pre-carbonated bowls

[SteelyJ]

So, I've had a few pipes with the pre-carbonated bowls, and oftentimes it hasn't been a big deal. But lately I've been breaking in a Boswell I got for Christmas and man, I've had three smokes in it and the precarbon makes the first part of the bowl impossible to enjoy. Almost an acrid taste. This passes by the first third and then all is good, but it's very unpleasant at first and makes me not want to keep going. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if some pipemakers pre-treat the bowls in different ways, but I'm wondering who else has experienced this and if you have any advice?

Thanks.

 

[ontariopiper]

I haven't experienced this myself, but I've heard similar accounts from others. As I see it, you've got two options:

1 - keep smoking the pipe. The bad taste will go away eventually.
2 - remove the bowl coating and break the pipe in again.

#1 is easy but not tasty; #2 is not that much harder. A bit of sandpaper wrapped around a dowel or other such thing will remove the bowl coating reasonably quickly. Just be sure to stay parallel to the bowl walls to avoid enlarging the chamber bore.

 

[Richard Burley]

+1. I'd remove it posthaste. But maybe it's just "green" wood. In which case, I'd throw it away. Seriously, life's too short. I've had several pipes that just would not break in, whatever that means. To me, it means a bitter, hyper-nicotinic smoke every time, no matter what you do. Tends to appear in cheapos, like basket pipes.

(Come to think of it, I once had an "artisan" pipe that reeked of varnish, stain, or whatever hydrocarbon it was soaked in. The flavor was horrible and intolerable. I got rid of it.)

 

[SteelyJ]

(Come to think of it, I once had an "artisan" pipe that reeked of varnish, stain, or whatever hydrocarbon it was soaked in. The flavor was horrible and intolerable. I got rid of it.)

It doesn't reek of anything, and overall is a really nice pipe. I've gotten this taste a little before in other pipes but it seemed a lot harsher in this one. I don't know if it's because I took a break from pipe smoking for a bit (as it's been a while since I've broken in one that had some taste issues) that it seems harsher or what? I know my dad had the pipe custom made, so I don't know if the fact that the pipe was JUST made before Christmas and hasn't had shelf time has anything to do with it? I guess we will see, it's usually the first quarter of a bowl where the taste hits, but it could just be from the beginning light and it just takes that long for the taste to leave my mouth. I've only smoked it three times, and the first time (Christmas Day) I didn't notice it. I'm actually taking a trip to Boswell's this Saturday so I might ask them about it, and I'm hoping it will be fine after a few more bowls. It's a beautiful pipe and was a really cool gift from dad so it's not something I'd throw away even if it ends up a bust.

I will keep everyone posted!

 

[SteelyJ]

Good news. Smoked my fourth bowl in it and the taste was only there the first few puffs and it wasn't that strong at all! Guess I should be good now!

 

[Jazzman]

I just got s pipe from Northern Briars, a nice pipe, not cheap and I was disappointed that it had the bowl coated.

6 or 7 years ago when I was buying a lot of pipes I only came across Stanwell having coated bowls. This NB pipe smokes great but I've hit a spot a few times when it just tasted, as you put it, ACRID.

I've since sanded away the coating and things are excellent. I knew a guy that had a few hundred pipes and he said, "don't even light it, sand away the coating first", I'm starting to think he's right.

I just ordered a Savinelli Roma and I PRAY they don't coat their bowls.

I've only bought one high end pipe over the years, a Castello..no coating. I can't imagine Dunhill, Castello, Ardor, hell ...any higher end pipes, coat their bowls. You're paying for good briar and you should be able to see it.

HOWEVER, if one of the Bros has knowledge of the purpose the coating, I'd love to hear it. It may be that after 6 or 7 smokes the coating burns away and all is well. Again, I'm all ears.

 

[huffelpuff]

Jazzman, the purpose of said coating is to provide a layer of protection for the wood. Untreated briar can and will burn if exposed to too intense of a flame before a carbon cake has built up. Few makers will reveal what they use exactly but most use sodium silicate in some portion with other ingredients. Some people really notice an off flavor with this treatment others don't. There is a video somewhere in YouTube where a pipemaker shows the difference between a piece of coated briar and uncoated briar when exposed to direct flame. The uncoated wood bursts into flame in fairly short order while the coated piece just sits there for a good long time. I personally have experienced that taste and really dislike it. My solution is simple. Smoke the pipe once. or twice if the coating has an off taste remove it immediately then break in the bowl with extreme caution. If I don't notice any flavor I just leave it as is.  Anyway the idea is to prevent bozos that really don't know what they are doing from burning out an expensive pipe and then asking for their money back. Hope this helps.

Jim