I have a question that seems very elementary.

When smoking a large bowled pipe, do you dump some of the ash when you get down into the bowl say, halfway or so?
I've noticed that if you're smoking a tobacco that is on the moist side and you have trouble with having to re-light too often, that getting rid of some of the ash tends to help. Am I committing some kind of pipe crime by doing this or is it common?

Thanks.