For many, there is no strategy for cake creation in a new or refurbed pipe. They just start smoking and come-cake what may. For them what are smoking cobs and meers, cake doesn't even come into the equation - except how to keep it from building up on the clay.
But for the rest of us, we gaze into the chamber of just-smoked pipes, new or old, and wipe loose ash, scan for unsmoked flakes of weed and look to see what the cake looks like. Normally I am not too possessed about how or when cake builds but, recently, I've been working to build a classic conical cake in the lower half of two hot-smoking pipes. Progress is slow.
I got bored with Carter Hall after a pouch but liked how it built cake noticeably faster than Virgina tobak. About two weeks ago I mixed some Escudo 50/50 with Carter Hall (in the pouch) and continued to march. It tastes interesting and is doing the job pretty well.
Do you have a strategy or non-strategy?
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No strategy for me. I just smoke until it's time to ream the bowl out with only a light cleaning of the bowl after each smoke. I also never do the "fill a new pipe half way thing", I just fill her up and enjoy and never had any problems with that.
I think there is to much over thinking with pipes. I stay with the formula of
1.Keep them clean
2.Do not pack the bowl (thanks MM)
3.Sip don't Suck!
4.Cake will come
5.Enjoy!
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I'm pretty much with goat there. But, I'm on the college of leaving the ash in the bowl after a smoke. Especially if it's a fine ash, I'll tamp it down then mix it up with the draw poker a little, close over the lid and shake it up to pepper the sides of the bowl, then dump out what's left. Not sure if it helps or not really, but it makes me feel like I'm contributing something other than just smoking it!
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I guess I should add my two cents into the mix here. A week ago or so I asked about this very question / dilemma. I decided to go with the straight Va to break my new pipe in. Rather than use the recommended PA or CH.
I have had the pipe maybe a week, and I have smoke 5 bowls so far . Right now I have only been
loading about 1/2 of the pipe up and smoking it. I have been trying to smoke the blend very slowly and so far so good. After I finish, I tap out the extra tobacco and leave the left over ash in the pipe.
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