Thread: Pipe purchasing help

I would recommend two pipes if you're going to be chopping and changing between aromatic and non. You can clean and deoderise a pipe bowl with salt, drinking spirit of choice and patience. Place a pipe cleaner in the shank then fill the bowl with table salt, add some spirits to ensure the salt is wet right through, then sit the bowl somewhere stable for a few days until the salt is dry. Using a pipe tool dig/scrape the salt out thoroughly. You should end up with a nicely deodorised bowl ready for whichever tobacco style you choose. The first smoke may take on a slight taste of the type of spirit you used. Just make sure you get all the salt out otherwise you may cop a bit of that taste too.
Using a pipe cleaners dipped in the same favourite spirit run them through the stem 'til they come out clean.
You can also learn a bit from this forum... pipes.org forums


Mick

Where do burleys fit into this, are they aromatic or English? I've smoked some burley and cavendish out of the pipe I have now, maybe that was a bad idea. If so I suppose I'll have to de-funk it.

Ebay, flea markets have been my preferences.

Local pipe shop I managed to find a pipe that was made by Dunhill but had some imperfection, and was relabeled (can't remember what brand is on it)... $50, identical pipe with the Dunhill stamp was ~$600 at the same store.

Originally Posted by zappbrannigan

Where do burleys fit into this, are they aromatic or English? I've smoked some burley and cavendish out of the pipe I have now, maybe that was a bad idea. If so I suppose I'll have to de-funk it.

Burley is a type of tobacco grown and processed in a certain way, aromatic means it's had a 'topping' added, some kind of flavored liquid. English in general (although I think this term is used mostly in the US) means non-aromatic so it's just tobacco flavor. Usually, though, burley and cavendish are used for aromatics.

True, most aromatics ARE cased burley. There is such a thing as a non-flavored burley (Codger Burlies such as Prince Albert, Half and Half, Old Joe Krantz, etc are good examples.) To add another level of complexity, these are often referred to as American English blends. English blends however, as the name suggests typically either originate in England or are blended elsewhere with the traditional English blending criteria in mind. This being the case, a pure English blend will NOT contain any burley as it was illegal in England until fairly recently (1986 if memory serves.) English blends typically are Virginia based and contain some quantity of latakia (the really dark tobacco that smells like campfire or burning car tires) some English blends also contain Oriental as well as Turkish but again, a true English blend contains no burley at all. Burley is actually a crop mutation discovered in the U.S. in the mid 19th century. It is an American icon (much like Harley Davidson, Levis, the 57 Chevy, the 56 Big Window F-100, etc.) and in my estimation, one of the greatest American contributions to modern civilization (not to mention the official pipe weed of this Old GI)

Wow, lots of information here, thanks guys. Interesting stuff too. It may be hard for me to learn how to segregate my tobacco purchases so I don't "contaminate" my pipe with stuff that shouldn't go in there. But I guess once I figure out what I really like it'll be easier to just keep buying those varieties.

As of now I've got 4 different varieties from my local shop, all "no-name" stuff from the big jars he has there.

One is called "No-bite Burley" which looks and smells pretty light, and a little sweet. It's been really enjoyable to smoke. A little sweet, but mostly a nice warm tobacco flavor.

One is called "Vanilla Custard" which I bought because the guy was smoking it when I walked into the shop and it smelled great. Smoked it and it was ok, the flavor kinda sucked (definitely not vanilla) and it was really harsh on the tongue at times.

One is called "Black Cavendish" and the stuff is black. Instead of shredded leaves, it felt more like crumbled bark, so it was a little hard to pack. Sticky too. Tasted great though, and according to my fiancee it smelled nice as well. Seemed to have more of a kick to it than the other two.

Last one is called "St. George's Blend" and, as OldGI puts it, it smells like burning car tires. 50/50 mix of black and light colored tobacco. Bought it because it smelt way different and thought I should try something on the other end of the spectrum.

So far I like the burley the best. It was easy to pack and smoke, tasted good, and smelt good. Could have used a bit more kick though. 2nd favorite was the cavendish but it was a hassle to get going. The vanilla stuff... probably won't buy again.

That being said, would it be ok to have one pipe for burleys and cavendishes? Or are they distinct enough where I'd want to have 2? Or what about burleys and Englishs?

Really appreciate all the help guys.

The first three are aromatics,the last is an English.Sounds like you're an aromatic kinda fellow. Cheers gotta go to work !

I think most people start with aromatics as they're not as temperamental as far as flavor and enjoyment go. High latakia blends take a bit of skill to smoke right or they'll just taste bad. I'd revisit them once you get better at smoking and your palate develops. I like them a lot more now, but still generally prefer aromatics. Luckily my local tobacco shops has some decent bulk aromatics imported from Denmark, Peter Stokkebye. I've heard Pipeworks and Wilke have some of the best aromatics in the business, I've been meaning to check them out, as well.

Also, just today I got a free tin of tobacco from Altadis, from their Sutliff line. I filled out this form: http://pipeshowonline.net/Request_Altadis.php a couple weeks ago. I was only half expecting it, not knowing if the offer was still good, but it is. I doubt they ship outside of the US, though. I got their 'Great Outdoors' blend. They're not known as the best toby company in the world, but it's free!

Pipe Kits

just bought one of their kits. it got here pretty darn quickly. still a plain block of wood. I'm stoked to start carving it.

Zapp, two pipes will do you for most of your needs (Like razors a few more is always handy), four would be ideal for someone who doesn't know what they like in tobacco choice though. Ideally you want to rest your pipe after a days use, and also smoke either aromatic tobaccos in it or non aromatic. It's one or the other. So by having two pipes, one for each of the two main tobacco styles, you can swap around each day to learn what you prefer, and that will also rest the other pipe.
Pipes need to dry a bit after a days smoking (so I've heard), as you can imagine that hot, moist climates aren't real healthy for dry wood and eventually that dry wood is no longer very dry. I also practice a frequent internal cleaning regime with mine (I don't worry what the outside looks like, but I probably should!) thus keeping the pipe a little dryer inside throughout the day.
By the sounds of it you like an Aromatic tobacco (as do I). My fall back is a Cherry Cavendish, but they vary from company to company. I've had good and bad. GH Top Black Cherry is great, but I found I was having to unclog the bowls stem after every second bowl...Heavily cased tobacco obviously. Borkum Riff Cherry Cavendish is a good 'drug store' blend, and my 'go to' blend, but we are limited for choice here so it might not be that great in the grander scheme of things.
You can only learn by trial and error and your tastes may change as you go (Mine essentially hasn't after 20 years though), just enjoy yourself whatever way you go.


Mick