Metal stingers are often referred to as filters but of course they are nothing of the sort as they don't filter anything...they just aid the condensing of moisture in the smoke.
Regards,
Jay.
Regards,
Jay.
Wooden filters vs charcoal filters
- Thread starter wlrountree
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Why not cut a few used filters in half and post a photo of the results side by side with a fresh filter?
I don't use filters very much, but when I do, they are balsa, and I dry them out and stow them away.
They may trap some incidental tar or nic as it passes by the "filter" but it's not a filter in the true sense. True, marketing has us referring to them as such, but that's careless usage.
Why not cut a few used filters in half and post a photo of the results side by side with a fresh filter?
I don't use filters very much, but when I do, they are balsa, and I dry them out and stow them away.
They may trap some incidental tar or nic as it passes by the "filter" but it's not a filter in the true sense. True, marketing has us referring to them as such, but that's careless usage.
Hmm, I'd be curious to see any filters cut in half after a good amount of use. I don't care what we call them, it is just an interesting test to see what they do.
Tobacco: Gawith Hoggarth Brown Flake Licorice
Pipe: Mr. Brog 9mm No. 28 Vinewood
Let's see how this goes!
(I deleted the previous photo because the Savinelli 611ks takes the smaller, triangular balsa sticks)
That is not Briar, I see open grain. Not sure what other woods Brog uses, could be Ash, Elm, Oak....
So I couldn't resist the good idea to do a cross section of a Savinelli filter. I had a 6mm filter from a few weeks ago - single use - that was dry. I did a comparison with an unused filter. The tobacco was Lane Limited Ready Rubbed.
Looking at the photos, it is pretty clear that the tar does not filter into the balsa wood, though there is an awful lot of tar on the outside of the filter. Also, sucking on the balsa does not draw the same as sucking on a 9mm Charcoal filter. Sorry, no pictures of my mug doing that. But it does draw. When I do t use a filter there is a strong and long lasting tobacco aftertaste in my mouth, which my wife is more than ready to remind me of. When I use a charcoal filter, there is virtually no aftertaste, and when I use a Savinelli filter there is somewhere between half and a third of the filterless aftertaste. Seeing the physical evidence of tar on the filter and knowing this experience, I (non-scientifically) determined that the filters remove tar, though I don't know how much. I don't have a baseline for how much tar is in a smoke, though that is an assload more tar than was ever held by a cigarette filter that I'd smoked (yes, assload is a scientific term).
What is most telling to me is the very significant yellowing of the filter - that is mostly nicotine left in there after the filter dried. I can also tell you, if I get too much nicotine, my face turns red. It does not do that when using a Savinelli filter, so I know from both the visual evidence and my experience (again anecdotal and non-scientific)that it is drawing off a significant amount of nicotine.
Now, Savinelli claims to have used two independent testing companies which determined that the filters remove "up to" 77% of the nicotine and 91% of the tar. Note the control of language on the site - the claim isn't removes, but rather up to. So you don't know the circumstances. Still, it is obviously removing both tar and nicotine, from both a visual and experiential standpoint. Another bonus, as stated above, is that tongue bite is virtually eliminated while maintaining flavor.
As with all things opined upon in these illustrious digital pages of pipedom, YMMV. But the filters are good to go and effective for me.
On to the pics:
The filters, side by side.
A close up, note the uniform yellowing, but also the spotty tar deposits, the latter demonstrating the absorbing discussion from above:
Some close ups:
And some cross sections. One cut perpendicularly, one cut horizontally, both showing a lot of nicotine discoloration inside the balsa, but no tar discoloration:
I will conclude with 2 points: as with all things pipe, it is an individual experience and your own subjective view is the most important. So try things out if they interest you and see for yourself. These pages are filled with people who are more than happy to tell you the way it is from their perspective as though it were the gospel, and as with everything, it is never always that. My own opinions included.
Second, my wife is immeasurably pissed at me for spending all of this time with a nasty used filter and writing this up. So . . . gotta go!
Looking at the photos, it is pretty clear that the tar does not filter into the balsa wood, though there is an awful lot of tar on the outside of the filter. Also, sucking on the balsa does not draw the same as sucking on a 9mm Charcoal filter. Sorry, no pictures of my mug doing that. But it does draw. When I do t use a filter there is a strong and long lasting tobacco aftertaste in my mouth, which my wife is more than ready to remind me of. When I use a charcoal filter, there is virtually no aftertaste, and when I use a Savinelli filter there is somewhere between half and a third of the filterless aftertaste. Seeing the physical evidence of tar on the filter and knowing this experience, I (non-scientifically) determined that the filters remove tar, though I don't know how much. I don't have a baseline for how much tar is in a smoke, though that is an assload more tar than was ever held by a cigarette filter that I'd smoked (yes, assload is a scientific term).
What is most telling to me is the very significant yellowing of the filter - that is mostly nicotine left in there after the filter dried. I can also tell you, if I get too much nicotine, my face turns red. It does not do that when using a Savinelli filter, so I know from both the visual evidence and my experience (again anecdotal and non-scientific)that it is drawing off a significant amount of nicotine.
Now, Savinelli claims to have used two independent testing companies which determined that the filters remove "up to" 77% of the nicotine and 91% of the tar. Note the control of language on the site - the claim isn't removes, but rather up to. So you don't know the circumstances. Still, it is obviously removing both tar and nicotine, from both a visual and experiential standpoint. Another bonus, as stated above, is that tongue bite is virtually eliminated while maintaining flavor.
As with all things opined upon in these illustrious digital pages of pipedom, YMMV. But the filters are good to go and effective for me.
On to the pics:
The filters, side by side.
A close up, note the uniform yellowing, but also the spotty tar deposits, the latter demonstrating the absorbing discussion from above:
Some close ups:
And some cross sections. One cut perpendicularly, one cut horizontally, both showing a lot of nicotine discoloration inside the balsa, but no tar discoloration:
I will conclude with 2 points: as with all things pipe, it is an individual experience and your own subjective view is the most important. So try things out if they interest you and see for yourself. These pages are filled with people who are more than happy to tell you the way it is from their perspective as though it were the gospel, and as with everything, it is never always that. My own opinions included.
Second, my wife is immeasurably pissed at me for spending all of this time with a nasty used filter and writing this up. So . . . gotta go!
"Site says it's oak....."
I'll go one further and say that it's Red Oak after seeing the close up picture.
I'll go one further and say that it's Red Oak after seeing the close up picture.
"Could it not be white oak stained? [
]
[:crazy:] "
Nothing at all to do with the color. I say Red Oak because of the length of the rays and the open tyloses. You know what I'm talking about?
][:crazy:] "
Nothing at all to do with the color. I say Red Oak because of the length of the rays and the open tyloses. You know what I'm talking about?
Heck, I was only funnin'. When I lived in NY State, we had red and white oak, both made good firewood. I am not a woodworker, though I wish I had been.
Sure both are great firewood but I find Red Oak smells and tastes(I've smoked out of it) like cat piss. White Oak however smells faintly of vanilla and cherry to me when cutting/burning.
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