Anyone Smoke RYO Pipe Tobacco?

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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
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Title edited. Please see rule 9.

I have been trying various brands of RYO pipe tobacco.. until I found my favorite one right now. I started out with them rolling them into "Rollies" by hand, with a tip and I smoke them without inhaling... because I dont think it's really true cigarette tobacco. But it is very good for rolling into "Rollies" or whatever, and not inhale them.. if you find the right one.

And I thought they might be really good also for Clay pipes since they absorb a lot of moisture and it's a pretty dry smoke. So that's what I'm trying to learn with them.

Besides that I also often like to include a cigar wrap when I'm making these "rollies" so it is like a little cigar, except it has pipe tobacco in it instead of.. uhhh... cigar tobaccos. And it smokes well like a cigar also because it seems more alkaline than cigarette tobaco like American Spirit... so one doesn't really get much of the nicotine hit by inhaling....
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
They do burn hot.. maybe a cigar wrap helps make it burn cooler, I dont know.

But I thought a good clay pipe would also help to make it burn cooler...
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,238
119,159
I have but often use pipe tobacco for RYO.


They do burn hot.
That's packing and smoking cadence. They can smoke as cool as any shag or ribbon cut pipe tobacco.


But I thought a good clay pipe would also help to make it burn cooler...
A pipe can't change smoking temperature, that's up to the technique of the smoker.
 

TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
I have but often use pipe tobacco for RYO.



That's packing and smoking cadence. They can smoke as cool as any shag or ribbon cut pipe tobacco.



A pipe can't change smoking temperature, that's up to the technique of the smoker.
well I meant they burn hot in RYOs... atleast the way I smoke them . lol. I get a lot of tongue bite and wake up with a sore tip of the tongue most the times... but I get used to it.

Like I said I really think the cigar wraps help. And also a wide tip can help also... it seemed to allow me to get a fuller bodied smoke, without getting too hot I guess. Who knows...

a cigar I might better be able to control tongue burn... but Rollies esp. without the cigar wrap and/or the tips (esp wide/longer tips) burn hotter on my tongue.
 
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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,238
119,159
well I meant they burn hot in RYOs... atleast the way I smoke them . lol. I get a lot of tongue bite and wake up with a sore tip of the tongue most the times... but I get used to it.

Like I said I really think the cigar wraps help. And also a wide tip can help also... it seemed to allow me to get a fuller bodied smoke, without getting too hot I guess. Who knows...

a cigar I might better be able to control tongue burn... but Rollies esp. without the cigar wrap and/or the tips (esp wide/longer tips) burn hotter on my tongue.
Aim at just keeping the ember from going out versus producing clouds of smoke. You'll get more flavor and less burn.
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
yeah I do that, but I
Aim at just keeping the ember from going out versus producing clouds of smoke. You'll get more flavor and less burn.
yeah. It's also I just need a better zippo so I can light them better and more evenly, and I'm always improving on my rolling technique (I roll by hand). I've been getting defective Zippos lately, and/or I drop them or something which will contaminate the light....

But there is one thing I do which requires that I puff constantly like a choo choo train.. to get my "French Inhales" or whatever. Not even proper french inhales though perhaps. It's just, allowing the smoke to rise after puffing, and I'll do multiple puffs to get a "bigger hit".. for the nose burn. Works best when i'm smoking close to the tip/filter....
 
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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,238
119,159
yeah I do that, but I

yeah. It's also I just need a better zippo so I can light them better and more evenly, and I'm always improving on my rolling technique (I roll by hand). I've been getting defective Zippos lately, and/or I drop them or something which will contaminate the light....

But there is one thing I do which requires that I puff constantly like a choo choo train.. to get my "French Inhales" or whatever. Not even proper french inhales though perhaps. It's just, allowing the smoke to rise after puffing, and I'll do multiple puffs to get a "bigger hit".. for the nose burn. Works best when i'm smoking close to the tip/filter....
Try going for a retrohale. Forcing the smoke from your mouth out of your nose.
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
So uhh.. yeah I like doing these Rollies a lot now. It is my alternative to cigars... because well.

