Smoking Sessions - Splitting up a bowl

[JBrumBravo]

Sometimes I want to smoke my pipe, but find that I can only smoke a half a bowl. Is it normal to smoke a half bowl and then save the other half to smoke 2 - 3 hours later. Does it diminish the quality of the of the tobacco? I just don't want to waste the tobacco.

 

[Jwebb90]

Some folks really enjoy coming back to the same bowl at a later time. You may even hear the phrase “delayed gratification technique” or DGT tossed around. I say go for it!

 

[SBC]

Some guys do. A minority even say they like it better.

Not me. At all. I think tobacco becomes gross if a smoke is paused. Even the most exquisite VA suddenly tastes like licking an ashtray in a bowling alley if it sits after being smoked.

If I want to smoke half a bowl (as is often the case), then I pack half a bowl. You don't have to fill the pipe.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Unlike a cigar, no problem sitting your pipe down for hours or more and coming back to it. I don’t plan to do it but it happens occasionally.

 

[JBrumBravo]

Thanks for the tips. I think I will try to plan ahead and just pack a half bowl. But if it happens that I discover half way through that I want to take a break, I'll just leave it on the stand and come back to it. That will only be on an exception.

 

[Jwebb90]

If walking a way for a time, I may run a pipe cleaner through first. Take out all the excess moisture and not let it sit around and get funky. I would likely run a pipe cleaner through before my first relight as well.

 

[Roach1]

Do it all the time and smoke most of my bowls this way. Since I can only smoke in the kitchen with the door closed this is a problem when watching tv. The only bowls I smoke in one sitting are the first two in the morning with coffee.

 

[Waning Embers]

When I was still working, I smoked the same pipe off and on during a 12 hour shift. If it wasn't finished when I got home, I finished it the next morning.

 

[PaulRVA]

Nothing wrong with it. I don’t ever intend to do it but it does happen a couple times a week with interruptions or being occupied and letting it go out only to realize I’m good so I’ll fire it back up later.
I will grab a smaller sized pipe for a shorter smoke if that’s predictable but that’s not always the case.
If it’s just the last 3rd I’ll usually dump it and start over.

 

[Sig]

Not my thing, but in my experience English/Balkan blends with Latakia hold up better than Va or Burley for me.
Latakia blends are much more forgiving in many ways....in my opinion.

 

[huntertrw]

Smoking Sessions - Splitting up a bowl​

At first glance I thought that the title read, Smoking Sessions - Spitting up a bowl.

 

[JOHN72]

Unlike a cigar, no problem sitting your pipe down for hours or more and coming back to it. I don’t plan to do it but it happens occasionally.

Same.

 

[VUswim73]

I did so today. I am an outdoors only smoker. While having a morning bowl, the rain that was forecast for around 5:00 PM arrived around 9:20 AM. So I put the pipe in stand, brought it inside and didn't pick it back up until around 4 PM. I gently loosened some of the top ash and dumped that and the rest of the bowl was just fine.

 

[Hillcrest]

I do it all the time; several times a day as I don't often have a whole hour to smoke a bowl. I've never noticed the things mentioned above. Do what you prefer.

 

[Auxsender]

Try it for yourself. As you can see, there are many takes but your experience is all that matters.
In my opinion, the only way to do anything “wrong” in pipe smoking is to do something YOU don’t enjoy.

For me, I’ll set a pipe down and come back to it multiple days later and it’s totally fine.
I even enjoy guessing which blend is in the pipe when I get back to it because I seldom remember.

 

[Scrapyard Ape]

I do it all the time; several times a day as I don't often have a whole hour to smoke a bowl. I've never noticed the things mentioned above. Do what you prefer.

Same here. Something always seems to come along to interrupt my smoke. I don't worry about it, I just re-light later. It's also why I've been favoring smaller pipes recently.

 

[Hillcrest]

Same here. Something always seems to come along to interrupt my smoke. I don't worry about it, I just re-light later. It's also why I've been favoring smaller pipes recently.

Mine are all big but inevitably whenever I load a 1/3 or 1/2 bowl suddenly I have more time! (Murphy's Pipe law)

 

[Pipeh]

I once misplaced a half smoked pipe, and finished smoking it a year later when I found it. Full Virginia Flake. It was good.

 

[OzPiper]

I once misplaced a half smoked pipe, and finished smoking it a year later when I found it. Full Virginia Flake. It was good.

It had dried out perfectly

 

[Sigmund]

Some of use who conserve tobacco becuase its either expensive or a bit of work to obtain often will use meer chips (or homemade ones from broken clay pots) in the bottom of a bowl. This does a few things that you might find helpful. First it gets the tobacco off of the floor of the pipe and helps keep it going if you arent a master packer. It takes up space so you can fill the pipe less (there isnt anything wrong with half filling it). Most often you will also have less dottle (waste).

That said, I will relight pipes and most of the time its good. Most of the bleds I smoke its not quite as good as a fresh pipe but some make little difference. Lat blends are really forgiving of this. Sweeter blends might be less sweet. Regardless, give it a whirl. If it doesnt taste good make a mental note and move on.

Oh, and meer chips also offer some really basic filtration and will give you a drier and cleaner smoke. I smoke filter pipes so that is not the main reason I use them.