Who Needs Cake !!

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Slow Puffs

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I'm taking advantage of the nice weather here to clean some of my more needy pipes...in the garage.

After reaming and reaming, (I know neglect) a few of my Brighams, I'm tempted to go right to the wood and take all the cake out...

I know the theory of the "dime's" thinkness, but why not take it all out until the next thorough cleaning?
 
I took my Pete 315 xl down to the wood last night, SP. I was looking down the bowl and thinking, "I don't remember this pipe being skinnier than my finger". I took about 3/16" outta that sucker, and now it takes more than a single pinch of tobacco again!

I have found that when I ream a well used pipe, even if I take the cake right out, it cakes up super fast again anyhow (like, 2 smokes). I guess a guy should smoke with extra care if he takes the cake right out, because I do think it protects the briar somewhat.

So I guess the answer is, if you smoke hot at all, you should probably leave a bit of cake in order to protect the pipe. If you are a slow puffer, and I have reason to believe you might be.... I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I tend to smoke very slow (I smoke a lotta Mac Baren) and I finish the bowl totally about 90% of the time, so I tend to ingore the cake situation in my pipes. Never had one crack, never had one burn out. :roll:
 
Sasquatch":x6x93q6o said:
I took my Pete 315 xl down to the wood last night, SP. I was looking down the bowl and thinking, "I don't remember this pipe being skinnier than my finger". I took about 3/16" outta that sucker, and now it takes more than a single pinch of tobacco again!

... :roll:
Yep, a couple of my Brigham' s have gone from a group 1-2 back to group 4-5 this afternoon... :lol: :shock: :lol:
 
It sneaks up on a guy. I had no idea I had that much cake on that Pete... Like you say, it went back to being a large bowled pipe again. Kinda shows I like that pipe more than many others, too.
 
Slow Puffs":8vz3hu78 said:
I'm taking advantage of the nice weather here to clean some of my more needy pipes...in the garage.

After reaming and reaming, (I know neglect) a few of my Brighams, I'm tempted to go right to the wood and take all the cake out...

I know the theory of the "dime's" thinkness, but why not take it all out until the next thorough cleaning?
I see nothing wrong with reaming a pipe down to the wood now and then, in fact I've done it! I general I do this when a cake begins to flake off or form unevenly in some other way. The LAST thing I want is voids, flaked off spots, uneven areas or cracks in the cake. This can lead to a crack in the bowl or a dreaded burnout.

What reaming to bare wood affords you is a great opportunity to examine the 'health' of the smoking chamber. Any suspicious areas or where there are cracks, burns, voids can be assessed and addressed with pipe mud (where damage is minimal) or you may decide to send it to a professional if the damage is of grave concern. I always save a tin of fluffy, fine ash for pipe mud purposes and to shake around in my newly caking smoking chambers following a smoke. I only rarely have an issue building cake, and for everyday purposes I simply use a pipe tool scraper for maintaining the cake.

It occurred to me not everyone may know what 'pipe mud' is. I create mine with fine powdery ash and a little saliva. It can be applied like you would putty to suspicious areas of a smoking chamber. Once allowed to dry (24-48 hours is generally plenty) careful filling of the chamber with tobacco and resuming normal smoking for several bowls will allow the pipe mud to 'heal' the smoking chamber. You must remember where it is in the smoking chamber and act accordingly. After the smoking chamber is well caked again, it should perform pretty much like any other pipe in your rotation.

YMMV
 
ftrplt":r3prhc6d said:
Good "mud" review there, Kiltie :king: :pipe: FTRPLT
Yes well done, I'll bet there were one or two reading this thinking "whats pipe mud"
 
Even' All, Here's another take, when cleaning I take a paper napkin or paper towel and ream with these, I usually only have to ream a certain pipe once a year, also I feel the quality of the wood used , and how it was cured plays a big part in the building of cake, better wood, less build up, less reaming, Ken :tongue:
Pacem en Puffing! :tongue: From The Frigid Northeast Kingdom! :tongue:
 
Like most things in life, I have found cake to be very much a relative affair. Although I tend to keep a light cake on most all of my briars overall due to my smoking preferences, I have found that the ‘proper’ thickness is certainly not a one size fits all proposition, but rather depends on a multitude of factors, not the least of which being the pipe itself. For whatever reason, in my experience some pipes seem to require either more or less cake to perform at their best, with there being no magic thickness which fits all. As to those who might stand by the old ‘thickness of a dime’ as a universal, I admit I would have to side with Marie Antoinette ...
 
Kapnismologist":2gqq4nl1 said:
Like most things in life, I have found cake to be very much a relative affair. Although I tend to keep a light cake on most all of my briars overall due to my smoking preferences, I have found that the ‘proper’ thickness is certainly not a one size fits all proposition, but rather depends on a multitude of factors, not the least of which being the pipe itself. For whatever reason, in my experience some pipes seem to require either more or less cake to perform at their best, with there being no magic thickness which fits all. As to those who might stand by the old ‘thickness of a dime’ as a universal, I admit I would have to side with Marie Antoinette ...
I agree with you entirely on this point. Some of my pipes perform their best with relatively thick cake, while others do much better with almost none. I'm also not as fastidious about cleaning a pipe as many of my peers either. My personal feelings is that pipes are as individual as persons are, they will tell you exactly what they need, but only if you listen. They really are meant to be smoked and mine at least tend to do much better for me if I treat them like an old VW Beetle. (change the oil every 30,000 miles whether it needs it or not, change the tires when they rot off, wash the car when it's raining, by speeding down the autobahn ... you know the drill)

Ok, I exaggerated a bit, my point is I find what makes my pipes taste better to me is to allow the tobacco to 'marry the wood' so to speak, NOT wash it all away. The pipe will tell ME when it's had enough and needs a more thorough cleaning, reaming, salt treatment etc. They also seem to tell me what to smoke IN them, referring to blend type and form.
 
