"What is Spiderwebbing?"

[jah76]

I saw an estate on a sponsor's site that mentioned the pipe having "spider webbing" in terms of damage. They just had one pic so I couldn't really see what they we're talking about. I've seen a few older pipes with hairline cracks in the inner bowl, is that what they are referring to?
Thanks in advance.

 

[sixmp]

Spider webbing is basically burnout.

 

[ejames]

Did he say if the spider webbing was on the inside or outside of the bowl? I don't recall ever seeing any in the inside of a bowl. Cracks sure,but not spider webbing. The term is generally used to indicate cracks in the finish, and usually that means a lacquered finish. It will sometimes crack from the heat and age and the bowl will look as if it has spider webs on it.

 

[sixmp]

Spider webbing is basically burnout.

Ignore me i'm a learner driver.

 

[jah76]

Thanks.
No they did not specify where the spider webbing was. The following is the quote from their description.

Rim darkening and the chamber was over reamed, plus has some spiderwebbing.

The pipe itself is rusticated pretty heavily. I'm not interested in purchasing it (not that it's a bad pipe, just not what I'm looking for) but I was curious what they were referring too.
I appreciate the info.

 

[PeriqueMyInterest]

It seems like they're referring to fine lines formed on the inside of the bowl. If you ream an estate down to the bare wood and look closely you can see thin lines in the form of a loose web around the chamber walls. They are caused by heat and if you see them in reamed estates smoke very softly. First step towards burnout, if you see them on the finish, I would imagine you should smoke even slower.

 

[topd]

No.... I'm with james.... it has to be on the outside finish. Most likely the finish has

cracked with age from leaving it on the dash of an old truck. If it was in the bowl, the

'descendants' that inherited the pipe would never know, care or mention it if they did know

enough, more than likely...
jah76, what kinda pipe? May be worth fixin' up

 

[mluyckx]

You're all wrong...
It's what happens to a pipe when Spiderman gets a hold of it. He's now in service of the anti-smoking police. :nana:
Sorry... couldn't resist..

 

[topd]

OK Mick HaHaaa Your right!
We need photo's of the pipe.... Or we're just bunkin' heads!

 

[jah76]

Here's the image. Doesn't help much I'm afraid. It's from Smoking Pipes and when combined with the earlier quote from Roth taken from SP.com I'm guessing in this context its referring to the inside of the bowl. Or that's SP.com's understanding of the term.
And Mick, if anyone's going to be webbing anything of mine I'd rather it be SpiderWOMAN.

 

[philip]

It's what happens to a pipe when Spiderman gets a hold of it.

 

[ejames]

From Smokingpipes.com:

"Soft spots in the bowl, which char faster and are noted as spider webbing, are often the cause of uneven reaming if done by hand. If using a knife, these softer areas could concave and cause a bigger problem in the future, so great care must be taken to ream the chamber evenly."
Also this:
"Spider webbing is from a 'hot-spot' where the coals were well on their way to a burn thru in the bowl. It's a weak area now and can be mudded over or filled in but best is to smoke cool (as cool as you can, so even char, gentle even light and easy does it sippin') may render a cake forming over the area. Usually can be found at the bottom around and just above the draft hole."

I wouldn't call this spider webbing,sounds more like beginning burnout which never looked like spider webbing to me.

It seems like they're referring to fine lines formed on the inside of the bowl. If you ream an estate down to the bare wood and look closely you can see thin lines in the form of a loose web around the chamber walls. They are caused by heat and if you see them in reamed estates smoke very softly. First step towards burnout, if you see them on the finish, I would imagine you should smoke even slower.

That I can see being called spider webbing,although I usually just think of it as heat stress cracks.

Spider webbing as I am familiar with the term has always referred to the cracks that develop in a lacquers,varnishes and sometimes paint finishes.

 

[cigrmaster]

rothnh is correct that spider webbing is on the inside of the bowl. I would never go near a pipe that has it. I think that people selling these things are doing a disservice by not explaining exactly what it is and how the integrity of the pipe has been compromised. I would also stay away from any pipe that is described as over reamed, that can mean so many things and again the pipes integrity is questionable. There are so many estate pipes that are in great shape, there is never a reason to take a chance with one that has those kind of issues.

 

[jah76]

Trailboss. I've always had really good interactions with their customer service. I'm almost positive they'll just have you mail it back.
Two side notes.
1. I seem to be seeing a LOT more pipes on their site with spider webbing and soft spots then I used to. That's just a feeling. No data. Which most likely means they are obviously selling.
2. I own about 3-4 pipes that have spider webbing. I just took honey mixed with tobacco and coated the bad spot. After a few weeks I just lightly reamed down the cake to make it even. But to be fair these were all restos I got off ebay. They smoke just fine.

 

[pipestud]

I think "spiderwebbing" has different meanings, depending on who you talk to. I always thought it to mean a pipe that had not been smoked in many years showing little cracks in the cake all over the interior of the pipe due to climate changes that caused a lot of expansion and then contraction of the bowl. This can cause the cake to show cracks much like dirt in the ground that had dried considerably. It does sort of make the interior of the bowl look like a spiderweb.
Pipestud

 

[condorlover1]

Spider Webbing is not unique to briar pipes. I have a heavy old chunky meerschaum that has suffered that followed by burn out in the bottom front of the bowl. Someone then routered out the base of the bowl and filled the burnt hole with god knows what leaving a bowl that is wider at the base than the top. I use this one as a 'knock around' pipe as I wanted the case for another one of my children that was missing a bed to sleep in at night. It has a very heavy amber stem and silver band but has been subject to the weirdest minded home surgery I have ever seen.

 

[joshuaburgess]

Here's a link to our return policy, Trailboss: Return Policy . If you have any questions or concerns about that policy or the pipe, please feel free to give us a call at 888.366.0345.
In general, we use both "Spider webbing" and "charring" to refer to mild damage that has been done to the inside of the chamber by smoking the pipe too hot. It's up to the discretion of the person evaluating the pipes after they've been cleaned to select which term best describes the condition of the pipe. For my own part, I think of "spider webbing" as surface cracks in the wood. I think "charring" is more applicable when a small piece of wood has become a wee bit soft due to overheating. We always do our best to disclose these sorts of issues with estate pipes, and the condition is reflected in the price. I have purchased estate pipes where we had noted either spider webbing and charring and haven't had a problem. We reject all pipes that we believe are at high risk of burnout. And if we don't discover a serious problem until after we've already purchased and cleaned the pipe, they get tossed into the infamous Pipe Science box. (30 years of unreamed cake covers a multitude of sins.)
If you tend to puff a little too zealously, you might want to pass on an estate that has any sort of heat damage in the chamber. But as long as the pipe is smoked gently until you build up a cake of your own, spider webbing is usually not a cause for concern.
Hope that helps.
Joshua Burgess

Smokingpipes.com

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I immediately imagined a pipe full of spiders ::

And that's the stuff of nightmares.

 

[owen]

Is it not this cracking out from the bowl of my Charatan

 

[hawke]

Great pic owen, Thats definitely what is meant by spiderwebbing Id say. I can see that some eBay sellers might use the term referring to the condition of the finish. I actually thought that first myself. You picture sums it up nicely.