| For Beginners... For those of you who have never tried a pipe, let me tell you that it is not at all like smoking cigarettes. For one thing it tastes good. For two there are not the same additives in pipe tobacco. For three you are not required to inhale in order to derive pleasure from it, because the pleasure is primarily in the aroma and taste of the smoke. If you would like to try the art I reccomend you find a fellow (or lady) who does smoke pipe. Drop by his (her) favorite tobacco shop or even My Favorite Tobacco Shop. Buy a cheap corn cop pipe or two, a small quantity of a variety of tobacco and some pipe cleaners. I reccomend aromatics or light naturals for the beginner. If your pipe comes with a filter I reccomend removing it, but you don't have to. If it comes with a metal moisture trap I would leave it in. Have your friend show you how to pack your pipe, and for the first half dozen times or so only pack it halfway. If you don't have a friend you can check out the styles of packing as described below, but don't be afraid to experiment. Fire your pipe and draw in shallowly while lighting. Use stick matches or a butane lighter. Work the match accross the top of the tobacco. If you have problems with overheating when trying to get your pipe lit then try charring the top layer and letting it cool, then relight. If it loosens up on you, tamp it down and relight. Once lit draw slowly and long and note how it smokes. If you get tobacco juice in your mouth or it becomes very bitter you have overheated, draw slower. If your pipe has no restriction feeling to the draw,burns very smokey and goes out quickly you should pack a bit tighter. Always try to smoke all the way to the bottom otherwise the pipe will not break in. A Few Things I've Learned... * Folk have found many different styles of packing, which are probably related to slightly different draws, and the time between draws, the size of the pipe, the nature of that particular tobacco, etc.. 1 - Most all agree that it should be "layered" and three is the number agreed upon. Except when breaking in a new pipe, then many suggest only two layers, about halfway full in the bowl. This works well. 2 - Some make the layers the same thickness and others do not. Sometimes I pack like this 1/4 full, a little over half full and the rest of the way. I will not make the top very thick if I don't want to smoke all that much. 3 - Some pack the layers all the same density, I do not. I used pack the bottom layer very spongey, the center mostly snug and the top snug. It should still have some bounce to it when pressed with your finger. I have gotten away from this method as I broke the only pipe in which it worked exceptionally well. * Don't reload a hot pipe or a moist one. Especially not a moist one. If you are refilling shortly after a previous smoke, at least wait till it is only slightly warm and run a cleaner through the stem to clear it and absorb moisture. It is good to rotate pipes, if you have several. * Clay pipes will mostly clean themselves if smoked slightly hotter towards the end of the bowl. The taste of a fresh clay pipe will not usually go away quickly if smoked in this manner. I personally kinda like that taste. I mention this because clay is very fragile and does not seem to stand up well to rigorous "bristle" pipe cleaners. * Precarbonized bowls are great for what they are meant to do. The disadvantage is that if you get it too hot, especially in one spot, say you can't get it to light evenly and you hold your match over a particular place, you can burn a spot in the side of the bowl very easily. I've done it. Some people coat the bowl in sweeteners or honey to help the process. I have done this and it seems to work well. * Do not store drying pipes in a cigar box with your tobacco pouches like I did for a while, it makes for some strange and sometimes unpleasent effects. I always keep fresh tobacco and pipes in two different jacket pockets when traveling. * If you are serious about the hobby and you have some rather pricey or beloved brand name pipes, you may be heartbroken if you break one. I have broken six pipes so far. Sometimes you can have pipes repaired. Stem replacement is the most common repair and it is resonable in cost. My Personal Take on the Hobby, Preferences and Opinions Well first of all the style of pipes I use. I have had about twelve different individual pipes in my time, and have shared many more with some good friends. I used to go with strait billiards and recently tried a canadian and was very happy with it. I have tried full bents and half bents and think that they are a little too dry for me, although they smoke well. I find canadians a little cooler than regular strait pipes. I now have a strait billard and a canadian, both Petersons with the upward pointing moutpiece. I love the Peterson mouthpiece. I also use seven clay pipes in a variety of lengths. They smoke pleseantly dry and cool. I have had trouble in getting them to smoke evenly accoss the bowl. This I blame on that they are by thier nature difficult to produce in a precise manner. As for tobacco I typically like rich cool blends with a fair bit of moisture. Dark blends that smell like chocolate and so on. I am not a very big fan of flavored tobaccos and I especially find the fruit flavored ones to be cloying. I mostly smoke bulk blends and tinned varieties these days. See my Tobacco Review Page for more specifics. I've been wanting to try out rope tobacco as aged varieties seem to please me. |
| Tobacco Smoking through a Pipe |