Extremely beginner question about lighting bowls

[cmpltnoob]

So, I'm gonna lay out my understanding of taking a hit from a pipe, tell me if i do anything wrong or something else i can do to make it easier to get used to smoking.

• place finger on carb
• begin to inhale as I normally would while lighting the bowl
• take off flame as soon as i see the weed has embered a bit
• continue to hold carb as i inhale
• as i come to the end of my inhale, take finger off carb to clear chamber
• possibly hold for a little bit, then exhale

[greenbliss]

Originally Posted by cmpltnoob

So, I'm gonna lay out my understanding of taking a hit from a pipe, tell me if i do anything wrong or something else i can do to make it easier to get used to smoking.

• place finger on carb
• begin to inhale as I normally would while lighting the bowl
• take off flame as soon as i see the weed has embered a bit
• continue to hold carb as i inhale
• as i come to the end of my inhale, take finger off carb to clear chamber
• possibly hold for a little bit, then exhale

Seems pretty good except for the third thing. Keep flame going until you let off the carb. Why risk the ember going away?

[redhat11]

If you're worried about getting too big of a hit, just use the shit out of that carb (like plug it for 1 or 2 seconds, let it go, plug it, let it go, etc) until your lungs are about to burn then quit. Wont have to worry about getting a huge hit that'll make you cough your lungs out

[cmpltnoob]

Originally Posted by greenbliss

Seems pretty good except for the third thing. Keep flame going until you let off the carb. Why risk the ember going away?

Oh ok, that makes sense. I guess I was just thinking keeping the flame would keep making it hotter and harsher to inhale, so I was just getting a good ember that would increase as i breathe in and bring oxygen to it. I guess the herb is gonna burn at the same temperature anyway lol

[greenbliss]

Originally Posted by cmpltnoob

Oh ok, that makes sense. I guess I was just thinking keeping the flame would keep making it hotter and harsher to inhale, so I was just getting a good ember that would increase as i breathe in and bring oxygen to it. I guess the herb is gonna burn at the same temperature anyway lol

yeah weed does kinda tend to lose flame quickly. But if one of your friends yell "its cherried" that means it did survive after the flame left and its still burning so take that hit before it goes away! At least thats what we say in my parts.

[Linath]

Originally Posted by greenbliss

Seems pretty good except for the third thing. Keep flame going until you let off the carb. Why risk the ember going away?

If you keep the flame on it the whole time you're wasting weed, I only keep the flame on for like a quarter of my inhale and I get huge rips every time. Keeping it roasting is definitely the way to go.

I would advise to put the flame on till you can see a nice ember going, one that looks like it won't go out. You can get a huge hit from a roasting bowl without a lighter.. If the ember starts to go away or is not getting larger you can poke it with your finger while inhaling to (most of the time) reignite it to other green in the bowl making the ember larger.

[Ras Trent]

Originally Posted by cmpltnoob

I guess I was just thinking keeping the flame would keep making it hotter and harsher to inhale, so I was just getting a good ember that would increase as i breathe in and bring oxygen to it. I guess the herb is gonna burn at the same temperature anyway lol

No, you're correct, it will be hotter (prolonged flame) and harsher (more butane). Not to mention you would be wasting weed by setting fire to something that doesn't need any more flame.

Just pack the bowl tighter by pressing it in a little with your finger, lighter, etc. then spark it as you usually would. This may get it cherrying easier. Once it has cherried nicely stop lighting.

Some times when a friend passes me a bowl that I can see is cherried I'll just hit it while taking my finger on and off the carb until it is burning just like I used a lighter then continue to take a normal hit. Why set it on fire when I don't have to?

[FuzzyCatfish]

I really love smoking terms. Who came up with the idea of cornering,a bowl is a circle...
Anyway you will get used to smoking it just takes time dont over think this or you will get self conscious and that will kill your buzz. Keep a smoking

[m0ng00se1]

Originally Posted by greenbliss

Seems pretty good except for the third thing. Keep flame going until you let off the carb. Why risk the ember going away?

I never keep a flame to my bowl for more than a second or too. If you pack your bowls well, when you have a corner lit, you can adjust your inhaling speed to spread the ember and take bigger hits or slow your inhale and put out the bowl.

Just try using your inhaling speed more to control both the flame of the lighter, and the burning bowl. And i would definitely suggest getting a glass pipe with a carb; Some metal pipes are very narrow and give you less control with breathing, and the carb helps a lot for controlling your hits.

[Smawrpg]

lol I don't use the carb, what I do is take a full hit holding the carb, exhale, let go of the carb and take it the remaining smoke, then exhale. Repeat.

Corner the bowl certainly, breath in real slow as well this way you take as much smoke as you want without your throat or lungs burning.

[m0ng00se1]

Originally Posted by Smawrpg

lol I don't use the carb, what I do is take a full hit holding the carb, exhale, let go of the carb and take it the remaining smoke, then exhale. Repeat.

But you will be losing some smoke unless you plug every hole on the pipe, and not to mention your smoke is getting stale while your taking the first hit.

Although, I've seen several beginners do that when they light too much of a bowl and can't handle the entire hit.

[dtt?]

try doing what i do for small bowls:

instead of actually letting the lighter torch the weed, literally flick the lighter while holding it close. it will light just a very small amount of weed which might go out quickly, just keep flicking it while maybe holding the lighter fluid lever for a brief moment. i find it allows me to control the hit a lot better.

[KannaMan]

To make a hit from a bowl easier, I will tap on the carb quickly as I inhale. Easy draws and hits.

[JesusGreen]

Don't worry about it too much, see what works best for you. The one thing I will say to everyone is always grind your weed, you'll thank me later. If that means needing a pipe screen then get one/make one

[hucstable]

One of the things that really made a difference for me is how you pack the bowl. I usually keep a small tin of ground stuff, and then drop it into the bowl with a little spoon, or pour it in out of the bowl and it leaves the weed too loose and it has too much air in it. If I just pack it down slightly with my thumb, then it draws great.