Briar brother Beginner

[briarbrother]

Dear Briar bothers,
Which aromatic blends would you recommend for the beginner smoker (cavendish?!)? What is the best way to pack a pipe for a beginner ( I am having alot of trouble learning how to pack a pipe and how often to take puffs..etc?)? How do I build a tolerance to nicotine (I'm quite sensitive) so I can smoke stronger blends (Balkan ..etc)? Which blends are mild on Nicotine but have a full-bodied taste?? Any recommendations or tips are highly appreciated!!
BriarBrother

 

[withnail]

First of all - welcome to the Forum and the wonderful world of Pipe smoking!
Most Cavendish / Black Cavendish blends are reasonably low in nicotine compared to other blends. You'll find that smoking those for a while will build up a tolerance. As for which aromatics to go for - I really enjoy the blends by Gawith Hoggarth and Co. I am from the UK so I'll leave it to others to recommend domestic blends for you.
If you google "pipe smoking guide beginner" you will find lots and lots of online guides. AS a general rule, if your pipe is going out a lot is is probably packed too tightly. If you find your pipe gurgling a lot it might be packed too loose. For most blends, you fill the bowl, tapping the pipe to allow gravity to fill the bowl, until it is full. Gently tamp down the tobacco until it is about half way down the bowl. Repeat the gravity fill until the bowl is full and tamp down to about 3/4 full. Add one more layer of tobacco and tamp to just below the rim of the bowl and you should have a reasonably packed pipe.
When smoking you should "sip" at the pipe rather than draw a deep breath as cigarette smokers do. A hot pipe bowl is usually a sign that you are smoking a little too fast. As with all things, practice makes perfect, so sit back and enjoy the experience and don't worry about it too much.

 

[tobakenist]

Welcome to the forum, Withnail has given some good advise but one of the most important things for a novice pipe smoker is to start with a quality pipe, so many people have given up, not because of tobacco but because the pipe just wasn't good enough to give a quality smoke. It doesn't have to be an expensive pipe, many on here will tell you the virtues of a good Corn Cob pipe and there are many reasonably priced briars on the market, the best way is to find a good tobacconists that can advise you on pipes and tobacco's. If this isn't possible let us no on here what pipe you are smoking and what tobacco's you have tried, this is a great place to learn how to enjoy our wonderful pastime.

 

[judcole]

First, welcome aboard.
Second, let me correct a misconception.

How do I build a tolerance to nicotine (I'm quite sensitive) so I can smoke stronger blends (Balkan ..etc)? Which blends are mild on Nicotine but have a full-bodied taste??

Balkan and other latakia based blends are not necessarily high in nicotine. Latakia is, in itself,one of the lower nic tobaccos. But - and this is a big but - what's low in nic to one person might be quite high to another. You just have to try things out and decide for yourself. ::

 

[buster]

Welcome to the forum BB. You will find a lot of useful info in this forum. If you scroll all the way down look to the left side and find some good how to stuff. You might also want to read this?
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/tobacco-basics-nicotine-amp-sugar-content-curing-methods
I am new to this hobby also. I have found that as a newbie I was packing the bowl to tight and smoking to fast. After I got that figured out I enjoyed a cooler smoke and could taste the flavors better. Also letting moist tobacco dry out a bit will help a lot also. You can set a bowls worth on a plate for half an hour to a few hours. Even over night.
Happy puffing! :puffpipe:

 

[pstlpkr]

I'll address the packing procedures.

If you look in the left-hand column just below the Sponsor listings, you will see a listing of videos.

Bob has a couple three good videos there that will help tremendously toward building your own "ritual".

You might also go to Youtube and enter Frank Method.

The videos there are a bit different, but subject for rousing debate.

Be sure to watch all three.

Hope those are of use to you...

You should be able to glean a gem or two to call your own.
Welcome aboard!

We look forward to more questions, comments, and photos.

 

[markw4mms]

Welcome aboard!

 

[mluyckx]

Welcome aboard !
I'm pretty much a newbie myself. I do echo Tobakenist. If you can afford it, spend the $50 on a decent pipe. Here's two brands I have liked: Duca Carlo and Roma (don't mistake it with a brand called Savinelli which has a model of pipe called Roma). The Roma brand pipe has nothing but the word "Roma" on it. In addition, my very first pipe was a small little thing with no name, only the markings "Czech". Bought it of a wall panel at a local tobacco store for $35. I still carry it around, love it and it's a sweet little thing.
Good packing comes with experience. The videos are excellent and worth watching ! I've found the Franck method to be the easiest for me. Experiment with the different ways to pack a pipe. Always sip on the pipe before packing (get a feel for how it draws) then pack and sip without lighting. If it's too tight you will notice the difference. Too loose, you can always tamp it a bit while smoking. Too tight ? Dump and restart packing. Just right, light it and enjoy :puffpipe:
On the blends I can't help too much since I'm not a big aromatics guy. I'm moving over from cigarettes, so I enjoy the burleys. I am branching out though ;-)
However, a good tobacco store will allow you to fill a bowl and try it out before buying. Don't abuse it, but I would walk in a tobacconist, smell the jars, ask questions, find one you like, ask if you can try it. If you don't abuse it and regularly buy something, they will gladly let you.
Hope this is helpful, never hesitate to ask questions, these guys here rock ! :worship:

 

[philip]

Welcome brother BriarBrother.
Go slow and easy. (Smoking and learning.)

