Tamping?

[bullet08]

if you tamp too hard, that kills the ember and there goes your light. you have to feel when and how to tamp. and how to keep light going. you can always relight again.

 

[tschiraldi]

I have learned that, for me, lightly tamping only after the charring light, and when the pipe is about to go out yeilds the best results. Tamping too often seems to smother the ember and cause it to die. I may only tamp once or twice after the true light.

 

[pufferfish]

You can get some quite inexpensive lighters with a tamping tool attached to the bottom, I had one for a while. These days I have a small pen knife which I occasionally use to ream the bowl a little and at other times I gently tamp the tobacco down in the bowl with the end of it. You can over tamp and the smoke/draw gets very tight so for me, further flame and a very gentle tamp will bring the pipe to life. You can make your own tamper. A stone of the correct size and shape is good.

 

[mso489]

Yes, yes, tamping is a gentle art as described. If you pack the bowl down too tight, even just a little too light, the whole burn will be smothered. You need to leave just that bit of spring in the pack. Don't get macho about it.

 

[bnichols23]

can clench my pipe and use my toe to tamp the tobacco with

Uhhhhhh. Now there's a classic case of TMI!!

 

[crashthegrey]

Gentle is key, or you put the pipe out and you're running a pipe cleaner up the shank to untamp that tobacco. Haha. We all learn through experience. And what works for one, may not work for the next. Tampers are nice. And while I wouldn't say I have a collection, I have a few for different occasions. My favorite is an old Kaywoodie pocket knife and tamper from the sixties, with a knife and poker that fold out stamped Kaywoodie, NY. Of course the foot of the tamper is in the shape of their logo, so it makes it a little extra special for me. That's the one in my pocket almost every day.