Dedicating Pipes To Particular Tobaccos.
(46 posts)
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I have not been dedicating a pipe to a blend or type of tobacco. I am afraid that has been mistake. Last night at the range my wife and I walked by an old gent and his pipe smelled great. My wife asked. "why does your pipe never smell that good?". So, I walked over to the guy, and asked what blend he was smoking. He told me it was Lane 1Q. He said that was the only blend he ever smoked. His pipe looked well used and pretty old, and he has probably smoked 1Q in that pipe for 40 years. When I told my wife it was 1Q and that I have smoked that blend several times, and she never liked the way it smelled, she was confused. I believe it is because I also smoke English blends in the same pipe, and it probably leaves a ghost.
Do you guys do this?
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I have a viking bent I only smoke English blends out of. I use my cobs for burleys, and other burley, Virginia, blends. I have a Jansen of N.O. estate dedicated to aromatics cause I only smoke about two different kinds. I use my grabow for flakes and vapers. So I guess I do loosely dedicated pipes to particular kinds of tobacco.
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It is a good idea to dedicate pipes to a specific blend. The ghosts left by other tobaccos will taint the flavor of your current smoke. I go so far as to dedicate pipes to differnt tho similar tobaccos like University Flake and FVF, 965 and Tuggle Hall.
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane.
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I dedicate my pipes to types of tobacco. I have some pipes that are dedicated to aromatics, some are dedicated to VA and VA/Per, and some are dedicated to English/Balkan/Latakia blends.
I have one pipe that I have only smoked SG Full Virginia Flake in since I bought it new. That is the only pipe that is dedicated to a specific blend.
"When the Government Fears the People, There is Liberty;
When the People Fear the Government, There is Tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson
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Lawrence
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I have one pipe that I dedicate to apple flavor.
I smoke latakia blend exclusively in my Sherlock and Watson Meer. set.
I never smoke cherry, because it definitely will flavor the pipe.
As for the English, and other blends mentioned; if you control the caking in the bowl you really shouldn't have any real difficulties.
But, I smoke a variety of different blends with similar flavors. (as do most members, I believe) in my utility pipes.
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Actually now that Pstlpkr said something, I also have one pipe that is dedicated to just cherry blends.
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Anonymous
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I'm in turmoil about the one pipe one blend... I tend to have several blends in each pipe... Now that I have my Savinelli 310, I’m not sure what I want to smoke in it... My cobs are basically anything will go... With the exception of the following...
The pipes that I want to dedicate a blend to are:
Cob Nose Warmer
Second Cob Nose Warmer
Cob Churchwarden
Savinelli 310
My other thing is to try and find a blend that will "resemble" the pipe...
MM Cob Nose Warmer I’m thinking a CIGAR blend: McClelland Dominican Glory:
Second Cob Nose Warmer: Not sure
Cob Churchwarden: Not Sure
Savinelli 310: Something sophisticated
Maybe: CAO/Dan’s Blend
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I always dedicate pipes to a single genre once I discover which genre comes alive in it: pure virginias, stoved virginias, aro virginias, VaPer (now), English, Balkan, super-heavy latakia blends, aro, and Cajun Black.
I also have a few pipes dedicated to single blends.
However, you can get some interesting and good smokes from occasionally putting a non-native blend in one that's well-broken in. G L Pease has a good blog post about that. (Too lazy to hunt for it right now.)
There's nothing quite like tobacco: it's the passion of decent folk, and whoever lives without tobacco doesn't deserve to live.
-Moliere
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From the FAQ section of Pease's blog:
Tobaccos from different categories - Virginias, English blends, Aromatics, and so on - will leave their characteristic signatures in the pipe. If you switch tobacco types in a pipe, it can take anywhere from a few bowls to dozens to begin to get the true flavors and aromas of the new tobacco. For this reason, I recommend at least dedicating pipes to tobacco categories. Of course, a tobacco will reveal more and more about itself if smoked exclusively in the same pipe, but dedicating pipes to the different "families" of tobacco is a good step.
I find myself sitting idly on the line dividing past and future,
as if I could kill time without injuring eternity. -- Thoreau
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I wrongly thought because I scrubbed the pipes with whiskey, that I would remove the ghosts. Do you guys think I have permanently ruined my pipes? I don't have the money to start over. : (
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Anonymous
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Dunendain,
I don't think so... I would pick one pipe and pick one tobacco for that pipe and see how it does after a few bowls... Over time I would think that the "ghost" would disapate to a point that you would never know, unless it was a strong aromatic ~vs~...
