Frustrated!

[Wolf357]

I’m a Novice (About 3 years with a pipe ) maybe a novice will help..: just some basic info… I at first had issued as well but now…no issues at all…
First… You gotta Tamp… you can’t have all that ash loose… you need to tamp as you go…
Second I find just breathing though you’re noose exhaling though you’re mouth nice and easily will give you a real easy burn… don’t inhale the pipe though your mouth….
Finally expect it to go out from time to time and learn from your mistakes

 

[bersekero]

Now that I have learnt the basic theory after much reading here and do practice every day I found that for me and my particular style relights are an absolute blessing.
I am not the person who sits and smokes for an hour without doing nothing. I do not clench nor I hold the pipe in my hand all the time.Of course nothing bad with that but I am always doing something. So it is really great to go back and find the pipe waiting for me on the cheap Peterson belt base from smokingpipes. This way a session can last a couple of hours or more and I am really enjoying it. Bonus: the pipe never gets hot.

 

[Grangerous]

The mystery of the pipe. It’s quite the personal learning curve. So many variables. But I can narrow it down to two:

Weather (humidity) - certain places and times of year it can be either effortless or a real chore.

Packing method - experiment until you find your personal answer. This is the main area to focus, in my opinion.

As for tobacco… each is different. So if you bounce around from blend to blend and genre to genre and flakes to aros…. may the Pipe Gods have mercy on your soul.

I can tell you, as a person who most often smokes only one blend - and that blend being notoriously easy to smoke… that I share the same frustrations and scratch my head too.

 

[bersekero]

What is that one and only blend if I may ask?

 

[FLDRD]

What is that one and only blend if I may ask?

See avatar name and pic...

 

[crowbait]

I’m sure it’s been repeated ad nauseam, but I’m really frustrated that I can’t keep the pipe lit. Not even for a little while.

Straight away, relights are a natural part of pipe smoking. There is a common misconception that you should light a pipe once and smoke it all the way down, every time. That's simply not the case. You can definitely get to that place if you so desire, it just takes some patience and practice.

My two cents, just keep smoking and don't worry about the relights. Try some different packing tightnesses, smoking cadences, tamping techniques and tobaccos.

For actionable advice, keep in mind that smoking tobacco is essentialy keeping fire coals from going cold. You simply need the right mix of air and fuel (tobacco in this case).

1. Packing: Packed too tight, and there's not enough air. Packed too loose, the tobacco can't burn from strand to strand down the bowl.

2. Tamping: While you smoke, the tobacco burns at the top and creates air pockets as it is consumed and reduced to ash. A light tamp pushes the embers down into contact with the unlit tobacco, continually providing fuel. Don't underestimate thevalue of the tamp.

3. Tobacco: Too wet and you can't get it/keep it lit, too dry and it burns hot and terrible.

4. Smoking Cadence: Too slow and there isn't enough air flow so the tobacco goes out. Too fast and the tobacco burns too hot leading to issues with flavour, pipe burn etc.

 

[Raignis]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected. I've been just as frustrated, being only able to get three puffs before it goes out. I guess I've missed somewhere about drying the tobacco out beforehand so, I'll give that a try this weekend and see how it goes.

 

[Shylock_Homeless]

I am only a n00b here so maybe my 2 cents will go in vain but I totally agree with @gervais - relights are my life. As soon as I stopped worrying about relights (hey, I am smoking my pipe when I'm alone, no one's watching) I started enjoying my pipe more! And you know what? Somehow (not that I have discarded the other tips for drying, packing, charring, tampering and such) my smoke sessions became smoother with less relights. Note that I have absolutely no idea what "slow smoking" or "sipping" is - after 30 years of smoking cigarettes the first thing I want from my "smoking device" is a kick in my throat and the taste and the smell may or may not follow.
So, stop worrying about relights and just enjoy your pipe.

 

[Pipeoff]

If you are in fact a Pastor then you should know all about being a Keeper of the Flame. Follow the advice here to become a Master Pastor.

 

[AroEnglish]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected. I've been just as frustrated, being only able to get three puffs before it goes out. I guess I've missed somewhere about drying the tobacco out beforehand so, I'll give that a try this weekend and see how it goes.

In case you come back and see this I’d suggest you pack your pipe looser.