Smoking a Straight Pipe

bw10 · Sep 22, 2018

Hello,

So I've been having issues smoking a straight corncob pipe lately (MM Eaton). I pack pretty light for all of my pipes.
I do fine with the breath smoking method with my only bent briar pipe. But I'm not sure how to handle straight pipes corncob well. I either smoke too fast and it gets too hot or goes out or if I don't puff on it often enough it goes out anyways (same as my other pipes; something I learned when I first started).
Is there a good technique to smoke a straight pipe? I think I might be taking too deep of puffs despite lowering the frequency. But when I take tiny puffs sometimes it goes out. Any advice?

eggrollpiper · Sep 22, 2018

I avoid the Eaton and the other smaller non filter. Try at least a legend or missouri pride with or without a filter or with a forever stem. You can get a bent forever stem and put it on a straight pipe as well. I don't think the problem is the lack of bend on the stem but curious if anyone does. If your smoking aros then supposedly a bent stem is better..

bw10 · Sep 22, 2018

I actually do have the Legend, but there aren't very many times I can sit down for 40 min. outside and smoke it. Plus its hot in Texas haha.
I bought the smaller pipes because I usually have about 10 minutes, 20-30 max. to smoke.
Yeah I always take out the filter too.
If I still have issues I'll try the forever stem, plus I noticed there are other people who have spoken well of it. Just hate having to spend more money if its not absolutely necessary.

mso489 · Sep 22, 2018

For small pipes, i find flake/coin/plug/rope works really well, but you have to rub it out or grate it a little, or chop it up fairly small to pack it well, and it will burn for quite a while, and if you don't have time to finish, put it in a safe place and finish it later. No harm in that. Or pack a partial bowl in your Legend for shorter smokes. It's true, some loose tobacco doesn't go as well in small pipes; dry the blend out pretty well with loose cut.

eggrollpiper · Sep 22, 2018

To echo mso, yeah no reason you have to smoke a brimming bowl. Pack it half way, a third of the way. Also with the Eaton, nording keystones or denicotea crystals at the bottom of the bowl may solve your issue... or some activated charcoal...

Also also I was on the fence a long time about putting a $20 stem on a five dollar pipe but I'm glad I did. They really take the Cobb to another level, there's a lot of choices to pick from, and you only really need one. Word of caution though, you need to put them on an unsmoked cob ussually... since the mortise opening swells with smoking, but you could also sand it down some in a pinch...

bw10 · Sep 22, 2018

Ah I see. I smoke both aromatics and English equally.

I've been pretty good about drying aromatics. In this straight cob pipe I have though its mostly ribbon cut English and OTC burleys.
Seems like trying out a forever stem is worth a shot. If that fails I guess the pipe is a dud and could just get another few Legends for rotation or might save up for a smaller briar, such as the Stanwell featherweight.
I tried an aromatic in my only briar this week and it was very nice. No relights, no super fancy packing method, was able to smoke it to the bottom. Usually with cobs I relight a few times. My bank account dislikes briars however.
With 1/2 packing I usually have issues with not being able to do an even charring light but I suppose practice makes perfect.
Is 1/2 packing alright in a briar as well? if the cake builds up too much on the bottom half I can just slightly scrape off some right to get it even with the upper half of the cake right? Unfortunately I don't know much about cake maintenance or tricks, probably should read up on it now that I'm working on building cake in the new briar.

ignaciojn · Sep 22, 2018

I believe the issue lies not with the pipe being straight, but in the difference in airflow between your pipes.

Maybe you have to pack a little tighter for this particular pipe (or lighter, I'm not familiar with the Eaton).

eggrollpiper · Sep 22, 2018

Half bowl in briar is fine, it's actually a good idea to get some cake on the lower portion and eventually it will even out. More on the bottom is fine, more on the top not so much..

The only pipe that needs to be filled to the top is meerschaum and that's just for coloring purposes, so even that's not an unbreakable rule..

For the hard to reach light try hemp wick..

olkofri · Sep 22, 2018

Haven't had much luck with the Eaton myself either. It's tricky to pack: small bowl, but smokestack shape, ugh; hard to gauge how much toby to put in. I either pack too tight or too loose. It depends on the tobaccos too: the only time I could smoke it all the way to the bottom with minimum relights was with Dunhill Early Morning Pipe; it went fast too.
I've found that shag cut, where the tobacco strands are more like cubes than ribbons, packs and burns best with less relights.

jpmcwjr · Sep 22, 2018

Shag cut doesn't have a cube shape. It's a finer cut than ribbon. And stacks are a bit tougher to smoke to the bottom, as they're more prone to moisture in the heel due to condensation. Drier stuff going in is the answer, at least the bottom half of the bowl.

jaytex1969 · Sep 22, 2018

I'm thinking Ignacio is on the right track. The MM cobs have a different draw, often more open and you may need to compensate somehow. Maybe pack a bit tighter to reduce air flow or even consider a filter to accomplish the same. You could retrain your cadence for cobs if you use the force...
For the moisture/stack dilemma, I've been having a problem with PS LTF having a lot of moisture in the last quarter of the bowl. I have taken to dropping a pinch of a dry, neutral burly type in the bottom before stuffing the flake in.
Welcome to the forum!

olkofri · Sep 22, 2018

They're both technically ribbon.
What I meant is this nicer-to-pack, more oblong cut:

versus this trickier-to-pack, more stringy cut:

I know my packing sux, but I don't think I'm alone in this: recently, in another thread, another member mentioned he puts his tobacco through a grinder to get smaller chunks (akin, methinks, to the cut of the first photo above).

ignaciojn · Sep 22, 2018

olkofri, both pictures look like ribbon to me.
Shag is more fine and stringy, like this:

jpmcwjr · Sep 22, 2018

Well, OK, neither illustration above looks like it'd be difficult to load and tamp properly. I do believe if most cuts are dried properly, no "technique" is needed to get a good bowl going. But flake, plugs, cakes, etc. do require some finesse as well as drying time.

olkofri · Sep 22, 2018

The second cut above is Original Choice. I dried that one out last week, and it dried more than what I intended, but it was probably what you'd loved: nigh bone dry. Packing still was difficult, what with all the stringy strands and all. (Unfortunately, when I took a sample of the blend out to take the photo, only the chunky bits wanted to come out—typical :roll: ). I got it packed by the layers method anyway, and what happened was that the layers didn't 'merge'. As soon as the top one was smoked the pipe went out and, when I tapped the ash out, the bottom layer was there, uncharred. Silly thing.
With the tobacco in the top photo (HGL), I can almost gravity fill the bowl. Not so with MB 7 Seas Royal or Original Choice, or any other blend with long strands.
To the OP: you might want to try the swirl method.

seanv · Sep 22, 2018

I’ve never really used a method for anything other than flakes. I just fill the bowl and smoke. Over time you develop a feel for how tight to pack

bw10 · Sep 28, 2018

thanks for the advice everyone

Smoking a Straight Pipe

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Lurker

Can't Leave

Lurker

Lifer

Can't Leave

Lurker

Starting to Get Obsessed

Can't Leave

Lifer

Moderator

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Moderator

Lifer

Lifer

Lurker