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holes on the foil ? best layout


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Hi ! i'm new here, i only have my hookah for 6 months now, and i learned a lot in this forum. I can't understand quite clearly what is the best pattern for the holes in the foil. How big? how many? exceding the area of the coal?should i fold the foil in 2? etc..
I use a fork to make a 4 x 4 pattern, but the tobacco burns in less than 25 minutes and i get a harsh taste. Can anyone give me any sugestion?
Thanks a lot for the feedback and hello to all ( as i'm new to this great forum ! )
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I find fork holes to be a bit large. In fact, I am not too keen on the Mya tong spine for use in making holes, either. I use a corn holder to poke my holes and I don't feel quite right when I use anything else (if I'm away from my poker and am packing a friends, or have forgotten/lost my own temporarily).Perhaps it comes down to habit, though, because using other utensils in head preparation make little difference in smoke quality, I find. I'd emphasize the even placement of the holes over their size as it helps with a more even roast.I'm unsure if harshness and poking holes with a fork have any correlation. If you have more holes concentrated over a given area you may simply be exposing a single spot to more heat than the others, burning the tobacco in that region — thus harsh.I will post a picture of my ritual hole poking later tonight. It will forever taint your opinion of me (as a perfectionist and neat freak).
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Hehe, thanks for the replys! i bought my hookah in a trip to Greece, and the guy of the shop (open air marketplace) told me that i would have to use a needle to make as much tiny holes i could. But the result was not so great, that's why i searched on the forum and found out the fork idea
Although it's much better, i still have some harshness.. but maybe it's the narguileh quality or another factor that eludes me :S
i'm doomed to harshness !
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I use a pushpin, and always have. I just evenly space out around 65-75 holes over the entire bowl. I used to only put 40-45 a while back, but have more recently tried putting 2x that much, and it has worked wonders for me. With a ton more holes, the pull on the hookah is much more flowing, not constricted.I don't really think any special patterns makes a durn difference. Just make sure your holes arn't too large, and you should be fine.
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I use the standard hole poker that's on most tongs.  I put maybe 8-16 holes depending on the size of the bowl.  I do a circle around the outer edge and then 2 more inside of that (somewhat symmetrical).  I break my 3K coals into halves and put them on the outer edge and rotate; since it's the bowl heating that cooks the ma'assell properly, putting it in the center gives less than superb results.  I haven't had a harshness/burning or lack of heat problem in months since switching to this method.  I typically use a large clay bowl, a regular clay bowl, or a stainless bowl; the method works on all of them, with the stainless only requiring 1 coal vs 1.5 on the others.  I'm sure I'll have a problematic session or two when my Tangiers arrives though ;)
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I think that your harshness problem probably isnt super related to holes.  Do you smoke normally, or have you ever smoked before?  If not then a little bit of "harshness" is normal I think.  Also it depends more I think on your heat management and amount of shisha in the bowl.  Try this.  Put just a small amount of shisha in the bowl less than normal make sure there is a ton of room between the foil and the shisha.  Poke alot of small holes, like I dont know 30-50 I just usually prick with the end of a sharp knife or a push pin works and space them about maybe 3mm apart and just cover the whole foil.  Now start with just one coal.  See what you get.  If it gets harsh take the coal off let it cool.  If your not getting enough smoke add a coal (you will probably get harshness at some point now take both of them off let it cool and then add just one back on then the 2nd one later).  This second coal probably isnt necessary, I just happen to have a very wide bowl so I find that the smoke is much thicker with 2 coals which are partially burned up rather than just one coal.  Experiment.  You should get something that works.  I hope that helps, but if I am wrong some others can feel free to correct me.  Good luck.  Peace.
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Patterns do nothing but it helps to keep your holes consistent. I normally make a spiral, starting from the outside of the bowl, moving on the inside. I've found that if you make the holes too small, the ash will get stuck in the holes and clog the burning process. If you make them too big, the coal will just burn your tobacco rather then cook it.Look around the house and try different things. I have a small nail that I disinfected so that I could use it for my holes, it works perfectly!Jon
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I have had the most success with a pattern (I know they don't matter) like the one on the Hookah Culture website here:[url="http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm"]http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm[/url]After reading these posts last night, I tried using a push-pin to make a bunch of holes in the foil as you guys described (I had always used the poker on the tongs), and I was not as successful as I have been with the above pattern and bigger holes. Smoke thickness was ok, but little to no flavor.
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[quote name='ioannisds']I have had the most success with a pattern (I know they don't matter) like the one on the Hookah Culture website here:

[url="http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm"]http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_setup_smoking.htm[/url]

After reading these posts last night, I tried using a push-pin to make a bunch of holes in the foil as you guys described (I had always used the poker on the tongs), and I was not as successful as I have been with the above pattern and bigger holes.  Smoke thickness was ok, but little to no flavor.[/quote]that works the best for me
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After working out a few computer issues, I return with the promised picture.[img]http://www.inimicus.com/pictures/bowl.jpg[/img]This is loaded with Romman Sweet Melon. Other flavors require more holes, but I've found this to give my setup with this flavor the best, tastiest smoke.Amount of holes on the inside vary, but always the same radial pattern around the edges.
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