| Author | Message | ||
     Hogarth de la Plante Member Username: Hogarthd Post Number: 3 Registered: 07-2005 |
I posted awhile back about difficulty in getting a cake started on my Jirsa rodhesian. I got some great responses and tried the ash/honey mixture idea with no results. I have also added two new pipes to my rotation with the same problem, a homemade one (briar) and a Blatter and Blatter handmade straight pipe (great pipe!). I figure it must be something with my packing technique. Here's the deal - I cannot seem to smoke a bowl all the way down due to moisture. I've tried everything - drying the tobacco, smoking as slowly as possible while still maintaining it lit, running a pipe cleaner all the way in every 3-5 minutes to soak up extra moisture, stirring the ashes up with the unburned tobacco (which tastes terrible), etc. to no avail. It always to the point where the bottom 1/3 of the plug will not stay lit because it's so damp. I am trying to smoke 1/2 to 1/3 bowls at this point. I understand that I need to smoke it down to the heel to get a bit of cake going on, but it's just not working at all, no matter what I try. The other problem is that the tobacco only seems to burn in the center - that is, the tobacco around the perimeter of the bowl never burns. The burn pattern is about 1/3" diameter circle of white ash that continues down through the tobacco plug. Since it's happening on all three of my pipes, it must be my packing technique which is the three stage technique: The first stage I put in a pinch of tobacco and don't really pack it, but rather 'tend it' into an organized shape. The second stage I put in another pinch and crunch it down very slightly with the tamper. The third stage I press down until it's a nice, flat surface on top but still springy. The draw is slightly easier than drinking through a straw. This is how I've read to do it. I enjoy smoking my pipes a lot, but I understand the flavor is greatly improved with the formation of even a tad of cake in the heel. Also, when the tobacco gets really wet at the bottom, the taste really goes downhill due to the temperature I have to smoke it at to keep it going. Should I try to put in just a tiny bit of tobacco in the heels of my pipes and smoke that down for awhile? I'm also on about a 24-48 hour rotation on these three pipes to let them rest. Here's a pic of the Jirsa. I've probably smoked around 30 1/2 bowls in this pipe already. You can see in this pic that the heel is blackened, but still basically, smooth briar.  thanks, in advance for advice, everyone here is very helpful and welcoming to a newbie. Hogarth | ||
| Ian Weeks Member Username: Kilgore_trout Post Number: 206 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hogarth- sorry that you are having problems. Let's see here: I do not think that it is your packing, but rather most likely: 1) you are smoking too fast. 2) you need to pay more attention to your charring light. 3) A combination of the both. When you smoke anything- be it English, Aromatic, whatever... Always smoke slowly and pay attention to the temperature. I'm not sugguesting that you get anal about the temperature by always checking the exterior of the pipe, but pay it some heed if you notice your puffing rhythm increases. I do this so often that I don't even realize that I am doing it. Pay more attention to detail when you are getting your pipe started. Pack the bowl evenly and in layers and check the draw to be certain that the tobacco is not packed too tightly. Fill the bowl just to the top of the pipe, do not over fill the bowl. Next light the entire top of the tobacc. Do this evenly and all over. If you are smoking a ribbon cut the tobacco will swell just a bit over the top of the bowl. Take a puff or two and light it again if you have to to be certain that all of the tobacco is lit- but do not puff too hard because you do not want to create too hot of a temperature. Now tamp evenly to create an even burn and relight the tobacco all over and puff softly making sure the tobacco is burning nice and neat and uniformly. That's all that there is to it. I hope that this helps, if you have any problems let us know. | ||
| Chuck Balue Member Username: Cblue Post Number: 174 Registered: 08-2004 |
If you're smoking an aromatic you will always have dottle at the bottom of the bowl. Aromatics are laced with a topping and most contain humectants that accumulate at the bottom of the bowl. All of my pipes have little or no cake. When I get to the bottom of the bowl I just quit and dump the ash. The dottle doesn't taste good nor does it smell good or burn very well so I don't bother. This is just my experience. If forming a cake is important to you, you might have to try non aromatics. Perhaps you might have to do the honey coating more than a few times in order for it to work. Nothing happens until something moves. A. Einstein | ||
| michael thoren starcher Member Username: Mr_mike_t Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2005 |
have you tried the half bowl method . i had the same problem until i done this it takes about ten bowls but instead of no packing of the first pinch i tend to be just a tad not too much firm and since then ive had no problem . the information was provided to me from the iwan ries catalog and one of these may be obtained by calling the 1800 number. by the fellas im new to the site and love the info supplied herein | ||
| Matt Lowery Member Username: Aphexafx Post Number: 49 Registered: 08-2005 |
