While enjoying a smoke! How often and I guess my biggest concern is, how hard do you press with the tamper on the ash?
Tamping
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Tamp only when smoke volume decreases, and only use the weight of the tamper to do so. Tamp also before relights.
Thank you very much, now I guess using the weight of the tamper will vary as different styles/types have different weights. I appreciate your response chasingembers
Very welcome. The idea is to not compress what you already have packed in the bowl, but to bring the expanding ember back into contact with the tobacco. Just a light touch is all you need.
I only tamp to squash the ash. Once the ash becomes too much, I shake it out (very gently) and tamp the remaining ash down just a bit. Only when I have unburned tobacco on the side of the bowl do I use the poker to scrape it into the center and tamp it to shape it a bit - no pressure at all.
Thanks for the advice you noble gentlemen, I will definitely use it. This morning I was using a bit more pressure and I don't know if it had any repercussions on the smoke itself. That does make a lot of sense to make the embers contact the rest of the tobacco though as I was thinking more along the lines that the entire bowl of tobacco was expanding a bit and needing to be compressed back down. Thanks again.
Some of the best early advice I got was; "if they wanted you to use it as a ramrod, they would not have called it a tamper"
As others have said, just to crush the ash....
As others have said, just to crush the ash....
Sometimes if I have packed my pipe too loosely i will use the tamper with some pressure to tighten the draw. I'm not sure if other people do that but it seems to work well for me.
I pack loose and use a thumb or finger for not only light tamping but for re-packing down the baccy as I go. I don't really think about it much..I just do it. Nuttin' I hate worse than an over-packed pipe..and then ya either gotta stab it full of holes or pick it back out and start over. I like loose. But not too friggin' loose donchaknow.
I do a lotta re-lights too....which btw does not bother me at all. It's just the way I smoke.
Different tobaccos, different cuts and different moisture content all play into the mix.
Try a bunch of ways.. and use what works best for you.
I do a lotta re-lights too....which btw does not bother me at all. It's just the way I smoke.
Different tobaccos, different cuts and different moisture content all play into the mix.
Try a bunch of ways.. and use what works best for you.
I use my tamper on the charring light. I also use it for when the ash needs to be dumped. I will use the other end of a tamper to stir the ash in the middle of my pipe, gently dump the ash, and then tamp the tobacco on the sides into the middle.
If my pipe starts to want to go out, I just use two fingers on top of the bowl and cover it, draw in a few times to relight the pipe and I am good to go.
If my pipe starts to want to go out, I just use two fingers on top of the bowl and cover it, draw in a few times to relight the pipe and I am good to go.
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