Compared to even a new pipe smoker, I've got a serious amount of catching up to do. You should have more subscribers, Chris. You're the best Piper on RU-vid, and I've checked quite a few out. They're not worth subscribing to, unlike your Channel. Thanks, for all these uploads. You really are my number 1 Go To Man, in this field. I guess I'll end up watching them all again when I finally have viewed them all. So soothing to watch and listen, not to mention learning lots of fine nuggets of wisdom. Thanks again, Chris. Here's hoping all is well with you, and yours.
SpookyBaba - Thank you my friend, I really appreciate the kind words, what in your mind makes my videos better the so many others, besides the soothing aspect, I’m my own worst critic, I feel I’m not as smooth as other pipe presenters, I loose my train of thought, stammer at times, come to think of it, now that I am pointing out all my flaws you probably won’t watch another video, sorry about that. 😒😒😒
Hahaha, you just try and stop me!!! What's better about your videos? They're consistent, fully concise, and I guess your own personal presentation. I don't notice any stammering, or the likes. You come over as confident, and you're reassuring in the fact that you DO know what you're talking about. So, there. You're stuck with me, now 🤣 🤣
The process in becoming a seasoned pipe smoker is where the fun is. I just ordered my first pipe (pear wood). I look forward to the journey that awaits me. Thank you for the video. Have a great day.
Hey Brother! Just wanted to give you a big big thanks for how much effort you've put into helping new pipe smokers get into the hobby. You have single handedly guided me from not being able to light my bowl or keep it lit, to enjoying hour to hour and a half long very enjoyable smokes. My name is also Chris, and I'm in Louisville KY. One of the things I'm really looking forward to is building up a collection of cellared tobacco over the next 10 years or so, and experiencing those fine aged blends. It's such an enjoyable hobby, and one that I think is going to become more and more enjoyable over the remainder of my life. Thanks again from the bottom of my heart, and happy piping!
Been smoking a pipe for a few years but never got any of the technical terms or techniques as no one around me smokes a pipe. Thank you for all the great information.
Chris how u doing buddy ☺ very informative information I never knew all the benefits of the carbon I thought it was just to protect the Briar imma have to nominate you for Teacher of the year Award Chris it never fails I'm always learning something lol keep it coming u got alot of students that are learning so much frm you God bless you Chris happy smoking my friend☺☺☺
The only thing that I always struggled with when it comes to the hobby... So revisiting the cake vids of yours... again 😁 Thank you for all of your advice, been smoking for 20y but all of your advice is still very informative nonetheless. Thank you!
I think the reason the build up of carbon cake smooths the taste of the pipe is that the layer of carbon reduces or eliminates wood smoke from burning the walls of the briar when you are breaking in a new pipe. We smoke to taste tobacco smoke, not wood smoke, which is why we don't mix sawdust with our tobacco. To me, a new pipe tastes very much of wood smoke, which is a necessary evil when breaking a pipe in.
Thanks again for the clip Chris. Cake issue, well some pipes need thicker layer of cake than anothers. To break in a pipe ,just fill it and smoke it slowly...smoking too hot will ruin everything...as I said some pipes need thicker layer than anothers...Pete's and Savi's need good thick cake to smoke sweet and let's say like some Stanwell's and Big Ben's little bit less... (just my observations)...smoking a Ashton pebble grain Bullgod filled with Escudo. Have a great week and cool smokes mate
I have been smoking pipes for more than 35 years and once again you are right on there, RIGHT ON!! (I think/feel that the cake also removes some of the moisture from the burning Tobacco) Best Regards from Denmark. Rolf S.
I appreciate your info as I become into pipes. I now have 4 pipes and have been dabbling in repairs and modifications in corn cobs. My Design Berlin is still my go to pipes but my collection is growing. Now living in Louisville I, for the first time, found a group of pipe smokers. Again, thanks
Good video and advice...I've been a pipe smoker for 57 yrs...just pipes, no cigarettes ( and a few cigars through the years )...I'm a firm believer in cake...Years ago, sometimes I'd totally ream a pipe and it was like starting from scratch, having to break it in all over again....For the last 30 yrs., I've smoked only English/Balkan blends and now, homemade ones from leaves. The Englishes leave such a nice firm cake and minimal dottle...When folks want to keep their pipes just like a freshly cleaned estate, I think it would be good if they took the time to build a cake and then make the comparison....Happy smokes and keep up the good work !
Jeff Potter - You and I are the same age, I was mainly an Aromatic smoker, but in the last five years have discovered the wonderful flavors of English, Va/Per’s, and strait Virginia’s, wish I hadn’t waited. 👍👍👍
just starting out on my journey of pipe smoking so, once again, I find your wealth of experience very useful indeed. thank you for imparting your knowledge. answer to the quiz question ........ a coin?
