What happens if I never smoke a whole bowl?

[coty]

Most of my pipes have a rather large bowl and I really don't like to smoke a whole bowl from them. I either load them half way or just dump out half the tobacco when I've had enough. When I smoke a whole bowl, that last three quarters just makes me sick and dizzy.
So what happens if I never smoke a whole bowl? Will I get uneven cake? If I do get uneven cake is it a problem? I should probably just buy a smaller pipe or two, but I'm wondering what to do in the mean time.
....and now I'm going to go lie down. That whole bowl of Escudo Navy Deluxe really did a number on me......

 

[titus]

I'm interested in the responses to your post from forum members. I have wandered the same myself. I often don't have time or the inclination to smoke the whole bowl, or as is the case of winters up here in the frozen north, its just too cold to enjoy a longer smoke.
Thanks for asking the question.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

LOL, maybe try loading only three-fourths of a bowl. I would. If you don't smoke all of the bowl eventually, your nipples fall off :wink:

 

[warren]

The smaller bowl is probably the way to go. You could stick to partially loading and smoking. Or, you could fully load, smoke a bit, let the pipe sit for an hour or so and then return to it. I wouldn't let the sit, partially smoked for more than a couple of hours as this may affect the formation of cake and would most certainly have an affect on the taste of the tobacco. At least that is what has happened when I returned to a pipe after a half day or so.
In your shoes, I'd go with smaller pipes. Seems to be the most logical solution. Although you could switch to a tobacco that doesn't do a number on you with a large bowl.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've dumped out many a bowl. Sometimes, I just get bored, especially after an hour or more. Or, a customer comes in and I have to set my smoke aside, and I forget about it. I just keep my cake beaten back, diligently wiping out the bowl each time real well.
I figure if we have a word, "dottle," for the last little bit of cone shaped tobacco that doesn't get smoked, then it's not abnormal to not smoke it all.

 

[effektor]

I try to pack a half bowl rather than packing a full bowl and having to dump it. I've never had any issues, you just end up with less cake on the upper portion of the bowl. I do prefer a smaller bowl for that reason, but I've ended up with a few pipes with larger bowls than I need.

 

[yaboofive]

When I am breaking in a new pipe I pack and smoke Half bowls until the cake starts to develop. I have never had any real issues over the years. After a while you will need to trim the cake layer to ensure an even cake layer, however this is nothing new.

 

[spartan]

If you don't smoke all the way down then you'll develop what Brian Levine calls a "speed bump" in the pipe.
This is where you cake will form mostly at the top of the pipe and little to none near the bottom. Easy to fix with a reamer, not really a big deal.
I would suggest smaller bowled pipes like you said.
Many times I've also been unable to finish a bowl for whatever reason and I will put it on the rack and come back and finish it tomorrow. No biggie.
Or as most have said, load half bowls instead. Not really something you should worry about.
The only bad thing here is how much unburnt tobacco you are tossing out. Definitely try to cut down on your waste if possible.
Happy smoking.

 

[matchstickman]

My policy regarding larger size bowls with this sort of problem has always been the following: If you don't smoke all the way to the bottom of the bowl often enough to form a cake, odds are, you don't need cake down there anyway. I have a few bigger pipes where the cake isn't nearly as pronounced at the bottom of the bowl and I don't tend to worry about it. What I have found is that on deeper chambers, the tobacco at the bottom will absorb a lot of the tars and nicotine and condensation from the first part of the smoke, making it much more moist, much stronger, and harder to light. What I will sometimes do is smoke a bigger pipe down halfway, sometimes 3/4 of the way, then break off the layer of ash and let the pipe go out. Then I'll let that last little bit of tobacco to sit in the pipe bowl; sometimes I leave it for an hour, a few hours, a whole day, or sometimes maybe just a half hour. Letting that tobacco in the bottom sit will let it dry out a bit and make it a little more manageable.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Instead of dumping out the unsmoked tobacco you could just leave it and then come back to it later on. If that doesn't appeal to you then you could dump out the unsmoked tobacco into a container and make an unholy concoction of unsmoked tobacco's and then smoke it later on. That might be really good or really bad. Otherwise just fill up half the bowl. A smaller bowl pipe might be good to have as well.
If you're really worried about an uneven cake then fill the bowl up one time and smoke it halfway down, and then the next time fill it only half way and then smoke it, and the two will balance out. :mrgreen:

 

[skapunk1]

With larger bowls, I sometimes leave half an unsmoked bowl out overnight.. I find the first minute of my relight tastes not so good, but then the flavour comes right back. Besides, some baccy can benefit from more drying.
Warren

 

[latbomber]

If you don't smoke all the way down 13 times in a row than you will unleash a terrible curse upon yourself! Then all of your pipes will forever taste like mixture 79.

