Basket pipe advice

[judcasper]

I was afraid of the puffed smoke having a temperature in the hundred(s) of degrees (Celsius) range, but looking at this bloke and his thermometer, the smoke ain't really hot: ~40 °C is a lower temperature than that of freshly poured coffee.

But when he was drawing the temperature was in the 100s ?
Anyway, today was the day I called in at the tobacconists to look at their basket pipes. I did all the checks recommended by you guys and had a nice chat with the woman behind the counter. She let me stick my nose into some of their American aromatics; Irish Cream, Rum Butter... they honestly smelt good enough to eat, and they do sample-size measures of them all, too.
As for the pipes, I didn't buy one. They all had the words: Real Briar stamped on the shank, and there was a nice little nosewarmer that took my fancy, but I forced myself to walk away empty handed. I then walked around the block, all the time fighting the urge to go back and buy the pipe I liked and a sample pack of the Irish Creme. It wouldn't have broken the bank if I had, and I'm obviously regretting not buying now, but my head won over my heart and I managed to convince myself I had more important things to spend my money on.

 

[olkofri]

Judcasper, yes, 100s in the Fahrenheit scale. Which is ~40 degrees centigrade. Water boils at 100 °C, which would read as 212 in his thermometer.
When he was not drawing the temperature was ~94.5 °F, which is lower than your body's normal temp.

 

[judcasper]

Judcasper, yes, 100s in the Fahrenheit scale. Which is ~40 degrees centigrade. Water boils at 100 °C, which would read as 212 in his thermometer.
When he was not drawing the temperature was ~94.5 °F, which is lower than your body's normal temp.

Ah, sorry. I've always been hopeless at the whole °F / °C thing. Maybe he gets them confused too :D

 

[olkofri]

S'OK, Fahrenheit and Imperial system baffles me too; I was using my IRC bot's converter. I was particularly interested in the temps when he relit, but it only went to 107 °F, which is 41.7 centigrade.
When I was starting out I was mostly worried about some of the smoke going into my mouth being actually steam. Steam will definitely burn you like heck. But with those temps we saw last night, no steam is coming through.

 

[olkofri]

Oh, one more thing. He knows how to smoke a pipe. So, let's not take those temps as gospel. A beginner drawing on a pipe like a cigar will probably meet hotter temps. He might even pull in steam. 8O

 

[pappymac]

All it has to do is pass a pipe cleaner from the stem to the chamber. Anything else is aesthetics.

That criteria eliminates quite a few Peterson and Savinellis. Especially the systems pipes or bent pipes which are not designed to pass a pipe cleaner.

 

[judcasper]

Oh, one more thing. He knows how to smoke a pipe. So, let's not take those temps as gospel. A beginner drawing on a pipe like a cigar will probably meet hotter temps. He might even pull in steam.

Doesn't it all boil down to common sense at the end of the day, and listening to your nerves signals? If we take a sip of too-hot coffee and sting our tongue, we don't immediately take another sip and burn it again. Just draw on the pipe and if you get a sense something's too hot, do something about it rather than sit there puffing away until your tongue ignites in flames.
One thing this has told me, is that I may have completely misunderstood what tongue bite is. When I first started looking into the term, I got the impression it was caused by some kind of chemical reaction between certain tobaccos when burned and mixed with your mouth's saliva. I still maintain there's probably something in that, too, because when I've experienced tongue bite the sensation has been nothing like 'burning' your tongue in the way you would on hot food or drink. It's more like the burn you get from spicy food.

 

[crashthegrey]

if you get a sense something's too hot, do something about it rather than sit there puffing away until your tongue ignites in flames

You would like to think so, but you'd be surprised.

 

[olkofri]

Yup, when you start fighting the pipe that's going out after two puffs and get frustrated with relighting continuously and start puffing like a choo-choo to keep it going, common sense gets tossed overboard and at the same time you say 'damn the torpedoes, ahead flank!'

 

[olkofri]

One thing this has told me, is that I may have completely misunderstood what tongue bite is. When I first started looking into the term, I got the impression it was caused by some kind of chemical reaction between certain tobaccos when burned and mixed with your mouth's saliva. I still maintain there's probably something in that, too, because when I've experienced tongue bite the sensation has been nothing like 'burning' your tongue in the way you would on hot food or drink. It's more like the burn you get from spicy food.

Yes, 'tongue bite' is a term that gets thrown around to generalise any kind of pipe-related tongue discomfort.
Technically, you're correct, there's is tongue bite –a chemical reaction to something coming into your mouth, which is not limited to tobacco (I get tongue bite from too much salt)–, and tongue burn which is, well, a burnt tongue resulting from something hot coming in contact with it.

 

[judcasper]

Technically, you're correct, there's is tongue bite –a chemical reaction to something coming into your mouth, which is not limited to tobacco (I get tongue bite from too much salt)–, and tongue burn which is, well, a burnt tongue resulting from something hot coming in contact with it.

Ah, thanks. I get tongue bite from overly-sweet foods, oddly.

 

[bent1]

Thanks for the link on Morgan pipes Bill.
If the looks are ok with you OP, consider a Missouri Meerschaum. They’ve been at a minimum good smokers, if not better for me.

 

[bnichols23]

Most welcome, any time!
Bill