Can anyone smell what they are smoking ?

[bentmike]

Interesting thread here. I get a good whiff of a blend when I first light then it seems much less noticeable. If I hold my pipe on the upwind side while outside I sometimes get a smell to enjoy.
Ha Ha @Lazydog! I knew I wasn't the only one. I love to smell the bowls of my pipes as they rest. After about three days the harshness mellows and only aromatic aspects remain. I read it somewhere so it's not my idea but that's how I tell the pipe is ready to smoke again.
I shared a smoke with my dad this past weekend and we both smoked from the same tin but I had finished my bowl before he lit his. Once he got underway it smelled awesome -a completely different experience enjoying his bowl as a bystander.
I've often thought of rigging up some kind of device to combust a bit of tobacco without manually doing it myself to get a better idea of the roomnote.

 

[cortezattic]

I can't smell the aroma at all. (Shoelady says the dog smells a million times better than I do.)

 

[baronsamedi]

@ unix :rofl:

 

[kennerth]

On a recent trip between Houston and San Antonio, I was enjoying a pipe along the way. While I was standing outside my car waiting for my order at a local drive in along the way, I smelled something wonderful. It didn't take me long to find out that it was the room note coming from inside my car! Made me glad that what I can't smell when I am smoking smells so good!

 

[cajunguy]

Sense of taste is intrinsically tied to smell. It's not uncommon for someone to ignore or feel isolated from surrounding aromas when the brain is focused on taste. This was something I noticed a while back and decided to research a bit to sate my interest. I noticed when eating my favorite foods, I no longer smelled them unless I deliberately concentrated on the aroma.
Essentially, to skip all the scientific stuff, because your sense of smell is a component of taste, when something is hitting your taste buds your olfactory system devotes most of its energy towards intensifying taste and not detecting aroma. Interesting, eh? What's more interesting is that, for some people, this doesn't happen. Their gustatory and olfactory systems operate completely independently of one another.
More useless information from the peanut gallery. :rofl:

 

[photoman13]

That is interesting Cajunguy. I have always heard they were tied some how. I was also wondering how this would affect people you hear about that taste wine with super taste buds. If taste and smell are tied in some way would they smell the aroma even more. This would be interesting to know.

 

[gungnir]

Hmm I find that very interesting as well Cajunguy. On the topic I find that smoking outside, which is about 90% of the time for me, allows me to notice the scent better. My theory is that the outside air acts as some sort of olfactory cleanser, with all the different smells outdoors somewhat like how coffee beans are supplied for the cologne/perfume areas. Maybe one of you lucky indoor pipe smokers out there would like to put this to the test for me? :D I would be very grateful :worship: once my curiosity is piqued it gnaws at the back of my head till its satisfied.

 

[cyndi]

When I was little my Nanny always said "Cyndi, don't ever put on more than a dab of perfume because your nose will get used to the scent in a few minutes but other people's noses won't."
I figure that's kind of the same thing as pipe tobacco. When we're smoking it, we're immersed in it and get used to it. Other people come into contact with us who aren't used to it and smell it.

 

[bronxbriar]

Can't smell it.....well not too much, maybe not at all.....not sure..... :P

 

[rlunderhill]

I'm with lordnoble, If I leave the area and come back, then I can smell it. Then I realize how bad it does smell.

I smoke only for taste. Not the smell.
I usually limit that tobacco to the outside only. Depends on the people around me. If they hold their noises, I get the hint and leave the area. Some blends are just plain bad smelling.

 

[sabertooth]

I've only tried a few different tobaccos, but I couldn't never actually smell em during smoking. I can sometimes get a small trace from french inhaling, but I don't do it much.