Dottle
Encyclopedia
Dottle is the wet and sour-smelling mass of unburned tobacco
found at the bottom of a tobacco pipe. Dottle is produced by a combination of two reasons, first the smoker is a "wet smoker", that is, he pushes a considerable amount of saliva
down the stem and into the bowl, and second the tobacco being smoked is excessively moist. Puffing too fast can also be a factor depending on the humidity of the tobacco. The foul liquid that collects at the bottom of a pipe results in gurgling and can be accidentally sucked up. Pushing a pipe cleaner
down the stem can remedy this problem to a point.
Dottles are generally considered troublesome because they lessen the time one may spend smoking 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
, the pipe may eventually give a foul taste to any tobacco smoked in it. When this happens, pipe sweetening is required.
Some pipes are designed to specifically lessen or prevent the formation of dottle and excessive moisture. The most common are the calabash pipe and the "Dry System" pipes made by Peterson
.
In the Sherlock Holmes
stories, Sherlock 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.
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
found at the bottom of a tobacco pipe. Dottle is produced by a combination of two reasons, first the smoker is a "wet smoker", that is, he pushes a considerable amount of saliva
Saliva
Saliva , referred to in various contexts as spit, spittle, drivel, drool, or slobber, is the watery substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is a component of oral fluid. In mammals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the three pairs of major salivary glands,...
down the stem and into the bowl, and second the tobacco being smoked is excessively moist. Puffing too fast can also be a factor depending on the humidity of the tobacco. The foul liquid that collects at the bottom of a pipe results in gurgling and can be accidentally sucked up. Pushing a pipe cleaner
Pipe cleaner
A pipe cleaner or chenille stem is a type of brush originally intended for cleaning dottle from smoking pipes. Besides cleaning pipes, they can be used for any application that calls for cleaning out small bores or tight places. Special pipe cleaners are manufactured specifically for cleaning out...
down the stem can remedy this problem to a point.
Dottles are generally considered troublesome because they lessen the time one may spend smoking 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
Pipe tool
A pipe tool is any of a variety of small gadgets designed to aid in packing, smoking, and emptying tobacco pipes.A typical pipe tool consists of a pick, a reamer, and a tamper:...
, the pipe may eventually give a foul taste to any tobacco smoked in it. When this happens, pipe sweetening is required.
Some pipes are designed to specifically lessen or prevent the formation of dottle and excessive moisture. The most common are the calabash pipe and the "Dry System" pipes made by Peterson
Peterson Pipes
Peterson is an Irish pipe maker.-History:Friedrich and Heinrich Kapp, German immigrants to Ireland from Nürnberg, founded the famed Kapp Brothers store on Grafton Street, Dublin in 1865. Shortly thereafter, a Latvian immigrant, Charles Peterson, strolled into the Kapp workshop and declared that he...
.
In the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories, Sherlock 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.