Almost three months ago I started smoking a pipe for the first time. I had never smoked anything in my life (it's the honest truth!), but I always enjoyed the room note of my uncle's pipes and thought I would give it a go. I thought I would post my learnings for any newbies who are just getting started like me. If you want to read my original post, it is here: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/anything-i-am-missing-new-smoker-advice
As with all these things, everyone is different, so your mileage may vary. (Not saying what I experienced would be exactly the same for everyone - but if it helps you, here you go.)
What I think I did right:
- I bought a quality cob. At least for me, this has removed the worry of wrecking a good briar. My experience has been so good, that I will probably stick with a handful of cobs for the foreseeable future as there are other benefits which you can find described online.
- I bought small quantities of tobacco. OK, I only started with one, Lane BCA, but I bought a small amount and subsequently bought small amounts of other tobaccos to try. After BCA, I bought Prince Albert, C & D Pegasus, Peter Stokkebye PS17 English Luxury and 1-Q. My favorite 'learning tobacco' oddly enough is Prince Albert. My favorite 'relax and smoke' so far is 1-Q, though I like them all for different reasons and will likely change as my tastes develop.
- I didn't stress too bad on relights. I was not perfect and at one point I was about to give up, but in general I kept this advice up and front. If I had not, I would have certainly quit. I was pathetic in my first dozen or so bowls. Bad... bad... bad...
- I did not give up, I had fun and I kept learning. I have lurked a lot on this forum reading and there's a lot of stuff on YouTube. Of particular helpfulness for me at least was videos by Muttnchop Piper and SmokeRingsPipeRings. Forum materials and videos were the basis of my first post to this forum and I kept going back to them. In general, I would have a good bowl from time to time and it would recharge me in the fun department to come back again!
More importantly, what would I do differently?
- I would smoke more. Initially, I was only smoking a pipe every four or five days. The trouble with this is that I needed to practice a bit and experiment. If you wait too long, at least for my thick head it is almost like starting over. Now that I am a bit more practiced, the frequency is probably not important and I will probably settle in to be mostly a weekend and special occasion smoker.
- I would buy a shallower cob. My first MM cob was a 'Country Gentleman', which I loved. However, I found the deep bowl at least for me a bit harder to learn to pack than the bowl on the 'Washington Rob Roy'.
- I would not start with an aromatic. My first tobacco was Lane BCA and I like it. I was looking for something with good reviews, smokes cool and low nicotine. I also thought a decent room note would help my wife have a good first impression with my new hobby. However, I found BCA to be hard to learn to pack with. The batch I got was really damp, so I spent a lot of time learning how to dry it and smoke it without tongue bite. I went to Prince Albert and I found it a much easier starting tobacco and as I got experience, going back to BCA has been easier. Carter Hall would have been my second choice and I will still try it at some stage. BCA was just not good for me and in fact, I have since smoked 1-Q and found it easier than BCA. It might be just me, but I think picking a tobacco that is simple and hopefully fairly ready to smoke out of the tin, is a good strategy.
- I would buy a Zippo Pipe Lighter. - I wasted my money by buying a Jetline butane lighter at my local B & M. It cost me $15. It lasted about three weeks and died. Not the end of the world, but I think I would have been better off to go with the Zippo Pipe Lighter which is tested and tried, or kitchen matches. With time, I am of the opinion that I need to invest more on a good butane lighter if I really want one.
- I would pack lighter. - Yeah, I read that and tried it, but I still packed too heavy. I know it is a 'feel' thing and for me I realized I turned a corner when I 'sprinkled' the tobacco in by thirds for the pack. Obviously how dry the tobacco is and the relative humidity is a factor, but it starts with packing. The key word for me was 'sprinkle'. I still have more to learn about this, but wow... when it starts to click it is rewarding.
I think that is it. Like I said, what worked for me might not work for someone else. I have learned that pipe smoking is a very personal thing and as I read there are many different views on the 'right' way.
