A bag of bulk shred (and I think cut will make a difference, hold onto that thought) got "lost" down between my trucks slit seat for a long while. Just discovered it a couple days ago.
Dang it. Was not sealed. Dried out. Can't think how long it had been there. Maybe not even half an ounce, but, geez, that's still a lot to throw away, right -- but do I really want to fuss with trying to restore it? I'm talking dry as last year's newspaper. Should just toss it.
Then I thought of something. I tend to smoke my "outbound" pipe (heading to work) a bit hard. I'm distracted, thinking about the day coming up, trying to make sure I get there quickly. It's not my relaxed smoke, not like lunch or the homeward bound smoke. Get what I'm saying? I get some moisture. First sizzle I hear, I have to play with a pipe cleaner, then remind myself, "Easy, Joe. Take it easy. Enjoy it. It's not a cigarette. Needs to be enjoyed, not leaned on."
For an experiment, I've been putting half a bowl of dried stuff in first. Then I fill up with something else fresh from a tin.
Wow. Hey. That worked out. As I progressed down the bowl, I think the dry tobacco was actually giving me a side benefit. Moisture regulator. Sucks it up.
Didn't control the heat (that morning smoke, oh boy, sometimes I get the bowl kind of warm and have to give it a good rest before resuming, afraid smoking that hot is taking a toll on bowl life?).
Reason I mentioned the cut is, I tried this with some dregs of sliced that I had left over in a tin I thought was empty. Crispy critters.
Um... not as good. Burned fine, I think, but I was too preoccupied to take much note of its burn or flavor, hacking on and trying to spit out little dried tobacco particles that sucked through the draft hole and came up in the stem. That stuff turned to grind, I guess. I think shred remains intact better.
If you have some old dried up tobacco left, give that a try. Let me know how it works for you. Same results?
My guess is, when I have leftovers that really aren't enough to bother reconstituting and would probably just toss, I can stick with my miserly ways and still get a good smoke from it, long as it's on the bottom of a "moisture parfait" like that.
Dang it. Was not sealed. Dried out. Can't think how long it had been there. Maybe not even half an ounce, but, geez, that's still a lot to throw away, right -- but do I really want to fuss with trying to restore it? I'm talking dry as last year's newspaper. Should just toss it.
Then I thought of something. I tend to smoke my "outbound" pipe (heading to work) a bit hard. I'm distracted, thinking about the day coming up, trying to make sure I get there quickly. It's not my relaxed smoke, not like lunch or the homeward bound smoke. Get what I'm saying? I get some moisture. First sizzle I hear, I have to play with a pipe cleaner, then remind myself, "Easy, Joe. Take it easy. Enjoy it. It's not a cigarette. Needs to be enjoyed, not leaned on."
For an experiment, I've been putting half a bowl of dried stuff in first. Then I fill up with something else fresh from a tin.
Wow. Hey. That worked out. As I progressed down the bowl, I think the dry tobacco was actually giving me a side benefit. Moisture regulator. Sucks it up.
Didn't control the heat (that morning smoke, oh boy, sometimes I get the bowl kind of warm and have to give it a good rest before resuming, afraid smoking that hot is taking a toll on bowl life?).
Reason I mentioned the cut is, I tried this with some dregs of sliced that I had left over in a tin I thought was empty. Crispy critters.
Um... not as good. Burned fine, I think, but I was too preoccupied to take much note of its burn or flavor, hacking on and trying to spit out little dried tobacco particles that sucked through the draft hole and came up in the stem. That stuff turned to grind, I guess. I think shred remains intact better.
If you have some old dried up tobacco left, give that a try. Let me know how it works for you. Same results?
My guess is, when I have leftovers that really aren't enough to bother reconstituting and would probably just toss, I can stick with my miserly ways and still get a good smoke from it, long as it's on the bottom of a "moisture parfait" like that.
