three noob questions

[larry127]

1.)how do you avoid sucking in ashes? (assume im having a non filter pipe)

2.) how would you know when its done smoking a bowl ? As when i did cleaning it always left some unburn tobacco cover with ashes ,kind of waste.

3.)where can i get the pipe cap ,where i can keep my pipe in to my pocket without worrying the left over tobacco/ashes dropping off .(to continue smoke in my next destination)
Truely appreciate for those who reply my above questions.
Thank you.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

1. I put aquarium carbon pellets in the bottom of my pipe (wash them first to get rid of all the carbon dust) (that or I like to use a filtered pipe). Otherwise people just spit it out I guess.
2. Dottle is perfectly normal. You do not want to burn every last bit of tobacco anyway. The flavour that you enjoy does not come from burning tobacco, it comes from getting it hot enough to release particles without burning, basically roasting it, just like how food always smells best hot but not burnt. Combustion is a necessary evil in this case. Only the leaf surrounding the burning stuff really gives you flavour, thus the lower the temperature of your burn the better it tastes (usually, different temperatures change the profile, for example Virginia blends tend to lose their sweetness and turn into a toast kind of flavour when burning hot).
3. I use a cork. Cut to fit and hot glue some leather on top and it doesn't look too shabby, but just the cork works too as long as you leave enough sticking out to pull on.

 

[easterntraveler]

I have never suckec in ashes. Sounds like you are drawing to hard on the pioe. Remember nice gentle sips.

 

[shawnofthedead]

1) I don't think you can sucking in ash, even if that's possible it would be a very tiny amount of ash that end up in your mouth which you can easily rinse off after each smoke.

2) When near the end of a smoke, dip your pick into the shallow layer of ash on top, stir it a bit and pour out the ash and see how much unburnt tobacco is beneath. If there is a lot, then light and continue; if there is very little, then just dump it out.

3) I use a Brebbia cap, which is basically a acrylic disc with a foam cylinder glued to one side.

 

[Chasing Embers]

https://m.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-supplies/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=131857

 

[judcole]

1. I very, very rarely have a problem with ash - perhaps 1 bowl out of 1,000 I will get a bit. If you get it regularly, you are puffing too hard,as was mentioned above.

2. Sometimes you will have some dottle at the bottom, but not always - if all is working well, you will just have ash. Not a big deal either way.

3. What chasing said.

 

[mso489]

Welcome larry. Looks like the guys have you covered on your questions. The custom here (one of the rules too) is to use initial capitalization in your post titles. Sounds nit-picky but gives Forums a more snappy look and makes the index easier to read. Thanks.

 

[pruss]

The guys above nailed the answer, so I'll just say, "Welcome aboard."
Happy puffing.
-- Pat

 

[tasteslikeburning]

I think maybe what he meant because I am also doing it too (fellow noob)... I usually get a couple pieces of tobacco when I am doing the Charring light coming down the stem. I thought maybe because I am packing too light initially. It's not "Ash" so much as it is pieces of tobacco at the bottom that didn't get packed?

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

That was my assumption as well, but whether tobacco or ash I just don't like having to spit when I'm sitting down to smoke a pipe, usually it means I have to get up out of my chair, and usually it's just after the cat gets settled on my lap.

The idea of "take your time lighting" and "relights aren't a big deal" is a lot harder when you're either standing over the garbage bin waiting for another bit of tobacco to hit your mouth, or expecting to have to get up every time you re-light (at least for the first few minutes of the bowl).
That and filters keep gurgle at bay.

 

[fnord]

Larry:
Five years ago, when I got after this hobby seriously, I tried to do it all perfectly.
What a huge waste of time. Colossal. Effing enormous.
Most of us have sucked some ash at one time or another. It happens. Really, man, don't worry about it. Don't sweat leaving some unsmoked tobacco in the bowl either. Pretty soon, you're going to have more tobacco than you can say can say grace over. And, if it takes you twenty relights to get through a bowl, then so what? Life is messy: wife, kids, phone calls, the yard, the toilet, sweeping the garage and carrying out the trash. Nobody really cares, bub.
As long as you're enjoying your smoke, brother, I'm happy for you.
Relax, Larry. The destination is not the reward. Enjoy the journey.
Fnord

 

[hawke]

The flavour that you enjoy does not come from burning tobacco, it comes from getting it hot enough to release particles without burning, basically roasting it, just like how food always smells best hot but not burnt. Combustion is a necessary evil in this case. Only the leaf surrounding the burning stuff really gives you flavour, thus the lower the temperature of your burn the better it tastes (usually, different temperatures change the profile, for example Virginia blends tend to lose their sweetness and turn into a toast kind of flavour when burning hot).

What a great piece of experience by frozenchurchwarden. Took me 2 years to learn this. I noticed that when my bowl was just barely going the taste was better but learning about why allowed me to manage my smoking pleasure better.

 

[shawnofthedead]

The initial puff may draw a little tiny loose tobacco into your mouth, you can get around this by picking the larger pieces of tobacco to pack in the bottom and the smaller particles on top.