Ask a Pipe Guy

[dcsmoke]

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

Good question. There is a lot of debate out there about this one as well. Some people say that you shouldn't dump, some people say you should dump halfway.

What I have found is that for me it depends on two things. The type of tobacco that you have and how big of a bowl your pipe has. Some tobacoo (and I haven't narrowed it down to a specific type) seems to either produce more ash or more dense of an ash and it tends to choke of the oxygen that your pipe needs to stay lit. If I notice that it is getting harder to keep lit I'll dump a bit off but not all. Ash does have some benefit to being there on top such as keeping the tobacco burning evenly and it keeps the tobacco from burning too hot or too fast. So when you dump be sure to keep a small layer of ash on top.

The other factor to me depends on the size or depth of the bowl that you are smoking. I have some pretty shallow pipes that I don't ever have to dump ash off of. But then again I have a very tall bowled pipe that I have to dump off twice at least.

Thanks! Good info here, as usual!

[Oxman]

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

Justin,

I'll PM you with what you need to do. It will be too long for in the forum.

As for cleaning of pipes, If you've typed it out, I'd sure appreciate reading it. If this new obsession (pipes) goes the way I think it'll go, I'm likely to be buying LOTS of estate pipes in the future!

[Fatmandu]

DKT, et al..another reason for the non burning at the bottom is that the hole in the bowl is not drilled to the bottom(est) most part of the bowl, hence no oxygyn and no burn. If this is the situation there are a couple things you can do, either get used to it or pipe mud the bottom of the bowl...meaning wet ash to fill the bowl. like putty. Easier to just get used to it.
Anothet reason to not dump is that once you are finished w/a bowl, place your thumb over the top of the bowl and shake the living....shake up the pipe real good to get the ashes spread throught the bowl. Then simply turn the bowl over in an ash tray, DUMP, not tap....let that baby sit for a day or 3 and thus the caking process has begun, and increases each time!

[Webmeister]

I don't find myself dumping often, although I do sometimes set the pipe down for 5-10 mins, tamp lightly, and relight. Good description by Scott, and good call by FJ on the bore from the stem not being at the lowest point in the bowl (I've seen such a pipe). One of the resources I read told of a way to essentially generate a really hard shell/cake at the bottom to raise it to the entry point of the hole. I can't remember for sure, but I think it was a mixture of water and honey comes to mind. It fuses together with the ash like liquid steel.

Search the pipe resources for fixing a bowl where the hole isn't at the bottom. You should find the answer. I remember thinking "dang, that's ingenious and so simple!"

[Slow Triathlete]

I tried that fix one time and it worked with mixed results. It's mixing existing ash and honey to make a thick paste. Then you put a pipe cleaner down your draft hole so that it doesn't get clogged and then pour the paste in. Then let it harden over a week and you're good to go. Unfortunately, I think that I put in too much honey and mine never really hardened.

After a few weeks I figured what the hell and lit it up. It immediately tasted like honey mixed with a little bit of ass. I got rid of the pipe.

[adamsdb]

UUUUMMMMM Honey and Ass, my favorite.

That is probably the pipe you sold as a Starter Kit!!! HA HA HA HA

Some poor cigar smoker can't figure out what you pipe guys see in the taste of honey and ass. You turned him off to pipes forever.

[Slow Triathlete]

Ha-Ha, no I would never do that to someone.

That one got eaten by the trashcan a few years ago.

[Dun killin time]

Originally Posted by Fatmandu

DKT, et al..another reason for the non burning at the bottom is that the hole in the bowl is not drilled to the bottom(est) most part of the bowl, hence no oxygyn and no burn. If this is the situation there are a couple things you can do, either get used to it or pipe mud the bottom of the bowl...meaning wet ash to fill the bowl. like putty. Easier to just get used to it.
Anothet reason to not dump is that once you are finished w/a bowl, place your thumb over the top of the bowl and shake the living....shake up the pipe real good to get the ashes spread throught the bowl. Then simply turn the bowl over in an ash tray, DUMP, not tap....let that baby sit for a day or 3 and thus the caking process has begun, and increases each time!

I think the hole position is fine, in fact, I believe if 'mud' were used in one of my pipes it would effect the draw the drilling is so low, that and the fact I have this problem with all my pipes. When I finish a bowl the bottom of the bowl is dry, even after blowing thru the stem, unless I have smoked a heavily cased aero.
After reading Scott's post above I may be tamping too hard or not drying my tobacco enough. will make adjustments to both...

