coals

[nautyica123]

do you guys often break up the coals upon placing them on the head to start off with? or whole? the coals im using are japanese coals.

[yashman19]

Well if you don't want too large of chunks, then yes.

I use Nour fingers which come in long 8" strips, so I have to break them into sections, or else they won't fit on the bowl.

[MR Bubble]

I always break my quick light discs into 4 pieces.
As far as Japanese coals go, I take 2 of the little squares and break them in half. You will more than likely need a serrated steak knife for this to cut a groove into them. I take 3 of the little rectangles I created by cutting, and use them. That gives ME the perfect heat on a normal Egyptian head using Al Waha or Nakhla.
MR Bubble

[Sonthert]

True Japanese coals are scored to break each bar into into four, roughly square tablets. I generally use them in one or two coal increments, depending on what I'm smoking.

[HookahCaterpillar]

The japanese coals break off in little square sections if were talking about the same coals.

[Seandoo]

i've found that if you use several small coals instead of one or two
huge ones, the smoke tends to not get harsh (assuming the bowl was
packed decently, etc.) while remaining thick. too much heat in one
place, in my experiences, makes the foil turn brown/black around the
holes and really heats things up. the idea is to vaporize what you're
smoking, not burn it...so yeah don't overdo the heat in one solid place
with a bigass hunk of coal.

[Seandoo]

btw on that note of the foil burning where there's holes...does the
foil actually start doing weird things by itself or is the shisha
burning underneath? (btw i apoligize...i call the "ma'assel" shisha.
weird habit....i've never heard anybody pronounce "ma'assel" so it's a
bit awkward for me...) i've considered moving to the screens instead
(yeah i'm aware of all those debates/opinions/experiences on one or the
other) to keep this from happening...weird occurance...