Question : concerning bowl size , and cake

[DustyRoundup]

I have a question, for all of you " Old Timers",, well, those of you that have built up a nice layer of cake , in your bowls.

I like my Va's in my little Pete 317,and my #65, they have quite smallish bowls.
I do a dry wipe out of the bowl every smoke, and about every other day out, I'll alcohol wipe the bowl..The reason being , I think the bowl size is perfect, so I dont want to lose space , by building a thick cake.

But, I have in my rotation , 2 cobs, a Great Dane, and a Diplomat that are fairly new. And I took the filters out.
I know the draw is too easy, so I'll probably put filters back in .
But I feel the bowl's are just a hair too big for "My Virginia Smoking Style"

So, the question is,,,if I keep smoking the cobs, in the rotation, and over time I build up a nice wall of cake,,,will that wall of cake reduce the bowl size, to where the smoking characteristics change to more of my liking ???

I guess common sense says it will,,

but then another question
Will a thick layer of cake, add a darker flavor to my Virginia's ?
As I really like a lite sweet virginia, in my little pipes, that get a thorough cleaning quite often.

( I know , I need a bunch of small bowl pipes , but at the moment i'm trying to make it work with what I have , and give my small pipes a proper rest)

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I have a question, for all of you " Old Timers",, well, those of you that have built up a nice layer of cake , in your bowls.

I like my Va's in my little Pete 317,and my #65, they have quite smallish bowls.
I do a dry wipe out of the bowl every smoke, and about every other day out, I'll alcohol wipe the bowl..The reason being , I think the bowl size is perfect, so I dont want to lose space , by building a thick cake.

But, I have in my rotation , 2 cobs, a Great Dane, and a Diplomat that are fairly new. And I took the filters out.
I know the draw is too easy, so I'll probably put filters back in .
But I feel the bowl's are just a hair too big for "My Virginia Smoking Style"

So, the question is,,,if I keep smoking the cobs, in the rotation, and over time I build up a nice wall of cake,,,will that wall of cake reduce the bowl size, to where the smoking characteristics change to more of my liking ???

I guess common sense says it will,,

but then another question
Will a thick layer of cake, add a darker flavor to my Virginia's ?
As I really like a lite sweet virginia, in my little pipes, that get a thorough cleaning quite often.

( I know , I need a bunch of small bowl pipes , but at the moment i'm trying to make it work with what I have , and give my small pipes a proper rest)

Cake from a certain tobacco or subgroups of tobacco, such as VAs, will allow a seamless transition if you are smoking the same tobacco; and if you are smoking a tobacco from the same subgroup, say a VA, it will allow an easy/easier transition. Sometimes you can get away clean going from tobacco to another tobacco, within the same subgroup, other times you'll notice that the tobacco doesn't come around in that pipe until you are 2-4 bowls in. Will you get a darker flavor from built-up cake? No, other than transitional concerns, the amount of cake does nothing for you.

For optimal smoking, Mr. Pease advocates constantly trimming the cake back to a dime's thickness. So don't worry about building cake beyond that thickness; and trim it back when you need to do so.

As an aside, I'd recommend the reamer known both as the "Senior Reamer" or "Kleen Ream," as it has expendable/retractable blades that can be made to fit any size bowl. Many reamers come with preset diameters, which are fine for the bowls that they fit, but useless for the size of your bowls when they vary.

I don't think a draw can be too easy; that is, I think that your pipes without filters should work just fine for you. You should concentrate on "sipping" from the stem, not drawing from it.

The notion that a certain size bowl makes a pipe optimal for smoking flakes or VAs has been debated long. Know that the venerable Mr. Pease (is there any other more august person in the pipe world?), found this idea to not have merit; so all those "flake" pipes are just a sales appellation or the work of sales people who do not as yet know the higher truth.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

There has been less-than-robust talk about different kinds of cake, that which is built up slowly and the kind of cake that builds up quickly.

