Ash and Cake

[Damicom3]

Hi all, I recently got my first briar . I have for about the last week been cleaning it after every 2 smokes instead of every smoke because I heard that was better for breaking it in. When I empty the ash and dottle out of the pipe post smoking it it usually covers the sides of the bowl in ash.

Should I be cleaning the inside of the bowl or should I let that be and only run a cleaner through the shank and/or stem parts. O ya I looked at some older posts but it took to long and I didn't find exactly what I was looking for so if somone would be so kind as to give me the rundown on how to go about caking/ cleaning. Like how often or what parts to clean and what not to it would be much appreciated.

P.S. I seem to have gone about buidling a good cake in my cob, not sure if thats good or not but I think being lazy and not cleaning it that often did the trick.... not positive though.

[Hermit]

I clean my bowls with a doubled up pipe cleaner after each smoke.
I want the cake to build slowly and firmly.
BTW, you don't want cake in a cob.

[RJpuffs]

Originally Posted by Hermit

I clean my bowls with a doubled up pipe cleaner after each smoke.
I want the cake to build slowly and firmly.
BTW, you don't want cake in a cob.

On the other side of the coin, some (me) recommend that you don't poke anything into the bowl. Leave the ash to settle and gunk up on its own. Just use the pipe cleaner to swab out moisture through the mouthpiece/stem/shank. Briars only, of course, no cake for cobs/meers.

[Mad Hatter]

I do it the same way as RJ. I've never had a problem with the cake being unstable. However, if you want you can do it that way until you have a good cake, then ream and regrow your cake slowly, cleaning the bowl with each smoke. I think the most difficult thing about growing cake is getting it anchored the first time around and once you've had cake it always grows back easily.

[Damicom3]

By anchored do you mean getting cake around the bottom of the bowl or just getting the cake overall. I've been reading some older posts and people suggest all this 1/3 bowl smoking and whatnot. Seems like a big hassle, is that something you wait to see if you need to do. What I mean is thats only something you do if the cake is very uneven throughout the bowl not standard procedure?

Lol ya I better clean the ol' cob out don't want any cob cake forming .

[Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by Damicom3

By anchored do you mean getting cake around the bottom of the bowl or just getting the cake overall. I've been reading some older posts and people suggest all this 1/3 bowl smoking and whatnot. Seems like a big hassle, is that something you wait to see if you need to do. What I mean is thats only something you do if the cake is very uneven throughout the bowl not standard procedure?

Lol ya I better clean the ol' cob out don't want any cob cake forming .

No, I'm referring to the fact that cake really seems like it roots in the surface of the briar, kinda like it needs a bit of tars to permeate the pores in the surface (of course you can't see that except in the darkening that takes place) and from that the cake begins to grow. Think of it kind of like varnishing wood where your first thin coat settles in and establishes a foothold on which subsequent layers adhere.

I never do the 1/3, 1/2 bowls. IMO if a pipe smokes dry, its not an issue. The cake is part tar from the tobacco that bakes and solidifies. That's why the top part of the chamber grows faster than the rest because smoke is always passing by it. If your smoke is dry its also always passing by the heal to which, if the surface is dry, it also adheres. But of course in the bottom the smoke is filtered through the remaining tobacco so some of the tar is redeposited there.

[Damicom3]

I'm glad I started this thread I learned alot! Time to go 'work' on building some cake .

[RJpuffs]

Originally Posted by Damicom3

I'm glad I started this thread I learned alot! Time to go 'work' on building some cake .

Two important points (1) smoke slow and cool and (c) smoke ALL the way down till you're about spitting out ash.

Too hot could cause burnouts in the briar, it needs to break in slowly as the pores absorb tar and carbon adheres. And if you don't smoke it all way down, the heel (very bottom) will never catch a cake since all the wet goop gets collected down thar. Thats why the 1/3 2/3 bowl suggestions, since it is easier to smoke it down all the way when you're working with less baccy - and less condensation/goop will collect since you have less baccy burning to that point.

[wharfrathoss]

just want to point out that IMHO, smoking all the way down doesn't necessarily mean turning all the tobac to ash. trying to do that w/an uncaked (unprotected) bowl can lead to a burnout. as long as the tobac in the bottom is charred/burnt/dottle, it's good enough for me. i should add that i have plenty of cake in the bottom as a result of smoking like this.

[Crazycoonass]

May I add that u should look at the shape of your pipe bowl and make sure the draw hole is at or near the bottom, these pipes give the best smokes and are the easyiest to deal with as alot of space at the bottom of the bowl give room for liquid to build up and gurgle and can actualy make it difficult to smoke your bacci all the way down.