Abusing of Your Kindness... and Wisdom

[vic243]

Hello everyone! Obviously fairly new to the site as this is my first post.
First of all thank you for all the advise that you give willingly and openly to new pipe smokers. One would think pipe smoking is easy...just put some tobacco in a bowl shaped piece of wood and feverishly poof so you don't have to relight it. Yes...sadly that was my idea when I started.
I have come to love smoking pipe in this short year but I am still learning. Probably my biggest problem is that I have not found a good way to pack my pipe correctly as it always runs hot and I get tongue bite. I have searched many places for advice and I have yet to find a way to solve these issues. Any advice will be appreciated.
There are two other specific questions that I have:
1- Many of you refer new posters to "Bob's" articles on the left column. I am starting to think that I am going blind 'cause i see no Bob on the left, right, down, or high above. help?

2- What in the world is a Well Pipe? Wife got me an Estate Well Pipe (due to receive today) wanting to be nice to me, and I am not sure that she may have ordered me some kind of weed pipe!! :rofl:
Thanks in advance!

 

[teufelhund]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[kashmir]

I have no idea what a Well Pipe is, but welcome to the forums.

 

[sfsteves]

vic243 said:

"... she may have ordered me some kind of weed pipe!!"

it crossed my mind that she may have ordered an accessory for a water well ...

 

[olewaylon]

welcome aboard

 

[cigrmaster]

Welcome to the site. I have always used the three stage packing method. I fill the pipe, push down the tobacco lightly, fill it again using a bit more pressure, fill it again using more pressure. Now I will check the draw, I am looking to have some resistance like sipping through a straw. It if is not tight enough, I will maybe add more tobacco or I will just use more pressure to get the right resistance. If you pack too loosely the pipe will not stay lit, it will burn hot and you will lose flavor. If after you light the pipe it begins to tighten up too much, I will run a pipe cleaner into the stem and into the bowl and loosen it up. I might have to do that another time while smoking but it is no big deal. I will never light my pipe until I am sure I have the proper amount of resistance. It does take some practice to get it right, but this has worked for me for years. If you end up packing it to tight in the beginning, take out the tobacco and try again. Make sure that you get a good charring light and then tamp before going for the true light. Pipe smoking is not intuitive and it takes patience to become comfortable with it.

 

[iaeen]

Welcome.
I've been using the swirl method since it came up in a post a week or so ago. You might want to look it up (the post is in the beginner section). I have found that it gives me a more consistent packing. Before I was hit or miss in my attempts at the Frank method.

 

[vic243]

Google has not heard of a well pipe either.I got it about half hour ago and it looks like a normal pipe but it has a metallic band on the shank face. Here is a pic from the original e-bay post Well Pipe
The "Well" looks more like a Nell or Mell that was sanded off...maybe it's somebody's name LOL
I've been trying the method you describe cigrmaster but I guess I just can't find that sweet spot. I am gonna give the swirl method a whirl ::

 

[burlpettibon]

I started out with the three stage pinch type technique but it always seemed off for me and I constantly had to adjust it depending on what tobacco I was using. Over the course of the last several weeks I have taken to using the swirl method because it is foolproof, I have been able to smoke a full pipe without any relights for the first time since I started out and, lastly, I dont have to modify the technique based on the tobacco. I cannot recommend the Swirl Method enough.

 

[ssjones]

Welcome to the forums! Read, learn and continue to ask questions.
Don't forget after packing, take a pipe before lighting to check the draw. Start over if it doesn't feel right. It took me about six months to start getting it right on a consistent basis.

 

[yohanan]

The Well pipe you have is based on the Peterson System, several companies made them including WDC, Kaywoodie, and Savinelli. Savinelli refers to it as the Dry System, also WDC called their version the Wellington.

