Is it me or is it the pipe?

[Tom Major]

Hey folks.

Just now had a bowl and noticed something strange. Strong smell of burnt wood appeared near finish and also some bubbles on the side of the bowl. Here is a picture



These bubbles are like drying paint, to give you comparision. Soft, obviously very hot, and were shrinking as pipe was cooling down. I managed to massage them in somehow, but it was more of a trial rather than anything else. What could have caused that? Was it my smoking? The fact that pipe was not broken in correctly? Or was the pipe just deffective?

As it was only basket pipe anyway, I don't mind putting it aside and getting another one, but would rather know what mistakes I make before getting some better smoking vessels. My next italian pipe is on the way to UK and I wouldn't like to damage it.


Thanks in advance for any pointers.

[Paulie2876]

Sometimes you can get a pipe with a defective finish, I recently bought a vauen Dr perl and have only smoked it a handful of times and I'm getting some bubbles on the finish too. As this is a lower end vauen I'm putting it down to a poor finish. I have found that pipes that have bare Wood in the bowl must be broken in properly, you can find lots of info on this on YouTube. Other pipes have a black matt finish in the bowl and are said to not need breaking in, but I still go through the same breaking in procedure with them too.

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[Tom Major]

Thanks Paulie.

Now that you say poor finish, I missed one point. There was one hole inside the bowl. Not deep, looked like drill bit slipped and just damaged the wall.

Oh well, glad I had my lesson on the cheap piece .

[pootana]

You mentioned this was a cheap starter pipe in another thread ?....Most probably your answer right there

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[Tom Major]

That's correct, wasn't the cheapest in store, but not far off . Only 10 British Pounds it cost me.

Was enough to get me hooked though...

[pootana]

Good thing is you can now get yourself a quality pipe worth the investment.

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[Shaun]

Rather than a cheapo briar, try a corn cob. I picked one up for ?6 and they are great. Mysmokingshop sells them, along with loads of pipe tobaccos.

[kitobi]

get a good MM cob for ?4 smoke-king is selling them cheap atm, very cool and clean smoke.

if the briar is getting hot its generally the speed your smoking it at, just slow down and sip at it.

some blends do burn much hotter than others also, rule of thumb if you cant hold a briar next to your cheek without it burning then your smoking it too hot, but if there is a spot inside that is burning through the life of the pipe will be very limited. especially if no cake has built up yet

[Tom Major]

Thanks again for pointers gents.What do you think of sea foam pipes? Meerschaum was it? Mss has few small ones for just over a tenner...

[TonyN]

Agree with what paulie said tom.

[kitobi]

Missouri Meerschaum is the name of the company, not to be confused with a meerschaum pipe with is a very delicate stone used to create wonderfully elaborate carved pipes at wonderfully elaborate prices too for fantastic ones.

[Tom Major]

I didn't confuse it mate, was thinking about the mineral.

Will have a look at cobs as well, cheers.

[kitobi]

lol no worries buddy

if you can find a nice meer go for it, they are the peak of smoking excellence, and will last to be passed to your grandkids if looked after well, they colour with age and as long as you don't let cake build up they are near impossible to go wrong with. they also give the purest form of taste from the blend your smoking. only downside is they are like glass so not one for walking about or general use you drop it and its gone