Another Truth (About Keeping it Lit) Revealed

[ezypikns]

Someone posted here recently about having trouble keeping their pipe lit. Me too.
I noticed an answer from another forum member, Bryanf, who made the point that until a pipe has built up a substantial cake (has been broken in, in other words), it won't tend to stay lit no matter what.
I've got several decent pipes, but the one I enjoy above all is an LL Bean estate pipe that I bought on Ebay. It's in great shape, but definitely well broken in. And it has that desired cake. And it stays lit.
So thanks to Bryanf and all of you others out there who patiently explain (over and over) the mysteries of pipe smoking. Someday it may all soak in.

 

[gtclark]

Great point - it's a self-repeating cycle, really. The more you smoke a particular pipe, the better it will perform. Meanwhile, pipes neglected for their poorer smoking characteristics remain poor smokers because they're never smoked enough to get better. I've had some pipes that didn't "come into their own" until after 50 - 60 bowls, which is a long time to wonder if a pipe needs to be broken in further, or just given away.
On a side note, I had no idea LL Bean used to make pipes...

 

[jservant98]

As Kevin was saying recently, if you pack your pipe to tight it won't stay lit. I have been having that problem as well....

 

[joeval]

It's witchcraft, I say! Too tight, not tight enough, puffing too fast, puffing too slow, not enough cake or not broken in, the art of tamping... The list goes on.

The pipe smoking lark is harder than it looks!
Perseverance and practice, that's the way forward.

 

[numbersix]

Too tight, not tight enough, puffing too fast, puffing too slow, not enough cake or not broken in, the art of tamping... The list goes on.

+1
Personally I don't believe cake is necessary to keeping a pipe lit. I've had brand new pipes smoke beautifully on the first light - with few to no relights. I think it mainly comes down to properly drying a tobacco and the packing (as well as a quality piece of briar that is well engineered.)
Packing and lighting isn't an exact science but generally speaking, I err on the side of packing too tight than too loose.
If a pipe is well packed (without being too tight of course), burning embers are in constant contact with each other - and the tobacco essentially ignites itself continually as you draw. Pack too loosely and the result is too much space between the tobacco, so a burning ribbon of leaf won't be able to ignite the rest of the bowl without puffing too hard and requiring many relights.
I will add that I have certain pipes that perform above average in regards to relights and the reigning constant is that the briar is well aged and very light.

 

[fitzy]

+1 Joe
Experience is a huge part of it. Perseverance in pipe smoking pays off.

 

[ghost]

I don't mind having to relight if needed. The best pipe moments I have are when I don't think twice about relights/tamping etc...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm not sold on cake having anything to do with staying lit, but maybe by the time you've built up cake, you've "learned" that particular pipe. Each one of my pipes has a different feel or drive to it. Like cars, you can't drive an F150 pickup the same way as a '65 Mustang or a '72 Pinto. You just need to spend some time with that particular pipe and learn what the minimal amount of draw is required to keep it lit. :: My 2cents

 

[wcannoy]

I'm not sold on cake having anything to do with staying lit

Same here, especially given the fact that new, unsmoked pipes are issued to contestants for use in many slow smoking contests.

 

[txbeerboy]

I enjoy relighting the latakia bombs that is when the taste is the best. Just when the match touches the tobacco. If you find a blend that works with the match you have probably found your blend that will not go out.

 

[petes03]

+1 Six! My thoughts exactly!

 

[rigmedic1]

Practice makes perfect! I keep a thin cake in my pipes, and after 35 years I don't remember what I do to keep my pipes lit anymore. It has become habit. It will become your habit too, once you figure it out.

 

[cigrmaster]

In my experience the amount of cake you have in a pipe has nothing to do in whether a pipe stays lit or not. If you are packing correctly, drying your tobacco when necessary. smoking at a good cadence and get a good charring light, your pipe should stay lit. Like Six, I pack my pipes pretty firmly and my pipes stay lit, too loose and it is tough to keep it going.
For me, cake will make the pipe burn cooler and give more flavor to the blends I am smoking. I keep my cake to about a dime's thickness and that has served me well for years.

 

[kashmir]

++ to what number 6 and Harris said. I may add that you'll find you need less relights, if any at all, if you clench the pipe. Although I know others here will disagree with me, I find that clenching helps you synchronize your breathing with your piping, so that a continual cool smoulder results, with a maximum return on flavor.

 

[misterlowercase]

I'm a convert to the Kashmir method, deep richness rewarded by the continual clench.
I'm still not a natural, but getting much better at it, at first I had excessive salivation problems and i tended to smoke 50+ gram pipes --- since I took up straight billiards it has become much easier and I've been amazed at the penetrating flavors rolling outta my pipe.
Take a look at this Robert Young clip, talk about cool calm comfortable and collected, he's a pro!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eMf6tOPmqg

 

[numbersix]

Great clip ML. I'd be salivating like a stuck pig if I kept a pipe in my mouth like that - lol - and that's a big pipe he's smoking too.

 

[blendtobac]

I picked up a Posella pipe this summer, and it smoked clean, dry and cool all the way to the bottom without a relight in the very first bowl, and I have some pipes with a decent cake that I'll occasionally have to relight.A cake may very well help.

I find that if I pack the bowl and wait to smoke it for a few hours, I have much less need to relight the pipe.
Russ

 

[ravkesef]

My experience: cake is not the major factor. Pack the tobacco looser than you think it ought to be and you'll find that sweet spot.

 

[instymp]

+1 what everyone said above.

I realized 2 days ago that I don't dry out my tobacco like I used to, like what Cigar Master said & Russ. (But I can't wait for anything for 2 hours!)

 

[sfsteves]

cigrmaster observed:

"... cake will make the pipe burn cooler

and give more flavor to the blends ..."

I would amend that to say that a proper cake will accomplish that ... an overly thick cake will make the pipe almost unbearably hot and seriously diminish the experience, something I learned though knowledge obtained by neglecting my pipes during my early, naïve years of smoking them ...