Ash and the breathing method

Londy3

I have a question for the experts in the house.  I am using the breathe method at times when I am typing on my laptop so yes, i am clenching. After I have been burning for a while I tamp but as ash accumulates, sometimes it gets puffed out. What should I do differently?  Should i tip the surface ash out?

ghostsofpompeii

@Londy3 There are two discussions which may provide you with the answers you require. One is on page 2 ... "Tamping: Pros & Cons" ... and the second closer to what your asking is "Dumping The Ash As You Smoke" on page 3. As you'll see there are varying opinions on dumping the ash. I personally don't dump the ash unless I have to relight, so I don't get the taste of ashes as I begin puffing. Otherwise I leave the ash to accumulate until the last wonderful puff.

Londy3

Cool, thanks for your comments.  I will check out the other posts as well.

PhilosoPiper

I typically use the breath method almost exclusively. I find that somewhere after I get past the first half of the bowl I dump the ash, this has worked well for me. Another thing that helps is keeping the tobacco tamped in a dome shape, I don't know what it is but it seems the tobacco burns more evenly when tamped in such a way. I hope you find this helpful.

motie2

For newcomers to pipe smoking who might stumble in here, also for connoisseurs of obscure phrasing:

<<Roughly speaking, the pipe smoker learns to breath in and out of his or her nose at a tempo at odds with the cadence of imbibing the pipe. Bifurcating the acts of breathing and smoking can provide the smoker with incredible control over smoke volume and puffing cadence, improving flavor, decreasing the potential for tongue bite and palate exhaustion, and keeping in check the overall temperature of the pipe. Though not tough to figure out, mastery requires both a little patience and practice. Solitude recommended.>>

Suggested URL's:

Muttnchop Piper at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XggmvJUwmlc

Bradley at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYBN0Ey3u-4

Londy3

Thanks for posting this. I kinda forgot there are likely new people and we use strange terms.  Muttonchops is the best!

SERENTIL

Wow, great info.  Had no idea what the heck anyone was talking about at first.

ghostsofpompeii

To members new to the hobby I can't begin to tell you what a drastic change learning the simple breath method has made in the enjoyment I now get from pipe smoking. It has all but eliminated tongue bite from even those aromatics notorious for burning hot and tongue bite. And what once was a 15 or 20 minute smoke has transformed into a 30 to 45 minute smoke as I'm not puffing like a locomotive. Small bowl pipes that I once used for short smokes are now lasting me as long as the bigger bowl pipes once did.    

PappyJoe

@Londy3 - Don't puff so hard.

Seriously. Most of the time when I get ash flying out of my pipe it's either I puffed to hard or a wind hit my pipe just right. I tamp occasionally using just the weight of the tamper to do the work. I found if you push down to hard with the tamp it extinguishes the tobacco.

motie2

@Londy3 -- I've posted this before, but it bears constant repetition:

Londy3

;-) good stuff!

ghostsofpompeii

@motie2 The Slower The Draw ... The Deader The Gunslinger.

Topaz75

The slower the draw, the bigger the bill you get from the artist you are paying by the hour.