The Bottom of the Bowl

[spartan]

The first tobacco that I smoked all the way to the bottom was G.L. Pease's Jackknife Plug.
I cut off a small cube, put it in the coffee grinder for a few pulses, and loaded up the pipe. Heaven.
I also find that smoking smaller pipes can help you learn smoking techniques faster because you can smoke more bowls of tobacco throughout the day since they don't last an hour each, and they are just naturally easier to smoke to the bottom since there is just less tobacco to smoke, and less time for it to absorb as much moisture during the smoke as with larger pipes.
It helped me as a confidence booster and to try different packing methods multiple times and then apply them to my larger pipes.

 

[tbradsim1]

The btm of the bowl is very important, kind of like driving slow for the first 500 miles in a new car, you have to put up with smokeing to the btm to have a good smokeing pipe, stirring at the btm and deashing works, sometimes the taste is not so nice but very important in heat treating the btm of the bowl, you don"t have shortcuts in breaking in a new pipe. The old cajun

 

[cortezattic]

Although a lot of good advice has been offered here, the comments that have resonated with me the most are those of mikephillips, Spartan, and the old cajun.
Russ Ouellette has an interesting take on building a carbon layer on the bottom of the bowl. In essence, he says that if you never smoke a bowl down to the bottom, then don't worry about whether or not there is sufficient carbon cake down there. I think he was speaking in terms of the need for protection from burn-out. His article is New Pipe Break In.
Personally, I baby my pipes for the first 100 smokes. (Ya, I keep track of it. I'm anal retentive.) :lol:

 

[cigrmaster]

I smoke to the bottom of the bowl all the time because the flavor keeps getting better and better. My issue is going so far down I will end up sucking hot molten ash into my mouth trying the get that last bit of flavor. This happens at least a couple of times a week, you would think I would have learned after all these years but I am a greedy pig when it comes to flavor. I just never want it to end.
If your tobacco is not getting more flavorful the more you smoke it down there are many reasons for it. Not dry enough, not packed properly, not dumping ash enough, not tamping properly, not smoking slowly enough, pipe is not clean enough. The best part of a cigar is the nub, all the flavors get concentrated and it is the same with a pipe in my opinion. I know that pipe smoking is difficult and it takes practice, just don't give up.
flyguy, by putting ash back into your pipe, you are doing absolutely nothing to promote cake. All you are doing is making your next bowl taste like ash. There are no short cuts to building cake other than the type of tobacco you are smoking. Va and Vaper flakes build cake very quickly. I suggest you stop doing the ash routine, I think you will notice that the flavors will be better. I have heard this urban legend about the ash routine for years and it is just that an old wives tale. If you look at the physics of building cake and why it forms, you will understand how the ash thing is bunk.

 

[cigrmaster]

Another thing I do is keep trying to re-light nothing but ash for 5 minutes before I wake the hell up and realize there's nothing left in the pipe that will still burn.

I do the same thing. lol

 

[cigrmaster]

Ok, how do you do the quote thing without the word quote showing up?

 

[cigrmaster]

Click the quote tab (quote no slash), then paste the actual quote you want to insert, then click on the quote tab again (slash/quote).

Did this work?
I scrub the inside of my pipe with a couple of pipe cleaners and rarely have to use my Senor reamer, I also like a dimes worth of cake and feel that it produces a cooler and more flavorful smoke. roth is this the kind of tool you are speaking about when you refer to your pipe knife?
http://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-supplies/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=89673

 

[cigrmaster]

roth, thanks for the link. I will grab one. The quote thing did work, thanks, I have always wondered how you guys did that. lol

 

[weezell]

But unlike sex, having too much of it is definitely not a good thing

:clap:

 

[oldredbeard]

I also dump the ash and stir, glad to hear that is ok. I don't think I have read this before.
Thanks to all of you for wisdom.

