Day 2... lessons learned

[LeafErikson]

For sure you get more of a nic hit when drinking. There’s science behind it that I think has to do with the alcohol expanding your blood vessels and more nicotine being absorbed in your system because of that. Glad you’re finding enjoyment out of the pipe.

 

[Cyxelsid]

Good way to start.

The majority of my pipes are estates.
I know some people have a disdain for estates or feel uncomfortable using something that belonged to another.
Others will only buy a pipe they have personally inspected.,

I love old Britwoods and Danish era Stanwells.
As these are no longer produced, the estate market is the only source.
I live in Sydney, Oz and there are NO B&Ms in town.

Sponsors SmokingPipes, Blue Room Briars and The Danish Pipe Shop are good sources of estates that are in very good condition and arrive in a well cleaned condition.
EBay can be a bit of a crap shoot.

I am not opposed to new or estate pipes. I am still figuring out what I like and don't like, in terms of style and material. Thanks for the suggestions on websites, I will start looking around!

 

[Cyxelsid]

I like your story and photos. Nicotine and alcohol are multiplicative, not additive.

Hmmm... please expound upon that...

 

[Briar Tuck]

I am not opposed to new or estate pipes. I am still figuring out what I like and don't like, in terms of style and material. Thanks for the suggestions on websites, I will start looking around!

Estate pipes will enable you to get a good selection of pipe styles at a very low cost if you buy auction lots. This is what I did starting out. The only caveat is that you will need to clean and sometimes restore some of the pipes that you get, which can be a hobby in itself.

You might also consider picking up a couple of new Missouri Meerschaum cobs. They smoke great and are inexpensive.

 

[Cyxelsid]

The only caveat is that you will need to clean and sometimes restore some of the pipes that you get, which can be a hobby in itself.

I am very curious about this, but I figured I needed to do some smoking first, as well as some research here on the forums as to what cleaning and restoring estate pipes entails. I didn't just want to blindly ask the question! I will start looking for some threads on the topic.

I have seen quite a few pipes on ebay of course, and really cheap. I don't mind putting in the elbow grease, once I build up some knowledge.

 

[Cyxelsid]

I like your story and photos.

Thank you! I like to talk, teach, and story tell, as my wife tells me often.

 

[OzPiper]

I am very curious about this, but I figured I needed to do some smoking first, as well as some research here on the forums as to what cleaning and restoring estate pipes entails. I didn't just want to blindly ask the question! I will start looking for some threads on the topic.

I have seen quite a few pipes on ebay of course, and really cheap. I don't mind putting in the elbow grease, once I build up some knowledge.

Rebornpipes is a great site to learn from.
Steve Laug has step-by-step instructions plus lots of before and after pics

 

[Arthur Frayn]

For what its worth. When I 1st started enthusiastically smoking the pipe again after 20 years, I had a odd experience of nausea after smoking a high nic pipe tobacco. I foolishly smoked a big bowl on my commute to work and had had no breakfast. I think it was St James flake though I could be mistaken.

Anyway, I felt dizzy and got blurry vision. I went in several times to worship at the porcelain alter -without success.. One of my coworkers suggested that it seemed like low blood sugar symptoms and she insisted that I suck on some hard candy. Funny thing is that it worked pretty quickly. It seems that I had smoked on an empty stomach and smoked too much, too fast. Raising my blood sugar really helped.

So I guess the moral of the story is : go easy and dont smoke on an empty stomach.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

What were you drinking?

 

[Cyxelsid]

What were you drinking?

I was drinking a Knobb Creek Singe Barrel Small Batch, with Cock-n-Bull Ginger Beer. Not my favorite bourbon, but something I picked up to try. It was OK, but probably not something I would go out of my way to get again.

 

[Cyxelsid]

So I guess the moral of the story is : go easy and dont smoke on an empty stomach.

Good to know!

 

[FHlight]

I will use another pipe to enjoy the second time.

 

[Coreios]

If I'm directly smoking another both soon after I just run a pipe cleaner through it and hit it on a pipe knocker, preload it and come back to it within the day.

Nice patio setup! Great place to smoke and relax.

 

[anotherbob]

Ok, so, I am pretty toasty from the bourbon, so forgive the typos... I enjoyed my second smoking session this evening. Thanks to @cosmicfolklore I took it as a personal challenge to smoke as slowly as possible. Over a 2 1/2 hour period, I got 2 bowls in. I had a lot of relights at first, but once I got rolling, it went very well and I very much enjoyed sitting on my patio, listening to classic country music, drinking bourbon, and smoking my pipe. What a joy!