Thanks for the help guys!!!

[Slow Triathlete]

Good luck!!

[Dun killin time]

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

The only a few things that you can do, and they all come with experience, is to make sure that your tobacco is dried out enough, that you don't puff too much or too hard, and that you don't tamp the crap out of your bowl when you're smoking it.

Update...
Drying out the tobacco for 2 hours or so made a world of difference and I believe I was tamping too hard also.
I'm a farm boy you see, and my idea of tamping is what you do to the filler dirt around a new fence post.
finally smoked a bowl with less than 5 relights 2 of which were stop and go's

thanks again guys!!

[kingtut]

As far as economics go: I wasn't sure I wanted to "invest" so my first pipe was a $5 corncob and with that I got some house blend tobacco. Loved it so I went back a bit later and bought a Savinelli second straight pipe for $45. I got some more tobacco, a tamper, and pipe cleaners and a case and left spending only $75. Later I went back and picked up a nifty pipe lighter (flame out the side) for $10. So total, I now have 2 pipes, a case, all the tools and enough tobacco to last for a long time and my total purchase is $90 bucks!

[Fatmandu]

Originally Posted by kingtut

As far as economics go: I wasn't sure I wanted to "invest" so my first pipe was a $5 corncob and with that I got some house blend tobacco. Loved it so I went back a bit later and bought a Savinelli second straight pipe for $45. I got some more tobacco, a tamper, and pipe cleaners and a case and left spending only $75. Later I went back and picked up a nifty pipe lighter (flame out the side) for $10. So total, I now have 2 pipes, a case, all the tools and enough tobacco to last for a long time and my total purchase is $90 bucks!

nice, a SAVY is a nice pipe! If you fall for the pipe, here's a wee bit of math to assist you...say you smoke 1 cigar a day @ $6 or $7, multiply that by 30 days per month, you can but 3 SAVY's and really increase you're collection. G'luk

[Slow Triathlete]

Originally Posted by kingtut

As far as economics go: I wasn't sure I wanted to "invest" so my first pipe was a $5 corncob and with that I got some house blend tobacco. Loved it so I went back a bit later and bought a Savinelli second straight pipe for $45. I got some more tobacco, a tamper, and pipe cleaners and a case and left spending only $75. Later I went back and picked up a nifty pipe lighter (flame out the side) for $10. So total, I now have 2 pipes, a case, all the tools and enough tobacco to last for a long time and my total purchase is $90 bucks!

Yep, it's easy to start down the slope. Isn't it!!

[Ansgar]

I've smoke cigars about 10 years. Just bought me a Chacom, Dublin style pipe this week and got some Esoterica Scarborough tobacco to start. I've read a couple of articles online about how to pack the pipe. Although I think I'm generally getting it right, I can barely get the tobacco to burn long enough to smoke it. It goes like this: Light the pipes, get two puffs and I have to light it again.

The tobacco is ribboned, I guess. The strips are about two inches long. To me, being a total novice, it seems the tobacco is too moist. I left the pipe packed after my last attempt and tried a few hours later. The pipe worked a little better. I thought it was because the tobacco had dried out some.

I had tried a pipe about 30 yrs ago with a friend of mine. I don't remember it being so hard to keep lit. I really like how easy a cigar smokes, the full taste and the large smoke. =)

I doubt the pipe is a problem. It was around $70 online. I bought the best I could. I know it's likely operator error, but I wonder about the moisture content of the tobacco being a problem too.

What's your advice?

[Fatmandu]

Roland, no harm in letting the tobacco sit for a while to dry out some. However, Esoterica has some real good quality tobacco, and a ribbon cut can be a pain to pack. The light you were taling about is also considered the 'false light'. light it up w/a few great puffs on it and then it'll go out. TAMP the then charred tobacco into the bowl and fire that sucker up again...every once in a while, (you'll figure what works for what pipes and/tobacco), GENTLY tamp it while smoking to keep the ambers on top of the un-cooked tobacco. Practice make better smoking. CHACOM is a damned good pipe and the Dublin is a great shape. Its a hobby and therefore nothing is 'wrong', things only get easier. have fun, welcome to the brierhood