Pipe Smokers

[ShaulWolf]

Just be wary not to char your pipe if you use a butane torch. I've used a Bic and a Zippo many a time, but for me nothing beats taking the time to use matches and making sure I've got it right.

[rickcharles606]

I don't smoke a pipe, but have tried it. My grand-father gave me all his pipes when he was on his death bed, and I've had them ever since. They sit on my desk in my office at home, and remind me of him everytime I look at them.

Are you supposed to inhale pipe smoke, because I always did, I smoked cigs too at the time. Oh, and I could never keep the damned thing lit very long, and I'm sure it had something to do with the tamping, etc.

from time to time I think about picking one of his pipes up and giving it a go again.....in a way, honoring him.

[ShaulWolf]

Don't inhale, though if you're lungs are used to the abuse go ahead. It's generally pretty rough if you do, like inhaling on a cigar. I always took a draw, let the smoke stay in my mouth, and exhaled normally so some of the smoke could go through my nose. That let me pick up on more of the flavor, though you could exhale through your nose directly if you're used to it. I hadn't smoked pipes long enough to do that.

There's some practice needed in packing, lighting, and tamping the pipe to keep it lit, but it isn't too difficult to pick up with some regular use. You start to get a feel for the pipe and how to keep it going. I light it once, tamp it down to get the tobacco that's expanded packed, and light again to get it going. I tamp it when I start noticing that I need to take a deeper draw to get more smoke, and that gets it going nicely again.

I remember there being tons of articles on how to do it, and a couple vids on youtube on how to light and tamp a pipe.

[Starcadia]

Edit: What Shaulwolf said.

Do you by any chance know what kind of tobacco your grandfather liked?

[rickcharles606]

I'm pretty sure he just smoked some Prince Albert or something similar. In my attempts to smoke his pipes, I would go to a tobacco shop and just pick out random tobacco that I thought smelled good, and try it.

Also, what's with it burning the hell out of your tongue, is that the nic?

[Starcadia]

Also, what's with it burning the hell out of your tongue, is that the nic?

No, that's crap tobacco, usually the flavored kinds called "aromatics" that have additives that mess up the tongue when combusted. Smoke a good tobacco, even the very strongest ones, and that doesn't happen. There are quality aromatics, however.

[slartie]

Not entirely correct starcadia.

"crap tobacco" _may_ burn, yes .. but puffing too hard on the pipe will make it burn as well. overly moist tobacco may also burn as the steam the little controlled fire generates, is exceedingly hot when it leaves the bowl. Certain aromatics, especially the heavily sauced ones contribute to the making of steam, thus giving you bite.

You can pay 50 usd a pound for tobacco and it will torch your tongue if you don't pay attention to what you're doing.

Mac Baren is often blamed for making "biters", however in most cases the smoker is merely puffing harder and/or faster than the Mac Baren blend will tolerate. There are cases where certain blends simply aren't compatible with the body chemistry of the smoker (this has been tested again and again) and your best option is to simply move on and find another blend to have a go at.

As an aside, virginia based blends will generally be easier to get bitten by than, say, burleys.

Good luck with the pipe. A little patience will go a long way, and you will be making plumes of smoke before long.

[rickcharles606]

Okay, I'll try that. Now what of the vile juice that pours down the stem into your mouth? Is there anything that can be done to prevent this from happening, or am I causing this somehow...dunno?

[rickcharles606]

As I recollect on my brief pipe usage, I do remember puffing on it pretty regularly to keep it lit. Even the bowl would get too hot to touch sometimes. If using very "wet" tobacco(which was usually the case because it smelled better) and puffing the pipe constantly, would that cause the bite and/or the juice. Man that shit was awful...lol

[ShaulWolf]

Oh, note, if your pipes are brier wood than you need to be cautious about what tobacco goes in what pipe. Briers tend to hold the scent of a particular tobacco that's been smoked in that pipe for a while, so it mingles with the new tobacco you're using. That can end with good or bad results depending on if the tobaccos mix well or not.

Corncobs, meerschaum, and clay pipes don't have that issue, though, and are a good way to test out new tobaccos and practice smoking with. Meerschaums are the white stone pipes, by the way, and do a wonderful job for smoking tobacco. Just make sure to take good care of them since they mark and chip due to the softness of the stone. Corncobs are just tough little bastards that were meant to be workhorses for anyone.

[Starcadia]

Not entirely correct starcadia...

You'd know better than me. I was basically implying that if one gets a fruity tobacco in a pouch from a chain drugstore that one should expect it to destroy one's tongue. I learned that lesson quickly and will never ever do it again. :lol:

[slartie]

For beginners .. pack the pipe in layers .. also known as the 3 layer method.

Fill the bowl loosely, tamp it down so the chamber appears half full
Fill the bowl again, tamp it down so the chamber appears 3/4 full
Fill the bowl again (this time heaping a little bit over the top, tamp it down until it is nearly level with the rim of the pipe.

The juice you speak of can be / is a number of things. With moist tobaccos it will be water vapor that has collected to small droplets. It can also be your own saliva. With a little time and effort, both can be dealt with to a point where they no longer appear, at least in no discernible amount. Some tobaccos are treated with propylene glycol (a humectant), which will make it nearly impossible to enjoy a "dry" smoke, but it is doable.

