Confess to me now.....

Over the years i've read about and practised a fair amount of "pipelore". Certain theories concerning cake building and packing or smoking technique have attained a broadly accepted following. Indeed a lot of it seems to have become necessary for the smoker "in the know". Two heresies I'm guilty of are not always smoking to the bottom of the bowl and not really building the recommended thickness of cake. Am I alone in these crimes or do you too not always follow doctrine. Confess, you know you want to.......

I have said it before. I prefer my cake on a plate.

Sure. There is at least one pipe I try to keep as free of cake as possible. And I almost never get every last little combustible bit of tobacco burned to ash before finishing a bowl. That said, I rarely dump a bowl out before it's at least mostly smoked to the bottom....but it does happen now and then.

I also have a very small amount of cake on my meershaum.

I read long ago, excess cake will eventually crack a bowl. As many estates as I've turned over the years I've seen it to be so. A thin sheen of carbon build up is fine by me but I do not allow cake to build up in my pipes.

I think if I were to dedicate certain pipes to specific blends I would experiment more with cake. It's something I wouldn't mind doing with a low-end pipe just to see if enhances the experience as claimed.

A thin layer of cake in a briar is how I roll. When it gets to a certain thickness I just ream it back.

Since I prefer large freehands with deeeep bowls, I very rarely smoke all the way to the bottom, and I keep only a very thin layer of cake.
I feel better.

Bless me father, for I have sinned, my last confession was......was......ah, crap, never mind.

My pipes prolly don't have the exact amount of cake that is considered the standard but I smoke very slowly and they don't get hot. My varnished pipe's finish hasn't bubbled or flaked due to excessive heat so I don't worry about it. I used to leave a bit of baccy unsmoked in the bottom of my pipes because the cheap blends I smoked got bitter toward the end. I've upgraded my quality of tobacco and now there is nothing but dry, white ash left.

All those rules about how to smoke a pipe "correctly" have to be taken with a pinch of salt, really.....
As long as it works for you it's all good!
My preference is a thin layer of cake, smoke to the bottom, leave the ashes until cold, dump, stick a cleaner in for a while, clean, give the pipe a rest....
and enjoy!!!!!

I find that tough to believe. The cracking would presumably be from the cake swelling due to heat and moisture, creating pressure against the walls of the pipe. If this were the case, it would follow the path of least resistance, pushing in on the soft, fragile tobacco rather than out on the tough walls. I've got a friend who has his uncle's old pipes on a shelf. One of them is literally so caked up the guy probably had to tamp with the poker on his pipe tool. Looks like it was never once cleaned. While a little dirty, the outside of the pipe shows no signs of cracking. If there's any cracking inside, I'd suspect the culprit is smoking hot, not cake.

Then again, I'm no expert and certainly don't have extensive experience restoring estates. It simply doesn't seem logical to me that the cake could crack a pipe. It may be true though

When I get a total burn, it's a time for celebration. There's always a little something left, it seems. As I only smoke meerschaums, I keep the cake almost non-existent....that's what suits me. You need to do what works best and pleases you most. simple!

I do almost the exact same thing! Only difference; I don't stick a cleaner through after a smoke. I wait 'til I feel the pipe is "dirty".

What he said
But I do smoke it all the way down except the dottle. If I just want half a pipe I leave the 2nd half for later, which I know I'll want.

My dad has told me a story a half dozen times about a friend of his back when he was in the Army that had a pipe with cake so thick he had to pack the pipe with a matchstick. I've barely even seen enough cake built in my pipe over two years to know that I have cake. But I don't smoke much. My theory. Do what works. Cake or no cake. Dottle or no dottle.

Guilty on both counts. Shall I report to my designated keel hauling station, or will it be the designated flogging station? (Arr, just don't take me grog ration...)

This is from the Peterson's Pipe Smoking Guild (just one of several places I've read this):

"Scraping out the bowl
Do not allow too much carbon to form inside the bowl as this may cause the wood to split due to outward expansion of the “cake” when the bowl is cooling after use. The ideal carbon thickness is 1.5mm.
Whilst a pipe should be emptied immediately after smoking this should not be done by hitting or knocking the top of the bowl against a hard surface. The latter may result in a cracked or split pipe.
In order to gain the maximum life and pleasure from your pipes it is essential that you take proper care of them. They will last longer and smoke sweeter if you let them dry thoroughly between smokes. Clean them frequently and scrape them clear of excess cake when it develops. "

I've had three (3) estates that had cracked bowls due to excess cake build up. The cracks were hairline and hard to spot initially on two. On one the bowl had a crack from the rim to the center of the bowl.

I think the first time I read about it was on the Professor's Pipe Page, if I'm not mistaken. I too am no pro at restoration, but I've tried my had at nearly 100 pipes since 2004. It's been a learning process as I have butchered some good wood in that time.

I've learned a great deal since then, and still I know nothing. I've always thought of cake as being a personal endeavor, e.g. if I'm not forming/creating it....I have no desire to keep it around. Cheers, Nesta!

Doctrine? We don't need no stinking doctrine. Each one of my pipes has different thickness of cake. I try to keep it to a thin layer, about the thickness of a dime. I ream them back a little when it "feels" like it needs to be. Too often, the "experts" tell us how we should load, light. smoke and care for our pipes. Hell, I just want to enjoy them and not have a part-time job following the "rules".

We're gonna set you in the corner and make you eat spinach with tobasco sauce.

Friend, you are of course free to make your own choices in this life. I only base my opinions on the education and experience I have on the subject.

When it comes to free advice, it is just that, free to take or leave.

Regards,

Steve