Cheat Sheet for New Pipe-Smokers (Need Your Help With Some Crowd-Sourcing!)

[oklansas]

I was recently over at a friend's house, who has just taken up pipe-smoking and was completely horrified at how much tobacco (unburned) that he was dumping out when he thought the pipe was "Finished." I asked him more than a few questions about his habits (tactfully) and soon discovered that he was doing it VERY wrong. Over the course of the evening, I offered him a few suggestions and his experience seemed markedly improved. After a fashion, he expressed interest in a very simple cheat sheet for pipe smoking - so I set to work. Below is the result.
Now, I am not, nor have I claimed to be an expert in all things pipe - in fact, I would continue to call myself a novice. But, sought to collect the essential information I've read across these forums and from other sites into a simple Cheat Sheet. I would very much like a good bit of feedback from the awesome - AND quite knowledgeable - folks here at the PM forums. Please feel free to offer any comments, additions, edits that you feel are necessary as the ESSENTIAL information a n00b would require on a simple cheat sheet.
Thanks in advance!!
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Basic Cheat Sheet for New Pipe Smokers
----Smoking----
Filling

3-step method or Half - 3/4 - Top: 1) Gravity feed bowl until tobacco is slightly overflowing, then press down tobacco to halfway in the bowl; 2) Again, Gravity feed until slightly overflowing, then press down till 3/4th from top of bowl; and 3) Gravity feed, press down till tobacco slight below rim of bowl (ideally 1/8")
Cube Cut, for flake tobacco: 1) Cut 1/8" strips out of the flake, cutting with its grain; 2) Cut strips against the grain every 1/8" to create 1/8" cubes; 3) Gravity feed bowl, tapping the bowl periodically to settle the cubes, until cubes are 1/4" to 1/8" from the top of the bowl; and 4) Crumble some of the flake and put it on the top, very lightly packing it down.
Lighting

Step 1: Charring light - holding the flame slightly above the tobacco, rapidly puff until all the tobacco on the surface has been blackened (charred).

Step 2: Lightly, but firmly tamp the tobacco down to a level surface.

Step 3: Holding the flame above the tobacco, take 2 - 3 gentle draws of 6 to 8 seconds, while slowly moving the flame in a circular motion (so the flame can reach all parts of the bowl)
Tamping

Recommended Technique: Letting the tamper fall a short way, use the weight of the tamper to compress the ashes - or, if using a czech pipe tool - compress the ashes until you feel resistance, basically enough pressure to crush the ashes to more of a powder.

• Should be done prior to any relight

• Refrain from tamping too much during the smoke, as it can make the pipe run hot (knowing how much is too much will come from experience)

• Some recommend that instead of tamping to a level surface, that one should attempt to make a small hill in the middle of the bowl, with the sides tamped down slightly further.
Relighting

• Tamp prior to any relight.

• Only the initial charing light is needed, to relight, you only need to follow step 3 from above.

• Let the pipe rest and cool if it is too hot from previous lights.
Getting to the bottom

The tobacco level will lower in the bowl during the smoke, indicators that you are near the bottom:

• The pipe will require several relights in a very short time (no tobacco left to burn).

• When drawing, the smoke will be especially hot, or contain hot ash.

• The bottom of the bowl will begin to heat up.

• A toasty wood smell is noticeable.
Emptying out the Ashes

• Best done after tamping, but before relighting

• Simply turn over the pipe to dump loose ash, try not to knock the pipe as the unsmoked tobacco might go with the ash

• One need only dump the ash if: 1) It is making the pipe difficult to keep burning and/or relight; and 2) The taste of ash is getting into the draw.
----Maintenance & Cleaning----
Knowing your Czech Pipe Tool

• Spoon - For removing the dottle (or the unsmoked tobacco) from the bottom of the bowl when done

• Needle - For loosing tobacco in a too tightly packed bowl

• Tamper - For tamping
Regular Cleaning

• Clean when done smoking!

• Run soft (absorbing) pipe cleaners through stem until it comes out looking clean

• Pass the pipe cleaner all the way into the bowl, if possible

• Lightly ream the bowl with a paper towel
Thorough Cleaning

• Thorough Clean every 10 to 15 bowls

Step 1: Remove stem from shank

Step 2: Run a pipe cleaner dipped in 190 proof alcohol through the stem, follow with dry, absorbent pipe cleaners until they come through looking clean

Step 3: Fill bowl to bottom with a paper towel to catch excess moisture

Step 4: Tilting the pipe so liquid runs away from the bowl, run a new alcohol dipped pipe cleaner through the shank to the bowl filled with paper towel (one may need to double over the pipe cleaner, or use a shank brush to thoroughly clean all of the shank), follow with dry, absorbent pipe cleaners until they come through looking clean

Step 4: Remove paper towel and reassemble pipe

Step 5: On Vulcanite stems - Rub stem oil, or olive oil on the stem to prevent oxidation (if using olive oil, be sure to remove excess)

• Let pipe rest for at least one day after thorough cleaning
Cake

• Ideal cake width is from a dime to nickel thickness
----Key Things to Remember----
Do!

