All My Pipes Smoke Hot

[kanse]

Maybe it's the blends you are smoking?

 

[atjurhs]

kanse, naaah, not the blend. It's with all my pipes, across all my tobaccos.
The smoke itself is cool, just the pipes' outsides are hot, and I don't want to crack a bowl.
I think it's as Cajun and Bassbug shared. It's a matter of just going too fast because I'm enjoying the smoke, and I don't want to have to re-light all the time, so the re-light police won't ticket me.
Thanks guys!
Todd

 

[didimauw]

I hated learning to smoke slower. No matter how many times I read about slower smoking, I refused to for the longest time. More smoke means more taste, simple as that. Nope. Wrong. I still remember the time I slowed down my cadence. Delicious. I still to this day don't always smoke as slow as I should, but I definetly know the difference.

 

[atjurhs]

So tonight I cleaned a rifle as I smoked some 3 Nuns.
The only problem I had while smoking, as I cleaned, was that I had to relight everytime. Is this the experience old codgers have? If so I'm good with that. I know when I puff as I have, I rarely need to relight.
thoughts?
Todd

 

[ashdigger]

Relights aren't a badge of dishonor...... Rome wasn't built in a day......take your time....it'll come to you.

 

[woodsroad]

Like Bradley sez, the police won't take you pipe away if you have to relight. I like relighting. Gives me an excuse to use my lighter.

 

[bassbug]

So you have to relight a few time...really, no one is going to banish you to pipe purgatory.
I'm betting that even with the relights, you enjoyed the smoke more and never had to worry that you might burn yourself on the hot bowl or do any damage to the briar.
I'm sure a lot of guys will chime in on how, if we're busy doing something (like cleaning a rifle), the pipe just goes out and we relight. It's all part of the game, enjoy it and remember...there are no rules.
I'll finish off with another fly fishing quote that I learned a long time ago.
"If you're having fun, you're doing it right...no matter how you're doing it"

 

[sunriseboy]

Yep, the Old Timer's are right. Puffing like a train will get it red hot. Especially the briars. The Corn Cobs are much more forgiving.

Ensure you are packing the pipe effectively. I do the three stage Frank/German method. (You mentioned about re-lighting) Tamp regularly. Draw soft, long and slow.

Remember you're not endeavouring to smelt steel. Your meant to enjoy the process. It's a reflective and contemplative activity.

That's why, I at least, prefer to sit out the back and let the whole insanity of this planet just keep on goin' to what ever hell it wants to go to.

 

[pappymac]

I use the "Long smoke competition" method of lighting my pipes. One match for charring, tamp, and 2nd match for lighting. If done right and smoked at the right slow cadence, your pipe shouldn't go out and the bowl shouldn't get too hot. I will admit that I do occasionally have a pipe go out after 45 minutes or so but I just re-light and continue.
(disclaimer: I've only entered one long smoke competition. I won it with a time of 1:24.)

 

[fitzy]

All of the info above is good. Drier tobacco, loser pack and slower cadence.
I relight way too often but that's just the way it is.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think that cadence and drawing a pipe is the hardest part for cigarette and cigar smokers to acclimate to. There are a few really good reason for slowing down. First, you don't get any benefits from smoking faster. You are merely puffing smoke into the air, wasting it, which is wasting money.. By going slower, letting the smoke drift around your mouth, you are tasting it more and absorbing the good stuff more from the smoke. It's not the actual burning leaf that you taste much of. It's the warmed leaf surrounding the cherry that is giving off the flavors, like in a cigar. A warm cigar has more flavor than a cold one. Also, you are getting more use from every sip of the pipe. The side effect of smoking slow is more Cake, which for some of us is a constant problem. The slower you smoke, the faster the cake impedes the diameter of the bowl. Smoking fast, the resins or whatever they are just gets burned up into the air.

When you watch older men smoke pipe, notice that they are not puffing billows or smoke into the air, maybe a small stream, wisps of smoke are all you see.

The best advice I ever got was to smoke your pipe on the verge of it going out.

Greg Pease has a helpful article... http://www.glpease.com/Articles/BreathSmoking.html
Also, don't sweat relighting your pipe. But, with total focus and undisturbed smoking, you can smoke really slow without as many relights, with practice. For me, it was like driving a car. At first you have to pay attention to clutch, shift, easing up as you accelerate. You have to focus on ever aspect. But, then eventually, you can do it without ever thinking about it.
I hope this helps.