 

[flyguy]

cigrmaster wrote:

flyguy, by putting ash back into your pipe, you are doing absolutely nothing to promote cake. All you are doing is making your next bowl taste like ash. There are no short cuts to building cake other than the type of tobacco you are smoking. Va and Vaper flakes build cake very quickly. I suggest you stop doing the ash routine, I think you will notice that the flavors will be better. I have heard this urban legend about the ash routine for years and it is just that an old wives tale. If you look at the physics of building cake and why it forms, you will understand how the ash thing is bunk.

Thanks cigrmaster. I discovered this practice on some "pipe expert's" blog and thought it was a clever idea. I will be glad to decease and desist as this is a messy ordeal.

 

[mrhooker93]

I normally dump the ash around the midpoint of the bowl to help with lighting the tobacco. As most have said, proper tamping technique and gentle puffing should usually do the trick. Also, I say put to use the many techniques and morsels of information given on this forum. You will eventually master which technique you prefer. Practice makes perfection; something I am still trying to master in the world of pipes....

 

[zdwebb12]

I have issues finishing an entire bowl. There is often quite a bit of dottle left in the bottom of the bowl when I'm done. Therefore, my pipes don't have a super good cake buildup in the heel. I don't like to smoke all the way to ash because the last 1/5 of the bowl or so always tastes bad, and if I'm not enjoying the smoke I'm not gonna smoke anymore caked-heel be damned.

 

[foggymountain]

I have tried those brass screens they sell for bongs, a little above the bottom. They are a nuisance because they have a tendency to get moved out of place when you load the bowl. But it can be done. Right now I prefer to think of the dottle as a filter and rarely smoke it.

 

[surlysoul]

@cigrmaster and mikephillips: Nice to read more experienced pipe smokers having the same issues as me. I smoke to the bottom and from time to time get ash and embers to the mouth. I have tried light ash also not wanting the smoke to be over, or realizing that it has ended.

 

[instymp]

I have a pipe tool like Roths but different brand, leave it with blade open because I use my Ejames antler tamper for tamping & would never be without either. Use them both all the time.

 

[alex87]

I am still having issues, but i'm working on it. Nothing but practise i suppose. But to be fair, i'm still working on my packing and keeping my bowl lit....so this hobby will forever be a learning experience.

 

[philip]

Bottom of the bowl is like the butt of a cigar, it's nasty

I don't know about cigars, but for pipes this need not be the case.
I have many bowls that stay good until there is nothing left but fine gray ash. The key for me is smoking slowly.
The three problems are tobacco that is too moist, packing too tightly and tamping too aggressively, all of which can cause puffing too hard to keep the bottom of the bowl lit which ruins the flavor.
If the bottom of the bowl goes sour, dump it out, but don't give up working on your technique. You may be surprised how good the bottom of the bowl can be.

 

[cigrmaster]

flyguy, you are welcome. Every time I read that urban legend I shake my head and laugh.
Alex, try packing your bowl tighter. When you are done packing it, check the draw and if there is not a good amount of resistance, keep packing until there is. Many new pipers pack way too loose.

 

[javajunkie]

[/quote]Bottom of the bowl is like the butt of a cigar, it's nasty
I don't know about cigars, but for pipes this need not be the case.

I have many bowls that stay good until there is nothing left but fine gray ash. The key for me is smoking slowly.
The three problems are tobacco that is too moist, packing too tightly and tamping too aggressively, all of which can cause puffing too hard to keep the bottom of the bowl lit which ruins the flavor.
If the bottom of the bowl goes sour, dump it out, but don't give up working on your technique. You may be surprised how good the bottom of the bowl can be.

i know cigars, and agree that neither has to be the case. first bowl of nightcap i burned was like the first time i took a cigar down to the nub (and also the first entire bowl i burned without relight). if it is burning well, and tasting right, and leaving you in a state of relaxation and peace, keep following where it leads. hell, the best movies, you have to sit through the entire roll of the credits just to let it sink in.