Pre-Carbonizing

AAdomeit · Post by **AAdomeit** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 9:33 pm

Does anyone here pre-carb their pipe bowls? How do you do it?

I figure - just my idea, mind you - that you would either 1)smoke the pipe yourself, 2) use pipe mud to coat the insides of the bowl 3) use some sort of carbon insert the size of the bowl.

I'm curious - can anyone help ease this itch?

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:05 pm

There are a couple reasons to pre-carbonize a bowl - protect the briar during break-in, provide a surface for cake to form more readily, give a clean "finished" appearance, etc.

I precarb for the sake of appearance and to give a surface for cake to form. I use a mix of buttermilk, sour cream, and activated charcoal - you could eat that if you so desire. It even tastes halfway decent.

I put it on very thinly, I don't want people complaining of a heavy hand with regard to bowl coating. Some people object greatly yo that, but very few complain too loudly if the coating is thin.

marks · Post by **marks** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:35 pm

I would not recommend pipe mud for a bowl coating. While it works great for bringing up the heel of a pipe, it tastes like old cigar for a few smokes.

Lately I've been using the same mixture that Kurt mentioned. Seems to work fine.

AAdomeit · Post by **AAdomeit** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:42 pm

How thick do you make it?

Do you put the mix on the heel of the bowl as well?

When do you put the mix on: before or after staining/finishing the stummel?

Does it affect the flavour of the smoke past the first bowl?

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:55 pm

How thick do you make it?

I make mine until it feels right, it's tough to describe how thick. About the consistency of stirred sour cream, perhaps a touch thicker.

Do you put the mix on the heel of the bowl as well?

Coat the entire inner surface of the bowl, including the heel. Do not lay it on thick.

When do you put the mix on: before or after staining/finishing the stummel?

After the pipe is completely finished and otherwise ready for photographing or sale.

Does it affect the flavour of the smoke past the first bowl?

If you use the right stuff, it shouldn't taste like anything at all, even during the first smoke.

AAdomeit · Post by **AAdomeit** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:59 pm

How thick you do "lay it on" on the interior of the bowl?

On the few pipes that I've seen that are precarbed, it looks thinner than 1/32"...much thinner, but I can't really tell

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:10 am

When do you put the mix on: before or after staining/finishing the stummel?

Actually doing it after staining will help make invisible the stain lines that move into the bowl.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:33 am

AAdomeit wrote:How thick you do "lay it on" on the interior of the bowl?

On the few pipes that I've seen that are precarbed, it looks thinner than 1/32"...much thinner, but I can't really tell

I lay mine on *extremely* thin. Maybe 1/64", but that would be on the high side. I really just use it as a paint. It goes on thicker than it is when dry - it reduces by about 70%.

AAdomeit · Post by **AAdomeit** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 7:13 pm

......And there we go! A tutorial on pre-carbonizing pipes!

Thanks guys!

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 8:48 pm

random, what happens if you throw into the equation the public that will stay away from pipes that DON'T have a bowl coating?

AAdomeit · Post by **AAdomeit** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:35 pm

Offer precarbing as an option, adding $40 to the price of the pipe maybe? Or maybe state that all pipes are precarbed, and if anyone should want a plain pipe that $10 would be added.... I dunno. The first one sounds best.

marks · Post by **marks** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:38 pm

I think there are some makers that will not guarantee pipes against burnout if there is a customer that demands no bowl coating, or if the customer takes it out prior to smoking.

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:44 pm

I am dying to post pics on here of my first pipe with an inlay (oak) and will do so when I get a camer in my hands... I want to do my first bowl coating in this pipe because I have to keep it

That will give me my chance to try the bowl coating first hand (which I feel I'd need to do before putting it on a pipe for sale...)

Why do I have to keep it? Cause I split the stummel while pressing it onto a dowel (sp?) rod!

Which reminds me, I've been meaning to start another post to find out how people make use of dowel rods for strip sanding... see the Stummels forum for the post.