The bowl of your pipes, that is! :D I’ve always practiced the art of pulverizing any left over ash chunks into powder, then shaking them around in the bowl for an even distribution on inside of the bowl. How I learned is that this will aid in building a solid cake more quickly. I’ve recently begun wiping a few of my pipes after smoking with a clean pipe cleaner, and really don’t notice any difference in cake formation. What are your thoughts on this? Should we all be wiping? Is wiping a matter of preference? I will definitely say that I prefer clean bowl to one that has ash spread throughout when loading it for my next smoke.
To Wipe or Not To Wipe...That is the Question.
- Thread starter mikefu
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I wipe the bowl with a paper towel after almost each smoke. My cakes are thin and there is very little buildup.
I clean my pipe during the day, by removing all the dottle and ash, then using a pipe cleaner in the stem and folding in half and wiping the bowl. At the end of the day, I take the stem off, dip a pipe cleaner in Everclear, and clean the shank and draft hole. I continue until the pipe cleaners come out clean. I then take a dry cleaner and swab the shank and draft hole. My last step is to fold a pipe cleaner in half, dip it in Everclear and swab the bowl. I put the stem back on, grab my polishing cloth, polish the stem and strummel. Apply some stem oil, and put it in my pipe rack. My pipes stay sweet and odor free.
To me I don't try to encourage cake 'growth'. It still happens, and is slower, and harder cake than the 'cover and shake' method of cake growth. When the cake is about a 'dime's' thickness, I trim to nearly, but not quite wood.
Chamber cake is essentially just remnant tobacco and carmelized sugars from incomplete combustion. Ash is the product of complete combustion. Ash tastes like ass and doesn't really contribute much to good cake formation. I would rather smoke from a clean bowl than have my fresh tobacco ash-filtered.
yoda - you use Everclear inside your bowl? Haven't heard of that one before. I use it for my non acrylic stems and shanks/mortises, but haven't gotten it inside my bowl.
Do you find there are any drawbacks? What about bowls that come pre-coated vs naked ones? Curious.
Do you find there are any drawbacks? What about bowls that come pre-coated vs naked ones? Curious.
I agree on the “ash tastes like ass” comment. I’ve really been impressed with the better flavor from ash-free bowls. I’ve just always done the shake method as it’s how I was taught 15 years ago or so. I haven’t ever had a burn out, tho. I suppose that might be pure coincidence, or may have something to do with cake formation. Either way, I’m more inclined to wipe now, just because it taste better. Yoda, I too would be interested in hearing about the Everclear in the bowl. That sounds intense.
Someone on here, I forget who, mentioned wiping the bowl with an unscented baby wipe. Works great!
Everclear and salt or cottonballs is the method of choice for exorcising ghosts or a really skunked up pipe. But should be used very sparingly. Alcohol is not particularly friendly to wood.
Far better is to rinse the chamber and airway with hot water, then dry with a paper towel in the bowl, and a pipe cleaner in the airway. Qtip in the mortise every now and then.
Ash=ass, and it doesn't build hard cake. Good pipe maintenance need not be OCD.
Far better is to rinse the chamber and airway with hot water, then dry with a paper towel in the bowl, and a pipe cleaner in the airway. Qtip in the mortise every now and then.
Ash=ass, and it doesn't build hard cake. Good pipe maintenance need not be OCD.
IIRC, it was Duane (Chasingembers) who recommended the unscented baby wipes.
Shaking the ash in the bowl leads to a soft, crummy cake and eventually starts to taste ashy and disgusting. Even if you don't wipe the bowl, in the name all that's holy at least dump the ash out of the pipe!
Shaking the ash in the bowl leads to a soft, crummy cake and eventually starts to taste ashy and disgusting. Even if you don't wipe the bowl, in the name all that's holy at least dump the ash out of the pipe!
I don't think it changes the taste much if any. It's more a matter of do you want to ream and deep clean more often or less.
I used to use paper towels, but they left lint. I've since settled on the technique of creating a loop out of a pipe cleaner, adjusting the diameter and shape to the bowl, and spinning it in the chamber. It cleans the sides pretty well, and if shaped right, hits the bottom of the bowl too. I get about 10-15 bowls out of the same pipe cleaner before I have to change it out for a new one.
My paper towels don't do that, but perhaps because I wet them, if the bowl isn't already damp from a flush of hot water.
I personally like to keep the bowl dry, so minimize the chance of getting ash caked on the walls. I don't really have a good reason for my logic, but it seems to work for me. After I twirl the loop, I shake and blow it out. The cake in my pipes almost look like a rough sand infused paint (hard to describe)- maybe like lightly textured paint- actually a bit glossy on the upper third.
One thing that is weird, is that on some of my pipes, the lower 1/4-1/3 of the bowl has thinner cake than the rest. Almost just a charred wall in the bottom of the bowl.
One thing that is weird, is that on some of my pipes, the lower 1/4-1/3 of the bowl has thinner cake than the rest. Almost just a charred wall in the bottom of the bowl.
I bend a pipe cleaner into a horseshoe and give the chamber a light scrub. I only go for the deep clean if a pipe turns sour.
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