Packing Too Light or Too Tight?

scmkr · Jun 13, 2018

So far I've found that the Frank method works best for me... for certain pipes.
It doesn't seem to work as well in a shallow bowl like a group 3 prince.
For this bowl I keep trying to do the three step gravity method. I try not to pack too tightly, and it's still springy at the end.
The draw is like drawing through a straw. That is, until I light it for the first time. It's almost like the draw is pulling the tobacco down and tightening it up.
Doing any sort of tamping at this point just makes it worse, no matter how lightly I do it.
Do I need to pack it even more lightly?
I've seen that the average bowl size is 3 grams. Have you ever tried to weigh out 3 grams on a scale? I can't fit that much in my largest bowl, not without blocking all airflow all together. It seems like a massive amount for any bowl, at least the way I'm packing.
What am I doing wrong here?

Chasing Embers · Jun 14, 2018

I would pack as lightly as possible and adjust the pack with a tamper after lighting until you find the sweet spot.

scmkr · Jun 14, 2018

There's a more experienced gentleman in our pipe club that told me I'm packing way too lose. He tried to fix my pack, but it seemed way too tight, and the smoke was so hot.
The guy used to own a pipe shop, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. It just seemed so much tighter than I thought would ever work.
It makes me question packing lighter and lighter, as well as the 3g average bowl size, which just seems like way too much for any bowl that's not comically large

Chasing Embers · Jun 14, 2018

Been at it for three decades, and each pipe and smoker are different. We can learn the techniques, but have to make them our own.

Chasing Embers · Jun 14, 2018

3g average bowl size

I've actually never heard of this.

balkisobrains · Jun 14, 2018

I think he's saying 3 grams. That's probably more than I put in a bowl to smoke.

jpmcwjr · Jun 14, 2018

Forget about packing "techniques". If the tobacco is at proper moisture, it'll load just fine and smoke well. The occasional light tamp will be all you need.

Flakes, plugs and ropes, though, are a different kettle of fish, and require some finesse.

Chasing Embers · Jun 14, 2018

I think he's saying 3 grams. That's probably more than I put in a bowl to smoke.

That's how I took it as well, and never heard that before. Still more than I would pack.

balkisobrains · Jun 14, 2018

Oh, about it being the average? Maybe I've heard that, but it's more than I pack usually, I think.

Chasing Embers · Jun 14, 2018

Yep, sound like more than I do as well, but I normally pack fairly light.

saltedplug · Jun 14, 2018

3g is a standard but I only got results by packing less tobacco, such results, defined as good burning without clogging, for the last years that I smoked. I went to a gravity drop for the most part but a bit tighter when I could see the tobacco cross-hatching without filling the bowl. For years I would not give up applying very light pressure with my little finger in stages during the pack, producing the need to reem the airway with a cleaner far too many times during the bowl. I didn't want to pack looser but was driven by the poor results. Once I went to the loose pack these reduced by 70%. My motto became to never put a finger into the bowl.

joeman · Jun 14, 2018

SCMKR...you said it yourself. It feels tight...it's like sucking through a straw...and it's smoking hot. It's too tight, and I'd not listen to your former pipe shop owner friend, if he's mashing it even tighter. From what you're describing, ChasingEmbers suggestion is sound. Pack lighter, and adjust with light tamping as you go.

npod · Jun 14, 2018

What am I doing wrong here?

@scmkr, you are not doing anything wrong. You are smoking a pipe and learning by trial and error. That is right! Keep it up.
One big issue is ribbon/shag vs flake tobacco. Huge difference in packing techniques. I assume you have ribbon tobacco since you are using the Frank Method. Please do this - dry two bowls worth of tobacco to a crisp (bone dry). Then lightly pack using either 3-step or Frank Method, don't tamp much. You will probably notice a major difference in the draw and enjoy it much more. Do this at least once in order to see the effect drying the tobacco has on the pack and draw.
The bowl size and shape make a huge difference. You mention a small group 3 Prince pipe. That will pack flake much better than ribbon/shag. And small bowls don't hold much tobacco anyway. I prefer small pipes for flake. For example, I have two pipes from the same carver. Same year, same age, etc. The small Prince is a group 2 size and the apple free hand is a group 4 size. I smoke only flake in the smaller Prince and crumble cake or plugs in the larger apple. Both smoke wonderfully, but if I did a Frank Method in the smaller Prince, the draw would be unbearably tight! So, you need to adjust your tobacco type to the size/shape of the pipe.

