gmanrus Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 hey all, i'm fairly new to packing my own bowls consdidering my friends always did before i got my own hookah. i tried to draw two diagrams to my best ability to see if you could tell me the best way to do it. i am afraif if i pack too much shisha it will burn and be really harsh, not to mention possibly be wasteful. the other way is packing the shisha so it doesnt touch the tinfoil. any help would be greatly appreciated and i appoligize if this topic was touched i searched for a little, bit couldnt find anything. here is my artwork!:[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/gman571/mmm.jpg[/img]i donno if i even need to draw these for you guys... it would be sweet if you could help a noob out! thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 well, there are several different "schools" of bowl packing. Some folks sprinkle loose tobacco in the bowl, some people pack it in a little more. As long as you get good air flow, its purely personal. Some folks pack it to the top. I generally leave a little room at the top for a layer of air. I also use a screen instead of foil, so the air place actully remains, where as folks who use foil and leave space will ofen end up pushing the foil down anyway when they ash or rotate their coals. Some folks pack the bowl to the top and lay the foil right on top of the tobacco... If you liek the way it smokes when your friend packs it..ask your friend how he/she does it... Experiment for yourself and see what works for YOU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilotaku Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 The way i personally pack my bowl is I try to get the maassel to barely touch the bottom of the screen or foil. In most cases when i'm done with the bowl and if i were to lift off the screen or foil, there would be a roasted "puck" in their with only a couple strands of maassel sticking to the bottom, or sometimes no sticking at all. If i had to give you a measurement between the tobacco and foil/screen, perhaps 1 millimeter or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 My favorite is when you lift up the screen after smoking and, much to your surprise, find that the bowl is completely empty! Then you realize the whole puck is stuck to the screen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djnick Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 i prefer the tobacco not touch the screen or foil. Afterall you just need heat to get it to work, not burning of the tobacco by placing a coal on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiracerj1 Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Alot of it depends on tobacco too, some methods work better for one brand than another, so like mushrat said, just experiment until you find somethin that works for you, if your getting thick smoke without any harshness then theres no real nead to change, if your having a tough time drawing I'd say pack it a little looser, If all your getting is air well then pack tighter, and if your shisha keeps getting harsh with minimal heat you have one of two problems: You've either packed the tobacco to high or you dont have enough tobacco, the latter usually indicated by thin smoke as well. Like I said just experiment and dont be disappointed if at first you waste a bowl or two, sometimes its just not in the cards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Like mentioned to death above, gotta use trial-n-error to find what works best for you. As for how I pack the bowl, I'll first take a big clump of tobacco and set it on a paper towel. Then I will break it all up so its nice and loose. Then I'll grap a few pinches of my prepared tobacco and sprinkle it into the bowl. I'll sprinkle it all the way up to the brim of the bowl, and then very gently pack it down so it sits a few millimeters below the top of the bowl. Now I stress "gently" packing it down. I can't stand it when my draw is too tight. By gently packing it down, it places the tobacco out of reach from the foil, so I don't have to worry about burning the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding_Heart1 Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Ive also found that bowls effect the way you could pack. I have a normal clay that i pack more in because its so much smaller, still i dont touch the baccy to the foil/screen. I think keeping the tobacco off of the foil is a general rule though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oggie505 Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 unless I am smoking tangiers, I try to just keep it away from the foil, hard or light pack never really bothered me, just when it looks like a hockey puck is when it gets bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunsboy Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 I have smoked "Saloom" where you actually put the coal on the shisha without a screen or foil. It was prepared before I got there. The shisha was stuffed into a huge bowl. In the begining it was very harsh, then it got smoother. But head rush for days ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuschultz Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 gunsboy that doesnt even sound enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmanrus Posted July 18, 2006 Author Share Posted July 18, 2006 thanks for all the help guys/gals! these forums are really great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Guns: isn't that "Iranian" style? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Coals on straight masaal? Sounds harsh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGuy Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 it's not as bad as you'd think....it's not good though lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanguineSolitude Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 i usually pack my bowls by putting the tobacco in the cuplike indentation of the bowl. Ive found any other method fails to produce any smoke. it also ruins hoses when you pack them with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Top it off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imonlyapuppet Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I break up the tobacco and fill the bowl so it is loose and pretty much up to the brim, then i'll press it down a little to pack it in, and keep it from touching the metal screen. Before i put the screen on, I stick a pencil right in the middle of the bowl to make a hole for air to come through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheetz Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 hmm ill have to try the pencil trick. i just lightly pack it down and dont let it touch the screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I am not a proponent of the "Center Hole Theory". If the bowl is packed well, it shouldn't need a center hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macho555 Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I've always just lightly sprinkled tobacco in until it was full enough to not touch the screen. Always manages to work for me, and I get fine smoke. I tried packing it a few times, just a little, but it almost made it impossible to pull any smoke in. The center air hole thing sounds interesting though. I'll try it later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djnick Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 u know what i always say, hookah is alot like sex, you try diff things, and if it works you stick with it. Theres no right way to do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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