As a weed smoker i realize me and this dude have alot in common. Just different smoke. But this guy is a pipe and tobacco genius. Keep up the good work man.
I find that it really depends on personal preference and if you are planning on switching between aromatic tobacco and non-aromatic tobacco in a particular pipe as well as how many pipes a person can afford to buy for their collection. Because on one hand carbon cake is beneficial in many ways but on the other hand if you are wanting to switch from an aromatic to a non-aromatic in a particular pipe. Then keeping that carbon cake can mix the flavors but this is assuming a person doesn't have money for multiple pipes.
The reason they dislike this video is they disagree with it, completely understandable, carbon cake is very subjective, some say it is required, others say it's over rated, I don't think they are disliking it because they don't like my video, they dislike it because they disagree with it. 😃😃😃
Great vids Mutton. I have a few friends who recently have plunged into the pipe lifestyle. They have many questions...I just point them to you and a couple other informative youtubers who address beginners. Hell that's how I got the basics. You are appreciated my friend.
VoodooJudas - I appreciate you doing that my friend, my goal when I started was to get folks started on the right foot in the art of pipe smoking, thanks again. 👍👍👍
Mornin' Mutton...did you ever do a video trimming or cutting down the carbon cake? I'm starting with a cob pipe so not something I'll need to address for quite some time but I don't have the most nimble, dexterous touch and I can envision me screwing that up royally. I did a search for cake and only found two. Might it have been buried in a different video? Jacksonville, NC? Lejeune man? We live in Greenville. My closest friend's father was SGTMAJ Panneton until his retirement from the Corp. I love sitting outside in the evening around a fire-pit with my buddy and SgtMaj smoking a cigar, sipping some KY bourbon while he chain smokes his Dutch Masters (shaking my head) and tells us stories of his time in 'Nam. You guys truly are a special breed.
Jesters Cap - regarding The carbon cake, not yet, don't have a pipe with sufficient cake build up to cut down, but I am getting close, that video is coming soon. As for the Corps, thanks for your kind words on that, I was stationed at New River for most of my time in the Corps, and I miss being in the Marines every day I draw breath. 👍👍👍
Hi, Thanks for the video. It is very informative. My question now is: I am not a new pipesmoker (I came back to pipe smoking after years of lapse). I recently bought a nice Nording mini-Churchwarden pipe. To break in, one of my friends suggested that I should go with a smooth, easy tobacco such as a Burley (a Prince Albert, for example) for a couple of days to build up the protective carbon cake. In this video, you suggest rather an English/Oriental blend. Since I value and respect your opinion, I would appreciate your insight on that. Thanks
It absorbs moisture. Which fits in line with the other things you're saying. Less harsh, cooler, etc. That's the most crucial aspect to me. Also, I keep it dime thick, not nickel. Nickel thick would take away a lot of volume. I disagree with the heat sink aspect, as that concept works because of cooler air circulating around the larger surface of a heat sink's fins. I think it's all about the moisture absorbing ability.
My experience has been that the longer I take to build up a cake the better that pipe will smoke. I am also a firm believer that any pipe smoker ought to have at least one Meerschaum. My 1980's Peterson is a great example.
Hey bud! Great video and I completely agree with the reasons why a cake buildup is important. Some might disagree but like everything else it's subjective. I for one hate the break in process and always find myself reaching for a pipe already broken in nicely. Please do put a video taking down the cake. Reamer vs knife maybe!? Thanks so much!!
Pour some treacle on your fingertip and smudge it around the inside of your new pipe, then just smoke normally. Do this several times and you'll be left with a proper carbon cake.
I saw a pipe at an antique shop that had a half inch thick layer of carbon. Not even remotely kidding. And yes it was carbon it had partially separated from the walls of the bowl.
hello there friend, i searched all over the internet but didn't find anything about it, but i recently came across a piece of soapstone and i knew indians used to make pipes out of it, so i carved myself a pipe pretty easy wonderful material to work with, finished it up put a long wooden stem on it, and smoke it i was surprised that it doesn't have the burning wood scent or taste in it and the tobacco felt much more tasteful even cheap tobaccos got better, im trying to see if anyone can testify to that as well or is it just my imagination, do you happen to know anyone that has smoked tobacco from soapstone and noticed anything different? also have you smoked clay or other pipes made from different materials? if so whats your view on them, thanks great videos always
I can take them, or leave them, I don't really have any problems with pre-carbonized bowls, some say it throws off the taste of the tobacco, but I don't find that, some say it builds cake faster, I don't find that either, so if it comes with it fine, if not, that's fine as well. 😃😃😃👍
Bought a pipe at a head shop on a whim. It is plastic and seems to have a metal insert for the bowl. I assume that is why it was only 12 bucks. For "real" piper smokers only use wood for regular use and corn cob, scrimshaw, etc. on occasion?
