Hi Folk,
You may have seen my (untitled) FIRST beginner revelation: Drying Tobacco, in which I found out how important and revolutionary drying tobacco adequately can be. It's now time for my second in a series of Beginner Revelations(tm).
When you dry your tobacco, and even if you don't, packing TOO LIGHTLY can lead to as many difficulties as packing too tightly. Yes, I have begun to pack much more lightly, for some reason, and during one unfortunate meeting with my friend Escudo, I encountered...the dreaded tongue burn. I do not think this was tongue bite, the sort of chemical assault on mucous membranes based on mouth chemistry, but an actual burn, manifested by a small, rough and sore spot somewhat centrally on the tongue. The discomfort lasted a couple of days, followed by a dry feeling in that area as it's resolving. Once back on my feet...er....tongue....ah, whatever, once I resumed light piping, I chose Gaslight, and I noticed that my tongue was a bit sensitive....and then I realized that I had lightly packed again!. Tamping modestly to reduce that wide-open draw feeling to somewhat restricted (think water in a straw or a bit more), seemed to do 2 things: Keep the bowl from needing multiple relights, and keep my tongue from GETTING multiple re-lights.
Revelation #2a is that I have found that using my Kiribi Toma, I REALLY do NOT need to actually touch the flame to the tobacco....yes, I know you all said that, but......N00b.....I blame myself. Once I realized that "lightin' this puppy up" can be accomplished with the butane flame 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the tobacco surface, the re-lights of my tongue decreased as well.
I hope this makes sense to some. I thought I'd post a series of n00b discoveries (discoveries...yeah....you all have been telling us this forever...) to reinforce the good advice and wisdom that the forum members provide with some practical, beginner experiences.
Anyway....there you go. YMMV
Cheers,
CW
You may have seen my (untitled) FIRST beginner revelation: Drying Tobacco, in which I found out how important and revolutionary drying tobacco adequately can be. It's now time for my second in a series of Beginner Revelations(tm).
When you dry your tobacco, and even if you don't, packing TOO LIGHTLY can lead to as many difficulties as packing too tightly. Yes, I have begun to pack much more lightly, for some reason, and during one unfortunate meeting with my friend Escudo, I encountered...the dreaded tongue burn. I do not think this was tongue bite, the sort of chemical assault on mucous membranes based on mouth chemistry, but an actual burn, manifested by a small, rough and sore spot somewhat centrally on the tongue. The discomfort lasted a couple of days, followed by a dry feeling in that area as it's resolving. Once back on my feet...er....tongue....ah, whatever, once I resumed light piping, I chose Gaslight, and I noticed that my tongue was a bit sensitive....and then I realized that I had lightly packed again!. Tamping modestly to reduce that wide-open draw feeling to somewhat restricted (think water in a straw or a bit more), seemed to do 2 things: Keep the bowl from needing multiple relights, and keep my tongue from GETTING multiple re-lights.
Revelation #2a is that I have found that using my Kiribi Toma, I REALLY do NOT need to actually touch the flame to the tobacco....yes, I know you all said that, but......N00b.....I blame myself. Once I realized that "lightin' this puppy up" can be accomplished with the butane flame 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the tobacco surface, the re-lights of my tongue decreased as well.
I hope this makes sense to some. I thought I'd post a series of n00b discoveries (discoveries...yeah....you all have been telling us this forever...) to reinforce the good advice and wisdom that the forum members provide with some practical, beginner experiences.
Anyway....there you go. YMMV
Cheers,
CW
