That’s Not A Burnout

[BROBS]

It could be soft briar, but hat looks more like a gouged cake layer. Easy to fix.

Take a strip of sandpaper and wrap it around your finger and run that sandpaper covered finger around the inside of the bowl -to smooth out the cake. Your hands will be filthy from the powdered carbon, so do it over a sink or over a sheet of newspaper.

I usually then coat the bowl with honey and then pack the pipe with tobacco. Smoke the pipe the next day, and lightly wipe the bowl interior with a paper towel when the pipe is cool. Some tobacco might/will cling to the wall of the bowl. Load and smoke the pipe as usual, wiping the bowl walls with a paper towel each time, after smoking. Cake will build up very gradually if at all. Too much cake?....sandpaper away the extra carbon buildup, if necessary.

I've been smoking for years and have rarely gouged or chipped away the cake that builds up in my pipes.

Sandpaper, works.

This pic really shows the depth of it better. The smooth part above is the chamber wall with zero cake.

 

[3rdguy]

COBS

 

[elasmo]

My Volkan has treated me well. Keep smoking it, and tell us when the tobacco smoke starts getting through the walls.

 

[canucklehead]

 

[BROBS]

My Volkan has treated me well. Keep smoking it, and tell us when the tobacco smoke starts getting through the walls.

I will. My other Volkan has been nothing but great. I think just bad luck with this particular piece of briar.

 

[petes03]

Everyone puts out a bad piece of briar every now and then. It could have had flaws hidden just below the surface that weren’t caught on inspection. The Paronelli family has a long history of producing great pipes at fair prices. Their factory pipes have a great reputation from everything I’ve seen. And even though some of their hand mades are a little pricey, they’re still a deal compared with a lot of hand made pipes.

 

[mingc]

I think it had to be a flaw for sure.

Well, the one time I found a flaw like that, I was smoking it in a gale on a beach when the briar caught on fire and the damn thing bust into open flames. I panicked and threw the pipe into the surf and never saw it again!

 

[sumusfumus]

It’s burnt char into the wall. That smooth part you see above the burnout is the wood of the chamber wall.

I know what you’re saying... and have had that happen. But this is certainly not that.

OK...it was hard to tell. Too bad the briar was so soft. I hope it doesn't get worse. Good luck.