Hogarth - I just wanted to chime in and support Ian's suggestion of smoking slowly and evenly in order to get your cake going. When I started I had so much trouble getting a cake on my pipe that I just figured I'd never get a cake and I'd end up eventually ruining my pipe or just smoke without one. When I stopped trying so hard to get a cake is when I started to relax and smoke slower and alas a cake started building. And, as the cake built, it became progressivly easier and easier to smoke evenly and slowly, thus making the cake even thicker and so on. What I think really did it for me was going from smoking and concentrating on the pipe to smoking while reading. I also somehow developed the siping style that is now automatic without knowing about it and I can tell you that I now feel I have mastered my own personal smoking style and everything is great. So hang in there and maybe try to distract yourself - concentrate on getting good flavor and the rest will really take care of itself. Just don't give up! | ||
| Matt Lowery Member Username: Aphexafx Post Number: 50 Registered: 08-2005 |
Sorry, I just wanted to add that I grew confused and tired of all the tips about quarter packing/half packing/honey/spit/powdered tobacco/blah that I simply packed full bowls on uncoated pipe walls and everything went smoother from then on. Just my opinion though! | ||
| Jason Haeger Member Username: Jason_the_great Post Number: 539 Registered: 04-2004 |
I agree that you just might be smoking a bit too quickly. Excessive dottle is often a sign of that. If you DO happen to get some dottle, I'd suggest letting the pipe (and remaining tobacco) rest for a couple of days, and coming back to it until it's smoked all the way to the bottom. After the bowl is finished, cover the bowl with your thumb, palm, or whatever, and shake up the ash so it covers ALL surfaces. Don't clean this ash layer before smoking the next bowl. Just pack and smoke like you normally would. This should help begin the building of cake in some trouble areas. It's certainly helped me. "The pipe draws wisdom from the lips of the philosopher.." -William Makepeace Thackeray, from The Social Pipe | ||
| Mrs. Bernie C Member Username: Crystal Post Number: 22 Registered: 07-2005 |
Ians advice is spot on, especially about making sure the entire top is lit to start. Heres another tip I got here that has helped me enormously. After you finish smoking, while the pipe is still warm, stir your ashes a bit to loosen them, then cover the bowl with your hand, hold your pipe with the stem pointing to the ceiling (to prevent excess ash getting into the stem), and vigorously shake the ashes inside the bowl. I use a tissue or a napkin laid flatly in my palm before I start the shake to keep my hand clean. This process distributes ash over the entire bowl. Now gently dump you pipe out and check for dottle which you gently remove with your pipe tool, then blow thru your stem to clear any ash that may have made it into the stem. Clean your pipes stem and shank after it has cooled for a few hours but do not do anything in the bowl so you dont disturb the ash. The ash will have coated the warm and somewhat moist bowl and dried in place causing a nice start of a cake. After just a few smokes you should see the difference. And yes, if you smoke it to hard and hot the last bit of the smoke tastes terrible. Let me know how this worked for you. | ||
| Melvin S. Schwartz Board Administrator Username: Schwartz Post Number: 3052 Registered: 02-2002 |
If you blow through the stem, you are going to blow away some of the ash that was clinging to the inner walls and at the heel. You can blow through the stem before the next smoke. Some of the ash will still blow away, but I _think_ the ash adheres better if left alone until the next smoke. In any event, I don't see a need to disturb newly formed ash inside and waiting can't hurt. I don't find a need to point the stem towards the ceiling. As for cleaning, I just run a pipe cleaner through and remove, until a more thorough cleaning is needed. | ||
| Bill Clough Member Username: Mdnghtramblr Post Number: 68 Registered: 09-2005 |
I have just started doing the ash shake method after a smoke to help build a cake on a new B-C Cybele; seems to be working so far. I usually run a pipe cleaner through the stem after doing so to open the air hole at the heel of the pipe pack up as I find it usually gets covered. This ash-shaking thing is working well for me so far, and I would recommend trying it to anyone having trouble building a cake. | ||
| Matt Lowery Member Username: Aphexafx Post Number: 51 Registered: 08-2005 |
In reference to ~smoking the tobacco evenly~, which I find to always be difficult or impossible with new, un-caked pipes, and you're left going, "What the hell...!?": Make sure to get the top lit evenly as mentioned, but then you'll probably notice that the burning area narrows as you smoke it down in the pipe - let this happen until the pipe goes out and you'll have an upside-down cone of ash sitting in the bowl - then let your pipe rest and cool itself - then relight the top (evenly) and you will smoke the tobacco around the perimeter (around the ash cone) - smoke this very slowly - once the top is completely ashed over just keep smoking and smoking below the ash for as long as you can and try to follow all the rules (don't let your pipe get too hot, don't draw too hard, etc.) until the pipe goes out. At this point tamp the top down lightly so it's flat (you'll be delighted when the entire top crumbles down evenly!), and then relight and keep going for as long as you can, etc. I don't know if you can call this a ~technique~ but it really really helped me get going. Doing this also helped me smoke slowly and once you get the hang of smoking slowly you will notice that your dottle problem diminishes greatly. Let us know how things are going! | ||
| Joe Louis Member Username: Joe_louis Post Number: 4 Registered: 10-2005 |
In all this effort to build the perfect cake, please don't forget the reason you are probably smoking a pipe... relaxation and enjoyment. Some of this stuff sounds an awful lot like work! :^) |