amidst pipe smoking jargon I hear the word rotation used a lot my question is and I'm sure this may vary from smoker to smoker how often do you move through your rotation do you switch every bowl once a day once a week or what is the most popular way of progressing through a rotation
Regarding Your Roation...
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In the evenings it's not uncommon for me to smoke 2-3 different pipes. I try to let those pipes rest a couple days. I know a lot of guys who rest their pipes a week or more - but I personally don't have that many pipes and I haven't had any ill effects for resting them a day or two. But that said I always make sure to clean out each bowl, clean the shank and stem, and after i've pulled out a pipe cleaner that no longer is wet or has "ick" on it - I leave one in the stem going into the bowl.
I carry 2 pipes every day: a country gentleman which I never rotate and a briar pipe that I rotate daily. I smoke one bowl out of the briar, but multiple bowls out of the cob. The next day I just switch the briar, works for me as I love my country gentleman!
I'm not consistent. It just depends. I sometimes will just bring one pipe with me and smoke it all day. Or, if at home or in my studio, I will rotate between each smoke. It just depends on what my circumstance is. When I started, I just had one pipe for a long time, and just smoked it day in and day out all day long with just one tobacco. But, I found that it makes a pipe stink like a wet ashtray if it never has time to dry out.
Unless breaking in a new pipe, I typically will smoke a pipe once or twice in a week then let it rest for a week or so and rotate other pipes in.
I have enough pipes to smoke a bowl in each of 3 different pipes every day and repeat that each day for a week ...
That said, I just am not that welded to a schedule ... for me, it's more of a mood thing ... I go with whatever the spirit dictates every time I decide to light up ... there is no rhyme, reason or schedule about it ... pretty much the same goes for what I put into the pipe, though my tobacco 'rotation' is smaller than that of the pipes.
The only guide I follow at all is no pipe twice in a day and then I give a pipe at least one day off after smoking it ... but, although that's true MOST of the time, I'm not exactly 100% strict about that either ...
Thing is, back when I had two or three pipes, at least one of those got smoked multiple times every day ... so I know from experience how much better they smoke when given some time off between smokes ...
That said, I just am not that welded to a schedule ... for me, it's more of a mood thing ... I go with whatever the spirit dictates every time I decide to light up ... there is no rhyme, reason or schedule about it ... pretty much the same goes for what I put into the pipe, though my tobacco 'rotation' is smaller than that of the pipes.
The only guide I follow at all is no pipe twice in a day and then I give a pipe at least one day off after smoking it ... but, although that's true MOST of the time, I'm not exactly 100% strict about that either ...
Thing is, back when I had two or three pipes, at least one of those got smoked multiple times every day ... so I know from experience how much better they smoke when given some time off between smokes ...
I let my pipes rest at least a day between smokes. That being said, I may smoke the same dozen or so pipes for a month straight. I have more pipes than I probably need, and if I feel so inclined, I could smoke a pipe a day and let each pipe rest for nearly two months.
I rotate within a group of pipes. The #3 Crosbys or the #303 billiards, for example. Each pipe is rarely smoked before a 4 day rest after one smoke.
Here are the rules: Rotate, Clean, Dry. A clean and dry pipe will smoke better than one that has been repeatedly smoked without allowing time for an interval for the pipe to rest adequately. After smoking a pipe, I run a cleaner dipped in Everclear through it, wipe out the inside of the bowl, put Obsidian oil on the vulcanite stem, and then leave a clean pipe cleaner inside the pipe. If I'm away from home and can't do all these things, a dry pipe cleaner will have to suffice. Away from home? Carry at least two pipes with you. Just remember that pipe cleaners are the cheapest part of pipe smoking--and as the name implies, they keep your pipes clean.
It really doesn't matter how many pipes you have, rotate them regularly within that number. If economy is an issue, then invest in a couple of corncobs; they are inexpensive, and deliver a great smoke, one that is good at any price. And always keep your pipes scrupulously clean. I have some pipes that I've had for over 50 years, and they're still great smokers, and all I've done is keep them clean and dry.
It really doesn't matter how many pipes you have, rotate them regularly within that number. If economy is an issue, then invest in a couple of corncobs; they are inexpensive, and deliver a great smoke, one that is good at any price. And always keep your pipes scrupulously clean. I have some pipes that I've had for over 50 years, and they're still great smokers, and all I've done is keep them clean and dry.
I usually only smoke my 1-2 favorite pipes. I have one pipe a day, after which I run a regular pipe cleaner through and clean out the ash. Since I almost exclusively smoke english blends there isnt much moisture in the pipe at the end. I probably go weeks at a time smoking the same pipe once a day with no problems.
The determinants are number of pipes and how you want to set up your rotation. You can buy pipe racks that have 7 pipe capacity so that you can rotate ONE pipe each day for a week, rest each pipe for 6 days (assuming that you clean the pipes thoroughly as mentioned above) and repeat. For those of us who have more than 7 pipes or a desire to smoke a pipe only once in a given cycle, you need some method to put the number of pipes per day into whatever rotation length you like. I have enough pipes that I can do pretty much what I want so do not have a 7 pipe rack, a specific rotation cycle and like to smoke a pipe only once at a time. If you only have one pipe then you need to be a cleaning freak. The more you have, the better. But another excuse to buy more pipes...
Spencer
Spencer
I've settled on having dedicated pipes for VAs, VA/burley flakes, English, Balkan, Penzance, and aromatics. And I have 6-10 pipes in each category, allowing me to smoke a single pipe (but multiple bowls) each day and still stick with a particular style, if that's what I'm feeling like. This guarantees that each pipe gets at least a one-week rest between smoking days. In reality, though, some pipes may sit for months without being smoked. (For instance, I've reduced my Penzance consumption a bit in order to conserve my cellared tins.)
