Maintaining cake
TaylorJDutton
Master
I have a couple of vintage estate pipes (they were listed as 50s pipes when purchased) and they seem to have a good amount of cake. one of them has an uneven amount of buildup in one specific spot that i wanted to even out, but i had trouble using a czeck tool to do so. any tips? thanks y'all!
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<<For the purpose of this article, I will assume that you, the reader, already have a basic understanding of what carbon cake is and how it effects your pipe and it's smoking qualities. I have heard many theories on what builds cake including, but not limited to, rubbing honey along the inside of the bowl, sanding the chamber to roughen up the surface, smoking only a third of a bowl for a few smokes then graduating to two-thirds, etc. While it is true that some pipes seem to cake faster than others, the same basic principles apply.
What will build cake is the burning of tobacco directly against the wood inside the pipe. This sounds simple enough but how exactly does one do this in a way that can produce more efficient results? What I, and other smokers I have spoke with, have found is to make the "Orange Ring". While this may sound like a pastry, it is actually the method of keeping the outer ring of the tobacco burning right up against the bowl walls throughout the duration of the smoke. To do this, one must tamp and relight often keeping the flame around the outer edges of the tobacco. One should lightly push some of the unburned tobacco towards the outside of the plug to maximize the outer ring's combustibility. Tamp in a circular motion when doing this and tamp light enough so that only the weight of the tamper itself is the only pressure applied. You will know that you are doing this correctly if you see a bright orange ring in your pipe after a relight. Do not worry about having a glowing ember in the center. The purpose of this techniques is to build a strong even cake along the walls of the pipe. After puffing for a few minutes, let the pipe go out on it's own and slightly cool. Tamp lightly in a circular motion around the tobacco to flatten the ash and gently push some unburned tobacco to the outer ring of the plug. Light your pipe with the flame walking around the outer edges and then check for the Orange Ring. Try to get a complete circle of orange to avoid uneven cake buildup and the dreaded "hot spots". With the proper care and skill, you should soon start to see a nice carbon caking all along the bowl of your pipe. Be sure to smoke the tobacco all the way to the bottom of the bowl using this technique.
When one is about halfway through a bowl of tobacco there is usually a good bed of ashes on top of the burning embers. One popular method of building cake is to spread some of the excess ash over the inside of the tobacco chamber. This is known as "Ashing". The way this is done is to place one hand over the bowl of the pipe then gently shake the pipe and allow the fine ash to coat the exposed wood of the tobacco chamber. After doing this you can dump the remaining excess ash then gently tamp and continue smoking the second half of the bowl. Once the bowl is finished, repeat the ashing process one more time then dump the remaining ash. What this does is leave a good coating of tobacco ash along the interior of the bowl. This promotes the building of a good even carbon cake. Some folks will wipe out the shank with a pipe cleaner then smoke the pipe again (once cooled down) with the ash still coating the bowl walls. Doing this helps to "fuse" the ash and tobacco to the wood and therefore provides an excellent base for a good healthy cake.
Once you have built up a respectable cake, proper maintenance is necessasry to avoid the problems that can come from having too much cake. If a pipe has too much cake it can make the bowl heat up to the point where the bowl can crack open and end up as firewood. To avoid this you need to periodically ream the cake. This can be done with sandpaper or a pipe reamer. The proper thickness for cake is equal to the thickness of a dime. When you cut the cake you should slowly and gently ream the bowl and remove the cake evenly and without creating a crack in the cake. Doing so will cause the cake to split and fall off in a large chunk leaving some exposed wood and an uneven cake. Dump the excess carbon powder from the bowl then whisk out the bowl with a bent pipe cleaner. Check the cake for proper thickness and uniform surface. Continue reaming as necessary.
With proper care and maintenance, you should have a pipe that smokes well and will last for many years.
No, no, no! I would avoid a pipe reamer like the plague. I own most every reamer made and they are way to general.
Sandpaper works much better without taking a big chance on gouging the bowl out of round.
I prefer the Kleen Reem reamer when I am working on a restoration that has quite a bit of cake. Another reamer I have in my arsenal, is the British Buttner. Between those two, I am able to tackle most restoration jobs.
I prefer to keep the cake to a minimum in all my pipes, and by staying on top of keeping my pipes clean, I am able to take the cake right out with a q-tip and a little bourbon.
I've been slowly working my way through your blog, which is a treasure chest of information and advice for the pipe smoker. Thanks for your efforts.....