Back in the day my tobacco stayed lit

indianafrank · Oct 16, 2014

As I stated in my intro to everyone it’s been a while since I’ve picked up a pipe. Since piping again I have found it a bit difficult to keep the tobacco’s lit. Back in the day of black & white Tv’s and my ‘57 chevy, I smoked Captian Black and CH. Don’t remember having a problem with the tobacco going out as much as today. I’ve smoked 1Q, Frog Morton Cellar, MM Country Gentlemen, MM Great Dane, Pegasus, Nightcap, Trout Stream, and Dunhill EMP. I bought a tin off MacBaren Navy Flake, not realizing what cut it was, duh, and tried a few times to roll it, stuff it, and pack it the way a video showed. I got two puffs in three try’s and was ready to flush it down the toilet. I'm about ready to trade it for another bacci if anyone is interested. I only used 3 small bowls of the flake. Almost an entire tin is left.
I’ve read all the posts on how to pack. I’ve watched the videos so many times. I’ve used the 2 step method, the 3 step method, packed loose, then looser, packed tighter but not real tight, packed real tight. I’ve charred, not charred, tamped lightly, not tamped, tamped tight, and prayed to the bacci God’s.
The Frog Morton, and EMP, seem to stay lit longer. The rest of the tobacco is testing my patience. I do smoke CH and PA from time to time just to have a peaceful smoke.
BTW, I use cobs, just bought a Stanwell Vario and a Dr. Grabow. I had a Dr, back in the 70’s and I liked it.

daimyo · Oct 16, 2014

It sounds like you need to dry your tobacco for an hour or so before loading it. Compared to CH, a lot of blends need some drying time. As for flake, it just takes some getting used to but is worth the effort. Try cube cutting and using some broken up bits as kindling. I'm relatively new to flake as well but it has become my favorite cut of tobacco.

cosmicfolklore · Oct 16, 2014

Take those flakes and rub them out, or cut across the grain and pack the little cubes that form.
As for CH or Capt Black, good luck getting those to dry out before you forget that you ever even left them out.
It looks like you have tried to resolve the problem only to get frustrated. I relight occasionally. I've never had a problem with having to relight, and sometimes I will reach for a match or lighter before I realize that I didn't really need to.
I wonder if your frustration with relights is a cigar or cigarette smoker's reaction. Cigar suck to have to relight, but with a pipe you can set it down for hours and come back to it and relight it, without diminished flavor (unless you're smoking an aromatic) My better pipes tend to stay lit a little-tad-miniscule better than my cheaper ones (some). Maybe this has something to do with it, but honestly, I wouldn't worry. If someone is distracting me with conversation, I have to smoke with a lighter in my hand. Sometimes, the thought "please go away and just let me smoke" will run through my mind if someone is distracting me.
I don't know any answers. But, I hope you can find whatever it is that you need to have a great smoke. : puffy

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indianafrank · Oct 16, 2014

Daimyo, thanks but I've dried the tobacco, at least 2 hours. Same results. As for the flakes, comicfolklore, I will try that advice. Thanks!

bulldogbriar89 · Oct 16, 2014

I have to agree with daimyo let it dry out a little then try it again, let the FMC age and it will be be allot better

jitterbugdude · Oct 16, 2014

Kind of sad the state of tobacco these days. You open a bottle of wine or scotch and you don't have to wait an hour to smoke it. Same as a cigar. Why should you have to dry your pipe tobacco before smoking it? Too many chemicals

warren · Oct 16, 2014

I'm not of the school that prescribes routinely drying tobacco, unless it is obviously soggy. I prefer to think that manufacturers take into consideration travel time and shelf-time when packaging their blends. Therefore, tobaccos should be ready to load and smoke upon purchase.
As a general observation, I've rarely opened a tin and found the blend not ready to be enjoyed. I've had to rehydrate blends I've let get too dry. I have had to alter my loading style with a blend or two so as to get proper packing and draw to fit the blend. But, only rarely have I found a tobacco too moist to enjoy.

daimyo · Oct 16, 2014

Why should you have to dry your pipe tobacco before smoking it? Too many chemicals

No, the moisture is there to protect your baccy should you wish to age it. There are many chemical free tobaccos that come to mind that still benefit from drying time. G.L. Pease for instance, gaslight smokes much better after an hour if you ask me. It also helps prevent drying out once you have opened a tin and most folks don't burn through a tin immediately. Warren, surely you're not smoking Gawith flakes without drying? What about McClelland? I find both excellent but in serious need of some dry time.

cosmicfolklore · Oct 16, 2014

It's mostly a personal preference as to drying. I like most of my Virginias crispy to the touch. I've heard many of the blenders on the radio show say that they believe their blends to be ready to smoke right out of the tin. But, some I see as impossible to smoke, such as all of the Samuel Gawith and GH&co blends are sopping wet, especially FVF. I believe it was GLP who had said that extra moisture is to aid in aging the tobaccos, as daimyo said.