I wish I could find the referenced people and thoughts regarding this, so I'll quickly paraphrase my recollection:

* There is cake that is built by continuously packing, smoking and packing and smoking in the bowl of the pipe, with no wipe-out of the ash whatsoever, which will build up a light, solid cake quickly, kept in check (usually) by a mechanical reaming device with sharp edges.

* There is cake that is built by regularly (once a smoke, once a day, once a week...?) getting the larger parts of ash out of the bowl by "dry reaming" with a quick, gentle twist of some stuffed newspaper or paper towel, pipe cleaner or other debris-sweeping material. What is left is smaller pieces that build a denser, possibly more reliable and smoother cake.

* There is the "no cake" method which I'm listing just for comparison, which is to wipe out the bowl with alcohol-based cleaner of some kind, or even mechanical means, to keep the cake at such a bare minimum so as not to let it build up for specific purposes (meerschaum, corn cob).

I was taught by my original pipe mentor to do use the light newspaper "reaming" to get out the bulk of the ash from the bowl. I was not told why, I was a teenager, and Lloyd knew what he was doing (or was good enough at bullshitting that I didn't care). By my experience practicing this, what cake builds up (over a longer period of time) is a very dense, rock-hard surface that differs from the more porous "classic cake," that which I have removed the excess from many an estate pipe. We have all seen this latter kind of cake in certain pipes where the tobacco chamber was nary large enough to place a pencil, and it was about "french fry thickness" as opposed to "dime thickness."

I have never seen my cake get much thicker than a dime. The only reason why I own a Kleen-Reem is because I have to reset the cake on estate pipes! :lol:

With that said, many of my pipes do not take up flavors or "ghost" if I decide to regale them from, say, a heavy Lat blend to a gentler VA or Burley. In fact, the pipes that DO ghost are estates that had "quick cake" built up in them at one point! Coincidence? I don't know. I've never learned how to build up the "classic cake." It makes me wonder, though.

As for flake pipes, there is a little merit to them: flakes tend to be thick, juicy mambajambas of tobacco. The smaller size and width of a so-called "flake pipe" may lend themselves to some people's taste, and may mean you aren't walking away green after your sit-down with the mightier of your tabak stash. At least, this is my understanding, from my personal experience.

If this is "wrong," hell, isn't the case with sales, selling gimmicks, a constant? I bring up the venerable "stinger" for consideration, which by most folks' accounts over the years, was an essential part of pipe smoking. Now, most people detest them. Popularity does not make a thing so, but if you find a use for it, it isn't garbage, either.

I might point out, I can't see Greg speaking of any "higher truths" inasmuch as I read much of his writing to be "...here's what I think, maybe it's so, maybe it isn't, decide for yourself." It's why I like what he writes. He's a master at discussing hype, without perpetuating hype, or the dreaded anti-hype, either.

8)

 

[Smoker99]

Va's, provided they are not flavored/additive laden will provide a thin hard cake., It will take some time, but it will build up to what you want.

 

[tiltjlp]

I have a question, for all of you " Old Timers",, well, those of you that have built up a nice layer of cake , in your bowls.

I like my Va's in my little Pete 317,and my #65, they have quite smallish bowls.
I do a dry wipe out of the bowl every smoke, and about every other day out, I'll alcohol wipe the bowl..The reason being , I think the bowl size is perfect, so I dont want to lose space , by building a thick cake.

But, I have in my rotation , 2 cobs, a Great Dane, and a Diplomat that are fairly new. And I took the filters out.
I know the draw is too easy, so I'll probably put filters back in .
But I feel the bowl's are just a hair too big for "My Virginia Smoking Style"

So, the question is,,,if I keep smoking the cobs, in the rotation, and over time I build up a nice wall of cake,,,will that wall of cake reduce the bowl size, to where the smoking characteristics change to more of my liking ???

I guess common sense says it will,,

but then another question
Will a thick layer of cake, add a darker flavor to my Virginia's ?
As I really like a lite sweet virginia, in my little pipes, that get a thorough cleaning quite often.