Ok, a couple of lessons learned:

1) Do not keep your mason jar of tobacco on the propane fire table next to a roaring fire. The jar gets very hot, and when you open it, it actually smokes a little. I am a newbie, but I am guessing that is not good.

2) When you pack your second bowl, make SURE your first pack is fully cleaned out, or the old ash clogs the stem.

3) I am not sure, as I have not smoked much nicotine in my life, but it seems that nicotine may actually enhance the alcohol, 'cause I got good and messed up on three glasses of bourbon that would normally give a good buzz.

Ok, well, now that I am all toasty, off to the comedy club with my wife and friends! Just for fun, I included some picks of my finished patio (just got it all put back together today) and my new official smoking spot in the rocking chair.

point 1 is good for snuff not sure about pipe tobacco, we expect a full report later.
Point 2 a cleanish pipe makes a happier pipe smokers.
Point 3 yes alcohol and nicotine interact. And not just in making the buzz more enjoyable or intense but it also helps you stay somewhat sharper too. No matter how drunk I've gotten never seen double never drank without nicotine so....
I hope the show was enjoyable or at least interesting.

 

[fMf Piper]

The cheap starter pipe I bought came with a Czech pipe tool, pipe cleaners, and a stand. And yes, it has made things much easier. I plan to make a run to Tobacco Trader in Culver City this week and may buy a "real" pipe. I also plan to pick up some inexpensive cobb pipes.

I am also new to pipe smoking (have smoked cigars for several years, but have only been smoking a pipe for about two weeks), and you will not be disappointed by your cobs. I started with a Missouri Meershaum (MM) Diplomat 5th Avenue, and since then have already added two more - a Mark Twain and a Country Gentleman.

They smoke cool and dry, are inexspensive, but can last decades, and are made from a natural product that most would consider a waste product.

I wish you all the best, and many enjoyable bowls in your pipe smoking journey.

 

[Templekeeper]

That is a really nice looking rocker!

 

[Cyxelsid]

That is a really nice looking rocker!

Thank you! It was a gift from my Aunt and Uncle. It was at their house in AZ before they moved into an apartment here in Los Angeles while my Aunt was treated for cancer. Unfortunately, she lost that fight. I think of her every time I smoke now, which is ironic because she would definitely not approve!

 

[OSOBUCO]

My first experience with wicked tongue bite was as a newby smoking Stokkebye blends and drinking whiskey. It was agonizing the next day and took a couple weeks to heal. I thought I had strep throat it was so bad. I go easy with booze now. I still love the pairing of whiskey and tobacco but I’m extra careful. That said I cant smoke Stokkebye blends without bite so I am done with them.

 

[anotherbob]

For sure you get more of a nic hit when drinking. There’s science behind it that I think has to do with the alcohol expanding your blood vessels and more nicotine being absorbed in your system because of that. Glad you’re finding enjoyment out of the pipe.

and also how they both effect the brain too. Oh and expanding the vessels would do the opposite but not be an issue. Though alcohol makes you dizzy because it thins out the inner ear fluids and they move easier and agitate the hairs in there. Second fun fact. The gland that tells your body it's time to urinate is the posterior pituitary gland or the P.P. gland for short. Yes the P. P. gland is the pee pee gland.

 

[Epip Oc'Cabot]

Hmmm... please expound upon that...

IMO, the suggestion is that tobacco and alcohol used together have a synergy….. a greater effect when both are indulged in simultaneously….. and in a way that is more powerful than if you were to simply add the two different effects together.

My Dad taught me this in my young adulthood. I had been a pipe smoker for several years already. When I first started drinking, I, like a lot of doofus young folks, drank to such an extent that you would always end up getting a helluva hangover. I really did not like that. So, what my Dad taught me was….

If you know you are planning to go out drinking, yet you want to “feel” it BUT not get a hangover….. refrain from your pipe for the day before you are planning to go out drinking…. have one (or two) drinks fairly rapidly…. wait perhaps 15-20 minutes….. then smoke your pipe as desired. The impact of both the alcohol and the pipe will be magnified in intensity… you can feel rather drunk from just two drinks…. And the. can nurse a third drink slowly all evening. He did this. And, he talked of it as a way to have the fun, without the damn hangover.

It worked beautifully for me. I was never a big drinker, and am even less in my grey-haired old age…. but I will still drink in this fashion if I am at a wedding reception or some such event where things lean to being a bit raucous….. and it still works beautifully for me.