You lived in Jacksonville? I was stationed there for 8 years. Now I live back home in Kansas... I lived by the beach for 8 years and hardly ever went. Now I'm in one of the driest states in the US and all I want to do is go to the beach! Oh well.
Bradley Ungles - We were the same, 20 minuets from the beach, and we never went. I don’t now how long ago it was that you lived there but when we were there every Sunday we would go to church, then stop and eat at a seafood restaurant there on 17 called “The Fisherman’s Wharf” they tell me it’s not there anymore, it’s a shame great seafood for a very low price. 👍👍👍
@@MuttnchopPiper That must have been pretty recent because I remember it being there. I might be wrong, but I think that got to be a bad area of town… I could be mistaken though. If it was on 17 right on new river, some of those areas got to be a little… sketchy.
Bradley Ungles -Yes, I think it was right after you crossed over the bridge on 17 near New River Base. I don’t know if another place is still there but my wife and I spent our honeymoon in the Triangle Motor Inn, it was one of the only motels that had a kitchenette. I got married in April of 83, and was on a boat heading to Beirut in May. She went back home and resumed her life until I returned home in December. 👍👍👍
@@MuttnchopPiper That was still there when I left. Not sure what is/isn't there anymore after that flood. But the triangle is in a sketchy area too. It's surrounded by tattoo parlors and strip clubs... I wish I didn't know that so well, but I was young and stupid.
Bradley Ungles When we left those kinds of places had been cleaned up, court street was where most of those places were, but they forced them all to close, its a shame they found themselves closer to new river. 👍👍👍
Great video as always, Chris! One question. I have only smoked cobs, but recently purchased a few new briars that I haven't smoked yet. Is carbon cake as big a deal with cobs? Also, do you have a preferred method of breaking in new briar? Just smoke it as usual? Thanks again, and keep up the great work!
You do not want carbon cake to build up in a cob. A cob is pores, and it will wick away moisture, and heat, providing you with a cooler smoke. New briars, I just smoke them as normal, fill it to the top, and smoke it as close to the bottom as possible, also might I suggest you smoke Balkan blends for the first 10 to 12 bowls, they tend to smoke cooler, unless you can control them I would stay away from strait Virginias, or Va/per's as they smoke hotter. 😃😃😃😃
Thanks Chris! I'm excited to try a briar for the first time. I also had my first English blend this weekend. I tried Frog Morton on the Bayou. I was a little hesitant having only smoked aromatics, especially when I opened up the tin. It was great though. Thanks for passing on your vast knowledge to young bucks like myself.
I pefer a cake sometimes i purposely ghost the cake to improve the richness yet with a deep clean i can get rid of most of the ghosting but i am always lecturing and these are the same subjects we all share hhjj
Hi @muttnchop Piper have you ever made a carbon cake tutorial video? I mean for the first pipe smokers as me, i notice that i create a carbon cake into my pipe, but I starts to taste so bad, and i decided to clean it with alcohol and to take out the carbon cake from it, how should i create that "cc" again without the bad taste? And one more question: when i start to pipe smoking with the advices you said( 10 times with the first quarter and then 10 to the middle...) Should I have to clean it or not... To create that "cc". Thank you
Alfonso Arrieta Meixueiro - the bad taste is not coming from the carbon cake. You should not disturb the carbon cake once it starts to grow, when you are done smoking, dump the ash out of your bowl and use a pipe cleaner to absorb any moisture that has collected at the bottom of the bowl by dabbing the moisture away. Then use another one to sweep the ash away from the sides of the bowl. The bad taste is probably coming from your shank or stem not being clean, make sure to review my daily and monthly pipe cleaning videos. 👍👍👍
My dad told me to rub some in the bowl, which I did but not for too long....I think just smoking ( preferably one blend or type ) will build a fine natural cake. It can take a number of smokes.
Hi my friend..off topic whats the difference between savinelli and rossi? im looking into the savinelli 320s and i see that rossi make similar ones a bit cheaper...thx
Dumb question to ask? So I shouldn't clean the bowl with a pipe cleaner after I am done smoking it? Or should I leave it alone and knock out the doddle?
