Switching a Pipe From English to Virginia Based Blends

pipenscotch · May 18, 2014

So I just started to really get into virginia based blends, but unfortunately I only have one pipe dedicated to those blends at this time (until I get my next paycheck anyways : puffy

: )
So today I had my first smoke of Hal O' The Wynd in a pipe that I've been using primarily for english tobaccos. I could taste the english more so than the virginia. I've heard from others that it will take anywhere from 3-5 smokes to get that pipe tasting more like one for virginias. What do you guys think?

petes03 · May 18, 2014

Try smoking a few bowls of Carter Hall in it. It's been my experience that Burley is a good de-ghoster.

cortezattic · May 18, 2014

Let us know how long it takes, and exactly what you did.

Strike Anywhere · May 19, 2014

I would just smoke any non-English, non-aromatic blend. It will eventually subside.
If you want to be more thorough, scrub the shank after each smoke with alcohol and pipe cleaners or a shank brush. After a couple smokes, soak a doubled over pipe cleaner (or two twisted together if it's a canadian shape) in alcohol and insert in the shank. Leave a day or two (until thoroughly dry). This will really help pull the old tars and oils from the shank.
Most ghosting comes from the shank. Excess moisture/condensation is absorbed along with tars, oils, and other volatile compounds in the shank. When you smoke, the hot air and moisture pull some of those flavors back out of the wood, almost like steaming. Many people mistakenly concern themselves with the bowl if they have a ghost or are trying to minimize carryover. If you focus on the shank, you'll be much happier.

kanaka95 · May 19, 2014

Nice i just learned something new.Thanks for the tip brothers.

sailorjeremy · May 19, 2014

Yea I had no idea about the burley thing either. I'll have to keep that one in mind.

rmbittner · May 19, 2014

If I were moving a pipe from English to Virginia, I'd just smoke the Virginia in it. I wouldn't introduce a third type of blend into the mix. Yes, you'll have 3-5 bowls where you're getting more of a combination of English/VA flavors, but since you clearly like both flavors I don't see how that's a problem.
Bob

peter70 · May 19, 2014

Yes, it will only take a few bowls to remove the Latakia ghost from the pipe. With certain aromatics, it is much harde, or needs special treatment.

rmbittner · May 19, 2014

I wouldn't even use the word "ghost" here. I think there's some confusion about what ghosting is, due to its frequent use on the forums. A "ghost" is a flavor/aroma that simply won't leave the pipe no matter how many bowls of something else get smoked in it. Sometimes it may require even multiple salt/alcohol treatments. In my experience, blends that can truly ghost a pipe are rare. It isn't "ghosting" if you can smoke a half-dozen bowls of something new to get past the previous flavors.
Bob

reichenbach · May 19, 2014

I am a man of fickle tastes and limited rotation so this has happened to me before and concur with everything rmbittner has said with one caveat After you smoke your way through the conversion, the only time you might have any 'relapse' latakia is when you ream your cake if your cake was formed with latakia. But that should subside quickly if it happens at all.

andrew · May 20, 2014

Apparantly one of the best ghost busters is activated charcoal in the bowl and then you heat it in the oven on low, I don't know the exact specifics but apparently it works wonders. I really wouldn't be too worried about an english blend crossing over and impacting it in a bad way as Va's are in every english that I know of.

pipejunky · May 20, 2014

This might sound odd but i used a small ozone generator and it knocked the scent and taste right out.

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