ALSO, if you are that concerned... Contact Dave and ask him about this treatment... It's cheap compaired to new pipes...
http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/html/ozone.html
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Anonymous
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They won't be ruined man, it might just take a while. Or you could always ream some of the cake back a little.
Like others here, I have pipes dedicated to Balkan / English / Latakia, and then others for Va / VaPer, other smaller bowls for stronger flakes, and some more for those that are topped or scented (think Gawith and Hoggarth Coniston etc.). I can't say I have pipes for aromatics because I don't normally venture down that path.
Talking of Greg Pease, his articles also discuss the type of shape and the type of tobacco. He talks about synergy and finding a pipe that suits a particular tobacco and vice versa. With this is mind, I found Rattray's VaPers suited a GBD pot: more tobacco burning not in contact with briar etc. Anyway, here's the link...(it's in 2 parts...)
http://glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf/?p=7
http://glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf/?p=22
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I ditto dedicating pipes to types of blends - not particular blends. Though I can see the logic in that. I have some reserved for english, and some reserved for aromatics.
A tattoo on a beautiful woman is like graffiti on a Ferrari.
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Thanks guys. I am buying a new pipe in March. Vapers and Virginia flakes in that one.
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Anonymous
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If you do the Ozone Treatment, send half your stash, and then the other... you'll not be without...
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I would try smoking just one blend in them to remove the ghost before you spend money to send them to be treated.
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I have not been following this rule either dunendain.
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After participating in this thread, I had to test this theory. I smoked PA out of a pipe usually reserved for English blends. I could taste latakia, it was like smoking a completely different tobacco. I really do see the point in have separate pipes for different type of tobacco. Just thought I'd share the results of my "little experiment".
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I have a HIS sandblast billard that only smokes Frog Morton as it is tar laden goop . A no name bent stem for VaPer and Va . I reserve the Nordings for blends that I really like . Now I clean my pipes by filling them with boiling water,let it set until cool and repeating until the water comes out clean .It seems to leech out the tars from the briar .Then let them dry at least a couple of days before smoking . My uncle taught me this trick after he saw me doing a salt treatment he is 81 years old this week .
“There was an awful suspicion in my mind that I'd finally gone over the hump, and the worst thing about it was that I didn't feel tragic at all, but only weary, and sort of comfortably detached.”
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Kevin, it's good to know I'm not the only one. I think I will buy some Everclear and start over.
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Anonymous
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I think most of us have over lapped tobacco... If you can live with the questionable aroma, Great! It's your pipes...
I do try an keep the "kinda same" aroma to one pipe...
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Anonymous
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I searched out this older post because I currently only own five pipes and don't see myself ever getting beyond eight or ten total. I am more interested in exploring tobaccos than collecting pipes. Not to diminish any of the members with huge collections (hell, I STILL envy you guys). I just try to maintain a very mobile lifestyle with as few belongings as possible.
Having said that... I clean my pipes regularly with Gin (because I like to drink it whilst smoking, anyway...)and smoke which ever pipe feels right at the moment. I experiment with as many different tobaccos as I can find/afford and have never really stopped to consider which pipe is used... I'm starting to think that may not be the best option. I seem to get occasional ghosting in the briars, though, the meerschaum seems to have no such problem, thus far.
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Lawrence
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I, for one, don't dedicate pipes with any consistency...
I do have one pipe that works very well with VaPers, and that is definitely dedicated.
My Uncle Arthur Tapered Apple.
My suggestion to you would be to identify the tobacco that ghosts your pipes and dedicate a pipe to that particular blend/blend type.
Otherwise just stuff and puff as per usual.
Speaking to your pipe cleaning liquor I would suggest (my personal preference) using Ezra Brooks. It imparts a wonderful taste to the pipe for a bowl or two at the most... I'm not sure that Gin is the best choice.
But, that just my opinion, YMMV.
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Anonymous
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I have a dozen or so Dr. Grabow pipes that have only seen Middleton's Cherry Blend in them for 20 years or so and they smoke smooth and sweet down to the ash, I am a firm believer in one tobacco to a pipe because once seasoned it becomes an incredible smoking experience for me, I use to dedicate pipes to genre of tobacco like most pipe smokers do now, but for me found it even better to dedicate a pipe(s) to a blend. Now I know why those old school pipe smokers only smoked one blend in the same pipe or two for years and years.
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I have heard about briars ghosting, but never about Meers. Are Meerschaum pipes ever known to ghost? I've never noticed anything like that in mine, but I'm pretty new to the game.
