When Building Cake

[Piperjd]

Just keep going. Eventually the lighter parts will catch up.

I’m glad I’ve got your recognition on that. A lot of people tell me it’s cake starting but I’m glad you recognize it. That eases my mind

 

[Lumbridge]

Yes, in almost every pipe I have. That was a Peterson, so I’m sure it had a coat, I’ll dig out some old kaywoodies and show you as well (photos attached) bear in mind I was always so scared of burning these things out that I swapped around a lot and I think I’d say I don’t have a pipe with more than 15 smokes max. But this is the color that has started to develop on all my pipes after a few smokes. — the first photo of the black one is a moonshine Devil dog that has exactly 10 smokes through it, the last black one is a 2021 pipe of the year from Peterson with 2 smokes

Yeah, to me that looks like some of the coating has come off, probably from wiping out the bowl while it's still damp. Nothing to worry about - just keep smoking them and it'll be fine. Many pipes come with bare, uncoated bowls... in fact, every one of my briars are uncoated and I prefer it that way.
If you really want to touch up the bottom, you could smoke half or quarter bowls. Personally, I've never bothered.

And as for worrying about burning out pipes, I wouldn't be too concerned unless, like I said earlier, you're smoking the pipe until it gets uncomfortably hot to hold and/or in the wind. Maybe pick just one briar and smoke the crap out of it for a while, and that'll help you get past this concern. Burnouts do happen, but not all that often.

 

[ThermionicScott]

Cake always builds quickest and easiest on the walls rather than the bottom of the chamber. One thing I do to build up cake along the bottom of the chamber is that when I'm getting toward the end of a bowl, I'll tamp the pile backward toward the draft hole. That helps protect the draft hole during relights, and exposes unburnt tobacco. You want tobacco combusting right next to the chamber wall to build up carbon, not just tar.

 

[bullet08]

Not many build cake around here. Typically, wipe out the bowl faster the smoke. This builds thin, hard cake that will help.

 

[Piperjd]

Not many build cake around here. Typically, wipe out the bowl faster the smoke. This builds thin, hard cake that will help.

Wipe it out until the paper towel comes out clean?

 

[PApiper63]

As others have said, build a thin, hard carbon layer over time. Briar is tough, you won't hurt it easily.
The build a cake "the thickness of a dime" thing will make your pipe sour, and stink. The "cake" in my pipes is so hard it needs to be chipped out if I want it out. It looks almost like shards of glass when removed.
I've been doing this for 3 decades with no ill effects. Keep the cake thin, and keep your pipe clean and dry, and it will never sour.
I almost never need to ream my pipes. I honestly cannot remember the last time.
Like most things with pipe smoking, dont over think it. I run a pipe cleaner and swab the bowl with a twisted paper towel after every bowl.

Exactly what I do. I have pipes that I've been smoking since the mid 70s and I rarely ream a bowl.

 

[Piperjd]

Exactly what I do. I have pipes that I've been smoking since the mid 70s and I rarely ream a bowl.

So to clarify, I smoke, I dump the ash, then I take a paper towel wrapped around my finger to the inside of the bowl, and I wipe the bowl until the paper towel comes out clean.

Is that the approach?

 

[PApiper63]

So to clarify, I smoke, I dump the ash, then I take a paper towel wrapped around my finger to the inside of the bowl, and I wipe the bowl until the paper towel comes out clean.

Is that the approach?

Yes. I will generally wad up the paper towel and just twisted in the bowl. Of course I always run a pipe cleaner through the pipe after each smoke as well. If you do this religiously after each smoke, your pipes will last for a lifetime.

 

[Piperjd]

Yes. I will generally wad up the paper towel and just twisted in the bowl. Of course I always run a pipe cleaner through the pipe after each smoke as well. If you do this religiously after each smoke, your pipes will last for a lifetime.

Thank you. So you don’t really wipe until it’s coming out completely clean?

 

[Bassman65]

Just do you best. Stick in the wadded paper towel, twist a few times, and you’re done. Don’t over think it. There’s no specific formula.

 

[Piperjd]

Just do you best. Stick in the wadded paper towel, twist a few times, and you’re done. Don’t over think it. There’s no specific formula.

Thanks. I do tend to overthink things. I’ll focus on not making sure it’s white glove clean

 

[zercules]

I’m not an old timer, but I’ve had no problem building cake. Just smoke the same pipe a lot. I use the edge of the spoon bit on the Czech pipe tool and scrape down the high spots if they appear. I generally do clean with pipe cleaners, sometimes I don’t clean the pipe at all. But more often than not I do clean the bowl and it hasn’t prevented me from building up cake.

 

[hobie1dog]

I pay little attention to cake buildup but don't let it build up very much at all.

 

[bullet08]

Wipe it out until the paper towel comes out clean?

Relatively clean. It's like you are cleaning the bowl, and polishing the bowl to harden the very thin cake.

 

[zanxion]

I do the same. I use a short wooden rod as a tamper. At the end of the smoke I wrap one end with a paper towel and wipe the bowl. A few twists singing:
"How deep is your bowl? How deep is your bowl?
I really mean to learn..."
Et voila, a clean not really smelly bowl with a shiny cake as thick as I want it to be.

 

[Pipeandapencil]

I do the same. I use a short wooden rod as a tamper. At the end of the smoke I wrap one end with a paper towel and wipe the bowl. A few twists singing:
"How deep is your bowl? How deep is your bowl?
I really mean to learn..."
Et voila, a clean not really smelly bowl with a shiny cake as thick as I want it to be.

I feel like such an idiot... I've been singing "you can tell by the way I clean this bowl, I'm a pipe smoker, no time to talk. Ha ha ha ha cleaning the bowl, cleaning the bowl, ah ah ah ah cleaning the boooooowlllllllll" this whole time. No wonder it hasn't worked.

 

[Briarcutter]

I must he a odd ball. I never wipe out my chamber,never flush just use pipe cleaners and ream as necessary. I like a nice cake, especially at the bottom of the bowl. I also twist a drill bit through the air hole when needed, they will close up over time and restrict the flow.