Newbie needs help.

Welcome to the forum.

I had the same problem when I started smoking pipes, and sometimes still have them. What made the difference for me was practice. It seems to me you still have problem with packing Keep on practicing. Remember how you pack and how it smoked and work from there. You know what they say: practice makes perfect. You'll find what works best for you eventually.

Do not worry about keeping your pipe lit right now. Moisture is your problem. Try packing the bowl a little tighter, dry the tobacco a little more than normal, and puff SLOW. This has helped my moisture problems out. Also use a pipe with a smaller bowl in the beginning. Easier to work with, however this is my opinion.

You will constantly learn new things no matter how long you follow the way of the pipe. The most important thing is the enjoyment, and sounds like you already have that part down. I agree with gigger48, if smoking aromatics, let them dry a bit, pack just a bit looser, and enjoy long slow draws. As for that unsmoked pipe, pack it, smoke it, and enjoy it. The breaking in takes care of itself. Don't make a chore of it, and enjoy the process!

Using a filtered pipe will stop your gurgle issue too. 8)

I've been 'at it' now for a few months and smoke mostly cobs which breath and absorb and are thus forgiving of my lack of technique.

I have pipes that will 'tend' to gurgle, and I think sometimes part of it is my own saliva.

Aros seem to develop more moisture than non aros, yet I've got some that smoke nice and clean to the bottom of most bowls.

If I had one word of advice to a new pipe smoker, it would be, relax.

Welcome to the forum dhwty8. I got serious about pipe smoking only a few months ago and know full well where you are coming from. One of the best things I read on this forum and I wish I could give credit to the original poster, was to give yourself a year, yes, a full year to understand the pipe. When I read this it really opened my eyes.
Enjoying the pipe wasn't going to be an instantaneous thing. It was actually going to require some thought and effort. It mentally switched gears for me. A hundred relights, burnt tongue, whatever, they are simply the missteps you're going to make. The good thing is that slowly, it will start to come together. Amidst all the frustration and smokes that left you saying "I'm throwing this f@$%ing thing out!" or "Is that it?", you'll get bright glimpses of its potential. So enjoy the journey.
On a more practical level, switching from aromatics to English pretty much eliminated tongue bite for me and provided the smoking experience that I was looking for. You'll see a lot of the same complaints written by newbies, and more often than not, it's aromatics they are smoking. Trust me, I'm one of those guys that started that way as well. Personally, the advice for new pipe smokers to start off with aromatics seems misguided. Simply due to their moisture content, aromatics seem to require more technique, from my limited experience. For gurgle, keep a pipe cleaner on hand while smoking. I'm definitely a drooler, and swabbing the pipe out while smoking definitely reduces the moisture in it. In regards to packing, a real breakthrough for me was using The Frank Method. I started a thread on that topic last week because I had been having the best smoking experiences to date using it and I thought it might help another new pipe smoker. Best of luck and good smoking. ::

The best advice I've ever received was from a tobacconist many years ago. Ditch the aromatics and go to English blends. No more gurgling and tongue bite and real tobacco flavor. It was good advice.

My advice would be for a beginner, try Captain Black White Label, it's been around forever and it is a cool smoke, taste great, has a hint of Vanilla, has a good room note. I buy the pouches and they are always just about perfect as far a moisture content, easy to light no gurgling. Experienced smokers tend to dismiss it or are closet Captain smokers, I smoke pretty strong tobacco most of the time like Peterson's Irish Flake, but when I'm around other people or first pipe of the morning I like my Captain Black. Pipes and Cigars has good prices on 1 oz purchases of many types of tobacco, I would suggest trying many different ones till you find several that you enjoy. Smoking a pipe to me is very personal and I like what I like and don't get into trying to impress anyone else with my choice of tobacco or pipes. What I enjoy the next person may hate or what they love I may think disgusting, it's a journey my friend, try many different tobacco's and smoke slow, don't draw hard, you will develop a rhythm over time and once you settle on a favorite pipe or two and a favorite blend or two it will be one of the most enjoyable things in your life and you will find yourself looking forward to firing up.

Non Aros and English blends will help you get a handle on drier smoking. Achieving the optimum pack with the specific tobacco and bowl is a learning process, but once you've got that, your pipes will return a nice steady burn. I think we newbies tend to quickly become desperate to keep our pipes burning and draw too hard defeating our purpose by creating too much steam and saliva.

The thing I've found is that if I keep/clench the pipe in my mouth my spit and breath seem to get into the stem and cause increased moisture. So I keep a few pipe cleaners handy when I notice that things are getting a little damp I run a pipe cleaner down the stem, give a twist and down again with the dry side this seem to really help when I smoke a wife pleasing aromatic. Its not such a problem with my English or VaPer's.

As a newbie this forum is really very helpful to me. Hope it will help me more in future.

It will Peter, I'm glad I found this bunch of roughrats when I first started smoking a pipe about. 4-5 months ago. Also use Tobaccoreviews.com to make better choices finding a good blend. The pack will come, learn that and your at least half way there.

By the way, g'day and welcome to the forum mate

Double up a pipe cleaner and slip it inside the tenon to help absorb moisture...that should limit the gurgle....also don't keep the pipe in ur mouth if your getting gurgle...sip it and remove the pipe from you mouth....and finally continue to lightly pack your tobacco around the edges...not the middle...as your smoking....this will help keep the tobacco packed and embers burning....good luck and practice practice practice

You already gave yourself a life long plan for pipe smoking.
"Seems I just need to keep tweaking and smoking slow."
For me, that pretty much sums it all up.

Use proven packing techniques. One of them is to pack the first thirf like a child, the second third like a women and the last third like a man. The pipe should have a draw with light resistance like a cigar then.
Use a filter, balsa filters work best.
Switch to english blends.
Draw slowly and not too deep.
Use a pipe cleaner when the pipe starts to gurgle.
And don´t be afraid to use the new pipe. Just smoke it slowly like any other pipe. If it get´s hot to the touch put it to rest for a few minutes and start over again.
And don´t look at it like a chore, as the other Gentlemen already said. It´s meant to be fun!
BTW, welcome to the forum! ::

Thanks for the Advice about gurgle! I am a newbie about six months back with a pipe after college days over 30 years ago!