bnichols23 · Jun 14, 2018

Definitely concur with Neal. Pipe-shop guy was surely packing from what was right for *him*. There are a few basic packing techniques, & individual variances on them, but no two people are ever going to pack the same. Trial/error (mostly error), & you find what works for *you*. It can take a little bit.

And then there are adjustments based on what *kind* of tobacco you're using at the moment. Neal's dead-on for the above.

In My Own VERY Humble Opinion, of course! :twisted:

bassbug · Jun 14, 2018

What am I doing wrong here?

With all due respect, and I mean this quite sincerely...
The main thing I think you're doing wrong is overthinking this.
Choose a method to pack your pipe and learn how to make it work for you.
I use a 3 step method based on the gravity method. Same basic steps no matter what pipe or tobacco I'm smoking (I don't smoke flake or coins, so this applies to any tobacco that's loose cut or rubbed out flake)
1. Fill the bowl using only gravity and tamp down gently to about half full...test the draw

2. Fill the bowl again and tamp down to about 3/4 level....test the draw

3. Fill the bowl to just above the rim and tamp down to just below the rim
It actually took me a while to break it down and be able to post this because it's become second nature. I don't actually think about it anymore. I am confident that if you just stick to a method and learn to adjust it to your liking, the same will apply to you in short order.
There's absolutely no guarantee that this will work for you, but the idea here is that its a simple thing to do and over-complicating it by measuring grams and classifying pipes and tobaccos and all associated permutations and combinations just makes it even more daunting.

bassbug · Jun 14, 2018

Oh, and another thing...
We are pipe smokers. Our opinions are never humble. :nana:

mithridate · Jun 14, 2018

When I was taking my very first steps to smoking pipe a couple of months ago, I tent to put big clumps of tobacco in. After I tore it a bit apart to ensure even load, I packed first too light and then too tight. Then I started to get it right after ten bowls or so. This all without knowing any techniques exept that the bottom should be lighter than the upper. The point being, I agree with those who say it comes by testing and practicing. Every bowl is a lesson, some of those just tend to be a bit bitter.

For funny thing, I managed to get my pipe blocked. I drew like a mad man without realizing it, till the stem shot very very awful clump of something to my throat, which bit like bulldog.

briarbuck · Jun 14, 2018

Every smoke is different and I find myself trying various things. Sometimes they work, other times not so much. But I always try to remember the Macro issues (drying time, lose/packed, bowl size) not the issues specific to that particular bowl. For me, in general, I pack lose and tamp lightly the whole way down.

bnichols23 · Jun 14, 2018

Thanks, bass'. }

I know I can always count on you!
And of course I wasn't really being humble, but as Bob Newhart put it about Lincoln,"'people will little note nor long remember...' Look Abe, don't change it. It's the old humble bit, don't you see that? You can't say, "I think it's a great speech & everybody's gonna remember it." You come off a braggart! Look, Abe, just do the speech the way Charlie wrote it, will ya??"

PaulTheScandinavian · Jun 14, 2018

Yesterday evening I packed my bowl with St Bruno RR lighter than I usually do, and despite the fact that chamber of this pipe was quite spacious I went thorough it with only one relight,afterwards,to my great surprise I haven't gotten that familiar leathery feel on my tongue(and yes,the tobacco was sufficiently dry enough)which led me to thoughts if I'm still packing my pipes tighter that I should,so let wait and see,I gotta do some experimenting further.

Packing Too Light or Too Tight?

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