 

[virginiacob]

I would also echo what other folks have said about going to a smaller bowl pipe. The smaller bowls will obviously limit both the tobacco you smoke in them as well as the time you smoke it. So, in your case this would allow you to enjoy a full bowl of your tobacco without having to either dump and waste any or having to sit it aside and come back to it later. Smoking time quite honestly is a factor that involves the volume of tobacco that a pipe bowl will hold, how fast you "puff" on the tobacco, and sometimes the blend of tobacco that you choose to smoke in it. Personally, I like my Virginia/Burley/Cavendish blends. Using the cob pipes that I manufacture, which all have rather small bowls ranging from 5/8" down to 1/2", I tend to get a 15-20 minute smoke from the 5/8" bowl, approximately 10-15 minutes from the 9/16" bowl, and right around 10 minutes from the 1/2" bowl.

 

[bluesmoke]

You may miss out on one of the best parts of the smoke.

 

[rmbittner]

"So what happens if I never smoke a whole bowl?"
The earth's crust will split open and you will be sucked into a lightless void.
Oh, sorry. That only happens with something else.
If you're not going to smoke an entire bowl, only fill the bowl halfway (or whatever) to start with. You -- and the pipe -- will be fine. I just wouldn't recommend completely filling the pipe and then only smoking halfway down the bowl, which will create a cake on the top half and leave the bottom completely uncaked.
Another option is to go ahead and fill the bowl completely, smoke halfway down in one session, set the pipe down, and then finish the bowl the next time you want to smoke your pipe. Assuming you're coming back to it within 24 hours or so (and you run a pipe cleaner through between sessions), you shouldn't notice any degradation in flavor or pleasure from the second half of the bowl. (In fact, some folks do this on purpose, calling it DGT -- Delayed Gratification Technique -- believing that the break between smoking sessions actually improves the flavor in the bowl.)
Finally, you mentioned Escudo. If you're not rubbing it out, you should try that. You'll fill up more of the bowl with the same quantity of tobacco. And remember: Escudo is higher in nicotine than a number of blends. You might want to consider moving to a blend lower in nicotine and seeing if that makes any difference in your ability to finish a bowl. If you want to experiment, you'll be best served by a blend that doesn't contain any burley or perique, both of which tend to be high-nicotine tobaccos.
Bob

 

[sfsteves]

After I got my second quality pipe, I had one pipe with a large bowl and one with a REALLY large bowl and experienced this problem myself on occasion ...
The solution is a simple one ... get a couple of small bowl pipes ...

 

[goldsm]

I do like to smoke a large bowl. Specially a fit in my hand is so good.

When I smoke a large bowl I do loose packing and temping lightly.

It gives to me more flavor and enjoyable smoke a whole bowl.

 

[allan]

The answers already given are excellent and no need to elaborate. I often find that I'm interrupted smoking and I will come back to the pipe an hour, or sometimes, many hours later with no ill effects, and the taste, at least to me, is fine.
If you like Va's like Escudo, possibly try some solani 633, which I find to be a lesser nicotine hit and really a tasty tobacco.
I'm sure that there are many others that have less of a hit.

 

[ravkesef]

+1 on everything said so far, with emphasis on smaller bowl, milder tobacco in the same style etc. You don't want the Pipe Police showing up at your front door.
However if all these efforts fail, and you find a room beginning to spin slightly, a teaspoon of honey is a very effective remedy. Sometimes accompanying your smoke with a cup of tea sweetened with honey is also beneficial.

 

[condorlover1]

I agree with the above - smaller bowl and lighter tobacco. I would have thought something along the lines of Gold Block and perhaps a pint of stout or a large G&T with a large slice of lemon to accompany your smoke. It keeps everything in perspective.