Most days, I stick with a single tobacco style and a single pipe, smoking 3-5 bowls in that pipe, unless a blend just isn't hitting the right note on that particular day.
While this is the pattern I've adopted, I'll say that when I started out, I smoked anything and everything in a single pipe -- and didn't have a clue about "resting" a pipe (or much of anything else!). And that pipe is still with me today -- and still smoking wonderfully after 33 years.
Bob
Most days, I stick with a single tobacco style and a single pipe, smoking 3-5 bowls in that pipe, unless a blend just isn't hitting the right note on that particular day.
While this is the pattern I've adopted, I'll say that when I started out, I smoked anything and everything in a single pipe -- and didn't have a clue about "resting" a pipe (or much of anything else!). And that pipe is still with me today -- and still smoking wonderfully after 33 years.
Bob
Wow! I always assumed you were talking about tobacco. Such reverence for a material object. I suppose if you're spending hundreds but I don't. My "rotation" is, not twice a day, unless the pipe is expendable(which they essentially all are). So I devote certain pipes to certain tobaccos, when the weed runs out I switch em out. 12 usable pipes, 6-10 bowls a day. Haven't burned one out in decades. Wish I would so there's an excuse to buy a new one. Sorry, but economy is a big reason I smoke pipes. If I had money to throw around I'd smoke cigars. I've also had cobs strictly for the ability to smoke the same pipe all day.
I have accumulated quite a few pipes over the years. I think I'm pushing fifty pipes. I haven't kept any
that I don't enjoy smoking, so my rotation involves trying to keep them all smoked as regularly as possible,
but in no particular order. I don't designate pipes; I really don't notice ghosting, or it seems fine to me.
I like Virginia blends in a smaller pipe, aromatics, English, and Balkans in medium to larger pipes. I have
a really small pipe for extra strong blends and short smokes. Since I don't smoke more than a bowl or two
most days, and sometimes get busy and don't smoke at all, it takes me a while to get through a rotation.
If I have two bowls in a day, I use two different pipes. Usually, my pipes get a week or more rest between
smokes.
that I don't enjoy smoking, so my rotation involves trying to keep them all smoked as regularly as possible,
but in no particular order. I don't designate pipes; I really don't notice ghosting, or it seems fine to me.
I like Virginia blends in a smaller pipe, aromatics, English, and Balkans in medium to larger pipes. I have
a really small pipe for extra strong blends and short smokes. Since I don't smoke more than a bowl or two
most days, and sometimes get busy and don't smoke at all, it takes me a while to get through a rotation.
If I have two bowls in a day, I use two different pipes. Usually, my pipes get a week or more rest between
smokes.
It's interesting to see the variations here. Everyone has different smoking habits. Some smoke only one bowl in a given pipe per day and let it rest after that one bowl. Others smoke a multiple bowls per day in the same pipe.
But what everyone has in common is that they clean out the pipe at the end of the day and let it dry out before using it again. That's kind of the basic rubric to pipe rotation. The classic rule was to let the pipe dry for a week after being used so a rotation was defined as seven pipes.
Over the years I've collected enough pipes to be able to switch out rotations. As others have expressed, picking a particular pipe or tobacco varies with the mood. I'll smoke a group of pipes for a while, then change to others that I haven't used for a while. As a rule, I let a pipe dry out for at least a week before using it again, though I have no qualms about smoking that pipe all day. The tobacco that I usually smoke, smokes dry and doesn't leave a goopy residue, so no issues with multiple bowls in the same pipe for that one day.
After I switch out the group those pipes may go for a month. or a number of months, before coming back into use. I've found that an occasionally really long rest is beneficial in terms of the freshness and performance of the pipe.
But what everyone has in common is that they clean out the pipe at the end of the day and let it dry out before using it again. That's kind of the basic rubric to pipe rotation. The classic rule was to let the pipe dry for a week after being used so a rotation was defined as seven pipes.
Over the years I've collected enough pipes to be able to switch out rotations. As others have expressed, picking a particular pipe or tobacco varies with the mood. I'll smoke a group of pipes for a while, then change to others that I haven't used for a while. As a rule, I let a pipe dry out for at least a week before using it again, though I have no qualms about smoking that pipe all day. The tobacco that I usually smoke, smokes dry and doesn't leave a goopy residue, so no issues with multiple bowls in the same pipe for that one day.
After I switch out the group those pipes may go for a month. or a number of months, before coming back into use. I've found that an occasionally really long rest is beneficial in terms of the freshness and performance of the pipe.
Like everyone knows, I don't rotate. I smoke the same pipe day in, day out all day long. Works for me, and I don't notice any change in flavor, or not enough to bother me. Been doing this for years. I don't even clean my pipe every day, to be honest. I scrape out the cake when it gets too thick which is every 3 weeks or so. I beat my pipe against walls, the rim is burnt to hell, and I don't care about all the dents and bruises on it. All the pipe smokers I've known in the real world treated their pipes the same way. It's just a tool to me, one that I love, but give corporal punishment to keep in line. If I break it, I'll buy a new one.
At night, I'll usually smoke a different pipe (one that has been rested- not deliberately, but just because it's sat around), just to give it some attention. I don't notice that it tastes any better or worse than my workin' pipe.
At night, I'll usually smoke a different pipe (one that has been rested- not deliberately, but just because it's sat around), just to give it some attention. I don't notice that it tastes any better or worse than my workin' pipe.
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