 

[snagstangl]

I think this Wellington pipe may help with your tounge burn/bite, Im not sure about Bob's Article

 

[kashmir]

By "well" pipe, I'm assuming they mean a small catch basin counter-sunk in the mortise, beneath the draft hole. The picture you provided looks like a Peterson system type bent with such a configuration. The stem looks to be what's called a military or army mount, meaning it lacks a tenon. The advantage is that the stem can be taken out at any time during the smoke, without fear of breaking it, to mop up the excess moisture in the well. Pipes like these tend to gurgle and smoke wet. I would never recommend a beginer to start out on a bent pipe. Better to get yourself a simple straight billiard so you'll have a drier smoke. Also I'd recommen you start with a simple burley tobacco like Prince Albert and learn through trial and error how to pack, light, tamp and smoke a pipe. I'd recommend you to clench thr pipe and learn to slow your cadence down to small sips. The goal is a cool smoulder, a barely lit pipe, from which you'll derive the most flavor. Another tobacco to start out on would be Dunhill's London Mixture. Lastly, I'd recommend you pick up a copy of Confessions of a Pipeman - An irreverent guide for today's pipe-smoking man (2nd Edition) by Gary B. Schrier. Excellent primer on the art of pipe smoking.

 

[quincy]

I was also thinking that maybe a Brigham or a filtered Savinelli may be of help to you as well. I tend to smoke aromatics in my Brigham because I think it reduces the bite and allows better cooling. The Peterson P-Lip I also think helps too. I love P-lips but I know many people don't like them. So, I wouldn't start with one. But, as far as I'm concerned Brigham and Savinelli have the best to offer as far as filtered pipes to help reduce the bite but not sacrifice the flavor.

 

[sablebrush52]

Hi Vic,
Welcome to the forums!

 

[admin]

Vic, thanks for joining PipesMagazine.com and for posting up your questions and comments.
There are some variables here. Usually for a new pipe smoker, the variables are: 1) The type of tobacco you are smoking, 2) how you packed the pipe, and 3) how fast you smoke / how hard you pull on the pipe.
Typically, new smokers gravitate to aromatics found in drug or chain stores. Generally speaking, these tobaccos have more of a tendency to bite if not smoked extremely slow. Newbies tend to pack the pipe too tight. This makes it harder to keep the tobacco lit, and to get anything through the pipe, which then causes you to pull harder, smoke faster, exacerbating the problem, and then .... the technical phrase would be - burning the shit out of your tongue.
Try a mild English tobacco such as Frog Morton or Maltese Falcon.
Don't pack too tight.
Smoke slow.
Here are some article links:
Tobacco Pipe Packing Methods - Part 1
Tobacco Pipe Packing Methods - Part 2 (Videos)
Reading Between The Lines - Pipe Smoking Tips
Pipe Smoking Tips

 

[jservant98]

Welcome Vic! Just keep on and you will get the hang of it. Trial and error, practice and patience and Trial and error and practice and patience.... :D

 

[fitzy]

I've been using a modified version of the Frank method (I pack it the Frank method but then I tamp to the proper draw and then I light with matches and do sort of follow his lighting method).
You may want to try that:
Frank Part 1
Frank Part 2
Frank Part 3
This is the swirl method:

Swirl Method

 

[vic243]

Thank you all guys! There are some awesome recommendations here. I started using the swirl method and, although I could not keep my pipe lit throughout the smoke, I was able to light it less.
I guess the biggest problem I see with my current state on packing expertise is that i think I am packing the bottom too tight as there comes a point where the relighting of the pipe doesn't last long at all so i think it is finished, only to find there is a good amount of tobacco on the bottom.
Yes, practice, practice, practice.

 

[vic243]

I think I may be misunderstanding something based on posts from Yohanan, Kashmir, and Snag. Snag, you mentioned that this pipe may help with the burn/bite, yet Kashmir mentions that the pipe smokes wet and gurgles (which I hate). Yohanan mentions this pipe is similar to those on the "dry system" which provides a dryer and cooler smoke. So with that Yohanan and Snag agree, but if I understand Kashmir correctly, then that contradicts the idea.
...confoozled :?