@ Devis and Kashmir - Oh poof, I apologize if I am stepping on toes. I have been chatty on here the last few days, but I hope that I'm not being a post hog. I just get excited about the hobby.
Cosmic - No toes have been stepped on here. Quite the contrary, I wholeheartedly value your comments, and appreciate all your postings. This forum is certainly the appropriate place to "get excited about the hobby". Cheers, and happy puffin'.
As regards breath smoking, and the fine older gent in the video, I don't know much about all that. All I know is that when I clench a pipe, and preoccupy myself with doing something else with my hands and eyes, like working or reading, why, I start to forget about the pipe. And when I am not focusing constantly on smoking the pipe, that's when I have my best smokes. Simple as that. I use thin rubber bit protectors simply because it's easier to grip the pipe that way, plus it saves on the wear and tear on the soft vulcanite bit. I'm not advocating that everybody clench their pipes, but after reading so many posts, on this forum and elsewhere, about folks having such difficulties with the pipe, what with tongue burn and palette scorching, pipe burn outs, over heating the pipe, trouble building cake, not tasting the tobacco, etc. it just seems to me that a lot of folks are OVERTHINKING the whole thing. The less thought you pay to pipe smoking, the faster you'll begin to enjoy your smokes. I know it's counterintuitive. I mean we've all been taught that to master something, you need to focus all your energies and concentration on it. Trying all the time to master the thing, like sports, your job, your relationships, etc. But the thing about pipe smoking, for me at least, is that it's a way to relax. And if I'm overthinking the whole thing, and worrying about this and that, and jumping from one brand of tobacco to another, searching, searching, and worrying and worrying, why it defeats the whole purpose of smoking a pipe. The only bit of advice I'd give is to perhaps slow down and sip gently. Clenching the pipe helps me to do this. If I'm always holding the pipe, an consciously lifting it each time to take a smoke, and watching it, and my technique, and whether I'm getting out of it what I'm supposed to be getting out of it, then the whole experience goes out the window. Of course, it goes without saying that your millage may vary.
