A Question About Nicotine Content

I've always been mystified about nicotine ratings. Most pipe smokers find blends like Old Joe Krantz and 5 Brothers as very strong, but I find them as medium strength and G&H Dark Birdseye as being very strong. I guess being a former heavy cigarette smoker has something to do with me having a high tolerance for nicotine.

How nicotine effects you is based on many many factors. Yes, a full stomach SHOULD help stave off its effects. Dehydration can also amp up how hard the nicotine hits you. Sugar can help cancel it out as the nicotine causes a drop in blood sugar. DO NOT drink a soda though. Yes it has sugar, but it also dehydrates you, so the better option is to have a few pieces of chocolate.
I agree, it's interesting how Lady N effects people differently and can even effect the same person differently from time to time.

Flake is also denser than loose leaf, so you may end up burning more of it in the same sip size.

The nicotine ratings you're referencing aren't empirically measured like is sometimes down on dip labels. It's just based on whatever the site owner or user-generated info people are going off of.
I think

-nicotine effect on various people is quite variable

-some descriptions are wildly wrong, just based on tradition or reputation
One thing I've noticed is that blends with very strong flavor tend to be rated artificially high on the nicotine scale. I like high-nicotine tobacco: some of the heavier blends I've smoked are the G&H twists, G&H Dark Flake, 1792 Flake, etc. Most people talk about the nicotine level on these, and they are right.
Yet a blend like Dunhill Nightcap, I've smoked quite a few times, and have never felt any nicotine at all. Yet when you read reviews, you'll see people going on about how strong it is nicotine wise. (For the record, I actually felt the tiniest bit of nic buz puffing away at PS Luxury Bullseye Flake on an empty stomach. But not with Nightcap!)
Basically, I think things with strong flavor (most often a lot of latakia) are rated higher than they deserve, just because the full flavor leads one to believe it is a "strong" tobacco. This is why the black twists by the Gawith companies are so often said to be stronger than the brown twists, when the opposite is actually true. The more the tobacco is stoved, the more nicotine is removed from the leaf! Yet people often remark that the black twists are stronger than the brown twist, when it is in fact the exact same twist just stoved longer.
I also agree with deathmetal--flakes are quite strong, probably partly because of the density. You have to think about how much tobacco you are smoking through. I think this is part of the reason Five Brothers is strong. True, it's nothing like flake, quite the opposite, but it burns so darn quickly that you're going through a lot of tobacco really fast.

Oh, and the Pipes and Cigars "strength" rating is a bit confusing, because I'm fairly sure it doesn't refer to nicotine level all the time. Sometimes they use it to refer to flavor, sometimes to nic content.
For example, Irish Flake is rated "mild-medium," and everyone agrees that it is quite strong in nicotine level. In taste? Sure, it's pretty mild.

http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipe-tobacco/40016/peterson-irish-flake/#p-96144
Then we look at 5 Brothers', and it is rated the highest on the strength scale--"Full."

http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipe-tobacco/39833/five-brothers/

I think it's pretty clear here that they are referring to the nicotine level and not the taste, since 5 Brothers is just a straight Burley. To my mouth, it's actually pretty tasteless except for the nutty Burley. That's why it makes a great additive to other blends if you want to kick the nicotine level up.
Anyway, I'm fairly sure that most would agree that Irish Flake is at least as strong, if not stronger, than 5 Brothers in both the respect of flavor and nicotine. They are at least comparable, but P&C seems clearly to be using the strength scale in different ways for these two blends.

I have never felt a nic-hit in 40 years of pipe and cigar smoking. I smoke Royal Yacht and Nightcap, both reputed nic monsters, and don't feel any effect at all. Maybe if I inhaled, or sipped a pipe all day long the nic would have a cumulative effect, but smoking as I do I just have never felt it. Maybe that's a good thing, Idk.

I think this is part of the reason Five Brothers is strong. True, it's nothing like flake, quite the opposite, but it burns so darn quickly that you're going through a lot of tobacco really fast.

