There are lots of tobacco pipe problems that people come across.

The main way to learn about tobacco pipes and tobacco pipe accessories is through research, experience, and talking to people who know about pipes.

You're bound to run into nearly every one of the problems listed below. Smoking is usually a decades-long endeavor, so bumps along the road are very common, albeit hopefully worked out quickly.

This to-the-point guide will walk you through the most common problems and their solutions!

The Bowl Gets Too Hot While Smoking

Aromatic tobacco can be hard to light and are prone to getting too hot in your pipe. Try drying out your tobacco a bit more.

Make sure your pipe has a good cake to insulate it- the first step to smoking a wholesale tobacco pipe. If your cake isn't sufficient, don't clean your pipe and let the cake build-up.

Don't pack your pipe too tightly either.

You want to pay attention to the taste of your smoke. If you're smoking too hot, you won't feel the taste.

The Bowl Keeps Cracking

One reason a bowl may keep cracking is if there is either no cake or too much cake. If there's not enough cake, the bowl doesn't have any protection from the heat. Especially if the material is fragile like clay and the bowl is smoked too hot, the clay will crack from the stress. Likewise, too much cake will expand and crack the bowl.

If your pipe isn't high quality, the bowl is more prone to cracking.

Lastly, if you never maintain your pipe there will be too much cake and it will be dirty on top of that. Bowls have to be maintained or else they will crack and have other negative side effects.

The Cake Falls Away When the Bowl Is Reamed

If your cake is falling away when you ream the bowl, your cake is likely too soft. Soft cakes are prone to falling apart.

To build up a harder thin carbon layer, use a paper towel to wipe the tobacco off the chamber walls after you smoke. Slowly, a more durable coating will form on the walls.

The best solution to your cake falling away is to ream it and start completely over, being more careful this time around to build up your cake properly.

The Pipe Keeps Going Out

The main two reasons that a wholesale tobacco pipe will keep going out is if it's packed too tightly or if the tobacco is too wet.

With time, you'll learn when a bowl is overfilled. Watch some videos to see the correct amount of tobacco that should go in your pipe, or have some buddies show you.

Some kinds of tobacco need to be dried more than others, so experiment with different kinds to see what works best.

Unfortunately, there may also be a problem with your pipe. If it's not drilled correctly, you won't have proper airflow. Also, some pipes are wet smokers and they need specific tobacco. Make sure to research your pipe to see if it's a wet smoker.

If you keep having the same problem with all of your pipes, it's probably one of the first two reasons, whereas if it's specific to one pipe it's probably one of the second two reasons.

The Stem Is Discolored

Even new stems oxidize. If it tastes bad, like chewed aspirins, it's badly oxidized. Lucite is a plastic that won't discolor, whereas vulcanite stems discolor from oxidation.

You can use deoxidizing products to remove the oxidation from the stem. If it's still not coming off, polish it with micromesh and complete the process with obsidian stem oil.

Another possibility is that the tobacco pipe may have oxidized in the store and then the employees just buffed it to make it ready to buy. However, the buffing goes away when exposed to moisture. When you buy a new pipe, look at the stem in strong sunlight to see if it seems green.

The Stem Gets Loose in the Shank

There are lots of different potential solutions to a loose tobacco pipe, and everyone has a strong opinion about which is best. Let's go through two of them.

The first solution is to put beeswax on the tenon on the pipe to tighten it. It's an easy process- all you do is rub the beeswax on the tenon to build up its diameter, and then reinsert the stem into the pipe. Next, smoke the pipe to heat up the shank and tenon. Now they will expand and fit normally again.

However, this doesn't always work and is only a short-term fix.

Another solution is heat and pressure. Heat the tenon on a flame. Once it's softened, press it on a hard surface to compress and thicken it. Now it will fit tighter in the shank. You just have to make sure that the stem is held completely vertically and that the pressure is even so it stays straight. Cool it down afterward by dipping it in water.

This method doesn't have to be repeated but it's tricky to get the width right and easy to mess up.

Final Thoughts

Perfecting the art of smoking tobacco comes with time, diligence, and patience.

However, a cheat sheet never hurt anyone!

Now you know about some problems you'll probably run into at some point- and how to solve them.