Gurgling is for bathwater and babies…not pipes!
I’ve been in many conversations where people talk about how their pipes gurgle, and it astounds me, not only that so many pipes gurgle, but that so many people put up with it! To me, a gurgling pipe is no different than a car that backfires. If a pipe gurgles, (in my opinion) it’s just not “running” right.
Sure, there are all kinds of arguments that can be made for the smoking style, or humidity of the tobacco and so on, but to me, that focus is a bit off. I don’t consider myself an expert smoker by any means, and to add to my novice, I tend to favor heavy aromatic tobaccos. What that means is that I probably smoke too hot, too fast, and too moist….yet, I never have to swab out my own pipes mid smoke, and I never have to deal with gurgle.
Yes, smoking style and humidity are factors in what can make a pipe gurgle, but they’re not the only factors, and certainly not the biggest in my opinion.
It’s a known fact that tobacco has moisture in it, and that heating the tobacco up causes that moisture to come out, almost like a steam. The problem begins when that moisture finds things to collect on on it’s way out of the pipe. If it finds resistance or constriction or even rough edges, it will build up and roll back into the bottom of the bowl where it will cause gurgle.
So when you’re looking for a pipe, look for one that has an open airway. The air flow should more resemble that of drinking straw than that of a coffee stir straw.
Say “NO” to gurgle!
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.