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Also true, and also applies to Semois. Shag cut is difficult to control, but some of the best (Kendal Kentucky, Dark Birdseye) are in this form.

I've always wondered if "strength" equated with nicotine level only, or if it relates to intensity instead of just flavor/taste. I think different sources of leaf within a blend change between sources and seasons. Some sites admit the strength "varies," which is fair. Likewise, I wonder if more dots or stars on room note means it smells more pleasant or stronger. I have bought some "full strength" blends that haven't seemed like a big nicotine hit, and some milder blends that do. So I think the ratings are approximations based on samples and reports of others, and not strictly data based.

It seems to me the "Strength" category is mainly used as a warning:
Mild -- if you worry about Nicotine, this is safe

Medium -- will not knock you on your posterior

Medium to Strong -- here be dragons, but small ones

Strong -- if you have worries about Nicotine, avoid this

Very Strong -- for sick maniacs only

Overwhelming -- specifically designed for me
Similar to the room note assessment: generally designed to let you know what you can get away with.

Absorption of nicotine varies from person to person and also depends on the characteristics of the tobacco -- things like pH of the smoke in addition to the amount of nicotine. Burley blends, which tend to produce a more akaline smoke, generally give up their nicotine more readily than, say, Virginia blends which tend towards a more acidic smoke.
Everyone's chemistry is a bit different -- so if your saliva is more akaline than someone else's you might be more sensitive to nicotine.
Lately, like the last two years, I have to be very careful with Dunhill Early Morning Pipe. That gives me a nicotine buzz like you would not believe. Smoked it for years and then, suddenly, I have to make sure I'm sitting down and have a full stomach. Yet, most would not classify this as a nic-heavy blend. Go figure.

Everyone's chemistry is a bit different -- so if your saliva is more akaline than someone else's you might be more sensitive to nicotine.

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How do I make my saliva more alkaline?

What's interesting to me is that there is plenty of nicotine in even the lightest of hitters, but it's all about absorption. I asked Mark Ryan about whether the perique process raises nicotine. He said that it actually lowers it, but that it just becomes more absorbable by the body. There's definitely something variable going on. Especially with PS LTF, some days it's a lightweight for me, and some days it buckles my knees a little.

What's interesting is that I rarely get a nic hit from smoking the pipe. I used to (chain) smoke some very full cigarette blends (with coffee) and I miss the amount of nicotine I got out of them. I'll even try to inhale from time to time. Ultimately, I do it for the pleasure of smoking but if there's something out there that really packs a whallop definitely clue me in..

Especially with PS LTF, some days it's a lightweight for me, and some days it buckles my knees a little.

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This is interesting. I thought it must have been a fluke when I felt a little nic hit from the Bulls Eye, because by most reports it's pretty mild I think.
What's interesting is that I rarely get a nic hit from smoking the pipe. I used to (chain) smoke some very full cigarette

blends (with coffee) and I miss the amount of nicotine I got out of them. I'll even try to inhale from time to time. Ultimately, I do it for the pleasure of smoking but if there's something out there that really packs a whallop definitely clue me in..

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Have you tried things like C&D's No. 1 Burley Flake, and the Gawith twists and flakes?

When I smoke Condor, I have to be sitting down.

However, I like Mick Mcquaid Plug and it didn't affect me nearly as much as Condor.

I am curious about Revor and Warrior Plugs, I've heard they are high nic content.

I just ordered a tin of GLP Jackknife Plug, but it was backordered, so not sure when I'll get to try it.

Better edible solution is water with some lemon juice.

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Sounds like a great idea... I'm on it.

How do I make my saliva more alkaline?

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That's irrelevant. It's the pH of the tobacco that determines absorption. When you smoke a pipe you absorb the smoke through the roof of your mouth which is then absorbed into your bloodstream. The pH of your blood is very tightly controlled. Your diet does not effect it. Drinking/eating alkaline things will do nothing for nicotine absorption.