My routine after smoking my pipe is to lightly loosen the ash at the bottom of my pipe, and pour it out, then use a pipe cleaner to lightly as not to disturb the carbon cake build up, remove the remaining ash from the bowl. 👍👍😃
+TRON8882 if you view my video "2 useful ways to use pipe cleaners" I discuss what I call the crab pipe cleaning method, by folding the pipe cleaner like I show and rotating the pipe cleaner only applying pressure to the rim portion of the pipe cleaner, it lightly sweeps away the ash and Dottie in your bowl. 😃😃😃😃
Yes, burly tobacco does age, not quite as good as Virginias, but in 5 to 10 years you should have some wonderful aged burley flake to smoke. I have 10 Tins as well in my Cellar. 😃😃😃
chainsaw barbarian - It can if you let it, most smaller pipes have bowls with thinner walls so if you are not careful it can get really hot. If you use the Breathe Method you can regulate the heat which will help. 👍👍👍
Muttnchop Piper I’m brand new, sir!! My sweet wife got me a small cheap pipe for my Christmas stocking last month. It’s what I will have to use until I have the cash for a really cool pipe. I learned the Breathe method from you a week ago.....my Lanes Black Raspberry tastes even better now!!!! I’m practicing!!! You have been a great help and I appreciate you and your channel very much!!!
Muttnchop.. Great video thanks brother.... So I do have a question for you..... When you finish your pipe.. Should you only lightly scrape out the ash and dead tobacco on the bottom and leave alone the walls of the bowl... I think I may be scraping my pipe too aggressively when I'm finished
Thank you my friend, to answer your question try to smoke your tobacco as close to the bottom as you can, then lightly loosen the Dottle at the bottom and dump it out, then use my crab pipe cleaner technique to wipe the sides and heal of your bowl. Don't listen to those that say spread the ash around the inside of the walls of your bowl, because if the carbon cake builds on ash instead of on the existing carbon, when it's time to cut down the carbon build up because it is too thick you run the chance of the carbon cracking, or breaking off all the way Down to the bare briar, now you have created a hot spot that might burn through your pipe. 👍👍😃
Thanks muttnchop! I was doing that on the bottom with the spoon but I was also running the spoon around the pipe so I think I've been scraping out the carbon too hard I'm not going to do that anymore👌👌 you see what I mean about putting up the chop signal instead of the bat signal.... I flew the chop signal up into the sky and you got back to me this is why I am assuming the role of president... but seriously thank you for everything thank you for all the videos in the help it's greatly appreciated sincerely 😀👍👍🙌
+Pipes And kayaks you are welcome my friend, I plan on giving you a shout out in a future video because of the shirt video you did, that was awesome buddy, I am blessed to have friend like you.😃😃😃
The best answer is to not stress yourself about carbon just smoke your pipe i was obsessed with carbon build up its not worth it just keep some carbon in the bowl
Devin Petersen - Exactly, just enjoy the pipe smoking experience, carbon cake will take care of itself, matter of fact after you get so much built up, you will want it to stop, but it doesn’t, then it’s so thick your forced to cut it out, then a new concern has arisen, to much carbon cake. 😃😃😃
Has anyone ever used deer antler for a pipe. Its my favorite pipe material. Hard as a rock, and dont get hot. Just dont use chalked antlers. Or older antlers. Some deer have denser antlers then others. I had a bowl for almost a decade i made from extremely hard deer antler.
Jaycrash25 - No, meerschaum is porous the heat is drawn into the pours and dissipates the heat, so if you grow a carbon cake it stops that from happening. When you clean your pipe make sure you remove any cake build up in the bowl. 👍👍👍
No, I taught some classes when I was in the Marine Corps, but that's about it, some people have said that I missed my calling, and would have made a good teacher, don't know about that I just know when you have a passion for something it is easy to talk about that passion. 👍👍👍😃
Dear Muttonchop piper, I was just cleaning the inside of my pipe's bowl with a pipe cleaner and a chunk of the carbon/cake came off. Is this normal/a problem? Cause the rest of the inside is smooth and then there's this little ditch in it. Have I damaged the briar or is this just the carbon cake that has come off in that spot? Sorry for so many questions
MoeInRealLife ! - it might be a problem, typically carbon cake is there to protect the inside of the pipe, if it's thick enough and a piece Breaks off then if you smoke it all the heat will find its way to that spot creating what's called a hot spot, which could potentially cause a burn out which means the heat could burn a hole in your pipe. The only way to correct the problem is to cut the carbon cake down to bare briar and start over, sorry for the bad news. 😏😏😏
MoeInRealLife ! - 2 ways, you can purchase what's called a carbon cake reamer specifically made to cut down carbon cake, you can get them on line at most on line tobacconist, smokingpipes.com, pipes & cigars.com, and do it yourself, or you could find in your area, or send it to a pipe restorer and have them do it for you, I think smokingpipes.com provides this service, you will have to contact them for pricing. Hope this helps. 👍👍👍
