So I bought a pipe today...

[shikitohno]

I've been interested in one of these for a while, but the only place I could find them was a British website that for some reason refused to sell to anyone under 21. That and the exchange rate kept me from buying one. But, I found myself a US website, and finally bought myself a medwakh and some dokha. Naturally, I went for the strongest blend that they sell, which comes with the warning:

Should only be smoked when you have some leisure time, as you shouldn't try to stand or drive for at least 15 minutes after smoking, longer still if you've never smoked a hot blend.

Needless to say, I'm excited. Of course, knowing me, I'll acclimate to it very quickly, and it'll simply become another pleasant hobby.

[sagedil]

Welcome to the wonderful world of pipes shikitohno.

Just one thing to remember, if this as a brand new pipe, it needs to be "broken in" first. It will taste a lot funny for the first 10 smokes or so.

[RedMacGregor]

advantage - meerschaum..

honestly, i dont' know why meers aren't more popular

[shikitohno]

I know that's true for most pipes, but this isn't your typical pipe, so I don't know if it holds true that it needs to be broken in.

Medwakh:


I'm looking forward to it, so I expect I'll bear with any initial funkiness.

[RobME]

advantage - meerschaum..

honestly, i dont' know why meers aren't more popular

Only because they're fragile.

[sagedil]

I own two meershaum pipes, love them, especially for Virginia blends. But other blends, especially English blends, I don't like them at all. Briar adds a certain flavoring to the whole experience. For some tobaccos, I think it is is necessary, for others, I think it interferes.

But you are correct RedMacGregor, meerschaums don't need to be broken in.

shikitohno, cool pipe... If the bowl is raw briar, then yes, would still need to be broken in.

[RobME]

...But you are correct RedMacGregor, meerschaums don't need to be broken in...

Because in a Meerschaum, you don't want to build up a 'cake'. The less carbon deposits the better. None = best!. A briar need's somewhat of a cake buildup to get seasoned and smoke it's best (coolest).

[Skimo]

I dunno, I smoked a couple bowls in my brand new Dr. Grabbow tonight, no heat issues.

[Liandri]

Thats not a pipe. Looks like some sorta voodoo tribal sex stick.

[Juxtaposer]

The Dokha tobacco/herb mix is inhaled using the small bowl of the Medwakh pipe. A very hot intense smoke. This is nothing like pipe smoking and more like Kisuru or cigarette smoking. The small pipes can easily be mistaken for drug paraphernalia. A Dr. Grabow is a great choice for beginners pipe that will fit in your rotation as you get other better pipes. Meerschaums are great too. Just make sure you get a case for them.

[lxskllr]

The Dokha tobacco/herb mix is inhaled using the small bowl of the Medwakh pipe. A very hot intense smoke. This is nothing like pipe smoking and more like Kisuru or cigarette smoking. The small pipes can easily be mistaken for drug paraphernalia. A Dr. Grabow is a great choice for beginners pipe that will fit in your rotation as you get other better pipes. Meerschaums are great too. Just make sure you get a case for them.

I couldn't think of what it was. I'd seen them before, but couldn't place it. Aren't they used by middle easterners, almost for the buzz it gives?

[shikitohno]

Yeah, it's used to take three or four quick puffs. I knew this before I bought it, so it wasn't as if I were planning on smoking Orlick from it. I picked up a Persian dokha blend with it. Pleasant once you get used to it, and an intense little head rush, but the first hit from a clean pipe felt like I'd just smoked an entire pack of unfiltereds at once. Of course, that's partially because I bought a hot mixture. Dokha is ranked cold, medium or hot, cold being the mellowest and weakest, hot being the harshest and strongest.

And yes, police can easily mistake it for paraphernalia, but as long as I don't smoke any drugs out of it, I'm fine. They confiscate it, test it, return it and apologize. I've also read about someone from the UK who got arrested for snuff on suspicion of trafficking heroin. Got released the next day because the tests came back negative.

[Juxtaposer]

Any idea what kind of herbs/leaves/bark besides tobacco in that stuff?

[shikitohno]

Nope, I believe it varies from blend to blend quite a bit. Just went and had the last one of the night. It seems to be a fairly high maintenance pipe, as I've only smoked maybe 5 times, and it left both ends of a pipe cleaner looking rather gross.

I wouldn't smoke midwakh in public, since the pipe looks sketchy on its own, and the tobacco bears a fair resemblance to pot. It also produces a short-lived resin odour, if you've even smelled it. I'm going to see about getting some more dokha later today in NYC.

[lofat]

Thats not a pipe. Looks like some sorta voodoo tribal sex stick.

Nope, this is a pipe... the voodoo tribal sex stick has a string attached to the end.