Thread: Pipe of the Day

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Anyone who has smoked it will tell you that it is a good tobacco to learn to smoke a pipe correctly. If you don't puff on H&H easy and slow you will get tongue bite that you will not soon forget. It will either teach you to smoke 'right' or cause you to give it up entirely.

H&H is an acquired taste... I didn't care for it for the first three or four bowls... Then, yes it does grow on you... Or maybe that's all I had at the time...

Originally Posted by NoseWarmer

H&H is an acquired taste... I didn't care for it for the first three or four bowls... Then, yes it does grow on you... Or maybe that's all I had at the time...

You know how you read of the propylene glycol and whatever goop they put in a lot of the 'drugstore' tobacco. I don't know if the old H&H had it but the new stuff does. Won't dry out in a year. So I don't think it is as good as the stuff I began smoking years ago, or that my father began smoking in the 1940s. He smoked cigarettes until he was 30 or so then gave them up and went with the pipe. IIRC that is what he told me. Once I found the 'good' tobacco without the goop, I gave up the H&H soon after.

I was 18 the first time I smoked a pipe. Went into a high end pipe & tobacco place that sold new Dunhill pipes at $100.00. I bought a French made billiard sandblast that looked like something Vincent Van Gogh would've smoked. I bought a tin of Flying Dutchmen because I liked the ship on the label. I loaded it up and smoked one bowl after another loving it.

I thought I had discovered nirvana until the tongue bite set in. My mouth was on fire for days. I gave the pipe and the remaining tobacco to my father and went back to the Camels for another 10 years before I touched a pipe.

I continued breaking in the new Moonshine today and did just a bit over 1/2 the bowl nice and slow. So at least for this pipe it is the 1/3rd's practice and switched to Burley.

A few minutes ago I enjoyed my largest cob with some MacBaren Scottish Blend tinned from 2000. I liked it and think another go tomorrow will be just the ticket.

Mini cob full of "nougat" store blend from my local from when I was living in Ga.

Originally Posted by NoseWarmer

H&H is an acquired taste... I didn't care for it for the first three or four bowls... Then, yes it does grow on you... Or maybe that's all I had at the time...

One more thing on H&H, it will blacken a bowl quite quickly for break in...

I was told/heard that 5 Brothers works well for break in, about three bowls and you should be good to go...

Balkan Sobranie in MM 5th Ave. Diplomat

Originally Posted by NoseWarmer

One more thing on H&H, it will blacken a bowl quite quickly for break in...

I was told/heard that 5 Brothers works well for break in, about three bowls and you should be good to go...

+1, also.IMHO stay away from flake for breaking in a pipe, unless it is really rubbed out. A ribbon cut, or a cube cut tobacco like Early Morning Pipe, or 965 will burn better for break in. There are many others, but those are the two that come to mind right now. A slow burner like a flake may concentrate too much heat for too long on new wood where it would be fine on a caked bowl.

sitting on the couch with the puppy and mrs smoking some royal yacht in a rossi vittoria

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by NoseWarmer

Well back in my day... 19 years ago, my first pipe was a Dr. Grabow... No break in necessary...

As of today with any of my new pipes, other than cobs... I just smoke gently...

Now cobs on the other hand, stuff, light and smoke like there is no tomorrow...

I think you have it figured out. Break-in methods are good as a safeguard, but ultimately it just come down not letting the bare briar get too hot.

I'm one of those that never builds up a cake on my bowls, but I smoke so infrequently that the pipes always get plenty of rest.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

+1, also.IMHO stay away from flake for breaking in a pipe, unless it is really rubbed out. A ribbon cut, or a cube cut tobacco like Early Morning Pipe, or 965 will burn better for break in. There are many others, but those are the two that come to mind right now. A slow burner like a flake may concentrate too much heat for too long on new wood where it would be fine on a caked bowl.

+1 on this, as I have experienced using Virginia Flakes that I just fold and stuff. Once it gets going I have seen the bowl glow red hot even when not puffing and looks like I shoved a hot charcoal lump in the bowl. Shure must be hard on a fresh pipe.