BTW, I'm not a badass, I'm just socially awkward. – BillyZoom
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I have had a few meerschaum pipes that I bought as estates that were definitely ghosted by nasty gloopy aromatics. Much alcohol and many pipe cleaners later they finally cleared up.
If at first you don't succeed you are running about average.
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Good to know. I dry clean mine after each smoke and hit it with the everclear about every week or so. Should be OK.
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I always dedicate pipes to a single genre once I discover which genre comes alive in it
Like sinistertopiary I vaguely follow this method--I've spent some time trying to learn and get a feel for the process of the thermodynamics of pipe smoking as well as being very conscious in my approach to the different blends that become part of my regular rotation; based on this I can make an educated guess about what a new pipe will smoke well, but in the end it's just that--only a guess--and there is as much magic, unpredictability and temperamental nature in pipes as there is in women. I don't adhere to it very strictly--in fact I enjoy the heretical acts of mixing aromatics in with my vapers in my home-blending experiments, not to mention the occasional bowl of straight perique--but generally when a pipe presents itself as a good chamber for vapers, english, etc., I tend toward genre dedication. The bottom line for me is that I'm *not* always looking for a pristine, repeatable experience. I run into this a lot in the coffee world too--some folks get really bound up by the vagaries of dose, grind, pressure profile, et cetera, and forget that for the vast majority of consumption you're just looking for a cup of joe. That being said, when I try a new blend that I want to invest some time in, or I'm working on a review, I gravitate toward the meer and the clay before exploring other pipes precisely for the clarity of smoke and absence of cross-flavoring, as well as smoking one blend exclusively through a few ounces and under different conditions. In this way I try to define the empirical nature of the blend, isolate the constituent flavor profile, and then go exploring its particular strengths and weaknesses with regard to pipes. In reviews I likewise find that a general directions toward chamber size and shape is the best one can do to point to a blend's best pairing; e.g., CAO Cherry Bomb really stands out in a smaller, slightly conical billiard whereas Eileen's Dream only fully develops in a group 4 straight-sided, rounded-bottomed, preferably with a bent stem. IMHO. 
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I never dedicate pipes. How will your pipe discover nirvana if you keep putting the same type of tobacco in it? You may think you have it perfectly worked out as to what will smoke great in what pipe - but surprise! You may be wrong. To prevent ghosting I thoroughly clean my pipes after every smoke with Everclear and lots of pipe cleaners also I let them rest. Sooo I have noticed very little ghosting over the 20+ years I have been smoking a pipe. 
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Anonymous
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How many of you use both "salt and Everclear" and how many just use Everclear?
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Here is an article that I wrote about this subject:
Dedicating Tobacco Pipes to Pipe Tobacco Blends
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How many of you use both "salt and Everclear" and how many just use Everclear?
Salt is only used when deep cleaning the smoking chamber of the pipe, not for routine cleaning.
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lordnoble
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I have 1 pipe that I have dedicated to W.O. Larsen Signature because that blend is so nuanced that I found a pipe used for other blends doesn't smoke it as well. That said, I'm seriously considering dedicating my Grabow Royal Duke to the Villiger 1888 Mid Day blend because it is an excellent smoke EVERY time in it. Maybe the W.O. Larsen-dedicated pipe is the same way, I just never tried anything else in it.
-Jason
unclearthur on high nicotine blends:
A few will leave you wandering around wondering who you are .
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I use salt and everclear on pipes I get off Ebay that need a very good cleaning. I pour salt into the bowl and shank (Kosher salt) and add Everclear. Let it sit for a couple of days - you would be surprised at the amount of crap this treatment pulls out of the vintage pipe.
Ps while I never dedicate pipes - I would like to add that I can see the logic of it - if one is smoking a very heavily cased tobacco. I one time got a pipe from a friend and for the life of me could not get the smell and taste of this cheap tobacco he smoked out of it. No matter what I smoked that funk just lingered.
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I've "catagorized" my pipes to the different catagories of tobaccdos I smoke. And I smoke everything, English, Virginias,Burly,Aromatics,Crossovers, Crossunders. I have a few pipes dedicated to a specific blend. I find that I can get a real taste, I guess, of the tobacco not being "ghosted' by something else. I have ocassionally smoked Pa in an english pipe as a crossover taste.
