My Best Muttnchop Piper Impression...For A Slow Smoke Competition

Well, I trimmed back the old facial curtain this weekend and I'm working on my slow smoking ability. It ain't that strong. I need to be able to find that balance between puffing just a little too much that keeps my ember surely going and the one in which you puff juuuuuust enough to keep her lit, but still smoking and not going out.
This will be the first time I have ever attempted such a feat and having never actually tried, on purpose, to see just how long I can keep a bowl burning and make it last off one light, I'm a little perplexed.
I usually pack light enough that I can tamp her down when needed, but if I put her out it's usually not a problem. In this contest, however, I think they provide two matches.
So, my plan is to sit out on the back porch and practice lighting a bowl with one match, then tamping a little, then providing a nice, even light across the top of the bowl. I plan to breathe smoke lightly the entire time, hoping that keeps me stoked while not allowing it to get too hot. I'm thinking that they would likely provide something like a simple Va. or a burley, but I'm not sure, so all I can do is guess and practice with my burleys in the hope that that works.
Having never even seen one of these events, however, I plan on looking up any videos that might aid in my first attempt, but any helpful tips would be much appreciated, gents.
Now, I present the new look of CCW, keeping it smokey with a little Boswell's Premium Burley in my MM Charles Towne Cobbler:

Cool. Now you just need your own youtube channel with pipe tutorials. ::

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Yeah, on how NOT to smoke a pipe, I'm sure! :rofl:

BTW, nice chops.

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Thanks a bunch! Digging it so far.

I like the look, CCW!

Good luck on the slow smoking. I suck at it.

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I appreciate it! Not really used to trimming anything, so it's kind of new to me. I might need all the luck I can get. Going to be practicing my form as the week goes on, so we'll see.
Good tips, guys! I do plan on breathe smoking my way slowly. I do have to adjust the way I puff early on when lighting though. I can tend to pull a little harder than I probably should and I think that gets my ember a little too hot, too soon and then I find myself slowing down maybe a little too much and *poof* it dies on me.
I have been able to lay a finger or two across the top of the bowl to restrict just enough airflow to bring one back from the brink, but I haven't perfected it and it's still about a 50/50 shot it works. I have even seen it get a little too clogged by the ash on top a time or two when tamping it down, but I can curb that with a little hole poked through the top layer. Not sure if dumping any ash would aid or cause my ember to go out, but that layer sometimes will cause me to think it's out, when it's really not. That's caused a face full of ash on more than one account trying to see if any smoke was coming out of the bowl.
I am planning to have lots of fun with it and hope I can hang in there for at least a while, but if not, no biggie. It's a first time thing for me, so there's a good chance I might be out early. That's alright though. At least if I fall off early, I can light up some Sleepy Hollow and watch the rest of them go. ::

I really should!
Well, the winner of one I watched a video of won after about 57 minutes. He didn't really look like he smoked it, however. He was tamping it a lot and holding it in his hand, mostly puffing on it to keep it stoked, then just holding it and watching the inside of the bowl. Kinda weird, but hey, if the rules don't say you have to "smoke" it, then I reckon that works.
Yeah, MSO, I'm with you. If they give me something tasty, it'll be hard not to want to puff on it a little more. ::