Wierd taste

[restever99]

I smoked a first bowl in a new pipe today and I got a wierd salty taste. Is that anything to be concerned with?

[Sasquatch]

Could be any number of things, assuming it's a factory pipe? First bowls in any factory pipe are a dodgy proposition.

Could be something on the stem, could be something in the stem, could be something in the bowl.

[restever99]

Actually it's one I made. Well drilled but ugly as sin so don't expect any pictures. I wiped it down good, and hit it with the airhose and a pipe cleaner. The salty taste didn't appear until about 1/2way into the bowl. And then it was every so often I got a mouthful of it. I'm assuming it's burning briar dust or stem dust I didn't get.

[KurtHuhn]

Which tobacco?

It could be a latent flavor in the tobacco, the particular wood (which source?), the stem material, etc. More detail would help solve the question.

[restever99]

The Tobacco is Nat Sherman #307 and I've smoked many a pipe of it, from this bag, without a problem. So I doubt it's that.

The material of the pipe is briar.

The stem is ebonite.

I washed my hands.

I lit it with a lighter.

Not really sure what else I can say. All the bits and stuff I used I keep seperate for pipe making.

[Sasquatch]

Possible that there was some ebonite dust in the stem?

[Frank]

Possible that there was some ebonite dust in the stem?

I'm thinking the same. When I smoke a pipe that's been on the rack for a few weeks, the stem has a salty taste from the leached sulphur.

[Sasquatch]

Yup.

[restever99]

Sounds like the cause! Thanks guys.

[Nick]

Unless of course you've been being naughty with your pipes. Then it could be somthing else entirely.

You naughty boy you!