Good packing comes with experience.

Along with everything else. Unfortunately experience only comes the hard way.

And don't ask us "What's the best tobacco?" We all know there's only one, but none of us knows what it is. :?

 

[PeriqueMyInterest]

http://tobacconist.ca/links.html

Check out these videos they helped me out quite a bit. Welcome to the hobby!

 

[seakayak]

Welcome to the brotherhood. The advice given by Lawrence reflects my thought well. Your questions are just too big for a single forum thread. Study the sources cited by him and the others, and enjoy the adventure (and fellowship) of becoming a pipe smoker.

 

[smokenscotch]

Welcome to the forum. This is a great group of people that will help you a lot.

 

[briarbrother]

Thank you soo much everyone for your replies. I have been trying to smoke slower and try, to relax with the pipe. I find that slowing down actually does help with reducing tongue bite as well as improving my appreciation for tobacco flavors (I still haven't figured out how to "rate" or pick up the nuances of each tobacco blend/flavors?? any suggestions) I am very fond of the Frog Morton blends..one question though..in which order should i smoke the frog morton blends (bayou in the morning, across the pond,on the town and frog morton original at night?? I am trying to set up a daily schedule from mildest (morning) to afternoon and nighttime smoking sessions. In what order (daily rotations) does everyone smoke their favorite blends? I have some "haddos delight" (g.l. pease) which i haven't opened yet, when ppl speak of the "strength" of the tobacco, are they talking about "nicotine" or strength of flavor (haddos delight is considered "strong")? which other g.l pease blends are good..especially aromatics?? I have been watching alot of youtube videos and one that REALLY helped me as far as improving my cadence and slowing down has been this video.."The Pontificating Pipe!" "The Pontificating Pipe!" http://www.youtube.com/user/TamperPeterson as the author talks about "breathing through the pipe" I tried this method and it seemed to help me smoke slower, keep the pipe lit longer, and most importantly... the smoke was MUCH cooler and more flavorful (I was getting alot of tongue burn lately) does anyone know more about this method or use this method themselves..i'm curious to know more about it. I appreciate all my fellow Briar Brothers for helping and welcoming a new "Brother " into a lifelong hobby.
Happy Holidays,

Briar Brother

 

[olderthandirt]

That is a whole lot of questions in one post BBrother, hehe.

The jist of all of them leads me to think you are close to answering them all yourself really.
Explore different blends, note what you like and dislike about each and then explore some more. That's one aspect of the pipe, the exploration, that is so much fun and so very individual!
As for the Breath Smoking, that is so very key to my enjoyment of a bowl!! I like to reference this short article for folks new to the idea but the link you gave for the Pontificating Pipe is gold, thanks BBro!

 

[arinbjorn]

I can heartily recommend Vanilla Cream Flake from MacBaren (a virginia flake with a nice vanilla taste, but also tastes like tobacco too)... and Dan Tobacco's "Blue Note", which is more heavy on the flavoring, but is also a quality smoke.
Smoke what you like, and like what you smoke! And welcome to the forums.

 

[smokey422]

For fine aromatics, look no farther than Boswell Pipes and Tobaccos. J.M. and Dan have a big selection of fine blends and are really great to deal with. The other source of aromatics that I recommend is Pipeworks and Wilke. Carole Burns is the proprietor and also has a good selection of great blends.
Smokey

 

[rhogg]

I don't have any good advice, except for "keep it up"! I have rarely bought the same blend more than twice. Not because I don't like them all but because there are so darn many. I went the retard route and just started buying so many pipes and tobaccos that I had to commit myself to the asylum of pipery. Not a bad way when in the exploration mode.

 

[rhogg]

The Asylum of Pipery
i bought em straight bent

big and small

natural finished

hell I like em all
virginia buley perique and sweet

campfire candy

horse shit

and musty mud creek
fuzzy sticks, shank brushes

reamers and stands

meer, brair, cob, and cherry

of various brands
a smile and mouthwash goes along way

when after a pipe you'd like to get laid

 

[nsfisher]

Briarbrother
Welcome and congrats on ur new hobby.

 

[admin]

These types of threads are one of my favorites.
Welcome Briar Brother.