Occasionally what looks looks 1/3 of a thimble hollowed out inside. Most often, a few blackened strands left. And sometimes just fine ash. Varies based upon tobacco, dryness, pipe geometry and me.
Unburned Tobacco or Dottle Question
- Thread starter Mac713
- Start date
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Love my new house. But, it's on a sorta top of a sorta hill. Front porch gets full blast of wind rather often. Smoking a pipe isn't as enjoyable. On good sunny days with a good breeze is nice, but face slapping wind suck. Been trying to finish a bowl of Balkan for last three days and it's just not something I can relax with. Probably dump it today and load a new bowl.
I notice that with an aromatic, I can taste it when getting down to the dottle, but with non-aromatics, it burns completely, with minimal taste variation. Could it be a propylene glycol thing?
I very rarely smoke to the bottom of the bowl. If it happens it happens, if it doesnt I'm not bothered.
No, no, no! Leaving unsmoked tobacco should not be a practice nor a goal. (Nor should smoking to a fine white ash be a goal.)
If your smoke is pleasant, keep on going. If it starts to sour, quit, dump and start over.
Reasons why some loads sour, and some don't is complex. manifold, and beyond the scope of this post!
The unburned tobacco is called dottle. Most smokes end with just a little, the longer you have been smoking, the more experienced, usually the less there is.
As soon as the flavor isn't good, whenever that is, stop smoking that bowl. The idea is enjoying the flavor; when good flavor ends, so should the smoke.
Don't worry about building cake. The bottom of the chamber will develop cake, and you don't have to vary your smoking technique to make it happen. Many of us, a minority, don't build cake, just sustain a thin carbon coating by wiping out the chamber, after scooping out the ash, with an abrasive paper towel after each smoke.
For me, MM cob pipes most often burn an entire chamber with no residual unburned tobacco, but briars do this often too.
As soon as the flavor isn't good, whenever that is, stop smoking that bowl. The idea is enjoying the flavor; when good flavor ends, so should the smoke.
Don't worry about building cake. The bottom of the chamber will develop cake, and you don't have to vary your smoking technique to make it happen. Many of us, a minority, don't build cake, just sustain a thin carbon coating by wiping out the chamber, after scooping out the ash, with an abrasive paper towel after each smoke.
For me, MM cob pipes most often burn an entire chamber with no residual unburned tobacco, but briars do this often too.
didn't even think about that. But same here. I often find the falcon will just stop and it took a few times to realize just dump it there is nothing left to smoke.
As other have said, can be tobacco dependent. But I also have found that with my meerschaum and my calabash (which has a meerschaum insert), I can smoke those until only ash remains every time. Not so with the briars.
As for cake, some an almost romantic relationship with their cake. Others, not so much. Personally, I don’t prefer cake, and will periodically clean out my pipes with baby wipes and Q-tips etc to make sure any cake stays to a minimum. But if cake is important to you, you could try loading some 1/4 or 1/2 bowls in the pipe for a period and smoking those down to make sure you’re getting bottom of the bowl pitched somewhat congruently with the top. If you only load these smaller amounts, you’ll likely be able to smoke the bottom of the bowl better than if it’s underneath a full pipe’s worth, having been pressed in, tamped down, ashed, lit and re-lit etc.
Just my thoughts. Best of luck.
As for cake, some an almost romantic relationship with their cake. Others, not so much. Personally, I don’t prefer cake, and will periodically clean out my pipes with baby wipes and Q-tips etc to make sure any cake stays to a minimum. But if cake is important to you, you could try loading some 1/4 or 1/2 bowls in the pipe for a period and smoking those down to make sure you’re getting bottom of the bowl pitched somewhat congruently with the top. If you only load these smaller amounts, you’ll likely be able to smoke the bottom of the bowl better than if it’s underneath a full pipe’s worth, having been pressed in, tamped down, ashed, lit and re-lit etc.
Just my thoughts. Best of luck.
I have a very small amount of tobacco left when I am done.
I only ever get down to ash consistently with a clay or with a The Smoke(which has a graphite liner). Occasionally with a morta, but not always. I've read conflicting things about it, so I just take a modified "spit out the gum when it loses all flavour" approach and smoke until it just doesn't taste good anymore.
I smoke to the bottom if I’m enjoying it. I usually dump some ash about 2/3 in if it gets hard to relight. If it’s still good I’ll stir the bottom. But if it gets unpleasant I’ll dump it half way. My pipe serves me.
Whatever is left after it gets annoying to keep lit is the angels/woodland critters share. Mr Toad and the faeries don't have their own farms ya know and life is to short to smoke scorched dottle.
IMHO one of the great myths of pipe smoking is that you have to smoke the tobacco all the way to the bottom.
My personal approach - smoke a blend until it begins to taste sour or ashy then dump the rest.
Life's too short to fight the dottle...
My personal approach - smoke a blend until it begins to taste sour or ashy then dump the rest.
Life's too short to fight the dottle...
I'm in the dump it when it turns into something other than what it started out as. ?
I feel as though my breakthrough moment with pipe smoking came when I stopped caring. Stopped caring about how I pack, how often it goes out, how often I relight, how much of the bowl I finish, how much I toss out. I mean, what does a bowl of pipe tobacco cost... between $0.30 - $0.60? Unless you're on an extreme budget, nothing should matter less than if you're finishing the whole bowl of pipe tobacco.