Avoiding Burning Out A Blowfish
Posted on April 27, 2008
Filed Under Help Wanted |
Jonathan writes in to ask:
I was hoping for some advice. I have a very high grade pipe from a very well known carver. It is a blowfish shape and one of the walls was cut very very thin. The carver has offered to replace the pipe at no additional cost to me but I am hoping to avoid this since I am in love with this pipe already. My question to you is what would you advise I smoke that will burn well to avoid many relights and also has a tendancy to smoke cool? I am not a huge VaPer guy but am open to almost anything besides a straight Vir.
What help can we offer him?
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Two blends that I have been using to break in pipes are GL Pease Abingdon and Westminster. Both of these blends smoke exceptionally cool and don’t require many relights. Recently I have tried both Tim West Jelly Method (jelly and tobacco dust) and another one using sour cream (yeah I know I thought it sounded crazy too) to help promote a cake in new pipes and ones were I couldn’t get a cake to stick in the bottom quarter of the bowl with much success. If you use Mr. West Jelly Method wipe a light coating of grape jelly in the bowl and then put some dry tobacco dust in the bowl and shake. Tim recommend to let it dry for four plus days and I agree after making the mistake of not waiting. Good luck and smoke slowly!
Hi kppeterson,
Can I apply Jelly/Tobacco Dust even though I smoked appr. 3 bowls already? btw, the bowl also has a pre-carb coat on it. Does this change your thoughts to use the Jelly method?
Thanks again,
Jonathan
I would go ahead with it even if you have smoked it and even if it has a pre-carb in the bowl. The other thing that has been working just as well is a very thin coating of sour cream and then let it dry a few days before smoking. Since it is so little it will not spoil and dries quick also it seems to smoke cooler and gives off less flavor than the jelly method. I think I got the idea from pipe maker Brian Ruthenberg but as I recall he adds pharmaceutical charcoal. If you choose to try the Jelly method I can not stress enough to have the patience to let it dry for at least four days. The first time I got antsy and smoked it then next day and it tasted like burnt sugar and I scorched my tongue!
Thank you so much for the advice.
Thanks to everyone for your help.
Jonathan
Make a paste of waterglass (sodium silicate) and clean ash. Start at 1/3 waterglass, 2/3 ash. It’s right when no liquid appears on the outside of the paste. Smear lightly on the thin wall and let dry (takes about an hour). Fill and smoke. Should be just fine, and doesn’t affect the taste of the pipe. Have saved both burnouts and overdrilled bents this way. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Frank
Try some glp odyssey it smokes cool also some westminster coat the bowl with some honey and a little pipe dust i know it is old hat but it worked for me also smoke slow-FC.
Try Peter Stokkebye, balkan supreme or the McCelland line of products IMO.
go to justforhim.com and order their morning coffee blend. pack it loosely as it is moist. it will coat the bowl nicely for your favorite smoke to adhere to. you will have a nice cake in no time, and a good amount of pleasure in the process.
I would replace the pipe. Thin spots are trouble. I think you’ll be glad in the long run if you choose replacement.
Best of luck,
Glorfindel
Thank you all for the advice! Very nice of all of you to take the time to reply.
Jonathan
Good forethought Jonathan. I eschew any coating that gets between the pipe material and the tobacco, personally. Some long-time pipe smokers break pipes in slowly (out of wind, breeze, fans, etc.) by smoking uncased burley blends, such as Pipeworks & Wilke’s Nut Brown Burley, Cornell & Diehl’s Haunted Bookshop or say a Solani Aged Burley Flake. Burley is naturally low in sugar/starches, burns cleanly and should be relatively cool compared to Virginia or English blends. Note bene: Burley is more fullness than flavor, so becareful to not puff hard for flavor and thereby stoke up a hot bowl. Hope this helps.
What you can do may depend on the current bore size. If you have enough room, you might consider having the pipe relined with more briar or meerschaum. I have several times relined or bottom filled older burnouts or over-bottom-reamed pipes with ceramic paste that will withstand 2300 degree F. heat. Only problems with this solution is that it does require some build-up (along with some patient and careful inside of the bowl reshaping and drilling) and you lose that esoteric relationship of tobacco with the briar. Its kind of like smoking and maintaining a clay pipe bowl forever afterward. This method has, however, saved several estate pipes that I have acquired and have a real fondness for and made excellent smokers out of them.