanks Mortonbriar...your mention of building a fire took me back a ways. When I was much younger, I remember my dad taking my brother and I camping around Strawberry and Pinecrest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He drove us up near the Waterhouse trailhead and we hiked all the way down into the area around Waterhouse Lake. No roads, just boy scout markers. Around the lake there were a few pro-hikers camping with what ever they could pack and carry in. LOTS of rock climbing and a random bear in the distance. However our campsite was near a creek, and I will never forget the smells and sounds of my dad making bacon and eggs and the percolating of coffee over the campfire when I woke up that first morning after we set up the camp. Great memories! Some of it death-defying...but that's what dads do...build character!

 

[troutface]

Vitamin N = nicotine.

Also known around these parts as Lady N. No offense.

 

[Marie]

It's not unusual for new pipe smokers to look for the significance of everything they experience and maybe wonder if any difference is due to something they did or didn't do. Maybe if they really understand they can absolutely control the result.

Maybe yes, maybe no. More like no. A blend may be subtly different from bowl to bowl because the mix of components is slightly different at different points in the tin, or the amount of flavoring might have been applied a little unevenly. It's an organic product, so it's going to vary. Very slight variations in moisture or packing or whatever can lead to variations in the smoke. Different chamber shapes can produce differences in flavor profiles of the same blend.

It's great to notice characteristics of a smoke. That's part of the experience. And becoming familiar with how blends change as they burn down can be useful. Just don't allow concerns over the mechanics get in the way of enjoying pipe smoking as a relaxing pastime.

Thank you. You verbalized much of what was rolling around in my brain in terms of question marks. I do see the roads part ways between those that smoke to enjoy, and those that smoke to enjoy the conversation between man and pipe that appears to be unique each time. Neither road better than the other..just is.

 

[Chasing Embers]

A chimney is not the best choice for an aromatic

Actually they're perfect for wetter tobacco. You can pack them extremely lightly to allow more oxygen into the chamber to burn off moisture while still retaining enough tobacco for a long smoke.