( I know , I need a bunch of small bowl pipes , but at the moment i'm trying to make it work with what I have , and give my small pipes a proper rest)

I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't allow cake to build in your cobs. You can find out more info about cobs by reading my Primer from the link below. Over time the bowl size of a cob will slightly increase, but not to any degree that will really matter.


https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t12942-the-corncob-new-smoker-primer

 

[williamcharles]

I have four reamers. The Senior which works for most of my bowls but is too small for some and too large for others. I have the Castleford set which works for some but not all bowls. I have the Buttner clone which is pretty much worthless and I have a two bladed Roland reamer that is the best of the lot and works for almost all pipe bowls except tapered bowls which is nothing to worry about because the other reamers don't work for tapered bowls either, at least not without some touchup of some sort by other means . I usually use the sheepfoot blade of my Case knife when I ream because it does a better job than any of the others but it took a lot of practice to learn to handle it. I like a hard dense cake that resists chipping so I let some cake build up and then use a form of scraper to smooth and compress the cake until it's about dime thick and then begin wiping the bowl out between smokes with a paper towel. So far so good. I like approx. 1/16" of cake in my cobs.

 

[plumbernater]

I would like to add , the alcohol each time you wipe is too much, get ride of the moisture, let the cake build, keep it thin"dime size" in thickness. The cake keeps your pipe from cracking, to thick can crack. The alcohol is taking the flavor your building away. You only need it if the pipe gets sour.

 

[idbowman]

As far as deepening of the flavor, I would just echo what Mike has said...I don't think you'll find more accurate advice than that. Depending on how different your various VA blends are, you may be able to mix and match pipes and blends interchangeably without a whole lot of obvious effect (now, if your blends incorporate burley, perique, or flavorings, this may not be the case).


As far as cake goes, I have three cobs - one with has cake (about dime thickness, the usual), two do not. I don't notice a whole lot of difference the way I would in a briar. Also, I can't say that I really notice a whole heck of a lot of difference in terms of smoking time, either...I would think that considering the pliability of most tobacco, and the fact that all tobaccos expand as they heat and reduce as they burn, there probably isn't a ton of difference, despite the reduction in volume (unless you're packing really densely, or smoking small cubes, or something where each cubic millimeter is filled with tobacco).

 

[DustyRoundup]

Hmm ? OK , thats alot of food for thought :

As far as the alcohol cleaning goes, according to plumber , it will take away flavor.
That makes sense..so,, I guess I'll give it a try, without for a while...

The cobs Thanks tilt,, as I always "think" I remember what I read in the primer, but , I guess I havent , so I shall re-read it again.

Boy , this pipe smoking is a work in progress.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Hmm ? OK , thats alot of food for thought :

As far as the alcohol cleaning goes, according to plumber , it will take away flavor.
That makes sense..so,, I guess I'll give it a try, without for a while...

The cobs Thanks tilt,, as I always "think" I remember what I read in the primer, but , I guess I havent , so I shall re-read it again.

Boy , this pipe smoking is a work in progress.

You'll be alright. I like to lightly alcohol-swab my airways after a smoke, but I rarely use it in the bowl. If any cake even tries to build up in the cobs, it's removed by a light sanding. It's also made easier if you buy a cob and sand down the rough "kernel-shaped" inside a bit. I'm pretty sure that info's in John's Cob Missive, but I haven't read it in a while--perhaps I should, again! :lol:

8)

 

[DustyRoundup]

Oh yeah Kyle , I sand out the bowls, and the wooden stem too.
I actually sand the both the inside and outside of the stem.
The inside, to smooth out the fuzzy wood,,and the outside gets sanded to get that "finish" off , and I sand it to 1000 grit smooth, then buff beeswax on it , to seal the cracks that always seem to be there.

LOL, I also chew on some Va, then pack a little dab down in the bottom of the bowls , to raise the bottom to level with the stem that protrudes in there.
I feel it keeps the stem from burning too much

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Oh yeah Kyle , I sand out the bowls, and the wooden stem too.
I actually sand the both the inside and outside of the stem.
The inside, to smooth out the fuzzy wood,,and the outside gets sanded to get that "finish" off , and I sand it to 1000 grit smooth, then buff beeswax on it , to seal the cracks that always seem to be there.

