How fast is too fast when puffing?

guitrsnglocks · Apr 27, 2015

So lately ihavnt been getting many flavors when smoking. I admit that all I have right now are aros but I plan to remedy that with my next tobacco purchase. I read that smoking slow is the best way to draw out flavors. So my question is how slow? My pipe always seem to get a little hot no matter what. But if I stop puffing for more than a few seconds my pipe goes out. Same for all 3 of my pipes and using 3 different packing methods. So how do I know if I'm smoking too fast or too slow? I like thick smoke but should I stop worrying about that and just get used to relighting a ton of times if necessary? Appreciate the help

sablebrush52 · Apr 27, 2015

I only puff when I'm getting the pipe going, and that's only a few puffs. Once the pipe is going, and I've tamped down the ash, it's slow sipping rather than puffing. I'm not looking for plumes of smoke, just an easy intake that I exhale through my nose to get all of the flavors. Guys who puff away like a steam engine are the retailer's and pipe repairman's best friends. They destroy their pipes. If it goes out, it goes out. There are no demerits and pipe smoking isn't a stunt. The right cadence varies with the tobacco and the pipe. Just keep at it and you will find it.

warren · Apr 28, 2015

Pick a loading method, learn it, then draw only enough to keep the burn going and enjoy.

settersbrace · Apr 28, 2015

What Sablebrush said. Other than the initial light up forget "puffing" and think "slow sip". It should almost appear as if your not really smoking and then you will "get it" as in flavor and no tongue bite. One puffs a cigar not a pipe.

newbroom · Apr 28, 2015

I think the OP is asking: "How long can I expect a bowl to stay lit w/o smoking it?"

I may be wrong. I have 'picked up' on tales of pipes that had been put to rest for 15 min. or so and then picked back up and smoked w/ no relight.

Depending on the engineering of the pipe and the pack and cut of the blend I s'pose, how long a bowl keeps itself burning once lit.

For newbies, maintaining a burn is a focal point that can result in frustration. Thank goodness persistence pays off in the long run.

Knowing when to stop, and re-light rather than trying to suck it back to life is helpful, although I still manage to forget and results are less than satisfactory.

alexnorth · Apr 28, 2015

In my still very short pipe career I've had that experience with zero tongue bite, flavour all the way down to the bottom and white ash once. It was quite magic..

It required patience and good weather. I'm thoroughly enjoying the learning experience

newbroom · Apr 28, 2015

alexnorth, Ah, the complete burn / white ash experience! What were you smoking?

I've been piping just about a year, and I find that most of the Lat blends I've smoked like to finish.

Aros and VA can get wet and hot, and really anything can, but in general, that's been my take.

I still get greedy and smoke too fast,sometimes, but I don't find out till I've got 2/3 done..guess it's a habit I am working on still. If I realize it at the 2/3 point and put it down, I'm ok...most of that bowl was great...but trying to finish something you've drooled into or made goopy in its own sugary juices is something to avoid.

Still learning everyday and loving every minute of it!

Mike

alexnorth · Apr 28, 2015

It was a straight burley tobacco. Had a couple of relights but went all the way down

I found it made a huge difference in taste smoking slow and controlled

newbroom · Apr 28, 2015

I've really had fun getting to know all the OTC burley blends and their matches by Mid Town. I've had some tins with Dark Fired KY and that's typically a burley.

I think that burley comprises much more than 50% of all pipe tobacco blends smoked, but that's just a gut feeling more than a statistical fact.

It's lack of sweet can be compensated for through various processes. Steam, Press, Fired, blended. I have a few aros on hand that I'm fairly sure are mostly burley cavindish based. They burn pretty cool and dry.

So, burley, because of it's relatively lower 'sugar' content, burns with less tendency toward steaming your tongue, than a VA.

menuhin · Apr 28, 2015

Taste of tobacco seems to come out better when one sips and buffs slowly than the other way round. Haven that said, one should smoke in the way as he pleases.
British Fast Smoking Championship

okiescout · Apr 28, 2015

Guitr, sounds like you may be packing your pipe down to hard. Enjoying your pipe like the the guys are saying, you cannot achieve smoking like that unless you pack your pipe properly. Puffing to keep it lit, tongue bite, and a hot pipe, all sound to me like the tobacco is being pressed down into the bowl to hard. You might also make sure you are drying those aromatics out some if they are really damp with top dressing. Like Warren is advising, look into packing methods and practice just loading your pipe and drawing on it after you pack it. If air does not flow freely, the tobacco is too compressed. Just some thoughts :wink:

bigpond · Apr 28, 2015

step 1:

