How do you feel about bowl coatings?

[Senshi]

I find myself liking them less and less. I understand that they help form a cake quicker, can help prevent against burnouts and even create a sense of completion and/or balance on a finished pipe.

But on the other hand, I like watching the cake being built up little by little with each bowl. I find they taste really bad during the first couple of smokes and can ruin the experience until a cake is made. They can be used to hide blemishes in the wood. And while it's not detrimental to the pipe, I have to admit I feel like I'm being taken advantage of (irrational thinking alert )


As I mentioned to another member, it's not a deal breaker when purchasing a pipe. But I do prefer to have no bowl coats.

How does the general BL population feel about this?

 

[Blue_2]

I'm not a big fan of the bowl coatings. The flavor generally runs from objectionable to terrible. After a few bowls, it's really a non issue and I don't mind smoking through them. However, I'd rather not have to.

Plus, I rather enjoy the look of the unfinished wood grain inside a new bowl.

 

[jiminyshiznit]

I'm not a big fan of the bowl coatings. The flavor generally runs from objectionable to terrible. After a few bowls, it's really a non issue and I don't mind smoking through them. However, I'd rather not have to.

Plus, I rather enjoy the look of the unfinished wood grain inside a new bowl.

+1 ..that covers it for me.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I maybe the odd one in this part, but I don't like the first several bowls whether a coating was used or not. Bare briar taste mixed with the blend is just as off tasting to me as the coatings are. So that really leaves me with no real care either way if one is used or not.

 

[cursethis]

meh... I don't even pay attention to it 99% of the time

 

[Riff Raff]

I'm with Dustin and Jason. The first few bowls are going to be sub-par anyway. That is why I enjoy estate pipes. The only new pipes I buy now are the B&B LE pipes. Those I don't mind breaking in slowly. I know they are going to be around in my collection for a good long time.

 

[Senshi]

I'm with Dustin and Jason. The first few bowls are going to be sub-par anyway. That is why I enjoy estate pipes. The only new pipes I buy now are the B&B LE pipes. Those I don't mind breaking in slowly. I know they are going to be around in my collection for a good long time.

 

[CWX]

Not a deal breaker for me one way or the other but I find that a slightly roughed up raw briar bowl (Moretti and Savinelli come to mind) develops a cake just as easily, if not better than a coated bowl so my preference is towards uncoated. Plus, I'm with Blue - I just prefer the natural look of the wood.

 

[dwLost]

I guess I'm a bit new to pipe smoking but the bowl coatings don't seem to make much of any difference in my pipes after the first 2 or 3 bowls smoked. Saying that, with a coating the cake usually starts building with the first bowl. To me ascetically it's prettier without the coating but like the man said "not a deal breaker".

I don't know if this is common knowledge but FYI: Bowl coatings are made with "food grade Activated Charcoal" & "water glass" (a high temp adhesive/sealer made with sodium hydroxide, water & silica gel).

The crude pipes my son and I have made never have coatings but someday if I find a used pipe I like - that might be a bit charred inside - might just go ahead and try my own coating to prevent additional charring, Until then it is what it is.

I have ALSO been known to carefully take an ethanol dampened paper towel and (VERY CAREFULLY) melt off the top 1/4 inch or so of the charcoal coating of a new pipe to make it look, well "Nicer". yeah I know that's being (choose your label) but just to let you know there are alternatives. (I also have stain, a buffer and wax if I mess things up.)

Oh, one more item of note, "Water Glass" is also concrete sealer, (now that's something to think about) - I have checked the label but can't find it in less than gallon sized containers.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I guess I'm a bit new to pipe smoking but the bowl coatings don't seem to make much of any difference in my pipes after the first 2 or 3 bowls smoked. Saying that, with a coating the cake usually starts building with the first bowl. To me ascetically it's prettier without the coating but like the man said "not a deal breaker".

I don't know if this is common knowledge but FYI: Bowl coatings are made with "food grade Activated Charcoal" & "water glass" (a high temp adhesive/sealer made with sodium hydroxide, water & silica gel).

The crude pipes my son and I have made never have coatings but someday if I find a used pipe I like - that might be a bit charred inside - might just go ahead and try my own coating to prevent additional charring, Until then it is what it is.

I have ALSO been known to carefully take an ethanol dampened paper towel and (VERY CAREFULLY) melt off the top 1/4 inch or so of the charcoal coating of a new pipe to make it look, well "Nicer". yeah I know that's being (choose your label) but just to let you know there are alternatives. (I also have stain, a buffer and wax if I mess things up.)

Oh, one more item of note, "Water Glass" is also concrete sealer, (now that's something to think about) - I have checked the label but can't find it in less than gallon sized containers.

Just the FYI, not all bowl coat material is the same. Every carver/company that uses it has their own blend, which may or may not include the "water glass". I know at least one that uses basically the charcoal powdered and mixed with honey and some water as a bowl coat, the theory being the high sugar content will carbonize fast under less heat, giving the cake a good starting surface to stick to.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I'd rather not have them.

 

[WithTheGrain]

The only new pipes that I bought were from Tinsky, I believe all were bare wood. I have built cake fine on them, but I don't know any better. All my estates had old cake or were reamed to the wood.

 

[captaincaveman]

I have bought an unsmoked estate pipe that had a coating. I felt a little skeeved about smoking it uncleaned and gave it much of the usual cleaning I give to estate pipes and the coating wasn't really removed, though a lot of it came off. What remained didn't bother me, and if I bought it now I wouldn't bother cleaning the bowl at all.

 

[Slickside]

I don't have an issue with the way it tastes on a break in. It does bother me somewhat in an estate pipe when It causes you to think they may be covering something up. I have had it in new Boswell's and that didn't make me to want to scrape off the coating. I guess it depends on the dealer and the trust you have in them, and the question of flavor. I made my own and rubbed it on a freshly reamed bowl of an estate and decided it makes the pipe look nice, but, if you are trying to sell it I don't think it is a plus. JMO.

 

[TexLaw]

I've never really cared all that much, one way or the other. As has been mentioned, they don't seem to do much good, but they also don't seem to do much harm. I suppose that, if I were to have two otherwise identical pipes in front of me, I would prefer the one without the coating, but that's how far down it appears on my list of concerns.

 

[Robster]

Straight wood for me. Love to see it all happen bit by bit and make it my own cake slowly. I'm also a purist in most things I do as well so any assistance like a bowl coating is resisted by my nature.

 

[jdto]

I prefer the bare wood over a coating, but I'm ok with the coating if I like the pipe. That said, I do like the flavour of breaking in a raw wood pipe. Tinsky and BST are two that come to mind where I actually don't mind the flavour during break-in.

 

[Senshi]

I prefer the bare wood over a coating, but I'm ok with the coating if I like the pipe. That said, I do like the flavour of breaking in a raw wood pipe. Tinsky and BST are two that come to mind where I actually don't mind the flavour during break-in.

I enjoy the taste of the wood as well. Call me crazy, but I almost feel like it lets me know what tobaccos it's going to work with.

 

[Riff Raff]

I enjoy the taste of the wood as well. Call me crazy, but I almost feel like it lets me know what tobaccos it's going to work with.

Sometimes, if the briar is of particularly good quality, you can taste the briar and I do like that taste. Of course after a dozen bowls, it is gone. There is something almost ritualistic about breaking in a new pipe.

 

[captaincaveman]

I too enjoy the taste of wood. I'm happy burning off the protruding shank piece in a cob, and when I smoke too hot in my cherry Ozark I can taste the wood. I can't say I've broken in a brand new briar without a bowl coating but I have smoked briars that I have reamed to bare wood...