• Let pipes rest for the same number of days as bowls smoked (i.e. 2 bowls = 2 days of rest)

• Tamp before every relight

• Go slow, sip the pipe, and if it gets to hot, put it down and let it cool - It's okay if it goes out!
Do Not!

• Remove the stem while the pipe is still hot!

• Take long aggressive drags

• Blow down the shank into the bowl - this makes the pipe burn hotter

• Continue to smoke if the pipe fails the 5-second test

 

[jonahtke]

That is wonderful documentation. I may print out copies to guys I bring into the fold.

 

[topd]

I'm with rothnh... Great Job on gathering this all up and putting it together!

 

[juptierspipe]

Love it!! So helpful I needed this a month ago would have saved me a lot of frustration

 

[soggycitybob]

Absolutely a great cheat sheet. But begs the question what your friend was doing wrong.

 

[jndyer]

+1 to a great document.I will keep it to pass it on to others learning to smoke a pipe.
By the way I am also curious about

• Continue to smoke if the pipe fails the 5-second test

 

[bigboi]

Nice list I love it. Wish I had my first couple of bowls. So glad I found this site to help me through some bad experiences!!!

 

[oklansas]

The "Continue to smoke if the pipe fails the 5-second test" is under the Do Not section, as in "Don't continue to smoke if the pipe fails the 5-second test" and refers to the practice of holding a hot part of the pipe to your check, lips, sensitive tip of the finger and if you can't keep it there for at least 5-seconds than the pipe is TOO HOT.
I agree it is probably not the clearest way to put that, and the test probably needs its own description.
Thanks for the catch rothnh and jndyer!

 

[jndyer]

If I would have paid more attention, I would have read it as don't continue to smoke if the pipe fails the five second test. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[wilson]

nicely done

 

[ciderguy]

Looks great! I only tamp before relighting if the pipe went out while I was smoking it. If I just set it down to was busy talking or typing, then I'll just try to relight. Helps to prevent it from being packed too densely.
I highly recommend the new pipe smoker use matches, if for no other reason than it is less likely to char the rim of the pipe. Plus the new smoker doesn't always have a feel for how much some tobaccos will expand once lit.
You might want to say something about common conditions, such as tongue burn and dry mouth. I know many new pipe smokers that decide they like it and end up with horribly burned tongues after going from one or two bowls per day to trying five or six. The only cure I know for this is a few days not smoking until the tongue heals, so I encourage people to build up to additional bowls gradually. Likewise, dry mouth is a common occurrence best solved by proper hydration and Biotene when necessary.
You might want to include a section on tobacco storage. Ball jars are popular.
Oh, and I think every pipe primer should warn new smokers to avoid the heavy aromatic OTCs until they get the hang of things. Those seem to have the strongest reputation for biting and turning people off of the hobby. When Marty Pulvers was on the radio show, he mentioned he always tried to have brand new pipe smokers go home with a VA, Latakia blend, and an aromatic. So that they could find out if there was a style they tended to. The blends he started them off on were Red Cake VA like McCellands 5100, 1Q, and Peter Stokkebye's Proper English. I'd suggest adding a burley heavy blend to the list as well. With those four kinds to try out, the new smoker will be able to begin to understand the differences between tobacco types and understand what they should try next.

 

[vamike]

Thank you. I needed that. I've spent a lot of time searching the web for a pipe smoking primer, and here it is. All the information I need in one place.

 

[wilson]

Somehow reading this last night made me think about my habits -- one of which is, I think, tamping too often and too forcefully. This morning, I was more conscious of my tamping and did far less and more lightly and it was better. So, even though I've been smoking a pipe for 35 years, reading this was a good for me. Thanks.

 

[ugh457]

This is good for me to refresh my habits, I get in a rush or forget simple things...Thanks
Chris

 

[javajunkie]

Well done, oklansas! It can be hard as hell to set down fundamental stuff you know in a format that makes sense to others and is easy to follow, and you fairly well nailed it.
Also, a big +1 to ciderguy's recommendations, especially the tobacco. Had I found good Virginias or Lat bombs earlier it might not have taken me a decade of false starts with OTC aros to finally learn what i was doing. o)

 

[locopony]

Whats the 5 second test?

 

[kashmir]

Excellent okla. Great list. Should be included with every 50g tin.

 

[allan]

Really covered most basic issues
Personally, I like to use a bristle cleaner before I use the fluffy one on the stem, inside shank of the bowl and where the tenon meets the bowl ( I double the bristle in half and do a good scare out)
In the major cleaning I use a bristle brush available from 4noggins or CI or even a .22 calibre pistol brush prior to bristle brush (for the ever clear task
Very nice and thought out procedure list
Allan

 

[taerin]

Good job, however blowing down the shank is a very very valuable and good technique for reducing moisture (it eliminates gurgle) within the pipe without using a pipe cleaner and it can getting it burning better without being much hotter by igniting more of the tobacco, as it burns down it kind of burns a smaller diameter and blowing down the stem can increase this (fire burns up not down). I would remove this from do nots and instead explain when you should

 

[jll346]

Excellent advice, this list concise and simple would have saved me lots of issues when I started pipe smoking years ago. Had to learn most of this the hard way. Of course this was before the internet had been invented by Al Gore so didn't have access to information like this.