I was told to never dump ashes until the final draw, true? Looks like one would be smoking ashes instead tobacco.
When to dump the ash and light up again?
- Thread starter Sonnya
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I dump the ash when it becomes an issue to relight. Stir, dump, tamp, and light. Sometimes a little ash can be helpful for the ember, but too much can be a problem.
When you tamp you push the ember to the unlit tobacco. I might dump the pipe upside down and a super gentle tap before a relight at half a load or so and whatever falls out falls out. Really it’s up to you, happy piping!
There are no hard and fast rules to smoking a pipe. Do what works for you and for your pipe.
I've never understood lighting through ash.
I've never understood lighting through ash.
I've found this i only an issue with deep bowls, where the ash naturally piles up and relighting becomes a bit tough, and will also occasionally interfere with the flavour. I find it helps in these circumstances to gently tap out some of the ash about half to two thirds of the way into the smoke.
It depends on the tobacco and the pipe. Do whatever works for you in a given situation.
Sometimes I smoke to the end without dumping, other times I may dump 4-5 times. It just depends.
I’m not sure where the pipe smoking rule book is, must’ve misplaced my copy.
Sometimes I smoke to the end without dumping, other times I may dump 4-5 times. It just depends.
I’m not sure where the pipe smoking rule book is, must’ve misplaced my copy.
Depends on the individual. I don't dump the chamber until I'm finished smoking it. If you get used to tamping, relights become negligible to nonexistent.
+1
As of tonight there are 26,054 members here ... you will probably get that many opinions but they will all generally be the same as above.
Lately I’ve been trying something like this: when I can tell the bowl is going out I’ll use the poker to gently move the ash from the outside edge of bowl and the resulting increased air flow will often get it going again. Combined with a gentle tamp. This seems to cancel or reduce the need to dump ash. YMMV.
This seems to work better on my wider bowls. As long as I enjoy experimenting with different techniques I feel like I’m learning. Enjoy the process.
This seems to work better on my wider bowls. As long as I enjoy experimenting with different techniques I feel like I’m learning. Enjoy the process.
I'll dump ash when it interferes with lighting/relighting or starts affecting the taste. On average I guess I dump ash once per bowl. As others have noted it also depends on the pipe chamber size and tobacco. It's largely a matter of personal preference, try the suggestions above and see what works for you.
I agree with Steddy. The real part is maintaining good airflow. Removing the Ash sideways or dumping it completely and tamping etc. are activities that support a good airflow and hence a good burn. Slowing down your cadence during the last one- third of the bowl also helps.
At the moment I use the technique or whatever you want to call it, of not throwing the ashes away, until I am completely finished. Even in my MM General pipes. Which means few ignitions for me. I try to smoke, cooking the tobacco, giving fire to that layer of ash, which acts as a lid to a pot. But just use the method that you like the most, that gives you the best sensations and benefits.
I never dump the ash. I tap it down when the draw gets too light and stir it up and kinda mix it with the coal after I let the pipe go out, which is usually when I smoked a little more than half of the bowl.
I light it again and enjoy the rest of the bowl.
After the pipe has cooled down I stir everything up calmly, place my hand on top of the bowl with a tissue paper inbetween and shake the thing up so the chamber gets coated in a layer of fine ash. I heard that it helps the pipe with moisture. Then let it sit until I want to clean it and put it away.
I light it again and enjoy the rest of the bowl.
After the pipe has cooled down I stir everything up calmly, place my hand on top of the bowl with a tissue paper inbetween and shake the thing up so the chamber gets coated in a layer of fine ash. I heard that it helps the pipe with moisture. Then let it sit until I want to clean it and put it away.
I often find myself absent-mindedly tunking out the ashes about halfway through a bowl. It’s a habit from my… more adventurous days. Those ashes choked the cherry out almost every time. I have noticed that leaving ashes on tends to lead to a slightly cooler smoke, but also a thinner smoke. But, as stated Ad Infinitum, it’s entirely up to the smoker. We all smoke a pipe a bit differently, and there really isn’t a problem with that. As long as you enjoy the smoke, do what you’ve always done.