Will removing cake reverse the pipe "break-in" process?
- Thread starter mrmachado
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I see nothing wrong with removing precarb. I don't bother, as it really doesn't bother me. I have pipes that had it, pipes that didn't. If given the choice I'll take a pipe without. Don't really see how removing any is a bad thing, as many pipes don't have it, and many people remove it when they do.
Machado, are you only having this negative reaction when you smoke this one pipe or is it happening with all of your pipes? I would think that after you have smoked a couple of bowls of tobacco from the pre-carb pipe, the pre-carb would no longer be a factor. It may be something as simple as smoking too fast or something in the tobacco casing that your having a reaction to. (Sorry, this one should be in the other thread that you have going)
Oh. The previous post you said "carbon", which sounds like you thought removing the cake would be a good thing, something you've mentioned in another thread.
Sorry it was of no help.
I also see nothing wrong with removing "precarb", which is just a coating. But as a cure for an already smoked pipe, I wouldn't take that step. (See above post)
Nothing wrong with removing cake either, if it can be done carefully without over reaming the bowl. Light sandpaper should do the trick if careful. People often remove all the cake when restoring an estate. Personally, I keep my cake to a very bare minimum by corkscrewing a paper towel into the chamber after every smoke.
Of course not. But doing so as a remedy for poor results from a new smoker in a fairly new pipe is likely a waste of time and energy.
The lingering and persistent nausea only happened with the pre-carbed Stanwell.
Of course the tobacco I bought is strong, but this is the only pipe that has ever made me so nauseated while/after smoking something on it. I even felt nausea on aromatics on this pipe.
After that experience, I've smoked the same tobacco (in a faster pace) in my other pipes and I felt its strength one time or another, but no lingering nausea.
Which led me and other people conclude that there's something wrong with the pipe. And that can only be the coating.
I don't want to throw my new pipe away, give it to someone else, sell it or retire it... so there's no harm in doing some salt/alcohol treatment and scraping in my view. If it doesn't work, nothing bad will happen either, I guess.
[Which led me and other people conclude that there's something wrong with the pipe. And that can only be the coating.]
It does sound like something is not right with the pipe. But it may be something other than the pre-carb. It could be that the briar was not fully cured before the pipe was made. That could lead to toxins in the briar escaping when it gets hot during your smoke, It could be that if the pipe is stained, some of the stain may have worked it's way into the shank. It will eventually burn off but it takes time. Nothing at all wrong with removing the pre-carb, lots of pipe smokers do it and have no issues at all. However, I would not use an alcohol/salt treatment on a new pipe. The treatment will help remove ghosting and help bring back a pipe that has gone sour, but this being a new pipe that you have already taken down to bare wood, I just don't think that you will get any benefit from it.
I would try smoking a partial bowl and see how that works. If there are no ill effects, add a little more tobacco on the next smoke. Keep adding as long as you don't have any negative reactions, and smoke slowly.
It does sound like something is not right with the pipe. But it may be something other than the pre-carb. It could be that the briar was not fully cured before the pipe was made. That could lead to toxins in the briar escaping when it gets hot during your smoke, It could be that if the pipe is stained, some of the stain may have worked it's way into the shank. It will eventually burn off but it takes time. Nothing at all wrong with removing the pre-carb, lots of pipe smokers do it and have no issues at all. However, I would not use an alcohol/salt treatment on a new pipe. The treatment will help remove ghosting and help bring back a pipe that has gone sour, but this being a new pipe that you have already taken down to bare wood, I just don't think that you will get any benefit from it.
I would try smoking a partial bowl and see how that works. If there are no ill effects, add a little more tobacco on the next smoke. Keep adding as long as you don't have any negative reactions, and smoke slowly.
Assessing a new pipe, whether it has a problem or not takes a level of experience with different pipes, that I am not sure Machado has yet. If he had a rack full of great smokers, and one that fits what is described above, then yeh. We would have something to go by. But, Machado, has been struggling with every aspect of pipe smoking... all of which could have been remedied by going to a B&M and hanging out with other guys smoking pipes, but (like so many on here) he doesn't have that luxury. All he has (unfortunately) is us.
I suggest, just keep smoking that pipe, and pick up a few more. It may very well turn out that this one gets back shelf in your rotation, or it may turn out to be the exemplar of excellence in your herd. But, for now, there's really not much anyone can do. But, once you get a few prized burners on your rack, then you can readdress the issue.
