Tongue Bite, Smoking Technique, and 9MM Activated Charcoal Filters

[saltedplug]

I never succeeded in slowing down. I started smoking MB Mixture and got bit regularly until I stopped.

I think bite comes from smoking too fast. Theoretically it can be controlled with cadence alone, no matter the pH. Problem? Smoke slower.

 

[EvertonFC]

I think bite comes from smoking too fast. Theoretically it can be controlled with cadence alone, no matter the pH. Problem? Smoke slower.

Honestly, I'm not sure of the science. Perhaps pH makes a difference, perhaps not. Perhaps if I was better at this I would stop getting bitten, perhaps not. In the end, I look at this through the lens of Occam's Razor. And in this case, the simple solution is to use 9mm filters.

 

[fireground_piper]

I pretty much use exclusively 6mm other than a few I have with no filters. Work great for me at what I want them to do.

 

[Suilven]

Happy to hear the 9mm route has worked for you. Whatever makes the experience pleasurable is a good thing; we're not here to have to struggle with our pipes. We're here to enjoy them. I notice when reading forum posts that everyone has a unique path in his pipe smoking - his taste in pipes and tobacco, his packing method and smoking cadence, use of lighters or matches, smoking alone or in company, indoors or out, once a week or 5 times a day, etc. It's kinda cool to notice how every forum member finds his own way and yet there's this wonderful fellowship and encouragement from others.

 

[bullet08]

Everyone's different. Maybe the filter is the answer. After few years, things might change.

 

[thedoc333]

Ways to mitigate tongue bite: 1) avoid common culprits like macbaren aromatics 2) sip on low pH beverage while smoking 3) ash (ash is very alkaline) 4) make sure pipe is clean before lighting up 5) the sipping thing may help but I have gotten bit sometimes after relighting at the end of a bowl with a verrry cool smoke... it’s a chemical reaction... I think it’s very hard to get bit from hot water vapor unless you’re torching a nosewarmer. I could be wrong though.

6) I have a feeling diet can play a role in saliva pH. high fruits and veggies in diet likely contribute to higher (more alkaline) pH.

 

[luigi]

Charcoal filters aren't that bad.
Some blends simply bite, wet or dry, smoking slow or fast. Struggling for the best combination of drying and cadence is sometimes more painful than a simple filter.

 

[BeachBumBri]

Glad you found a solution in the 9mm filters. I have a half dozen Savinelli pipes. Two are unfiltered Series III, I put the plastic 3mm adapter in another, and I use the 6mm balsa filters with the other three. I also use these in my MM cobs. I enjoy them all.

Though I don't often get tongue bite, I've noticed that the balsa filters take some moisture out of the smoke, and they seem to be less prone to bite.

Savinelli makes 9mm balsa filters that might be worth a try.

 

[mparker762]

if I get tongue bite it's because of chemical burn. I've got cracks in the surface of my tongue which makes me more sensitive to this. Fortunately there aren't a whole lot of blends i love that give me tongue bite. Invariably I won't get bitten until an hour or more after I've finished smoking. I find all it takes to avoid tongue bite is to rinse my mouth out with a mouthwash containing hydrogen peroxide soon after I finish smoking, I think the foaming action helps clear whatever it is off my tongue. But sometimes life intervenes or I forget.

 

[archaeologist]

Personally, I use 9mm filters when
1) the pipe takes such a filter or even a 6mm
2) the pipe is short and bulky with a short stem. This is to avoid inhaling or getting hot, burning morsels of tobacco or ash in the mouth. This could be quite unpleasant.
3) I smoke aromatics that tend to burn hot
4) the tobacco is wet.

 

[Ryszard]

Most of the time I smoke 9mm-filtered pipes with either Stanwell active charcoal filters or White Elephant meerschaum filters for convenience reasons, also depending on the tobacco and my respective mood. Generally, when I am looking for a factory pipe, I always try to find a 9mm-filtered version of it so that I can either smoke with a filter or without one. Of course, some beautiful artisan pipes - especially thin shanked ones - are only available unfiltered and that is just fine for me too.

Filtered pipes are extremely popular over here in German-speaking countries. You still sometimes get people either bashing filtered pipes or the people who smoke them, for their lack of technique or whatever else reason. In my experience though, the ones bashing filters the loudest and acting all elitist about smoking "non-filtered only" in front of others are often young & inexperienced smokers who freight-train their pipes blowing huge clouds of smoke in your face. The old codgers, on the other hand, often follow the "whatever floats your boat" approach that is thankfully almost always conveyed in our forums here.