I dont smoke cigars anymore because I can never be sure about what goes into the glues/gums they use.

I've smoked the following cigars: Padron Organic Reserva was probably my first..., NHCigars Organic House Blend (my fav are the Connecticuts, but be careful because I've found some were stale. I had to keep buying them to see which ones were fresh.) BlackHouse Cigars, and uhh, well Mapacho rollies/RYO. Oh yeah and I had Lotus Organic cigars. They told me those were made with 100% arabic gum. BUt they're no longer available.

Also I like unbanded ones... and that come just in the cellophane and nothing else.. But there are so many of those I'd have to try each and every single one... and test out the glues. Freshness, quality etc etc.

I just give up and use these now for "cigs".

and I was an American Spirit smoker for years... smoking everyday one after the other basically. And I find these RYO pipe tobaccos fitting, even though I have to deal/learn how to deal with tongue burn.. esp. being as rollies. I think maybe the way Cigars are rolled may make it a cooler smoke.. that's why i use wraps sometimes as well. and/or 'wider' tips...

I wonder how American Spirits smoke in a clay pipe. I know it's supposedly cigarette tobacco. but I think dry smokes like those , and RYO pipe tobacco might help preserve my clays a bit more. Except for the fact they Still did develop gurgling.
 

TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
yeah I like doing snorking followed right after I puff a lot in front of my nose (have to look at it though so I cant see myself in the mirror doing it) while inhaling the smoke.. I dont know if it's really a french inhale.. because french inhales are inhaling only one puff it seems from the mouth. but I like to get more than one puff going whilst inhaling by the nose, and then snorking back out. It gives the best nose hits. Seems to work more spontaneously though sometimes, and maybe closer to the filter/tip.. but not always.

And that's how now I'm getting flavor notes, from this additive free pipe tobacco that has aromas of like essential oil....

yeah even if additive free, pipe tobaccos really do have more aromatics than say American Spirit I guess... but who knows. I'd have to smoke them again and like I'm doing now ie like a cigar.
 
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anantaandroscoggin

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 9, 2017
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Greene, Maine, USA
Being as we can no longer get mail-order pipe tobaccos here in Maine, what is available with no real tobacconists (just some cigar shops, and some places stuffed to the rafters with cases of cigarettes), there's not much available except for the rare places which have chosen to still stock some of the Codger Blends, except for the bagged RYO tobaccos.

But, there were SOME bagged pipe tobaccos around before the RYO tax dodge started being profitable. Those are the bagged blends I have been trying out to see what's the best of what I'm going to be stuck with until I travel out-of-state.

The Super Value line seems to be OK. The Gambler line seems kind of light, but not abounding with any taste. I didn't have any problems with the stuff from OHM, either.

I don't recall having tried the Smokers' Pride blends yet.
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
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I think most bagged pipe tobacco can be, and is, used for RYO. I have several bagged tobaccos and enjoy them in a pipe, like OHM Red, burley with Turkish, and D&R Two Timer, twice toasted burley. These are fairly thin cut so would work well rolled. Thicker cuts might be less adaptable, but you can roll almost anything. Semois shag and medium cut would work also.
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
yeah.. I really liked Kentucky's Best ... it was one of the first I tried. I liked OHM also, for their Natural, but I prefer the Au Naturalle over that one for the "Natural"... Which also has a Smooth/Gold which will have some more Virginia leaf in it I guess...

Some of these pipe tobaccos may have some foreign things in them though so I would look very carefully through it and remove stems.. and also flattened pieces also which look like flattened slices of stem/veins.

I wouldn't use most brand named Frontos though now... for making Rollie/RYO Cigars after I just smoked one.. and it seemed to give me a headache. Think maybe it has some additive...

