A Little Help on Moistness?

[brut666]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

Evening everyone, please could someone point me in the right direction for the correct moisture for tobacco. I believe it's the moisture levels but I'm not really sure. I'm very new at this and struggling quite a lot. I've searched the forum and Google and I thought I had an idea of what I was doing but clearly I don't as sometimes I end up with a third of a bowl wet and stodgy mud like tobacco. I've left some out on a paper towel for an hour, made not a lot of difference. I imagine this has been covered a million times before and I "thought" I had read enough to understand it. A little squeeze and if it puffs back out but stays together it's pretty much ready to smoke. Most of my bowls seem to start fine but once I get to the half way mark, it becomes very hot, I'm constantly relighting and getting frustrated. The enjoyment stops and I just end up digging about in the pipe.
Guidance is what I'm after here please. I must admit I don't have or seem to have as much trouble when using a mm cob but the briars, I've not managed a bowl from top to bottom. Straight, bent or half bent I've tried in them all.
I brought 25 bags of 10g "samplers" and I do seem to struggle with all the different tobaccos equally the same. I understand it's a learning game and I will get better but please help. ?

 

[bullet08]

You want the tobacco to be dry to feel when pinched between thumb and index finger. Some go beyond that to feel of crispness. What blends are you smoking? Some will take forever to dry and some you don't want to be too dry.

 

[Capt Morgan]

Evening everyone, please could someone point me in the right direction....

I often find myself in the same boat, having recently come back to pipe smoking I have not built up my cellar yet. Everything I have is still fresh bought. I have noticed a difference in the ones that I have taken out of bag/tin and jarred. I noticed with in two days that a blend I got from a local shop burned better, tasted richer, and burned lower. However, I am still very much getting wet bowls.

 

[edger]

I smoke flakes almost exclusively. I dry them to a "leathery" state. They bend but don't snap and all the stickiness is gone. Playable, and I don't pack them tightly. Use pipe cleaners if you are a wet smoker. Good luck!

 

[samuelgawith01]

10 - 12 %.At least for smoking.The strands of tobacco should not be spongy and stick together when squeezed.It should spring back when loaded in the pipe.

 

[mikefu]

It sounds most likely like the tobacco is too wet and packed too tightly. Dry it out more and pack more lightly, and be sensitive to not tamp too hard. Overly wet tobacco and overly tight packing just won't burn.

 

[brut666]

10 - 12 %.At least for smoking.The strands of tobacco should not be spongy and stick together when squeezed.It should spring back when loaded in the pipe.

This is what I aim for but struggle still. I'm just not as good as it as I think I am.

 

[brut666]

I often find myself in the same boat, having recently come back to pipe smoking I have not built up my cellar yet. Everything I have is still fresh bought. I have noticed a difference in the ones that I have taken out of bag/tin and jarred. I noticed with in two days that a blend I got from a local shop burned better, tasted richer, and burned lower. However, I am still very much getting wet bowls.

I've been keeping the tobacco in the packets they come in, then in a jar.
Should I just keep them in a jar? The packets they have come in are like the tobacco you get from the shops, like rolling tobacco.
Are tins better?

 

[Casual]

Drier tobacco, for sure. But also, smoke slower.

Water is a combustion by-product, and a slower pace will give more time for the moisture to steam off or evaporate as you smoke.

 

[brut666]

I smoke flakes almost exclusively. I dry them to a "leathery" state. They bend but don't snap and all the stickiness is gone. Playable, and I don't pack them tightly. Use pipe cleaners if you are a wet smoker. Good luck!

Yep, hear that, have pipe cleaners on hand for the gargle, thou i don't think I'm that much of a wet smoker but what do I know. I wouldn't really know the difference between a wet and dry smoker

 

[brut666]

It sounds most likely like the tobacco is too wet and packed too tightly. Dry it out more and pack more lightly, and be sensitive to not tamp too hard. Overly wet tobacco and overly tight packing just won't burn.

I've watched and re watched many videos on packing, man that is an art in itself. I can not wait till I get the hang of this, I very much look forward to that day.

 

[jerseysam]

Brut, smoking OK to start but struggling halfway into the bowl can also be a sign of packing too tight. You re-light, puff harder.....over heats the tobacco, pulls out a bunch of moisture.....wet bowl.

When you're starting out you have no practical conception of 'right pack' and things like the 'three fill' method don't really help in that regard. I'd give a shot at just putting in small pinches of ribbon and tapping level as you go. When it fills the bowl, gently push down until you feel resistance...you can probably get one or two small pinches in more at that point and then just gently push the tobacco below the rim. This many times is much looser than instructions you read make it seem....but a good smoke is often much looser than you think. As you go you can very gently tamp at points to make sure the ember stays in contact with the rest of the tobacco....but very gently.

