Thread: enjoyed my first pipe

Originally Posted by buckeye

hey david, my second bowl went better. packed it the way you told me and drew slow. burned to the bottom. no relights. thanks dave

Hey Dave,

Good for you. That's excellent!

You definitely want to burn to the bottom to develop the cake all the way to the bottom. Lot's of controversy surrounding this as well. There are those that say don't light your pipe unless you can smoke it all the way to the bottom. Others say if you can't finish the bowl - so what!

The theory here is that when you smoke all the way to the bottom it dries the moisture out with it and keep the pipe from going rancid or having an old gym socks kind of smell.

Me? I just try and enjoy myself and if I can make it to the bottom - great, if not - Oh well!

Speaking of drying out, this is another controversial subject. There are those that say a minimum of 24 hrs for drying in needed between bowls. Others say let is cool down, run a pipe cleaner through and you are good to go. I have enough pipes to do both. I enjoy my pipe either way.

This pipe smoking business is such a natural mate to straight razor shaving isn't it?

David

yes it is. i am going to enjoy one in the morning while the hounds are running rabbits. cleaning some estate pipes right now. got 2 packed with salt and alcohol. need to get them clean so i can smoke different blends. thanks for you help.

I can feel the PAD growing from here......

Not to hijack this thread, but I too just "enjoyed" my first pipe. I put it in quotes because like shaving, I guess there is a learning curve. I purchased a Nording pipe and Astleys No. 109 as it seems to have gotten wonderful reviews.

Issue:

1. Pipe would not stay lit. I probably re-lit the pipe 7 or 8 times prior to finishing. I'm not sure if this is a product of how I packed the pipe, the tobacco being very moist or both?

2. I packed the pipe full. I have read various things on pipe break in including starting with only 1/3 of the pipe packed. Not sure if this is an issue or not.

3. As far as the tobacco, I was not sure how fine to break up the leaves? Should these be relatively fine flakes, left long and stingy or somewhere in the middle?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by Fbones24

Not to hijack this thread, but I too just "enjoyed" my first pipe. I put it in quotes because like shaving, I guess there is a learning curve. I purchased a Nording pipe and Astleys No. 109 as it seems to have gotten wonderful reviews.

Issue:

1. Pipe would not stay lit. I probably re-lit the pipe 7 or 8 times prior to finishing. I'm not sure if this is a product of how I packed the pipe, the tobacco being very moist or both?

2. I packed the pipe full. I have read various things on pipe break in including starting with only 1/3 of the pipe packed. Not sure if this is an issue or not.

3. As far as the tobacco, I was not sure how fine to break up the leaves? Should these be relatively fine flakes, left long and stingy or somewhere in the middle?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi - go back in this thread and read what I wrote about packing and draw.

Most likely it was one or both of these.

Originally Posted by Alembic

Hi - go back in this thread and read what I wrote about packing and draw.

Most likely it was one or both of these.

Thank you. I consciously tried not to "puff" to frequently, but I did feel the pipe heating up and did not want to push it. After reading that, I am pretty sure that it was my packing combined with my frequent puffing. Next time, I will try the packing method suggested. Thank you!

i followed David`s advice on packing the pipe and drawing slow. worked out just fine. got some differant tobacco coming in the mail. wish it get hear.

Enjoying my second pipe right now and I am definitely enjoying it more than my first. I sort of followed the instructions on packing, but did not pack a full bowl. Packed a half a bowl using the same method on half the scale.

I still had trouble keeping the bowl lit, and the bowl got a little hot, but not as bad.

A few of the older gentlemen here at the pipe shop have told me that not being able to smoke different types of tobacco out of the same pipe is garbage. There will definitely be a transitional flavor between the two, but after 5-10 bowls it should be fine. I don't know who to believe, my buddies down the street or the internet, but the guys at the shop down here smoke all day every day, and they are damn good at what they do. Apparently they are known around the country for their tobacco blends. They know more about pipes than I probably ever will. Just an alternate perspective :-)

And congrats by the way to both of you! Pipe smoking, just like shaving, is definitely an art, and a wonderful hobby. Just don't start smoking cigarettes, worst decision you can make!

Rock on

Originally Posted by bignickj69

Just don't start smoking cigarettes, worst decision you can make!

Rock on

I quit smoking cigs about 3 years ago and I will never go back! Straight shaving was my new addiction, but thanks to all of the enablers here at SRP, I might just get addicted to pipes!