Pipe smoking has a rough learning curve. Just as no one ever picks up a lathe and makes a fantastic pipe on their first go around, hardly anyone has ever just picked up a pipe and fallen into bliss with perfect smokes right off the bat. It takes time, and yes it is not easy. But, if you stick with it, everything does become easier. Then you can fret over whether this or that new tin of so-and-so tastes the same as it does, and you too can rail over the injustice of a blend changing its recipe, like Three Nuns or Erinmore.
Get more pipes. The odds of picking up duds over and over are pretty slim. I have only ever gotten two of what I think of as bad pipes out of over a hundred. Get cheap bucket pipes, estate pipes, maybe a more expensive one here and there. Learn how each wants to be smoked best, and then after you have a few years with other pipes under your belt, return to this issue with this pipe. Just take it easy. Try to find a way to enjoy each pipe, and have fun. There is nothing serious about pipe smoking.
I suggest, just keep smoking that pipe, and pick up a few more. It may very well turn out that this one gets back shelf in your rotation, or it may turn out to be the exemplar of excellence in your herd. But, for now, there's really not much anyone can do. But, once you get a few prized burners on your rack, then you can readdress the issue.
Pipe smoking has a rough learning curve. Just as no one ever picks up a lathe and makes a fantastic pipe on their first go around, hardly anyone has ever just picked up a pipe and fallen into bliss with perfect smokes right off the bat. It takes time, and yes it is not easy. But, if you stick with it, everything does become easier. Then you can fret over whether this or that new tin of so-and-so tastes the same as it does, and you too can rail over the injustice of a blend changing its recipe, like Three Nuns or Erinmore.
Get more pipes. The odds of picking up duds over and over are pretty slim. I have only ever gotten two of what I think of as bad pipes out of over a hundred. Get cheap bucket pipes, estate pipes, maybe a more expensive one here and there. Learn how each wants to be smoked best, and then after you have a few years with other pipes under your belt, return to this issue with this pipe. Just take it easy. Try to find a way to enjoy each pipe, and have fun. There is nothing serious about pipe smoking.
Thanks for the excellent answers, guys.
For now, I'm enjoying the Irish Flake a lot in my first pipe. That exact first pipe which ironically got me struggling like hell in the beginning - I thought that the "bad wood" of it was the cause of gurgling and overheating... and now there is no gurgling nor overheating with it! I was an actual overthinker as Cosmic says... but at least I learned a bit, I guess.
I take it easier now. I'm learning to do this as I learn to deal with pipesmoking better.
(I think that some of my trauma with dealing with pipes came from a pipe that I bought many years ago and that I don't even consider a "first pipe" since I only smoked it once and it fell to the ground and broke. It was a very cheap basket pipe which cost $5 and was made of Oak and Plastic if I remember well. I smoked cherry tobacco in it and had no idea of how to deal with it :roll: )
For now, I'm enjoying the Irish Flake a lot in my first pipe. That exact first pipe which ironically got me struggling like hell in the beginning - I thought that the "bad wood" of it was the cause of gurgling and overheating... and now there is no gurgling nor overheating with it! I was an actual overthinker as Cosmic says... but at least I learned a bit, I guess.
I take it easier now. I'm learning to do this as I learn to deal with pipesmoking better.
(I think that some of my trauma with dealing with pipes came from a pipe that I bought many years ago and that I don't even consider a "first pipe" since I only smoked it once and it fell to the ground and broke. It was a very cheap basket pipe which cost $5 and was made of Oak and Plastic if I remember well. I smoked cherry tobacco in it and had no idea of how to deal with it :roll: )
+1 Happens all the time and the statement "Don't overthink it" is probably the most ignored advice given to new smokers. :crazy: Relax, slow down and enjoy :
:Indeed. It's like karma. Overthinking came with overheating, over-reaming, gurgling, souring, charring...
Now there are less issues.
Still I will bother you guys with some questions in the future though. :lol:
I don't mind learning though, I think it's cool.
Actually I don't even mind scraping and doing cleaning treatments... I think it's fun now. It's part of the pipe smoking life that the cigar smoking life didn't have and I don't mind doing.
Now there are less issues.
Still I will bother you guys with some questions in the future though. :lol:
I don't mind learning though, I think it's cool.
Actually I don't even mind scraping and doing cleaning treatments... I think it's fun now. It's part of the pipe smoking life that the cigar smoking life didn't have and I don't mind doing.
Always happy to help!
It's like a meditation. I compare it to breaking down and cleaning my shotguns. A very methodical and satisfying exercise.
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