But, mostly it's what you enjoy. I like my Virginias dry, because I get more flavor that way, without the steamy wet bite that can sometimes obstruct my enjoyment.
As for whether drying will help keep Capt Black or CH lit... I've never had issues with Carter Hall staying lit. I usually just open a pouch and go. I've only smoked a few bowls of Cpt Black, but it seemed way too laden with chemicals to ever even dry well. So, I'm not sure if that's what might be causing your issues or not. What helped me with my style was just smoking around other pipe men. None of them ever fretted over packing methods or worried if they had to relight. But, they do all like their quality briars. It moistly just helped me with cadence and slowing down. Plus, it's just nice to kick back and enjoy conversation while smoking. As long as the conversation doesn't get in the way of the smoking.
Good luck

hiplainsdrifter · Oct 16, 2014

Maybe you should go back to smoking shitty tobacco. :twisted: Just kidding. Do you tamp? Usually when my pipe goes out, I need to tamp. For your flakes, try rubbing them out completely, THEN letting them dry, not the other way around. I dry most flakes for 4-6 hours.

warren · Oct 16, 2014

These days I'm usually puffing gently away on a bowl of IRC 3Star Blue, Balkan Supreme, some old brown rope I've got somewhere in the house, My Mixture 965, or some Royal Yacht. I've not found the need to allow any of these blends to dry. I do not believe I've ever tried anything by McClelland. Other than the Brown #4, Grousemoor and Navy Flake are the only Gawith's I'm familiar with. Gonna try the St. James one of these days.

daimyo · Oct 16, 2014

Dunhill is definitely good to go out of the tin in my experience. Also, sorry if that sounded rude. I just can't imagine trying to smoke Gawith flakes without drying, they are fairly moist. I should have specified McClelland flakes as I do find their shag and ribbon to be ready to go.

sallow · Oct 16, 2014

If I can't fuss with my pipe, what good is it? When it goes out I tamp lightly and fire it up.

warren · Oct 16, 2014

daimyo: Certainly didn't seem rude to me. And, you forced me to take a look at my tobacco shelf to see exactly what I have been stuffing in the bowl. I sometimes do not pay enough attention to what I have sitting close at hand. I'll grab a tin or jar while reading, load up, light up and enjoy the surprise. Not so much with the Yacht though. When I want the Yacht I have to get up and walk across the room to get it. I have to want it and make the effort. Something special, the Royal is, I have to be ready for it. I have no idea why this is. One of my peculiarities I suppose.

indianafrank · Oct 16, 2014

Thanks everyone. In reading your comments, I find myself doing all of the above. Drying, tamping, etc. With CH, I just load and go. Very few relights. I'm not discouraged, just confused.
Jitterbugdude, I'm with you on the wine and booze thought.

cortezattic · Oct 16, 2014

It could be that some manufacturers package their tobacco slightly moist to accommodate the smokers who like it that way.

It's easier for "the rest of us" to dry a tobacco than it is for those folks to moisten it -- especially if it's a flake.
As for Sam Gawith's notoriously moist flakes, the bulk packages are merely wrapped in cellophane; so maybe they anticipate

some drying between packaging and point of purchase.

fishingandpipes · Oct 16, 2014

I smoke Gawith and Hoggarth without drying. Samuel Gawith I usually need to dry a touch but it does lose flavor, sometimes it's better to fuss with the wetter side of things.
I think the "dry to a crisp" mentality is hogwash for the most part. Everyone has different tastes but it seems like this is a meme that has picked up across the board for many people. When I hear of someone drying a Rattray for six hours I can't imagine that it's not like smoking hay that's been in the sun for hours.

hiplainsdrifter · Oct 16, 2014

I think the "dry to a crisp" mentality is hogwash

Agreed. Too wet is bad, too dry is bad. It seems like for every tobacco I try it takes some tinkering to find that perfect state- some are that way out of the tin, some need hours.

jitterbugdude · Oct 17, 2014

"No, the moisture is there to protect your baccy should you wish to age it. There are many chemical free tobaccos that come to mind that still benefit from drying time. G.L. Pease for instance, gaslight smokes much better after an hour if you ask me. It also helps prevent drying out once you have opened a tin and most folks don't burn through a tin immediately. "
Baloney!
The moisture is there BECAUSE of the chemicals! Most use PG which helps to maintain an even moisture level and to help prevent mold growth. G.L. Pease says he doesn't use PG which I believe but he uses something. I am not aware of ANY commercial tobacco on the market that does not have added chemicals to it. There might be some but I doubt it.
If you want to test your tobacco. Place some on a table and come back in 2 or 3 hours. Grab the tobacco and squeeze it in your hand. If it crumbles, crackles and turns pretty much in to powder it is chemical free.
From a manufacturing standpoint, PG, VG and other chemicals must be added to give the product a uniform characteristic. A guy that opens a tin in Vermont should have the same tobacco as the guy that opens a tin in Germany. Cigarette companies realized this years ago,so has McDonald's etc. Uniformity in product is extremely important.

okiescout · Oct 17, 2014

Just wondering how densely you are packing your pipe? Everyone has hit on drying. For me packing correctly and learning not to pack it to hard, made all the difference in keeping it lit. Unless I am running my mouth too much.:O)Tamp lightly, also.

I quit smoking at 29 ( started out with pipes the smoked ciggs) When I got back to my pipes 20 years later it was a relearn. Drying is tin to tin, Packing to tightly was what was holding me back. Tamping was completely new to me. Made all the difference to tamp around the edge instead of down the middle... duh! also.

Back in the day my tobacco stayed lit

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