to wipe or not to wipe

[desertpiper]

when I've finished a pipe I usually wipe the bowel out with a paper towel. my question is: does this keep my pipes from building up a cske?

 

[MisterE]

when I've finished a pipe I usually wipe the bowel out with a paper towel. my question is: does this keep my pipes from building up a cske?

Oh yes. I much prefer my bowels cake free.

Seriously though, I like to keep the cake in my pipes pretty thin. I'll use a regular aluminum pipe nail and strape the dottle and chunks off after each smoke. What ends up forming is a very dense and fine cake after a little time. A paper towel will work, but it ususally won't get it all and what can form is a looser cake that will flake off in chunks.

Pipe nail goes for about $.99 at most tobacco shops.

 

[huffelpuff]

I wouldn't say it prevents cake formation, but it does seem to slow it down considerably. I myself prefer minimal cake in my briars. I kinda dig the more woody flavor. That's just me though.

Jim

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Cake is funny, it seems like it isn't doing anything, and then boom, you notice one day your chamber is coated with the stuff. :lol: Watch cake never builds? *shrug* Meh.

I don't typically wipe out tobacco chambers on briars. I used to, but now I keep it trimmed thin with a pipe nail, too. Meers, sometimes wipe 'em out, cobs, definitely. I think a little cake and still letting the briar join in the flavor party is important. Clean pipes are favored by many of my more finicky, complex blends.

If you're curious, pick a pipe in which to clean all the time, and one you aren't too persnickety about, and see which one you like better. Could be either.

8)

 

[Hermit]

I wipe out the bowl with a doubled up scruffy pipe cleaner after I've used it.
It slows down cake formation, but I think it builds a better cake.

 

[riff raff]

I wipe my bowls with a paper towel after every smoke. If done immediately after smoking, and the pipe is still warm, a cake will build but very slowly. Sometimes I forget, and after the pipe is cold, the effect is greatly diminished.

 

[idbowman]

I wipe out the bowl with a doubled up scruffy pipe cleaner after I've used it.
It slows down cake formation, but I think it builds a better cake.

Same here...quick, easy, and (at least in my mind) effective.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep.

Pipe nail followed by cleaner to pull out the tiny bits dislodged so you don't end up with them in your mouth the next time you light it.

:face:

 

[kaiser83]

I use the pipe tool followed by a doubled over pipe cleaner in a U shape. I read somewhere here that you need to make sure to get the dottle out after a smoke so it doesn't dry to the bowl. Apparently if it dries and does incorporate with the cake it is more apt that that bit of cake could break off more easily and cause an uneven cake. That is what I read anyhow and I have gone with that. If I have a finicky bit not wanting to come out I will sometimes slip a Q-Tip into the bowl and make sure all the dottle and moisture is out to the best of my ability.

 

[desertpiper]

I pretty much use a paper towel to wick out the moisture and snag any ash that might be clinging to side of the bowel.

 

[monbla256]

Pipe tool to scrape the big chunky bits off and a periodic reem to keep the cake no thicker than a dime for me. I smoke Va's and Balkans so I don't get any "dottle" at the bottom, just grey ash .

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Sheesh, I forgot to add: I usually dust out the bowl with a dry pipe cleaner, and give the thing a good "toot" with a lungful. One guy I talked to recently runs his little finger on the inside after a pipe-nail "knock-down," but he had really dirty fingernails. :lol: Whatever works, I guess.

 

[KevinM]

A lot of what might be thought of as "cake" is really unburnt vegetable matter -- sticks, wet leaf, twigs. You only need a thin carbon coat. I try to get that post-smoke by careful app of a pipe tool, a good horn-like puff from bit to bowl, thorough app of cleaners, and light scrubbing of the bowl with a bent cleaner. So my "cake" is thin but functional.

 

[MisterE]

.....but he had really dirty fingernails. :lol: Whatever works, I guess.

Well, I better not show you where the lemonade is made.... :lol!: