First Day, First Tongue Burn

jbales · Nov 16, 2015

So yesterday upon visiting my father I told him I wanted to try pipe smoking. We had a long conversation about Pipes, Tobaccos and his past stories and experiences. My favorite being when he was starting out, he would pack his bowl wrong, get frustrated and dump it into his ashtray. Then his boss would come along while he wasn't looking and pack his own pipe with it! :lol:
Anyway, he gave me one of his pipes (which upon inspection, reads Spitfire by Lorenzo, Locarno), a czech tool, a handfull of cleaners and an ounce of Players Navy Cut Flake.
When I got home, I couldn't wait to get started. I took some flakes and rubbed them between my palms as my dad told me to. Left the rubbed flakes on a paper towel for half hour or so then packed the bowl (I used the three step method) and fired it up.
I was quite pleased with myself at first. After the second light (charring light being the first) it stayed lit for a good 20 minutes. It was 20 minutes of thorough enjoyment, I must say! At about two thirds down the bowl, it started to go out quite often. Close to the bottom I gave up and sat the pipe down to cool.
I repeated paragraphs three and four a total of 3 times, yesterday.
This morning I woke up with wafts of smoke coming from my mouth, I had to wait until my coffee was luke warm to drink it. I even passed on the bacon sandwich in favour of a cold bowl of weetabix. But I don't care, I love it and I'm hooked already. Although today I've not had a bowl and maybe I'll try a different tobacco.
Cheers for reading,

Jamie

prairiedruid · Nov 16, 2015

Pick up some Biotene it should be in the toothpaste/mouthwash aisle; it will help your tongue recover and protect it in the future.

shikano53 · Nov 16, 2015

Jbales, welcome to the forum and the journey! As far as the tongue burn we have all experienced it.
Dry your tobacco out

Try the Franks method to pack.

Pack it lightly sip it slowly. If your briar/cob is hot to the touch it's too warm.
Awesome first day! Keep us informed as your adventure unfolds. :clap:

davet · Nov 16, 2015

Welcome, it will get better/easier.

stickframer · Nov 16, 2015

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your intro to pipes. Welcome aboard.

fmgee · Nov 16, 2015

Man that takes me back to my first bowl. It took a number of days to recover. Your mouth adjusts but the mouthwash and a steady pace make it way easier as well. I hope you enjoy the learning process.

jpmcwjr · Nov 16, 2015

Yes, welcome, and I hope your journey is a fine one.
You might consider getting a few more pipes so you can clean and rest them between smokes. Corncobs are cheap and good smokers.
Best wishes!

cosmicfolklore · Nov 16, 2015

Welcome, smoking slow is the key. You'll get more flavor, and your pipes will like you for it.

smokinfireman · Nov 16, 2015

Welcome. Always drink something cool with your smoke, but not anything that will impart a paticular flavor to it. Ice water is a standby for me, and as mentioned above, slow and steady! You will experience a little burn until your mouth and nose get used to it.

lordofthesmokerings · Nov 16, 2015

Sorry for being so uninformed, I'm also somewhat new to the hobby, what is the Frank's method of packing a pipe? Also a warm hello to all of you.

deathmetal · Nov 16, 2015

Much of this habit is involved in breathing and the rhythms thereof. It's tricky and takes awhile to get down.

jvnshr · Nov 17, 2015

I am glad that you liked it. Welcome to the forum.

frozenchurchwarden · Nov 17, 2015

Three bowls on your first day, ouch. Do take a few days break between bowls.
When it comes to proper cadence, I think the best way to describe the pace would be that you're actually only "sipping" a few milliliters in volume of smoke per "sip", probably less than once every ten seconds (YMMV).

Yes, it's hard to keep a bowl lit at that pace, but any faster (or higher volume) and it consistently makes my mouth sore.

damianmonk · Nov 17, 2015

You're literally at the position I was. I was enjoying it quite a lot and constantly smoking, but I was getting a terrible sandpaper tongue in the mornings. After a few weeks, it just disappeared entirely. Keep puffin' :puffpipe:
(Mind that I was always (and still am) smoking quite fast. I hate relighting my bowl)

fitzy · Nov 17, 2015

Welcome to the wonderful world of piping.
Definitely smoke slow and cool. Also as mentioned earlier biotene helps.

voorhees · Nov 17, 2015

Welcome. I feel your father set you up with your first pipe called a "Spitfire"! :lol:
Pipe smoking is a journey and takes some time to achieve success, keep trying.

drezz01 · Nov 17, 2015

After the second light (charring light being the first) it stayed lit for a good 20 minute

20 minutes, heck you're already doing better than I am! I always have a big glass of water with my pipe. I find it helps cool things down and can unfold the flavours a little bit.

carver · Nov 17, 2015

I had a bit of the same when I started. I wanted to smoke a lot, just because I got very excited about it. Then, bam, couldn't put anything in my mouth the next day, and didn't touch a pipe for a good week.
Also, sometimes we get the wrong idea about smoking a pipe. There isn't hard puffing involved. It took me a while to get used to the rhythm of pipe smoking.

It's a very very slow smoking.

Close your mouth, breathe through your nose and THAT will be almost enough sucking pressure to get smoke in your mouth. (a little more is needed actually) that can give you an idea of the strength (or lack thereof) needed to get the smoke.

Don't forget to tamper your tobaccos ashes once in a while, to keep it nice and even.

hooboy · Nov 17, 2015

I believe we all have experienced this in our beginning with the pipe . I know I did, A tobacco shop sold me an el cheapo pipe and a pack of "old cherry Tongue Roaster" , and away I went. I got burned so bad I still hate all cherry aromatics and IF it was not for my grandfathers tuteledge I would not be on this forum in fact I probably would have formed a pipe haters club!

hoo

jbales · Nov 17, 2015

Cheers for the support, Gents.

Funny you should say that, Hooboy. My dad recommended I try Sam Gawith's Black Cherry. He said I'd like it better than Navy Cut.

Now I sit, anxiously waiting and staring at the Peterson sized box under the tree.

First Day, First Tongue Burn

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