Scottish cake smoking hot

[maboman]

Hey all,

I thought someone might be able to help me here. I am smoking my second bowl of Scottish cake right now, great tasting tobacco btw. I had my first bowl last night under the same exact conditions...here goes.

I opened the tin yesterday afternoon, the tobacco was not overly damp but I set out a bowlfull and let it breathe and dry a bit for about 30 to 45 minutes before loading the bowl.

I am smoking this mixture in an estate Stanwell I bought last week. The pipe is a straight billiard shape with a very slightly canted bowl. The pipe is perfectly drilled and passes a cleaner with no added effort whatsoever, also It was completely cleaned and reamed pretty much to the wood and the bowl had no lingering smell of having been smoked whatsoever.

Both bowls, yesterday and today got the pipe pretty hot and I had to let it go out and cool before a relight, but it seems to get hot pretty fast. I'm not puffing overly fast or frequently just my normal pace which seems to work well in my poorly drilled bent that I've had awhile...

Am I packing too tight? Too loose? or do I just need to build up a good cake?

Any Ideas I would be greatfull

Like I said before... Great tasting stuff!

Maboman

[EvanS]

Building up same cake should certainly help. But of course not all chunks of briar are created (grown) equally. The graining, density, dryness and thickness of the wood used for you pipe can all contribute. Again, I have to assume that your smoking technique is remaining consistent between pipes.

I personally don't know enough to tell you what to look for, as to identifying a pipe that might burn hot because of the make up of the briar. I'm not even sure one CAN tell by looking...I think the proof is in the smoke. I also have a couple that burn quite a bit warmer and have never really found a way around it.

[smokehouse]

It had a tendency to bite a little with me too. Dry it out a little and slow down and you will be fine. Good luck.

[DubintheDam]

Love the stuff myself, I often smoke too hot, particularly when i love the baccy I've chosen..like Scot cake. The only things I can think of are, dry out a bit more..mine is quite moist in the tin...slow down the puffing...pack a little tighter and tamper a couple of times more...the lack of cake build-up is almost definitely a contributing factor...but I'm afraid that will take a few weeks or months to solve.

[Slow Triathlete]

Originally Posted by smokehouse

It had a tendency to bite a little with me too. Dry it out a little and slow down and you will be fine. Good luck.

This is what helped me a lot when I started smoking it.

[EvanS]

I have to apologize maboman - SOMEHOW I had gotten the impression that this tobacco was smoking hotter in the Stanwell than it did in some other pipes. Therefore my focus on the pipe itself. But the others steered you right, as usual.

Let us know how things work out

[smokehouse]

Originally Posted by EvanS

I have to apologize maboman - SOMEHOW I had gotten the impression that this tobacco was smoking hotter in the Stanwell than it did in some other pipes. Therefore my focus on the pipe itself. But the others steered you right, as usual.

Let us know how things work out

It was good advice though...as always.

[maboman]

First thanks all for your replies.

Today I set out a bowlfull before i went to work and let it dry for 8 hours. I was afraid it would get totally dried out in that time but it was fine...I packed the bowl and lit up in the Stanwell....smoked hot....I got a little pissed and tamped it down pretty damn hard and poof!!! much cooler smoke and a great tasting Va/Per...

Still a rookie!

maboman

[EvanS]

Originally Posted by maboman

Still a rookie!

maboman

but learning quick. Nice work maboman!! It can serve you quite well to think of a lit bowl in the same way you would think of how you would manage a fire in your home woodstove. As you saw, drying may have helped you get a clean burn and then damping it down (tamping) helped push it down from a flame to a controlled smolder....or something like that.

Little tricks, they all add up - just stick with it and you'll be on your way in no time