Question on cake

[jonasinmacon]

Being a relative noob at pipe smoking, (8 months at most), I've just recently come to realize the importance of cake on a pipe. I am doing fine building up the top 2/3 of my bowls with cake, but the bottom 1/3 won't seem to develop any. I've been trying to smoke more of my bowls (and therefore not wasting as much), and generally smoke about as far down as I can before inhaling nothing but air. Problem is, cake is just not developing down towards the heel.

Is this normal?

Is this acceptable or is it something I should worry about?

Will this at all effect the way my pipe burns?

Thanks in advance for your anticipated input.

[dj1340]

One of the ways I have used to build up cake at the bottom is to just fill the bowl 1/3 full a couple of times then 1/2 full then full. Building the cake up from the bottom.
Seems to build a nice even cake all the way up

[Chevy Man]

I was having the same exact problem with my first pipe. At my uncle's suggestion I switched to smoking half bowls for maybe the next 5 or 6 bowls. It cleared the problem right up. Now that pipe is caked evenly.

By the way I am a new pipe smoker as well. Jonasinmacon has about 5 months on me.

[Mad Hatter]

I don't do the partial bowls but after a smoke I make sure the bottom is coated with ash. It doesn't take too long before the cake has grown.

[RJpuffs]

When you fill a bowl upto the brim, you tend to end up with more moisture at the bottom. Even if you attempt to smoke it down all the way, some dottle is inevitable. That unburnt portion, well, didn't burn - ergo no cake was caked. The 1/3 bowl recommendation during breaking in a new pipe permits a cake to begin to form, since 1/3 of a bowl will end up with 2/3 less moisture and you are more likely to burn it all off. As the cake begins to form, it wicks away moisture - which helps it to burn all the way down when you later jam a fistful of baccy upto the brim. Once you have an adequate cake down thar on the heel, you will get a cleaner burn at the bottom - and even if you don't, it doesn't matter since a cake is caked.

Bottom line (pun tee hee) - smoke 1/3 bowls for a week and see how it goes.

[maboman]

When you are breaking in a new pipe there are a couple of things I have found that help in cake formation.

If the pipe bowl is un carbonized take a nail or small pen knife etc and scratch up the bottom of the bowl....you don't have to go crazy just scuff it up a bit...I find it helps the cake "grab on"

Honestly I'm not a 1/2 3/4 guy...I smoke full bowls from the get go, but as MH said it is good to make sure the inside of the bowl is covered with ash evenly after a smoke...when you are done hold your thumb over the chamber and give the pipe a good shaking, turn it upside down etc before dumping the ash...cake will form pretty evenly.

After the cake starts to form it builds pretty fast so keep it trimmed with a knife to about a dime thickness and it will serve you well.

Enjoy!

Maboman

[jonasinmacon]

Thanks for all the input guys.