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Dottle is the remaining plug of unburnt
Dottles are generally considered troublesome because they lessen the time one may spend doing a bowl. Dottles can also give a sour taste to the smoke as it is approached by the hot ember. If dottle is not promptly removed after smoking using a
Dottle is the remaining plug of unburnt tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and ashes left in the bottom of a tobacco pipe
A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber (the bowl) for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very simp ...
when it has been smoked.
Etymology
The word is according to the Oxford English Dictionary apparently a diminutive of ''dot''.Production
Dottle can be produced by different factors. The primary cause of an excessive amount of dottle is a tightly packed or otherwise improperly packed pipe, where the tobacco has been improperly prepared or is compressed and will not burn properly. A second possible cause can be the excessive moisture content of the tobacco and the tobacco being smoked too quickly. This can result in tobacco that is too wet to burn. Rapid or hard draws on the pipe can and will produce an excessively hot ember in the bowl causing the moisture content of the tobacco to vaporize and then condense in bottom of the bowl and in the draft hole, preventing the tobacco from burning properly. A third contributor to the creation of dottle ispropylene glycol
Propylene glycol (IUPAC nomenclature, IUPAC name: propane-1,2-diol) is a viscous, colorless liquid, which is nearly odorless but possesses a faintly sweet taste. Its chemical formula is CH3CH(OH)CH2OH.
Containing two Alcohol (chemistry), alcoho ...
or "PG". This innocuous preservative used primarily in aromatic tobaccos can keep the moisture content high in pipe tobaccos even after drying. Smoking the pipe too fast can also produce a foul tasting liquid that collects at the bottom of the bowl and in the draft hole resulting in "pipe gurgle"; this can be inadvertently tasted. Pushing a pipe cleaner
A pipe cleaner or chenille stem is a type of brush originally intended for removing moisture and residue from smoking pipes. They can also be used for any application that calls for cleaning out small bores or tight places. Special pipe cleaner ...
down the stem can remedy this problem to a point. Another possible cause of pipe gurgle can be a "wet smoker"; that is, a pipe smoker that pushes some saliva
Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
down the stem and into the bowl. Excessive saliva can be a factor but is rarely the cause of a "wet smoke" or pipe gurgle.
Dottles are generally considered troublesome because they lessen the time one may spend doing a bowl. Dottles can also give a sour taste to the smoke as it is approached by the hot ember. If dottle is not promptly removed after smoking using a pipe tool
A pipe tool is a small gadget designed to aid in packing, tobacco smoking, smoking, and emptying a tobacco smoking pipe (tobacco), pipe.
There are three principal pipe tools: the tamper, the reamer, and the pick:
*The ''tamper'' is a blunt instr ...
, the pipe may eventually give a foul taste to any tobacco smoked in it. When this happens, pipe sweetening
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circul ...
is required.
Some pipes are designed to specifically lessen or prevent the formation of dottle and excessive moisture. The most common are the calabash
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
pipe, the "Dry System" pipes made by Peterson, and aluminum-stemmed pipes from Falcon and Kirsten.
In the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
stories, Holmes had a habit of drying out all the dottles from the day's pipes on a corner of his mantelpiece to be smoked the following morning.
Pipe Cleaners
The pipe cleaner, says the 'Pipe Reborn' website, was invented by John Harry Stedman, (the tramcar transfer ticket inventor), and Charles Angel, in Rochester, New York, in the early 1900s; the patent being later sold to the 'BJ Long Company', with a possibly parallel invention byJohan Petter Johansson
Johan Petter Johansson (December 12, 1853 – August 25, 1943), sometimes known as JP, was a Swedish inventor and industrialist. He invented a modern adjustable spanner (patents in 1891 and 11 May 1892). He obtained over 100 patents in total.
...
, 1923.
(NB: see Pipe cleaners
A pipe cleaner or chenille stem is a type of brush originally intended for removing moisture and residue from smoking pipes. They can also be used for any application that calls for cleaning out small bores or tight places. Special pipe clean ...
)
References
{{Wiktionary Pipe smoking Tobacco