LOL, I also chew on some Va, then pack a little dab down in the bottom of the bowls , to raise the bottom to level with the stem that protrudes in there.
I feel it keeps the stem from burning too much

Wow, you sand the outside of the stem, too? Huh. I leave the finish alone, personally, but I can't see the harm in either...

...I've been allowing my stem in my Diplomat cob to kind of "meld" with the bottom of the bowl by smoking it to the bottom a bit hot. There was a bit of space between the bowl walls and where the stem jutted into the bottom of the bowl. It went from hiding dottle and ash to almost being a smooth, rounded bottom you'd see in any ordinary pipe, between the natural pipe mud that's settled in the cracks and the recession of the U shaped stem opening.

*shrug*

On the other hand, my Washington always had a deep-set stem, and without the hardwood bottom core, I don't play around with the combustion in it quite as much. 8)

 

[Zeno Marx]

I have four reamers.

This is a worthy discussion in itself: tools. I have a couple Savenilli pipe knives (briar handle; triple blade). I really like how this design works. It's the best I've used so far, but I'm always curious to know what else is out there.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I have four reamers.

This is a worthy discussion in itself: tools. I have a couple Savenilli pipe knives (briar handle; triple blade). I really like how this design works. It's the best I've used so far, but I'm always curious to know what else is out there.

Agreed, feel free to fire up a discussion on that, Zeno, I'll chime in. I have used the Sav pipe knife, it's awesome, practically a home-defense weapon, but quite pricey and easy to gouge a pipe if you don't know what you're doing with it (i.e., me, the first time I grabbed it... :lol: ). Kleen Reems can be $10 - $15, and work ace, too, and better for a "beginner," I'd say.

 

[idbowman]

You'll be alright. I like to lightly alcohol-swab my airways after a smoke, but I rarely use it in the bowl.

For me, it's an alcohol soaked pipe cleaner down the stem and shank every 5 smokes or so (not real picky about it)...alcohol only goes in the bowl when things get foul and its time for a thorough salt/alc treatment.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

For me, it's an alcohol soaked pipe cleaner down the stem and shank every 5 smokes or so (not real picky about it)...alcohol only goes in the bowl when things get foul and its time for a thorough salt/alc treatment.

I've learned I smoke "wet." I guess I drool into my pipes, which wouldn't happen if I didn't discover such delicious tobacco... heheheh...

...even with the Nevada dry air, I get a 50/50 chance of some stinky funk developing in the pipes if I don't at least do a quick swab.

You just go with what works, ya know?

8)

 

[monbla256]

Some interesting ideas from all about what I thought was a simple thing For me I've always finished my bowl, tapped out any ash left, I rarely have any "dottle" as I smoke some pretty dry blends, blow thru the stem to remove all ash, run a cleaner into the bowl thru the stem and let the pipe sit for an hour or so, then remove the cleaner, put pipe in rack and leave till it comes up in rotation next month It takes awhile for cake to build in my pipes and when it looks like it needs it, I use and old Reem-n-Kleen reamer to bring it back to where I like it, just under a dime thikness. When I do the reeming is when I may run a cleaner with some "sweetener" around the bowl and thru the stem and bit. Then put the pipe up for a day or two and we are ready for another years worth of smoking. KISS it

 

[plumbernater]

Just had a thought. If you know any thing about cast iron pans, they require seasoning. Its carbon buildup, and a good old cast iron pan cooks good. Well the same applies to a pipe. Some one visits and does dishes to help. They wash my cast iron pans if they dont know what they are doing they mess them up. and it takes awhile to get them cooking good again. So I think too much cleaning is not good. Just what I would call mantinance.

 

[idbowman]

^Perfect analogy.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Agreed... Plumb nailed it (rather than wrenched it... hehehe) 8)