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Plucking Holes


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The thing is that I was plucking about 40-50 holes with the stick that comes with the tweezers in the hookah (I guess they are all the same) making pretty big holes and it was doing fine for me, but today I experimented making holes with a very thin needle and plucked 420 holes with it. I really liked the result, it made my draw much better and no ashes come into the bowl.

I was wondering how do you guys pluck holes? In amount of them and the tool you use.
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mostly just around using the same poker you were using before. To be honest what you did/said makes sense but seems really labor intensive compared to the larger hole way. so ill stick to "if it isnt broke then dont fix it"
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I use my oyster fork, poking three holes at a time, all over the bowl, avoiding the middle if using a phunnel bowl. I don't count how many holes I do. Seems like too much effort, honestly.

Essentially this is my poking style, except I made these holes with a toothpick, not my oyster fork (works the same either way):

[IMG]http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p40/INCUBUSRATM/Hookah/IMG_0264.jpg[/IMG]
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[quote name='Chreees' timestamp='1345656655' post='554786']
I use my oyster fork, poking three holes at a time, all over the bowl, avoiding the middle if using a phunnel bowl. I don't count how many holes I do. Seems like too much effort, honestly.

Essentially this is my poking style, except I made these holes with a toothpick, not my oyster fork (works the same either way):

[img]http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p40/INCUBUSRATM/Hookah/IMG_0264.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

Why dont you poke over the phunnel? does poking holes over it cause less smoke or harsher smoke?
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i poke a lot of holes with the poker on my tongs, but the poker on there has a really sharp point on it. using a toothppick wroks well too
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As long as your holes aren't the size of tangerines or the size of an atom, it doesn't really matter in my opinion. Poke a decent amount of holes, possibly over the center if you have a phunnel (assuming you even need to poke over the spire, some you don't) and smoke.

If you take half the effort you'll use poking holes and implement it into things like heat management/packing, I think you'll find your session much more beneficial.

I myself just use a toothpick from habit, and poke very similar to Chris's method shown above. But honestly, if you find that you have too little, just poke more.
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[quote name='headhunter' timestamp='1345657676' post='554788']
Why dont you poke over the phunnel? does poking holes over it cause less smoke or harsher smoke?
[/quote]

I don't poke over the center because...

[quote name='Pavo21' timestamp='1345659382' post='554794']
he doesn't poke over the center because chris thinks [b]it keeps more flavor[/b], lol, i love chris :)
[/quote]

^This. If you poke holes over the center, you're obviously going to pull in more "fresh" air (air that hasn't traveled over or through the tobacco). By not poking holes over the center, you are forcing the air to pass through the holes over the tobacco, therefore picking up more flavor, IMO. I've had success poking holes over the center, but to me it yields more intense flavor by not doing so. I know Eric pokes a ton of holes over the center, but this works better for me, and many others.

To take it one step further- I also believe by using a tealight mod, you are always going to ensure a better flavor intensity, because you are forcing the air through the tobacco that way. I used to use the tealight mod all the time, but stopped, because I got a Tangiers Mini Phunnel. I was using mine not for better flavor intensity, but simply to save on tobacco usage.
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Lots of holes. I just use the poker on the tongs and make a ton of holes. The more, the merrier.

And I haven't noticed any difference with or without a hole over the phunnel center.
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[img]http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_16048.jpg[/img]

Get these and use the straight one. Do what you want with the rest. On sale now for $2

[url="http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-pick-and-hook-set-66836.html"]http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-pick-and-hook-set-66836.html[/url]
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[quote name='Skoozle' timestamp='1345676463' post='554830']
[img]http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_16048.jpg[/img]

Get these and use the straight one. Do what you want with the rest. On sale now for $2

[url="http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-pick-and-hook-set-66836.html"]http://www.harborfre...-set-66836.html[/url]
[/quote]

nice :)
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I got the Fumari Hole Picker as a free gift from an order a while back, and I'd say it makes perfect holes for me!
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who counts holes? lol and why would u poke exactly 420 holes>? anyways, i no longer use tin foil. i have a metal circle that has about 20 bigger sized holes all over. this way i never have to use tin foil again or worry about having it on hand. i just use this little metal sheet thats washable also. im pretty proud of it! also it has a tab on the side that you can easly turn it on top of the bowl so that you can manage the heat without moving coals.
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[quote name='Vette' timestamp='1345697546' post='554863']
who counts holes? lol and why would u poke exactly 420 holes>? anyways, i no longer use tin foil. i have a metal circle that has about 20 bigger sized holes all over. this way i never have to use tin foil again or worry about having it on hand. i just use this little metal sheet thats washable also. im pretty proud of it! also it has a tab on the side that you can easly turn it on top of the bowl so that you can manage the heat without moving coals.
[/quote]

Come on man, I do not count them every time. I just counted them to know how many holes I poke on average.
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I use a 14 Ga. piercing needle for my holes.. the 16 is too small and the 12 is too big i think.... so the 14 works teh best.. and it's super sharp and never snags on the foil like toothpicks sometimes do..

and i poke as few holes as my lazy ass can get away with without making the draw too tight.. lol
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For Tangiers we always teach poking lots of big holes. The size of the holes are twice the diameter of a typical tooth pick. We fit as many holes as we can on the foil. How many exactly I'm not sure... but there should be no room for more holes, Sometimes two holes run together and that's fine.

Foil traps heat. Lets say you have foil on your bowl, you place coals on top, and start to pull. The pulling draws air over the coals causing the coals to heat up. When you stop pulling, the foil traps the heat that has built up. You pull again, the heat builds again, and the foil traps the heat again. After a few pulls like this you notice it gets harsh and nasty. When you remove the foil you probably will notice that the top is scorched with fresh stuff underneath.

By poking lots of big holes the built up heat that would have been caught under the foil is released. This prevents against scorching and keeps the tobacco/bowl at a more constant temperature. Heat management becomes easier and flavor is more consistent.

Poking holes is the center a) reduces the risk of foil drab, B) creates less restriction, and c) further allows heat to escape from bowl when not pulling.

I have no idea about any other brand of tobacco... the only other things I really smoke is AF2, AF Mint, and AF Mastic.When I do I use a toothpick and probably poke half as many holes.
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[quote name='fuckthatvincekid' timestamp='1345712605' post='554879']
I've been doing a [b]modified reverse phunnel method[/b] lately, so I just have one big whole poked with my tong poker over the spire, and then two micro holes plucked under where each coal sets. Works for me!
[/quote]

Pray, do tell. I have no idea what you just described is. Post some pictures if you can.
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[quote name='aeon' timestamp='1345733166' post='554890']
[quote name='fuckthatvincekid' timestamp='1345712605' post='554879']
I've been doing a [b]modified reverse phunnel method[/b] lately, so I just have one big whole poked with my tong poker over the spire, and then two micro holes plucked under where each coal sets. Works for me!
[/quote]

Pray, do tell. I have no idea what you just described is. Post some pictures if you can.
[/quote]

I've seen it done before, but never really with success. On a phunnel you only poke holes above the spire, instead of poking holes everywhere but above the spire.
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Twoapplesplease started the whole reverse phunnel method a year or two back. He swears it works awesome, but I could never get it working any better than the normal setup really. I just stick with what I know works best. Also, it uses a ton of coals...

EDIT: About two years ago: [url="http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/38457-my-backwards-phunnel-hole-pattern-method/page__hl__phunnel"]http://www.hookahfor...ge__hl__phunnel[/url]
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