Well anyways, that's why I want to learn how to use the RAW Hydrostone. It really is a good thing to use to rehydrate tobaccos, esp. additive free I think. in a natural way... Kinda goes together maybe with a clay pipe.

And I did try it rehydrating cut peices of leaf inbetween the veins (but not always without the veins) from Whole Leaf tobacco like from those bulk supplier shops on the internet.. And it came out really nice. So basically one can use the RAW Hydrostone to rehydrate Fronto leaf... or wraps/cigar wraps... after they're dried since I like to wash leaves before I dry them and rehydrate them with the RAW hydrostone...

Anyways, but the other method is that you supposedly moisten the whole leaf by spraying it, or steaming it.. then using a brush to brush off with a paintbrush the dirt or whatever to clean it. but I'd rather wash the leaves in water... and I've heard of that being an actual method of preparation for cigarette tobacco... so why not? And they also might that for shisha tobacco... except I'm not adding any flavorings.. and if anything casing for me will just be the water I use to rehumidify it...
 

TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
but I wouldn't really use them for cigarettes TBH because of that problem of finding foreign objects. It's OK for pipe/cigar "segment" tobacco though.. and interesting because it's an American Blend... ie "burley/virginia" as the base atleast. There are some that are cleaner, but they still seem pretty alkaline to be actually for cigarette tobacco. And I think the RAW Hydrostone may even alter that... so that when one rehydrates it.. there may be less alkalinity if it was a high alkaline tobacco. I dont know...

I wish they could do Cavendish, with a natural sugar though.. I saw one that is additive free, or atleast they say. But it was really harsh. But I may also be sensitive right now because I'm dealing with something. basically to all sugars.. even if natural.

And I wasn't inhaling them either so.. and inhalability is Key for me to be able to do my . 'French Puffs" or w/e Im talking about. Which is basically multiple puffs and , not exactly inhaling the smoke into my lungs but, letting the smoke hit the back of the throat or something. And maybe it gets pulled into the mouth a little by the puffing action, I dont know. I can't really do it in front of a mirror and it happens better spontaneously lol...
 

TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
I like how these RYOs warm up the nose. I cannot do that with a pipe.. or I need a special pipe with the bowl closer to the nose...

It really helps to warm me up when I'm too cold...
 

TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
yeah so OHM Au Naturall'e still seems to have a lot of grit. or dirt or smtg. A lot of these pipe tobaccos do have foreign things in them. Like Kentucky's Best and OHM for example. Hairs, feathers, grit...

I haven't seen any of that in Golden Harvest Natural.. but I didn't smoke to the end of the bag... because I didn't really like it as much as the other two.

yeah so I smoke them like cigars.. without inhaling. Or a RYO pipe tobacco. Because I'm used to American Spirit.. and these really dont compare when it comes to inhaling. They seem more alkaline, and possibly more dirty. But, cheaper and can be smoked as a cigar/pipe tobacco. And I guess the nicotine hit is pretty much the same so that's how I was able to switch.
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
well, I put this into the cigars category because I smoke it like a cigar. even though it is a RYO "cigarette", so I dont know what else to call it. It's not really a cigarrillo is it? a 'little cigar'? a "little tobacco"?

I guess not many people actually, roll a cigarette to smoke it as a cigar.... lol. In the Dominican Republic they smoke dual purpose tobacco that can be used as pipe and cigar tobacco, and people even roll it in papers I've seen. So I dont know if they inhale or not... but that seems to be the closest to what I'm doing I guess.

Unless uhh, it's a "mapacho" but rolled with American Blend tobaccos...
Mapacho can also be inhaled... I know this because, atleast if properly prepared.. I was able to smoke it inhaling but a little bit at a time, ie a few puffs.

I thought it was funny, that people seemed to describe these type of tobaccos as having a "cigarette note" lol. Well, to me it is just non aromatic.. like maybe a "Virginia" blend? but it also may have burley. and it actually seems more aromatic (naturally) than American Spirit cigarette tobacco...

