Beginner Questions

[xdon3]

Hello. I'm a new pipe smoker as of October 31st 2025, and I have smoked my first pipe, which isn't briar, and I have a few questions.

1. Does tighter draw good, or should it be open?

2. How thick the smoke be generally? When I smoke, the smoke I blow out of my mouth is very thin, almost invisible.

3. Even when I smoked slow, the tobacco tastes like ash and sour like the end of a cigar, why?

 

[anotherbob]

Hello. I'm a new pipe smoker as of October 31st 2025, and I have smoked my first pipe, which isn't briar, and I have a few questions.

what material is it? That's a huge part of the answers to your other questions.

1. Does tighter draw good, or should it be open?

Preference. What is comfortable for you.

2. How thick the smoke be generally? When I smoke, the smoke I blow out of my mouth is very thin, almost invisible.

That's fine. In fact that might be a good sign about your cadeance.

3. Even when I smoked slow, the tobacco tastes like ash and sour like the end of a cigar, why?

Could be the pipe, could be the tobacco, could be technique, could be all of them some of them. Need more info for that answer.

 

[xdon3]

what material is it? That's a huge part of the answers to your other questions.

Preference. What is comfortable for you.

That's fine. In fact that might be a good sign about your cadeance.

Could be the pipe, could be the tobacco, could be technique, could be all of them some of them. Need more info for that answer.

I don't know the exact wood. The make and model is Muxiang 102HT.

 

[xdon3]

I don't know the exact wood. The make and model is Muxiang 102HT.

EDIT: The make and model is an ebony pipe according to the official website.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Looks like at least one other forum you joined you've got a briar on the way? What make? And probably answer the other questions asked above, like what are you smoking? Plenty of folks can help if you provide enough context.

 

[Sig]

Pipe smoking is something that takes a bit of time to get proficient at. Many new smokers give up due to some of the issues you're having. Keep up with it, its worth it.
Generally you want to error on the side of a lighter packing, versus a tight packing. Tight packing can cause a hot pipe, which can cause the flavor issues you're experiencing.
The amount of smoke will vary depending on tobacco and puffing cadence. It means nothing as long as you're getting good flavors. I wouldn't worry about that at all.
Try packing VERY loose, like just dropping the tobacco in the pipe, and very lightly push it down just to keep it in the bowl. You can adjust your packing from there.
I dont know what tobacco you're smoking, but heavy aromatics CAN cause the flavor issues too. In my opinion aromatics are not a great place to start. They take some technique to get anything but hot air and ash. If you have access to just basic Burley or Virginia blends, they are a better place to start in my opinion.

 

[xdon3]

Looks like at least one other forum you joined you've got a briar on the way? What make? And probably answer the other questions asked above, like what are you smoking? Plenty of folks can help if you provide enough context.

Yes, that's correct. And the briar pipe that's on the way, doesn't have a brand. It's on the cheap side as well.

Oh, sorry, I'm smoking a (probably) local tobacco called "Tycoon - Coffee Cream" which hints at an aromatic blend, because whenever I open the jar I keep it in, the smell immediately attack my nose in a good way.

 

[xdon3]

Pipe smoking is something that takes a bit of time to get proficient at. Many new smokers give up due to some of the issues you're having. Keep up with it, its worth it.
Generally you want to error on the side of a lighter packing, versus a tight packing. Tight packing can cause a hot pipe, which can cause the flavor issues you're experiencing.
The amount of smoke will vary depending on tobacco and puffing cadence. It means nothing as long as you're getting good flavors. I wouldn't worry about that at all.
Try packing VERY loose, like just dropping the tobacco in the pipe, and very lightly push it down just to keep it in the bowl. You can adjust your packing from there.
I dont know what tobacco you're smoking, but heavy aromatics CAN cause the flavor issues too. In my opinion aromatics are not a great place to start. They take some technique to get anything but hot air and ash. If you have access to just basic Burley or Virginia blends, they are a better place to start in my opinion.

Thank you for the tip. I'll try a looser pack next time. I admit I might pack a little tight to compensate the loose airflow because I remove the filter from the stem.

 

[anotherbob]

I don't know the exact wood. The make and model is Muxiang 102HT.

I would just get another pipe to be honest. There are cheap briars that will smoke much better for you. Corncob pipes are much better for smoking too. That is probably the answer to why a lot of your smokes are disappointing. And generally don't buy a pipe if you don't know what it's made out of. That should be very clear and unquestionable.

 

[Olkofri]

What blend were you smoking?

 

[sablebrush52]

Hello. I'm a new pipe smoker as of October 31st 2025, and I have smoked my first pipe, which isn't briar, and I have a few questions.

1. Does tighter draw good, or should it be open?

2. How thick the smoke be generally? When I smoke, the smoke I blow out of my mouth is very thin, almost invisible.

3. Even when I smoked slow, the tobacco tastes like ash and sour like the end of a cigar, why?

You’ve been given some very good advice.
Loose packing helps with airflow. Drying down the tobacco improves flavors. The amount of smoke varies depending on the type of tobacco. Wisps of smoke are fine. Slow smoking avoids that “ash and hot air” result.
Smoking a pipe ain’t rocket science but it does take practice to get a good result.
Don’t neglect cleaning the chamber and airway between smokes. Don’t worry about keeping the tobacco burning. If it goes out, just relight.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I smoke the filtered pipes I have without filters and don’t do anything to “compensate”. No need to suck it through. Relax and enjoy the process.

 

[proteus]

The smoke isnt an indicator of anything really. Some tobacco generates more smoke than others. Draw should be effortless so pack light and tamp ash lightly as you smoke it down. Properly drying tobacco is an art but truly dry unsmokable tobacco ive yet to experience even after leaving out tobacco for many months. Maybe after some years perhaps but in practical terms dry unsmokable tobacco doesnt exist in everyday use. Draw very slowly, effortlessly and completely. Settle in. Let it happen. Then exhale. If setup properly just inhaling through your nose will extract smoke from the pipe. Very little. You are not trying to inhale a camp fire. Taste will vary among tobacco. Maybe that tobacco isnt your cuppa tea. Try others. Find the one you like. Then let the smoke rise to the heavens and your problems with it.

 

[TimeKiller]

EDIT: The make and model is an ebony pipe according to the official website.

I don't know much about Muxiang but I see them listed everywhere now. Lots of sources say they mostly use briar though some places do say they use pear or other woods too, some even report them using soft woods sometimes.

Some pear pipes and rose pipes from other vendors that are stained black are marked as Ebony. It could be just a description of a color. But if it's true ebony it's not supposed to be used for smoking since it's historically considered to be toxic (though some skepticism of those toxicity claims too). I doubt anyone is making true ebony pipes, could be wrong.

Weird but about half of the results for 102HT list pine as the wood it's made from, which doesn't make sense. Possibly a translation error.

There are some active listings for a 102HT that do not look like briar to me but I'm not an expert by a long shot. I've never seen that kind of grain voids before so I don't know what I'm looking at. The end grain type looks odd to me too.





Strangely the listing I grabbed those from are list it as PINE similar to others - but it could be translation issues or copy paste from a bad vendor description. But other places have ads for it specifically saying Made with Real Ebony Wood - while simultaneously listing materials as: "wood and plastic"



So a bit of a rabbit hole. I like a good mystery but not for something I'm gonna smoke from!

My answer for fellow cheap skates is always: get a cob!