 

[mawnansmiff]

I have certain pipes that burn extremely hot despite having taken care to dry the tobacco and smoking it very slowly indeed and they all have one thing in common...thin walls!
Not being a clencher I am therefore obliged to hold the pipe by the shank which just doesn't feel right to me.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[shutterbugg]

Moist tobacco is the single most prevalent cause of unpleasant smoking, or certainly less than optimal. It also causes some to not be able to finish a bowl and then complain about it. And then never experiment to see what it might do to improve things.

See the obvious fallacy to that assertion, which even a child could comprehend, is that if it were true, tobacco manufacturers would ship their blends bone dry. It would save them money on processing and packaging. OTC manufacturers wouldn't need to spend adding PG. Clearly, it is in the best interest of blenders not to discourage anyone from smoking, including neophytes. Thus shipping it dry would guarantee even inexperienced, ignorant or lazy buyers the enjoyment of a perfect smoke straight from each new tin or pouch. At the very least, if the assertion were anything less than inane, blenders would post something on the labels for the uninformed to the effect of "for optimal taste and pleasure we recommend you dry this tobacco prior to smoking".

 

[mawnansmiff]

"blenders would post something on the labels for the uninformed to the effect of "for optimal taste and pleasure we recommend you dry this tobacco prior to smoking"."
I believe one of the Kendal houses makes/made a very similar statement on their website regarding most of their blends and gives/gave reasons for so doing but a cursory search just now found me nothing.
Anyone else see that?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[foggymountain]

I also tend to smoke too quickly. Blowing on the outside of the bowl cools it off.

 

[disinformatique]

You gotta air the tobacco a bit more. It seems that your tobacco is creating lots of moisture and steam. Also clench the pipe and smoke with the rythm of your breathing. It will slow down your cadence automatically.
Cheers,

Chris :puffpipe:

 

[newbroom]

Smoke too fast? Puff too hard? Try some Big 'n Burley, Pard.

You'll learn.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I Bet You Jay- I'm certainly with you, Thin walls> common occurence>the pipe is more prone to get hot at least this was my experience in recent past. and these pipes werent nowhere to cheap ones but rather med priced and more,,

 

[admin]

@Shutterbugg - Please make your point without being condescending or insulting. Thank you.

 

[woodsroad]

See the obvious fallacy to that assertion, which even a child could comprehend,

I'm going to take issue with the premise, not with the presentation...

is that if it were true, tobacco manufacturers would ship their blends bone dry. It would save them money on processing and packaging.

Manufacturers process tobacco at a higher moisture level for a couple of reasons. One, the very act of casing and flavoring wets the tobacco. Two, dampened tobacco is less friable, so it stays intact (important when cutting and tumbling) and creates less dust. Three, most customers have been acclimated to prefer moist tobacco.

OTC manufacturers wouldn't need to spend adding PG.

Manufacturers that add PG do so for a couple of reasons. One, most tobacco smokers don't store their tobacco properly and let it dry out far too much. PG retards excessive drying. Two, most pipe smokers think that damp-feeling tobacco is fresh tobacco and that fresh tobacco is good tobacco. Shipping damp-feeling tobacco cuts down on customer complaints and returns.

Clearly, it is in the best interest of blenders not to discourage anyone from smoking, including neophytes. Thus shipping it dry would guarantee even inexperienced, ignorant or lazy buyers the enjoyment of a perfect smoke straight from each new tin or pouch.

In an ideal world, this would be true. Some blenders, like Russ Ouellette and Mark Ryan do ship their blends at the right moisture level for an ideal smoking experience, ready to go. But if I had a dollar for everyone who has told me that that they had to rehumidify the John Cotton's blends, I could buy myself a really nice set of floor mats for the car.

At the very least, if the assertion were anything less than inane, blenders would post something on the labels for the uninformed to the effect of "for optimal taste and pleasure we recommend you dry this tobacco prior to smoking".

And that would create more problems than it would solve. How dry should it be? Sort of like the assembly directions that implore the wrench-bearer to not over-tighten. Than again, some people do prefer to smoke damp tobacco. Who am I to question a customer who likes my product, buys my product, but likes to smoke it with more moisture than I do? It's a personal preference, one of those things that makes this hobby interesting.