New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Dude Here

Here's one I'm hoping you old farts can help me with. My pipe smells and tastes like an ashtray. Pretty badly too. I've had two bowls through it thus far and it's got a black char on the inside of the bowl. Is the ashtray taste and charring normal? I've ran about six pipe cleaners through it since I bought the pipe. The cleaners help a little but but it's still got a really strong ashtray smell and taste. I'm pretty sure it's something I'm doing wrong though, probably smoking too fast/hard. Any help ya'll can give me to get that smell and taste out is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Edit: it's a Missouri Meerschaum pipe and a burley house blend from the B&M that I'm smoking.

Originally Posted by OnePyroTec

I do dry 'em as I go. If I dried then packed it into jars, it would turn to dust. (I pack the jars pretty tight sometimes)

I smoke a lot of cobs too...when I'm done with a bowl, I tend t take a paper towel and wad it up a bit to wipe the inside of my cob...sometimes I'll dampen it a tiny bit if I let the pipe cool down before wiping.

A) Does it still have the filter in the stem? If so, get rid of it. It is more of a pain than it is a benefit, and often smells nasty.

B) You do not need to wipe the inside of the bowl. Dump the dottle and let a bit of a cake build up on the inside of the bowl, that is what protects the pipe itself. When you wipe it out, the cake doesn't have a chance to build up.

How to build a cake? This is the simple explanation. Smoke your pipe down to dottle (ash), put your thumb over the bowl and shake the ash inside for a couple seconds, remove thumb and dump dottle out, set pipe down and let it rest. If you have not done so, run a pipe cleaner through it. A cake will develop on the inside of the bowl and protect the pipe itself, this is a good thing.

Peace of the Lord be with you.