Many of you have seen my difficulties in embracing the glory that pipe smoking should be as posted on this forum. Not having anyone with pipe smoking experience around me, I was left to my own devices and the advice from the internet. Not always a bad thing.. Experience is a great teacher, and the internet has great information, the trouble is that without seeing what is going on it is sometimes difficult to diagnose.
Like most new pipe smokers I was always afraid I was packing too tightly, because that is far and away the most common advice given to new pipe smokers. With all my troubles keeping my pipe lit, and smoking past the bottom 1/3 regardless if I was smoking english, va/per, or aro nothing worked. I tried packing 3lbs of tobacco into a pocket pipe, 5 strands of ribbon cut into a 2"x1" freehand bowl, and just about ever packing density in between. I tried as many loading techniques as I could find videos and write ups on. I googled "sipping" probably every other week, because after packing too tightly, don't puff is the next more common advice. Again, without seeing someone else sip vs puff it is difficult to finesse your way through it by only reading it. At least for me it was. I was constantly reminding myself that pipe smoking was supposed to be relaxing, and needs to be taken slowly, not like a freight train. So I sipped lightly, and slowly. I would constantly work on my char light, true light, and relight (trust me, I had tons of experience here!). Yet, nothing seemed to change. Ever. Packing tighter did help, but was only 1 small step.
I also found myself in an endless cycle of knowing I wasn't burning to the bottom because I wasn't building cake (really any where), and I was building cake because I wasn't burning to the bottom. How to remedy that? Just keep smoking. Cake will build. Well, it never did.
Maybe tamping was my problem? Again, tamping pressure is subjective and cannot be accurately described via text and video. So working through the frustration of every time I tamped with only the weight of my Czech tool, tamped with 40lbs pressure, or anywhere in between the pipe went out. Someday I just felt like the hits would never end...
A few days ago for whatever reason I was thinking about cadence, and truthfully there isn't a lot of great information about cadence. Mostly don't smoke fast and hard, and don't puff like a cigar is all you will find. My cadence was trying to appease all of the advice I had gotten... Sip lightly, and slow... but apparently my idea of slow and what I should have been doing were two different things. I was sipping probably once every 30-45 seconds, because SLOW was the name of the game. Sometimes more frequently, sometimes a puff here and there to try and keep the ember warm. So throwing out all the advice I have heard, and read... I started over. I packed as tight as I thought I should to get a good draw. Lit the pipe like I had done it a million times (so far I'm only around 645,000 lights, w 644,800 being relights). And decided to sip the pipe every 7-15 seconds... Sometimes longer between. Sometimes a puff (but not a room filling puff). Sometimes a double sip. Strange things began to happen. I had tons of smoke from my H&H Daybreak. My pipe was warm all over, not just around the rim or top 1/3. 30 minutes in with 2 relights, and half the pipe turned to a gray/white fluffy substance I had only read about. No hint of a gurgle. No tamping needed. I even forgot about the pipe for maybe a minute in the midst of reading, took a sip and thought for sure the pipe was out when I go no smoke, then for whatever I puffed a touch harder and smoke reappeared like some form of wizardry. Back in action! The last 1/4 of the pipe was a touch difficult, with an eventual gurgle but that was my fault. When things finally come together and you realize it, you tend to start thinking too much, sipping too much, and the pipe burns too hot. No big deal, I can fix that problem next time!
To the veteran pipe smokers, thank you for all of your advice. Even though I may not have been able to implement everything that was said, or reply to every piece of advice, taking the time to help the new guys is very much appreciated. Yes, even when we want to throw the pipe into the river. Please don't get stuck on the packing too tight aspect. Yes, it can and does happen, but try to explain all the aspects of smoking that could cause problems (yes I know the possibilities are endless) because as difficult as it is for you to diagnose what we are doing wrong over the internet, it is even more difficult for us new guys to figure out exactly what you mean through text only. And lastly, please have patience with us new pipe smokers, we do want your help, and appreciate you taking the time to type out a reply to the questions you read over and again weekly.
Like most new pipe smokers I was always afraid I was packing too tightly, because that is far and away the most common advice given to new pipe smokers. With all my troubles keeping my pipe lit, and smoking past the bottom 1/3 regardless if I was smoking english, va/per, or aro nothing worked. I tried packing 3lbs of tobacco into a pocket pipe, 5 strands of ribbon cut into a 2"x1" freehand bowl, and just about ever packing density in between. I tried as many loading techniques as I could find videos and write ups on. I googled "sipping" probably every other week, because after packing too tightly, don't puff is the next more common advice. Again, without seeing someone else sip vs puff it is difficult to finesse your way through it by only reading it. At least for me it was. I was constantly reminding myself that pipe smoking was supposed to be relaxing, and needs to be taken slowly, not like a freight train. So I sipped lightly, and slowly. I would constantly work on my char light, true light, and relight (trust me, I had tons of experience here!). Yet, nothing seemed to change. Ever. Packing tighter did help, but was only 1 small step.
I also found myself in an endless cycle of knowing I wasn't burning to the bottom because I wasn't building cake (really any where), and I was building cake because I wasn't burning to the bottom. How to remedy that? Just keep smoking. Cake will build. Well, it never did.
Maybe tamping was my problem? Again, tamping pressure is subjective and cannot be accurately described via text and video. So working through the frustration of every time I tamped with only the weight of my Czech tool, tamped with 40lbs pressure, or anywhere in between the pipe went out. Someday I just felt like the hits would never end...
A few days ago for whatever reason I was thinking about cadence, and truthfully there isn't a lot of great information about cadence. Mostly don't smoke fast and hard, and don't puff like a cigar is all you will find. My cadence was trying to appease all of the advice I had gotten... Sip lightly, and slow... but apparently my idea of slow and what I should have been doing were two different things. I was sipping probably once every 30-45 seconds, because SLOW was the name of the game. Sometimes more frequently, sometimes a puff here and there to try and keep the ember warm. So throwing out all the advice I have heard, and read... I started over. I packed as tight as I thought I should to get a good draw. Lit the pipe like I had done it a million times (so far I'm only around 645,000 lights, w 644,800 being relights). And decided to sip the pipe every 7-15 seconds... Sometimes longer between. Sometimes a puff (but not a room filling puff). Sometimes a double sip. Strange things began to happen. I had tons of smoke from my H&H Daybreak. My pipe was warm all over, not just around the rim or top 1/3. 30 minutes in with 2 relights, and half the pipe turned to a gray/white fluffy substance I had only read about. No hint of a gurgle. No tamping needed. I even forgot about the pipe for maybe a minute in the midst of reading, took a sip and thought for sure the pipe was out when I go no smoke, then for whatever I puffed a touch harder and smoke reappeared like some form of wizardry. Back in action! The last 1/4 of the pipe was a touch difficult, with an eventual gurgle but that was my fault. When things finally come together and you realize it, you tend to start thinking too much, sipping too much, and the pipe burns too hot. No big deal, I can fix that problem next time!
To the veteran pipe smokers, thank you for all of your advice. Even though I may not have been able to implement everything that was said, or reply to every piece of advice, taking the time to help the new guys is very much appreciated. Yes, even when we want to throw the pipe into the river. Please don't get stuck on the packing too tight aspect. Yes, it can and does happen, but try to explain all the aspects of smoking that could cause problems (yes I know the possibilities are endless) because as difficult as it is for you to diagnose what we are doing wrong over the internet, it is even more difficult for us new guys to figure out exactly what you mean through text only. And lastly, please have patience with us new pipe smokers, we do want your help, and appreciate you taking the time to type out a reply to the questions you read over and again weekly.