FINALLY AND MOST ULTIMATELY IMPORTANT: I should have started sooner. I really enjoy pipe smoking. It is rewarding and relaxing. I am glad I found this awesome community online to help me get the most out of it too!
As with all these things, everyone is different, so your mileage may vary. (Not saying what I experienced would be exactly the same for everyone - but if it helps you, here you go.)
What I think I did right:
- I bought a quality cob. At least for me, this has removed the worry of wrecking a good briar. My experience has been so good, that I will probably stick with a handful of cobs for the foreseeable future as there are other benefits which you can find described online.
- I bought small quantities of tobacco. OK, I only started with one, Lane BCA, but I bought a small amount and subsequently bought small amounts of other tobaccos to try. After BCA, I bought Prince Albert, C & D Pegasus, Peter Stokkebye PS17 English Luxury and 1-Q. My favorite 'learning tobacco' oddly enough is Prince Albert. My favorite 'relax and smoke' so far is 1-Q, though I like them all for different reasons and will likely change as my tastes develop.
- I didn't stress too bad on relights. I was not perfect and at one point I was about to give up, but in general I kept this advice up and front. If I had not, I would have certainly quit. I was pathetic in my first dozen or so bowls. Bad... bad... bad...
- I did not give up, I had fun and I kept learning. I have lurked a lot on this forum reading and there's a lot of stuff on YouTube. Of particular helpfulness for me at least was videos by Muttnchop Piper and SmokeRingsPipeRings. Forum materials and videos were the basis of my first post to this forum and I kept going back to them. In general, I would have a good bowl from time to time and it would recharge me in the fun department to come back again!
More importantly, what would I do differently?
- I would smoke more. Initially, I was only smoking a pipe every four or five days. The trouble with this is that I needed to practice a bit and experiment. If you wait too long, at least for my thick head it is almost like starting over. Now that I am a bit more practiced, the frequency is probably not important and I will probably settle in to be mostly a weekend and special occasion smoker.
- I would buy a shallower cob. My first MM cob was a 'Country Gentleman', which I loved. However, I found the deep bowl at least for me a bit harder to learn to pack than the bowl on the 'Washington Rob Roy'.
- I would not start with an aromatic. My first tobacco was Lane BCA and I like it. I was looking for something with good reviews, smokes cool and low nicotine. I also thought a decent room note would help my wife have a good first impression with my new hobby. However, I found BCA to be hard to learn to pack with. The batch I got was really damp, so I spent a lot of time learning how to dry it and smoke it without tongue bite. I went to Prince Albert and I found it a much easier starting tobacco and as I got experience, going back to BCA has been easier. Carter Hall would have been my second choice and I will still try it at some stage. BCA was just not good for me and in fact, I have since smoked 1-Q and found it easier than BCA. It might be just me, but I think picking a tobacco that is simple and hopefully fairly ready to smoke out of the tin, is a good strategy.
- I would buy a Zippo Pipe Lighter. - I wasted my money by buying a Jetline butane lighter at my local B & M. It cost me $15. It lasted about three weeks and died. Not the end of the world, but I think I would have been better off to go with the Zippo Pipe Lighter which is tested and tried, or kitchen matches. With time, I am of the opinion that I need to invest more on a good butane lighter if I really want one.
- I would pack lighter. - Yeah, I read that and tried it, but I still packed too heavy. I know it is a 'feel' thing and for me I realized I turned a corner when I 'sprinkled' the tobacco in by thirds for the pack. Obviously how dry the tobacco is and the relative humidity is a factor, but it starts with packing. The key word for me was 'sprinkle'. I still have more to learn about this, but wow... when it starts to click it is rewarding.
I think that is it. Like I said, what worked for me might not work for someone else. I have learned that pipe smoking is a very personal thing and as I read there are many different views on the 'right' way.
FINALLY AND MOST ULTIMATELY IMPORTANT: I should have started sooner. I really enjoy pipe smoking. It is rewarding and relaxing. I am glad I found this awesome community online to help me get the most out of it too!
