Pipe Lighting, Smoking Technique, and Rituals

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mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast

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I was walking out the door this evening to go for some Mexican food. I locked the door, stopped, struck my IM Corona old boy lighter, three holds of flame to the tobacco with three deep draws, locked the storm door, tamp, and relight with two deep draws. If you can't tell, I've never been a fan of tense. I've always felt that the present and past are occurring simultaneously.
It was a cob, flat straight Legend with ODF and a Blood Red Moon ghost. I filled the pipe with two pinches of rubbed out flake, light pack with ring finger, two more pinches followed by a light finger pack, a pinch more of tobacco, and light tamp with the finger to finish. I tap the bowl with my finger after every pinch of tobacco.
The pipe normally extinguishes itself a few minutes later because I always start slow and almost always expect it. I relight and smoke, breathing through my nose with the occasional sip, and at times; a run of a pipe cleaner down the ol'draft hole.
This is generally how it always goes for me. The rest is just smoking. I just focus on breathing as little and as slowly as possible. This is the technique that works for me. I have no real rituals. That is, except for cleaning out my bowls after each smoke.
I dump the pipe with a simple hard shake. I lightly run the poker end of the lighter tamp around the inside of the bowl. Blow and shake, and run the cleaner down the draft hole all the way to the bottom of the bowl, again. I blow through the pipe a second time, wipe the stem, and then rest the pipe.
There's no real reason for this post, just shear boredom.

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
I stick to some pretty specific pipe rituals in order to avoid having to remember all the steps. Things just fall into place.

 
M

mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast

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I stick to some pretty specific pipe rituals in order to avoid having to remember all the steps. Things just fall into place.
Me too. I've been smoking long enough now to not have to remember all the steps, and things almost always fall into place. The original post was more of a question to myself. I wondered about the various tobacco preparations and packing and lighting techniques. I have adopted a fairly quick and methodical technique. I smoke mostly Virginia flake tobacco and when I open a tin, I rub it all out and spend a good half an hour with the tobacco. I then dry it out on a paper plate to the moisture level that I prefer, usually about five or six hours (depending on the tobacco), turning the tobacco every so often just to get some air on it all. I try to get the tobacco broken into pieces no longer than the width of the bowl I smoke it in, within reason; and then it goes into it's labeled jar.
This way I always have the tobacco ready to go at my disposal, and I don't have to always rub out a flake when I want to smoke a bowl. I occasionally will fold and stuff a flake or cube cut one during this ritual. I call it a ritual because I do it every time, really look forward to it, and enjoy feeling the tobacco, smelling it, and examining it.
I pack and light a pipe quickly; a minute or two, and then it's a turtle crawl. I just thought to myself when walking out the door the other night...'I wonder if most pipe smokers are lighting a pipe and locking the door at the same time'? In other words, is it an easy to do part of your regular function or a more focused thoughtful practice?

 
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