Tamping And The Bottom Of The Bowl?

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DotAndBang’sPipes

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 27, 2016
227
541
43
Orlando, FL
I may be on the sensitive end of the taste spectrum but once I lose interest in the bowl I’m smoking, I dump it. I do my best not to be wasteful but if the magic of the smoke is over and the fat lady has sung, I clean the pipe and start a new bowl. Furthermore, when I’ve attempted to smoke all the way to the bottom, the moisture of the tobacco that’s left requires so many relights that it just doesn’t seem worth it. That’s usually my main cue to end it.
 

BSticks

Might Stick Around
Nov 22, 2019
76
292
26
Kellogg, MN
I may be on the sensitive end of the taste spectrum but once I lose interest in the bowl I’m smoking, I dump it. I do my best not to be wasteful but if the magic of the smoke is over and the fat lady has sung, I clean the pipe and start a new bowl. Furthermore, when I’ve attempted to smoke all the way to the bottom, the moisture of the tobacco that’s left requires so many relights that it just doesn’t seem worth it. That’s usually my main cue to end it.
Very rarely do I smoke an entire bowl, sometimes only half. Depending on the tobacco though, I'll come back and finish it off later. For example, Peterson early morning is good for about 2-4 hours in the bowl depending on conditions. G&H #20, 1 to 2 hours, then its bitter and sour.
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,248
57,309
66
Sarasota Florida
I chase the flavor until it doesn't taste good. I tamp maybe halfway down after I have gently gotten the ash out. I then scrap the sides all around the bowl then tamp and that is one of the best hits of the pipe for me. I then chase flavor all the way down and I have to be careful of sucking in a mouthful hot ash. I hate when that happens

One trick I use for keeping a pipe going with no tamper is covering the bowl with a couple of fingers, puff quickly a few times and that will relight the bowl.
 
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Mr_houston

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 30, 2020
571
4,780
Texas
I rarely smoke to the bottom - just not worth it to me. Last week, I put a pinch of Sutliff 515RC in the bottom of my bowl of McClellands 5100, so I wouldn’t waste any of the good stuff. Maybe that’s excessive preservation. But, a dottle here and there is a full pipe over time.

Boy I sound cheap.
 
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LudwigB88

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 4, 2023
259
377
I was wondering if anyone else does what I do toward the bottom of the bowl : since the draft hole is toward the back/stem side of the pipe, as the tobacco gets to be a more shallow amount at the bottom, I use the spoon/shovel portion of the Czech pipe tool to push the remaining tobacco up against the draft hole. This way you are in a sense lighting the remaining tobacco plug at an angle, since the tobacco is pushed up in a kind of “snow drift” against the back portion of the bowl. I’m not saying this always works, and you have to be careful not to push too hard against the draft hole. But it has always made sense to me, rather than leaving a shallow layer of tobacco at the bottom where you are more likely to be sucking in ash, or else air.
 
H

HRPufnstuf

Guest
Whatever works, and if it works...don't fix it. I tamp, tap, puff, poke until the flavour dies. Then it's done.
 
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Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,960
14,334
Humansville Missouri
Greetings,
I actually enjoy the attentive art of pipe tamping. I am careful not to overly compress the tobacco beneath the ashes and embers.

I have mixed thoughts when I get near the bottom of the bowl. When there is a mixture of dottle, ash and a small amount unburned tobacco, I usually use a pick to gently lift the tobacco from the bottom and gently resettle the surface layer. I get a few more minutes of good smoke with a couple relights. What are your thoughts about stirring the remains together to extend the smoke even more? I generally smoke non-aromatics but seeing the remaining tobacco with a grayish color and covered with ash makes me wonder if I should just stop and empty the bowl.

I’m the luckiest man in this entire world.

Tonight I’ll select one of my huge Marxman pipes that hold about a third or more of an ounce of tobacco and find one of my rosewood tampers and twist in four or five flakes of PS LNF or PS LTF and enjoy the hell out of my pipe for about two hours.

Occasionally I’ll lift the ember up and poke it with the pick, then later I might tamp it a bit.

My pipe will not get hot, it will not gurgle, and at the end I’ll turn it upside down over an ashtray and almost all that comes out will be ashes.

You cannot have too many of these.

They grow legs and walk away.:)

IMG_6030.jpeg
 

LeafErikson

Lifer
Dec 7, 2021
2,187
19,169
Oregon
I get 1 lb of Pegasus for $33 when it’s on sale. I usually order 3 lbs at a time and that’s enough to last me 6 months. I dump the dottle (or lack there of ) whenever I feel like it. Sometimes if I want a nice nic hit I’ll purposely leave the last remnants of a bowl of Pegaus in my meer so that it can dry out a bit. I relight it later and those last few minutes at the bottom of the bowl have hella nicotine.
 
Aug 11, 2022
2,633
20,723
Cedar Rapids, IA
I was wondering if anyone else does what I do toward the bottom of the bowl : since the draft hole is toward the back/stem side of the pipe, as the tobacco gets to be a more shallow amount at the bottom, I use the spoon/shovel portion of the Czech pipe tool to push the remaining tobacco up against the draft hole. This way you are in a sense lighting the remaining tobacco plug at an angle, since the tobacco is pushed up in a kind of “snow drift” against the back portion of the bowl. I’m not saying this always works, and you have to be careful not to push too hard against the draft hole. But it has always made sense to me, rather than leaving a shallow layer of tobacco at the bottom where you are more likely to be sucking in ash, or else air.
That’s exactly what I do. It keeps the draft hole at the “bottom” and makes sure you don’t leave too much unburnt tobacco opposite the draft hole. I think it also helps break in the lower portion of the chamber.
 
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Hillcrest

Lifer
Dec 3, 2021
3,694
18,885
Connecticut, USA
I usually use a pick to gently lift the tobacco from the bottom and gently resettle the surface layer.
I've never had to do that. I smoke fairly large pipes and frequently when dumping ash the tobacco ball and cherry will rise up in the chamber allowing me additional smoke time. I haven't had wet dottle for a long time. I generally smoke to bottom of the bowl until pipe goes out on its own. But that's just my experience. YMMV. I do find that its easier to achieve this if I twist the tobacco into the chamber like a screw when loading the top third. It also makes it easier to light. I also rarely have to do relights unless I put the pipe down for too long and it goes out. Just my 2 cents.
 
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Sigmund

Lifer
Sep 17, 2023
2,994
28,634
France
I like meer chips or broken pottery at the bottom of the bowl. Just about a quarter full or a little less. Cool, dry, no bottom of bowl taste. I smoke until its gone and the bottom of the pipe is not at risk of direct burns
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
44,929
117,210
I put nothing foreign in the heel when loading a bowl. Never had a problem with the heel in the slightest, and I usually smoke to a fine grey ash....... YMMV.
Same. I usually end up with a mouth full of ash before realizing that it's that close to the bottom.
 
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