I don't let the cake get very thick on my pipes and when I ream them I usually take them all the way down. Not necessarily to completely bare would but to where there is no noticable cake. Then if necessay I lightly run a piece of fine sand paper around in the bowl to get it even.
 
I am glad to hear I'm not the lone ranger on this. I kept hearing everyone talk about the thick as a dime "rule" or you are subject to burn out or cracked bowels. When I am done smoking I usually will run the pipe cleaner around the bowl after cleaning the stem. I don't think any of my pipes have a cake thicker than a dime, if that. Any new "estate" pipes that I have purchased or traded for I will usually take 200 grit sandpaper and sand the bowl down pretty close to new wood.

The only burn out I've ever had on a pipe in almost eighteen years of smoking was a brand new pipe that I had commissioned and it had a large pit on the inside of the bowl. The bowl was coated per my request. I didn't catch it until about the forth bowl when I started noticing the burn mark on the outside of the bowl. The carver (who shall remain nameless) didn't guarantee the briar itself for defects. Needless to say I haven't purchased another pipe from him. He did at a later date offer to make me a new pipe for "cost" when he had some free time. Others that I know who have purchased pipes from him have been very happy. I declined and sent the pipe to Scott Bundy who did a great repair job and re-stain.
 
Burnout and cracking are both imho materials-related, or possibly technique related. But a decent piece of briar treated with any kind of care will last a hell of a long time.
 
Pseudo Nim":nek9o2f6 said:
ftrplt":nek9o2f6 said:
Good "mud" review there, Kiltie :king: :pipe: FTRPLT
Yes well done, I'll bet there were one or two reading this thinking "whats pipe mud"
So those of you who "need" pipe mud... are these for your estates and basket pipes?
 
Slow Puffs":fjoi6hsk said:
Pseudo Nim":fjoi6hsk said:
ftrplt":fjoi6hsk said:
Good "mud" review there, Kiltie :king: :pipe: FTRPLT
Yes well done, I'll bet there were one or two reading this thinking "whats pipe mud"
So those of you who "need" pipe mud... are these for your estates and basket pipes?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm very tempted to list this on Ebay: :!: :!: :!:

!!!RARE!!!

Genuine GLP/SG Ash ***CUSTOM*** Georgia Pipe Mud!!!

Originally produced in late fall of 2003 tinned and carefully aged. quantities LIMITED This pipe mud created from the finest of ash from carefully smoked GLP and SG tobaccos, triple strained, and gently tinned, always stored in a US Government DOD grade climate controlled storage facility.

As I recall a number of years ago Scott Curtis (AKA capt silly) listed a Lark Minsky Dryer Lint Pipe on Ebay and it back fired on him :!:

Sorry Brothers, I'm just a little twisted.
 
From strictly a repairman's perspective (meaning nothing to do with flavor):

A large number of pipes I see---around 40% of all bowls---have been significantly scorched. About 10% are badly burned. As a rule, people tend to overestimate briar's resistance to heat, not underestimate it.

I think the zero cake people are taking a risk. One moment of inattention is all it takes to create a crazed area, and that spot will be more susceptible to heat from then on because of its increased surface area.

The "penny thickness" guideline is a good one, imo. It definitely doesn't hurt and might help.
 
Once I build up a cake I try to keep it manicured by wiping out the bowl more thoroughly, maybe some light scraping and then every once in a while some sand paper. Look at it like it's part of the pipe. I suppose if it ever became uneven or cracked I'd take it back to wood and start over but so far so good. I'm still a believer that a good cake adds to a pipe, especially so in a dedicated blend pipe.
 
I guess the last two posts are what I am looking for... the pipes I am working on are long-time Brighams that I have smoked for years. I was quite surprised how "hardened" the cake is. As I tired to get a thin "cake", my reaming tools are gouging the cake.

I just got back from Home Depot with a supply of sandpaper and I'll try to bring it down gently and then rebuild a thin cake again.

If LL lived across the street, I'd put them in my suit case and drop them off with a flat of Moosehead.

Sorta of the feeling I have with dental flossing... I wish the dental hygenist would come over every night and floss my teeth for me. She's likely better looking than LL though. :lol:
 
I prefer pie over cake :D Seriously though, I believe cake is a pipe-to-pipe factor. I have some pipes that smoke best with little or no cake at all.
 
I never seem to be able to build up much cake, and this morning tried the honey trick with an unsmoked Barling Londoner. I've certainly got cake building now, and a lovely sweet taste was imparted to my Haddo's Delight.

By and large my pipes are pretty clean. I smoke down to the ash and tip the debris out, but even with no bowl cleaning generally I find little or no build up. Very odd!
 
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