Find any youtube pipe video that includes the tags "yabo,or "youtube pipe community".
step:2

Make sure the guy starts the video with the "hey youtube".
step 3:

Notice the cadence of the smoker...pay special attention to huge smoke clouds
step 4:

Do the exact oppositie of everything you've just seen and you're guaranteed to smoke a pipe properly!

mso489 · Apr 28, 2015

sablebrush had it right. Relaxed is the motif. If you or the pipe is producing clouds of smoke, or much smoke at all on a continual basis, you're smoking too fast in most cases. Some tobaccos produce volumes of smoke, like Cavendish, but only intermittently. Relax, relax, relax.

elbert · Apr 28, 2015

Ha! The gentlemen that Bigpond references are exactly the ones that I learned from. It's been a journey to unlearn their bad habits--because if we're being honest, I still like big plumes of smoke more than I ough to...

blueeyedogre · Apr 28, 2015

Always pack it looser then you think it should be. My habit is I gravity fill the bowl (just drop tobacco in), I do a charring light, light tamping, and a second light. Also don't be afraid to run a cleaner as your smoking, you'll find it opens the draw and makes for easier puffing.

cigrmaster · Apr 28, 2015

Many new smokers pack too loosely and will have a lot of relights and a hot smoke. I pack my flakes very firmly and when I check my draw, I want it to feel like I am sipping a milkshake through a straw. I rarely have to relight and my tobacco burns cool. All of my pipes have a shank dimension of 4.0-4.3mm, when you have a nice open draw, the pipe will practically smoke itself. Too many times a new person will buy pipes that have constricted draws and that will really make pipe smoking a chore. I always recommend to a new guy that Savinelli is a great starter brand because of their open draw. If you pay attention to shank dimesnions, it will help a great deal. When smoking aromatics, most if not all the time the tobacco is too moist, so you need to pay attnetion to humidty levels. PIpe smoking has a large learning curve and there are many variables that go into getting that great smoke, you have to think of them all before just packing a pipe and lighting it up. I know how hard it is in the beginning as I had my share of tongue bite and re lighting, trust me.

zack24 · Apr 28, 2015

+1 Harris... and I also find some of the best smokes are with tins that have been open for over a month- the tobacco is nice and dry and tends to stay lit easier...which means you don't have to puff like a train to keep pit going....

drsquat · Apr 29, 2015

At the risk of turning this thread into a pipe packing discussion; I highly recommend the Frank method for new smokers. I was one of those pipe smokers who was ready to give it away because of constant relights. Now whilst the experienced will tell you "it doesn't matter - just enjoy the smoke", I afraid that having to relight that pipe every 5-10 minutes gave me the Sh!ts and there was no way I could enjoy it (I have been accused to being too uptight about a lot of things). Anyway after much frustration and googling I stumbled upon two things; the Frank method and a faster smoking cadence. Yeah I might miss out on some of the flavour and nuances of the tobacco but I get far less relights (maybe 2-3 per bowl) and so I enjoy the smoke more. I agree that experience will bring more skill and I think the ability to "read" the pipe and adjust to a slower pace but in the meantime these techniques I have mentioned keep me in the hobby. Just something to think about in the smoking speed, rhythm, cadence argument ........

menuhin · Apr 29, 2015

Another way to think about it is similar to drinking beer versus sipping whiskey - there are tobaccos that are for all-day smoke with good obvious ingredients and tastes, and some other tobaccos need to be sipped bit by bit to fully appreciate the flavors and complexity.

huntertrw · Apr 29, 2015

"How fast is too fast when puffing?"
If you sustain to the hand holding your pipe any burn which may be medically classified in terms of degree (e.g., first, second, or third), then you are puffing too fast.
If your pipe can be located by the thermal-imaging camera aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, then you are puffing too fast.
If your pipe resembles a lighted railroad fusee, then you are puffing too fast.
If you lose every slow-smoking contest which you enter, then you are puffing too fast.
If it may be said that you are actually smoking your pipe, rather than the tobacco inside of your pipe, then you are puffing too fast.
If your pipe activates the fire-suppression system in any venue which allows indoor smoking, then you are puffing too fast.
If your pipe lights itself the next time you smoke it, then you are puffing too fast.
If insurance companies refuse to write a fire policy for you, then you are puffing too fast.
And finally, if small children point at you and ask their parents if they may make a wish upon the star which may be seen at the end of your stem, then you are puffing too fast.

How fast is too fast when puffing?

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