During the smoke, don't hesitate to run a pipecleaner through the bit of the stem all the way through the shank to the bowl. move the cleaner back and forth a few times, and then pull it out. It will most likely have obtained a brown discoloration. repeat as needed throughout the smoke. With some experience you will notice less and less need for a pipe cleaner during the smoke, but always make sure you run a cleaner through several times afterwards to make sure the smoke channel is clean.

The above does not completely apply to aromatics. Aromatics (cased/sauced) are so full of "interesting" things that you will, even with the best of efforts, end up with gunk/juice slushing around. This is a tradeoff for smoking aromatics. Some like it, some don't, but one just needs to be aware.

Keeping the bowl lit is a bit of an art, but the first thing is the packing of the bowl. if you use the 3 layer method and ensure there is a good and nearly unrestricted draw (it should feel like sucking air through a straw) before the first light, you're good to go. If you feel restriction in the draw, dump the bowl and repack. You'll be happy you did.

Be sure to light the entire surface area of the tobacco. Puff a few times to get some embers going. After 30 seconds your pipe will most likely die out. No problem, that's completely intentional. Very lightly (very lightly) tamp the charred tobacco down so it makes a better contact with the tobacco below. Relight with a few puffs and you're in business.

If your pipe goes out shortly thereafter, just relight. In fact, relighting a pipe 5-10 or even 15 times during a smoke is not uncommon. pipe nerds such as myself have developed the technique in packing and puff-rate to make sure the pipe never dies until the very end of the bowl, but it's something anybody can learn over the course of a few tins of tobacco.

if your pipe gets hot, set it aside for 5 minutes. if you get gurgling (trapped moisture), clean it out with a pipe cleaner.

tamping is only necessary when the embers don't take to the tobacco, ie. the embers stop traveling down towards the next strip of tobacco. tamping should always be done very lightly as you don't want to crush the small bits that will still carry an ember. if you tamp hard, you will just make a lid of ashes that considerably less air will travel through. if you tamp too hard and find it difficult to get the bowl relit, your best option is to tap the side of the bowl to loosen the ashes and dump it in an ashtray. You should now be able to get the pipe relit, and enjoy the rest of your smoke.

All of this sounds very complicated, but as soon as you get the idea, it will all feel like second nature.

PS: holy crap this turned out longer than I had anticipated.

[slartie]

Not entirely correct starcadia...

You'd know better than me. I was basically implying that if one gets a fruity tobacco in a pouch from a chain drugstore that one should expect it to destroy one's tongue. I learned that lesson quickly and will never ever do it again. :lol:

LOL, well it's certainly possible to get a proverbial smack in the face by the fruity aromatics, that's very true. I have smoked those on rare occasions, and only when I first started with the pipe. Never again. I wasn't bitten, but just the smell of the stuff was enough to make my stomach turn. Then there's the whole deal with the pipe smelling like that awful stuff for months, even though you smoke some of the stoustest blends available to exorcise these demons.

Generally, people who pick up the pipe and move away from the "I like the smell" stage and on to something that has to do with enjoying subtle flavors of the base tobaccos will gradually move away from aromatics. Also, if it's nic you're after, aromatics will almost certainly put you in a frantic mood where you feel ready to kill just about anything crossing your path.

If you want a nic kick the size of a mule, there are a good number of blends out there that will put the Sterks and Extras to shame.

[ShaulWolf]

As I recollect on my brief pipe usage, I do remember puffing on it pretty regularly to keep it lit. Even the bowl would get too hot to touch sometimes. If using very "wet" tobacco(which was usually the case because it smelled better) and puffing the pipe constantly, would that cause the bite and/or the juice. Man that shit was awful...lol

Again, it depends on the tobacco, but generally the more moist tobaccos tend to juice more. My suggestion is to let the tobacco dry out a little, even though it won't smell as fresh. Pipe tobacco takes a loooooong time to go bad, and you generally won't have to worry about that. It's not like cigars where the tobacco MUST stay moist; pipe tobacco can be smoked on the dryer side and still produce a lot of flavor.

Packing the pipe and knowing when to tamp it will go a long way for keeping it lit. You don't need to puff on it every second to keep it going; that'll get the hell bitten out of your tongue. There's a few vids on youtube that'll show you how, and the cigar forum I frequented before also has tons of good info. It's puff.com, and the guys there are pretty damn friendly. I know there's another forum that's also good and has a lot of my cigar buddies from the old Club Stogie forum there too. You'll find plenty of good info if you introduce yourself and ask around.

Practice packing and tamping, smoke slowly, use quality tobacco. All those things will help a lot. If you're still getting a lot of juice slow down more since that's a buildup of moisture and let the tobacco dry out. And try tilting the stem more so that it's more vertical than horizontal if you're using a strait stemmed pipe.

-edit-
Slartie got it all down pat. Good advice there, most of which took me a bit to figure out on my own before I realized that there was a pipe section on my old forum. lol. Just wait until you try to start getting into rope and flake tobacco. Those have their own separate tricks too.

[lxskllr]

You guys are getting me to want to smoke a pipe again. A pipe was the first thing I smoked regularly, but I dropped it when I was 17 or 18.