I think it's also classification that this kind of pipe tobacco cannot be inhaled..because it is an American Blend... just like American Spirit. But, it cannot really be inhaled for a cigarette...
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
Hm... Im now smoking OHM Au Naturall'e Red (Bold) pipe tobacco... it seems to give me less of those "nose hits" i want .. it seems. Who knows why, if it's because it has less Virginia Flue Cured? or if it's because it is more moist.. being more fresh.. I just finished the bag of the Gold (Smooth).

The Gold is definitely.. more "smooth" I guess.. and it was easier to get those nose hits.. "French puffs/inhales" or whatever.

It definitely takes a lot of relighting. and it canoes.. Removing stems or chunks (breaking it up) might help. I dont feel like drying it but if I have to we'll see, if maybe those "French Puffs" get easier if i do... I just dont want to ruin a bunch of tobacco by drying it too much. I'll try little by little. I like being able to roll it up first before I try it in the pipe before I ruin a good pipe... that's an advantage of papers.

Today I just learned, how to really clean whole leaf tobacco from bulk. I was getting a lot of spots after washing and drying them.. but what do you know.. I did vinegar rinses on my dishes and that seemed to fix that problem. So now I can start to work on preparing these whole leaves, but I'll have to figure out how to rehydrate them with the RAW hydrostone. it seems it may require a lot more than just one for these leaves.. and maybe keeping stems will hang onto the moisture.
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
yeah those vinegar rinses do nothing. It's just, I had this one leaf (or cut of leaf) that dried perfectly without any spots.. and before I did it, I did the vinegar rinsing to see if it would help.

And it dried perfectly without any spots. But then I remembered.. it was a part of leaf that was lighter than other parts of leaf...

So apparently, this particular leaf Im working with (a dark air cured wrapper) cannot be soaked too long, or else it becomes too saturated, and I guess maybe those spots develop when it dries because the mold has spread.

But what if. i figure out the max amount of time it may be soaked right before it starts to develop spots. And I just repeat that changing water every so often until Im satisfied. Eventually maybe too I can soak longer if I get through the first few shorter soaks? But this is assuming this technique will work.

And so far I've gone up to 2.5 minutes ,but that one light leaf was able to be soaked up to 15 minutes. So I guess it may also vary depending on how far the leaf has cured.

Anyways.. i didn't get this problem with the flue cured leaf... Or maybe I just did not notice. I wanted to try something different this time. It still smokes well, it just Colors the leaf. so it looks unappealing... And especially if I want to rehydrate them, and it is, remnants of mold? yeah it might mess it up.

Anyways I'll experiment more when I can later, if not I give up on these leaves and go back to washing flue cured leaves... and maybe I'll discover that those spots were always there also lol.
 
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TheSt0rm

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 2, 2022
155
128
well, I was just thinking, I liked the Gold (Smooth) blend better, because it allowed me to do the "French Puffs" ...

and then I switched to the Red (Bold) and then ... it stopped giving me the French Puffs. So then I thought "well this is just Full Bodied maybe that's why..."... and it burns slower.. it takes more relighting (pretty annoying actually).

But then, I started doing actual French Inhales.. and wow. it is giving me the same nose burn the Puffs gave me with the Gold (smooth) blend, but I can just do French INhales and it gives me the nose burn.. ie I can just do one good inhale, and I dont have to puff constantly like the other one to get the nose burn I want.

So I guess that's what "Full Bodied" means, or "Bold"....

So yeah, it gives a Stronger nose burn, it's just hard to do it the same way I was doing it with the Gold (smooth) blend.. But it's harder to do it because it doesn't burn "as smoothly".

I dont have to keep puffing to get a good nose burn, I can just do one single french inhale to get the nose burn I want. Interesting...

well who knows... I still want to try the Gold with some dark whole leaf I can prepare at home if I can do it.. soon I hope.
 
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