Again, just sharing a thought when I hear you are running into trouble half-way. Moisture can be about struggling to get lit to start or brining out the right flavors......a decent start followed by struggling is often pack.

 

[Capt Morgan]

I've been keeping...
Are tins better?

honestly, I am not far along enough to tell. I notice the tins seem to be a little better off than the bulk I get, but I have only had a couple of tins, a couple of OTC's, and a handful of bulks from online.

 

[brut666]

Drier tobacco, for sure. But also, smoke slower.

Water is a combustion by-product, and a slower pace will give more time for the moisture to steam off or evaporate as you smoke.

Smoke slower, yep but that seems very difficult to do. I think I'm smoking slow but I know I'm not. This hobby, it's like golf, just hard to get right but them times it's smooth, soooo worth it

 

[samuelgawith01]

This is what I aim for but struggle still. I'm just not as good as it as I think I am.

Leave the tobacco on a plate, spread out.If the humidity level in your house is high, then turn on the air conditioning to dry the air out.The humidity of the tobacco will drop to drop to whatever the ambient humidity of your house is.If you can smell the tobacco from across the room, it's drying.Once it gets to where you like, you can put it in a mason jar.Some smokers suggest using a blow dryer, but I have never done that.

 

[brut666]

Brut, smoking OK to start but struggling halfway into the bowl can also be a sign of packing too tight. You re-light, puff harder.....over heats the tobacco, pulls out a bunch of moisture.....wet bowl.

When your starting out you have no practical conception of 'right pack' and things like the 'three fill' method don't really help in that regard. I'd give a shot at just putting in small pinches of ribbon and tapping level as you go. When it fills the bowl, gently push down until you feel resistance...you can probably get one or two small pinches in and then just gently push the tobacco below the rim. This many times is much looser than instructions you read make it seem....but a good smoke is often much looser than you think. As you go you can very gently tamp at points to make sure the ember stays in contact with the rest of the tobacco....but very gently.

Again, just sharing a thought when I hear you are running into trouble half-way.

Sound advice, thank you. So my problem is possibly packing too tight, makes sense. All I go on is fill bowl, tamp to about half way, fill again, tamp till maybe three quarters then fill again tamp till just under the rim. I do push harder down with each tamp as like you say, that's what I've read.

 

[brut666]

Leave the tobacco on a plate, spread out.If the humidity level in your house is high, then turn on the air conditioning to dry the air out.The humidity of the tobacco will drop to drop to whatever the ambient humidity of your house is.If you can smell the tobacco from across the room, it's drying.Once it gets to where you like, you can put it in a mason jar.Some smokers suggest using a blow dryer, but I have never done that.

So I shouldn't keep the tobacco in the packets, in the jars, I should just keep the tobacco in the jars?

 

[Casual]

The best advice I ever got (from this forum) that made all the difference: pack looser than you think you should, smoke slower than you think you can, and tamp lighter than you think you must.

 

[brut666]

The best advice I ever got (from this forum) that made all the difference: pack looser than you think you should, smoke slower than you think you can, and tamp lighter than you think you must.

I shall put that into practice. Thank you Causal,
looser, slower, lighter, check.

 

[jerseysam]

Sound advice, thank you. So my problem is possibly packing too tight, makes sense. All I go on is fill bowl, tamp to about half way, fill again, tamp till maybe three quarters then fill again tamp till just under the rim. I do push harder down with each tamp as like you say, that's what I've read.

That three tamp is the most basic instruction out there....and in my humble opinion unless you are smoking a larger pipe squishing the tobacco to half-bowl and loading two more times.....no sir, won't be a good time. You'll get it lit and be happy for a few minutes....than re-light/over-heat city.

My humble advice only....and there's plenty more experts here than I.....try a bowl where you load from very small pinches and your goal is to fill using just the pinches and gently tapping the pipe. As you get to the top, push down ever so slightly...enough to get a pinch or two more in. Push down so the tobacco is under the rim. In most mid-to small pipes...you're pretty good at that stage. When you light, if the tobacco furls above the rim ever so gently tap it back level. As you smoke, if you find it going out just gently make contact/push the tobacco to keep the ember in contact....doesn't need more than light pressure.

The above may get you on the slightly too-lose side.....but you can get your way through bowls on the too-loose side as opposed to over-tight.