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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,769
49,269
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Smoking to the bottom isn't something I seek to do, because it's not good for the pipe, so I usually stop before the absolute bottom. Also I'm not fond of getting ash in my mouth. Smoking to the bottom isn't difficult, it would be typical for me if I didn't pull the plug.

Just another of those BS pipe myth aspirations to grow out of.
 

AKinser79

Might Stick Around
Aug 3, 2021
91
214
45
Central Florida
I don't know about smoking to ash, but once a bowl starts getting to where I can't keep an ember going I call it finished. I often don't have much dottle though. Usually just random pieces of tobacco that didn't get to smolder. Then again, I try to be able to sit down, and enjoy a pipe the whole way through. When I can't do that I'm known to simply let the pipe go out and take it up back up later if I've smoked less than 3/4ths of the bowl, otherwise I will dump it.
 
Jun 25, 2021
1,369
4,446
England
Folks' definition of what's moist and what's dry vary widely.
Can you in some way pin down what's what?
Generally speaking I mean straight out of the tin or cellared jar, which judging by comments on the forum would be too moist for most people. SG tobaccos are over moist even for me, and I do dry those for 10 or 15 minutes. I have a broad wooden tamper by my side, and I suppose by a mixture of ignorance and serendipity things pan out well, and I rarely need a relight.
 

bullet08

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
10,234
41,521
RTP, NC. USA
Smoking to the bottom isn't something I seek to do, because it's not good for the pipe, so I usually stop before the absolute bottom. Also I'm not fond of getting ash in my mouth. Smoking to the bottom isn't difficult, it would be typical for me if I didn't pull the plug.

Just another of those BS pipe myth aspirations to grow out of.
Damage to the pipe isn't due to smoking to the bottom. It's unwise use of lighter to torch the heel of the chamber that cause the damage. Relight, towards the bottom of the bowl, should just take quick pass of light above the charred tobacco. If the tobacco doesn't take the ember after second try, smoke is done. Whatever left is either too wet or whatever to go further. I should know, I cracked enough Morgan Bones when I was starting out.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,769
49,269
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Damage to the pipe isn't due to smoking to the bottom. It's unwise use of lighter to torch the heel of the chamber that cause the damage.
Partly correct. It's also the amount of heat being generated as a constant at the bottom, along with the steam, to burn every last strand. That according to every pipe restorer I've corresponded with or spoken to over the passing years. They're the guys who try to fix our fuck ups, so I expect that they might know something about it.
 
Mar 1, 2014
3,658
4,960
Heel thickness is something I pay careful attention to when buying a pipe (compare bowl depth and overall height).
Most pipes are between 5-8mm thick at the heel, and sometimes go over 10mm, but on occasion you'll see a pipe with 4mm or less wall thickness on the bottom of the pipe.

If you never smoke to the bottom it shouldn't be an issue, but if you ever do with a thin heel pipe I'd expect a severe hot spot.
 
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TheDesertPiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 5, 2021
137
539
Arizona
Smoking all of the way down to ash is somewhat rare for me. Some bowls can go for hours and since I cant smoke inside I will cut it off somewhere between 1/3 and 1/4. I'm not trying to be outside in heat for long. In the fall when its much cooler outside It would probably be a different story.