Tamping a Canted Bowl

[SmokeRings79]

Hi, friends. I have received my first canted bowl pipe. A great smoking Devil Anse nose warmer by Manelli. I never thought about it before, but should I load and tamp with the top of the tobacco parallel to the floor or parallel to the rim (which is, let's say, about 45 degrees)?

Hope I'm understood. Thanks in advance.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

You mostly tamp parallel to the walls in the obsidian of the bowl. I think you meant perpendicular to the floor or bottom of the bowl but I think parallel to the inner bowl walls is more accurate.

 

[SBC]

You may be over thinking it -- in practice, whatever happens should work. But, in theory, I guess that it would be parallel with the rim.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

You may be over thinking it -- in practice, whatever happens should work. But, in theory, I guess that it would be parallel with the rim.

Really? How would you do that? I suppose the flat part of the tamper is parallel to a flat rim. But the shaft if the tamper and the direction you would tamp would be perpendicular to the rim.

 

[Waning Embers]

Just as you would any other pipe. SBC gets it.

 

[SmokeRings79]

Geometry rules....

 

[cosmicfolklore]

You may be over thinking it -- in practice, whatever happens should work. But, in theory, I guess that it would be parallel with the rim.

I think we all knew what you meant. I’m still trying to figure out what the “obsidian of the bowl” means.

 

[mso489]

I'm thinking parallel to the rim and perpendicular to the shaft of the tamper. I think the ember might be burning perpendicular to the ground, with gravity drawing the ember downward, but you still want the unburnt tobacco to be even across the chamber.

I've always suspected that the high side of a canted bowl catches a little more heat, but I think this discussion may be a little more exacting and precise (or trying to be) than the process itself. The ember will adjust itself as it burns, and I would just accommodate its way of burning.

A more vertical chamber is probably the most efficient, which is why most pipes get built that way, but many clay pipes are canted and they have been popular for centuries.

The pipe in the photo is canted so slightly, I think it can be treated like a vertical chamber.

 

[SBC]

Really? How would you do that? I suppose the flat part of the tamper is parallel to a flat rim. But the shaft if the tamper and the direction you would tamp would be perpendicular to the rim.

Correct -- I wrote imprecisely. The flat of the tamper parallel with a flat rim and perpendicular to the orientation of the bowl, and the shaft of the tamper parallel with the orientation of the bowl. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[kcghost]

Keep the tobacco in line with the top of the bowl.

 

[bullet08]

I sure there's a perfectly logical reason for this question, but I can't think of one. It's a pipe, just tamp it.

 

[solideogloria86]

Only one way to be absolutely sure, you're doing it absolutely right.

 

[OverMountain]

Make sure your pipe bubble level is flame retardant. Nothing is worse than melting your pipe bubble level when trying to ensure the appropriateness of your packing in a canted bowl!

 

[renfield]

A laser level will give best results.

Just tamp the bowl like any other. Ignore the angle that the stem makes with the bowl.

 

[bullet08]

Had some sleepless nights. So, it seemed like a good idea to waste my time thinking about this. If you take the pipe out of your mouth, hold it in one of the hands, and look down to to the chamber, you will be holding the pipe with top of the bowl parallel to the ground. Canted or not. And you wouldn't even thing about pipe is canted and just tamp away. Problem would be if you are one of those who tamp while smoking. I suggest yoga.

 

[SmokeRings79]

Had some sleepless nights. So, it seemed like a good idea to waste my time thinking about this. If you take the pipe out of your mouth, hold it in one of the hands, and look down to to the chamber, you will be holding the pipe with top of the bowl parallel to the ground. Canted or not. And you wouldn't even thing about pipe is canted and just tamp away. Problem would be if you are one of those who tamp while smoking. I suggest yoga.

Don't be ashamed to admit that you couldn't sleep before solving this philosophic dilemma.

 

[ThermionicScott]

At some point, I developed a tendency to tamp at an angle so that the top of the tobacco is roughly equidistant from the draft hole. That seems to help make sure all the tobacco on the far side of the bowl gets a chance to burn, and might help protect the draft hole. It also lets me disregard whether the lip of the bowl is level or not...

 

[canucklehead]

You need a canted tamper, of course.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

You need a canted tamper, of course.

William Jefferson Clinton has one of those!

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

My beloved teaches math, including all things geometry, and claims (without looking at the chamber and based on my likely incorrect description so don’t blame her) it may be an oblique cylinder. I’m not sure it really is, but it sounds cool.