Cadence

[ignaciojn]

That's 5-6 minutes at least.

If I leave my pipe for 5 minutes, she would leave me for another man.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Oh yeah, and +100 for the Cap'n's magnificent mustache!

It says thank you. :mrgreen:

 

[yuda]

I think the jokes have been the best part of this thread. I appreciate the responses, gents. I'll be sure to give your advice a try tonight.

 

[npod]

It took me probably two years of pipe smoking to develop a good technique with breath smoking and proper cadence. I had old cigar habits to break. It also took me a longer amount of time to learn to recognize my own state of mind when smoking. At first I would watch videos all night, read blogs, and then dream of smoking all day at work and couldn’t wait to get home to try a new blend or a new pipe or anything else pipe related. Often when I started a bowl I had just got home, was still in work mode in my head, stressed about making dinner, walking the dogs, various chores. I was not in the proper state of mind to enjoy a pipe and I would rush. Nothing good comes from rushing or stress. Once I learned to recognize my own state of mind the cadence fell into place and finally learned to slow smoke for real. It’s mind blowing, wonderful stuff when it clicks.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Kidding aside, I just put my pipe in my mouth and do something else with my hands, whether reading or working at my bench. My breath will fall into a natural relaxed cadence on its own, and smoking becomes passive. It's not a cadence that I think about, and actually, the moment I think about the pipe, the magic is broken, and I start thinking about my breathing, and I don't get nearly as good a smoke.
If I am setting down talking with someone while smoking, I am more than likely thinking about the process and I don't get nearly as good a smoke as I do while doing something else. I have actually started smoking cigars while at The Briary, because a cigar is just much more forgiving while being social than the pipe, IMO.
This is just how it is for me. Everyone has a different take on smoking their pipes.

 

[arvetus]

It took me probably two years of pipe smoking to develop a good technique with breath smoking and proper cadence. I had old cigar habits to break. It also took me a longer amount of time to learn to recognize my own state of mind when smoking. At first I would watch videos all night, read blogs, and then dream of smoking all day at work and couldn’t wait to get home to try a new blend or a new pipe or anything else pipe related. Often when I started a bowl I had just got home, was still in work mode in my head, stressed about making dinner, walking the dogs, various chores. I was not in the proper state of mind to enjoy a pipe and I would rush. Nothing good comes from rushing or stress. Once I learned to recognize my own state of mind the cadence fell into place and finally learned to slow smoke for real. It’s mind blowing, wonderful stuff when it clicks.

THIS! SO MUCH THIS!!!

I'm in the same boat at the moment. I mentioned in another thread of my morning ritual and how it has made a world of difference. I don't smoke in the mornings - I don't think I'm that coordinated :lol: But my morning ritual is to make my coffee and then take the dogs outside and I sit outside on my porch while they run around the yard and potty and do their dog thing. I bask in the dim morning light and just enjoy the silence and the companionship of my dogs as they finish their thing and come up and sit with me. It helps get my mind in a good place for starting to day, and if I don't do it, the whole day is just off. We rented a beach condo for a week here last month and I did the same. My wife was ready to hit the beach and pool as soon as her eyes opened for the day. She'd come running out to the patio where I was sipping my coffee and asking if I was ready. I hadn't even made it halfway through the first cup. Told her to go down to the beach and I would meet her after I finished my second cup and put swim trunks on.
I still don't consider myself a "smoker" yet as I don't do it often enough to warrant calling myself one in my mind. But I am learning and I do want to learn how to smoke a pipe. I've had 3 bowls so far since I've started toying with this a few weeks ago. The first couple bowls were nervous smokes, fumbling out of nervousness and excitement of trying and feeling what all the pipe smokers say that pipe smoking feels like. I felt none of it. The 3rd bowl, I started to be able to relax a bit. As I develop the skill, I think it will come with time.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I think it will come with time.

^ This more than anything. Time is a must, whether it's having the time to have that relaxing smoke or not. Then also, over time, it will develop and before you know it, you'll be relaxing, sipping your smoke, and when those first new flavors and aromas hit you, it'll be like a feeling that washes over you all at once. It can be tempting to speed things up a bit when that finally happens for you, but please resist that temptation. All it will do is make it a poor smoke session. I have all of my best smokes when I just relax and lose myself in the moment. Never even realizing just how relaxed I am until my pipe goes out, then I check my watch, I was out there on my porch for almost 2 hours with nothing but a good pipe, some tasty tobacco and a nice cool drink. Those happen less often than I'd like, but hey, they won't all be perfect smokes. I'm just always finding myself searching for that next great smoke, but I just don't ever truly realize it, until it's almost gone. That's when I know I get out of this hobby what I enjoy the most, the pure relaxation and alleviation of my stress.

 

[yuda]

Tried the breath smoking method with my Lorenzo Spitfire(one of the cheaper models I got on my last deployment) and some Dunhill 965. I must confess I didn't much care for that tobacco before trying this, but now I got much more depth of flavor and found it to bea truly delicious blend! the Capn's video on how to do it was a big help, and I'm probably gonna be doing that little truck with my finger as I do practice that method for quite some time.
Thanks again to everyone for their advice. Glad to be able to rekindle my passion for this hobby.

 

[mikethompson]

We are certainly enablers around here!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Glad the video helped. You'll soon be doing it without even thinking about it. It just becomes natural.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Having been at this seriously for roughly 8yrs now cadence is second nature to me really.
After the recent radio show episode with Shane where he noted a well known pipe guy at a show telling him he was smoking too hot when he thought he had a good cadence down I have paid more attention to it and have tried to slow down a bit. As Shane stated in the show, slowing down and just keep it smoldering with the bowl remaining on the cooler side I am pulling more flavors out of blends.
Another thing to note about getting flavors out of the blend is being hydrated and keeping your palate moist. When I have a blend for the first tin or ounce or two I always sip on water and only water. It keeps the palate moist and doesn't impart any other flavors, so you really get a clearer picture of the blend's flavor profile. Once you get that then pairing it with a scotch or whiskey, with an IPA or a lager, with a tea, with a lemonade etc. will draw out other flavors too or maybe highlight a flavor that originally with the water was more in the background. It's what is known in the hobby as the quest for the perfect smoke.

 

[mso489]

The sip versus the puff with about ten to thirty seconds between captures it for me. I occasionally do puff a bit, generate some smoke, especially with a milder blend, when I want to get the full flavor, but that is only once or twice a bowl, if that. You get a lot more out of strong blends letting the flavor come up more quietly. I don't retrohale. Nothing against it, but it's just not my thing.