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Heres my take on the subject: If I dont like a blend, it never has enough time in my pipe to ghost it. So when I smoke a blend all the way to the bottom in a pipe, it means I like the flavor, and if I happen to put a different blend in that same pipe and smoke it, then I get the taste of the burning tobacco that I like, plus the taste of the ghosted tobacco that I like as well. In my experience, the mixing blends in a pipe actually makes it a little more interesting to me. If I smoke a straight Virginia out of a pipe that had a heavy latakia blend in it, then, to me, the flavor becomes a little more complex and adds something new. If I want to taste a tobacco as it should be smoked, without frills, it goes in a cob or a meer. This is usually my first smoke with a new blend, and then I go from there. To me, its almost like a chemistry experiment. What flavors will mix well with other flavors? Guess Im the odd one out here 
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I only dedicate pipes for English and Aromatic...but sometimes I forget and the tobaco really taste different
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Hey guys, I've only been a pipe smoker for 3 months and I own about 4 pipes already...as well as 4 blends. Lane 1Q was my first blend ever, but I finished that ounce a few nights ago. I have been using all my pipes for various blends just to get myself acquainted with the varieties and types of tobacco blends. Well, once I figure out my favorite kinds and I want to start dedicating one pipe per blend, how can I prepare the pipe for this? Should I clean it out completely and start anew, re-breaking in my cleaned estate pipes? (I only buy estate pipes). I guess I should dedicate my cheap tobacco shop no-name pipe for "utility" use in trying out new blends....but how should I begin preparing a pipe for a lifetime of a single blend? I feel bad that I started this enjoyable hobby doing it all wrong, using more than one blend per pipe (but not in the same smoking session). Advice is appreciated
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joe ya aint doing it wrong cuz there is no stinkin rule book and when ya find a pipe and a blend you want to dedicate just do it by the 5th bowl you will never know it had seen any other blend and at the 50th bowl it sould be a real treat
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While I do dedicate some pipes, mostly cobs, to specific blends, I've found that I tend to dedicate most of them based on bowl size. Some blend types will smoke nicely in any size bowl, but others thrive either on larger or smaller bowls. I find it interesting that only one of my 3 briars is dedicated, while about 75% of the 45 cobs in use are dedicated.
John : The CobFather : Have Cobs, Will Smoke
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I am of the dedicated rotation school. I have a latakia rotation, and I have a Virginia/burley rotation. I don't smoke aros much, so I only have one pipe for that. I only have one completely dedicated pipe, and that's dedicated to McCranie Murdock's Pipe. It smokes that blend so beautifully, I decided that's all I would smoke in it. I tend to smoke "codger burleys" in a cob - they just seem to go together.
And Joe, you aren't doing it wrong. This topic is one that is endlessly discussed amongst pipe smokers. You have to explore and find out what's right for you. From what I have read over the years, a majority of smokers are of the "dedicated rotation" school, while a strong minority smoke any sort of blend in any pipe. There are very, very few who say "1 blend per pipe" - mostly 'cause it's too darned expensive! Even amongst the dedicated rotation school, there are different opinions on how fine to tune that.
You have to determine how much you notice ghosting before you decide what to do. People that notice it the most tend to notice it when smoking a blend that has subtle flavors - a Virginia, perhaps - in a pipe that has recently had a more robustly flavored blend, like a full Balkan, or a goopy aromatic.
Good luck and have fun.
Thought in the early morning, solace in time of woes,
Peace in the hush of the twilight, balm ere my eyelids close
Rudyard Kipling
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Thank you ALL for the encouragement and advice. I suppose this journey is half the fun of smoking--to find the right blend and to find the right pipe for that blend you love!
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I feel bad that I started this enjoyable hobby doing it all wrong,
Don't worry, Joe. If you find the hobby enjoyable you are doing it just right.
I have a couple of pipes that I only smoke aromatics in because they just smoke better in those.
I have a couple of others I reserve for English blends.
And I have a couple I smoke anything in.
It just took a little experimenting to find which blends worked best in which pipes.
Have fun!
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Personally, I don't dedicate pipes per se, but I usually start and finish a tin with the same pipe. Once the tin is empty, the pipe gets put onto a different blend. It might be an English for one tin, and then get moved on to an aro. Doing this allows the pipe to "settle in" to the blend without having to dedicate the pipe exclusively to one genre of tobacco.
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I have my pipe divided by aromatics(which is like 3 out of the 13 I own) and english(which is predominitly what I smoke)
As long as I got a pipe full of baccy and a nose full of snuff, I'm a happy camper
Cigarettes are an addiction, cigars are a hobby, pipes are a religion
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lordnoble
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I only have one pipe which I dedicated to a particular blend for the same reason as Jud with his Murdock's Pipe, except it's W.O. Larsen Signature: Vintage Mixture for me.
-Jason
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