Hey all,
My name is Damian and I'm new to both the forum and pipe smoking. My wife brought home a Radice Rind Pure No. R258 a month or so ago as a surprise gift and started me down the path of no return. Everything is going pretty well as I get better at filling my pipe and learning to smoke slowly. I also picked up a 2nd pipe (cause you have to have a few!) so that I could smoke more often and rest my pipes like you are supposed to. My questions may seem pretty basic but here goes:
1. Would you recommend (is it ok) to dump the ash from the pipe mid-smoke, say you smoke half a bowl and then put it down for an hour or so then come back dump and relight, or just leave it in and light?
2. How warm do you let your bowl get or not get before you put it down and let it cool before continuing to smoke?
3. I know it comes with time and I shouldn't worry about it but.... about how many bowls does it take to get up to the dime thickness cake (a watched pot never boils etc. etc.) because this is something of a pride issue with me
4. Finally, I have noticed some discoloration on the stem of my pipe where I estimate that the mortise and tenon have a little gap inside the stem and since this is a natural finish pipe its quite noticeable. I get some gurgling every now and then so my guess is that its from the moisture in the stem. Is this a problem or will it cause a problem in the future ie weaken the stem?
Thanks for all your help guys and I look forward to enjoying the CA community.