Dedicating Pipes

[saltedplug]

From the start, as a purist, I've been dedicating pipes to a single blend or to the tobacco families. Then I reasoned that cake was 90% of the carryover from one smoke to the next; then I started being more lax, smoking tobaccos distinctly different in the same pipe. I hereby gleefully report that I taste zero carryover! Might be that what cake was in the bowl was thin and that had it been greater, there would have been carryover, but if so, would that be worth the many pipes that I once had to make my rotation cake invincible?

I tell you true that I once had pipes sufficient for a daily smoke of a single blend, rotating one pipe per day for three days. I have bought pipes in which to smoke specific blends.
Where did I learn this? The forums, but as I would only be satisfied by pushing my pipe experience to the outer limits, I smoked as above. I guess better to have practiced the rules and then break them than not to know them at all.

 

[mso489]

The lore I follow, correct or not, is that ghosting is only a persistent problem with Lakeland aromatic blends, where once you've smoked those in a pipe, you will ever after have that (to many) cloying scent from that pipe. All of the other flavors and scents from Latakia, Perique, aromatics, or whatever, will smoke out in several bowls of something else. If you wipe out your bowl after scooping it out, and don't build cake, just go with a thin carbon layer, you will avoid even temporary residual scent and flavor, except with the Lakelands. What little carry-over I've had, from Latakia for example, I have somewhat enjoyed, and it soon goes away.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Lakelands do eventually go away too.

 

[workman]

I have one pipe for 1792 Flake which I like. I think that is necessary.

 

[btp79]

At first I tried to dedicate this or that pipe to this or that blend, but that went sideways once I started picking my pipe based on how it felt. And whiskey. I do have a hard and fast rule that I try all new blends in a new cob first. It adds and extra 3-5 bucks, but I do like an excuse to buy or use another cob.

 

[seacaptain]

I have 7 pipes, two dedicated to English blends, four to VA's, and 1 to areo's.

 

[jpmcwjr]

To each his own! I have 7 or 8 dozen pipes, and none are dedicated, but then again, I am firmly in the English/Balkan camp, though sometimes I try to expand my horizons, and then may temporarily "dedicate" one for the trial. But no ghost has darkened my door for more than a bowl or two, so far.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have one pipe for 1792 Flake which I like. I think that is necessary.

I've never considered 1792 a Lakeland for its lack of floral soapiness, but the soft tonquin/vanilla note could be offset by anything else smoked in a pipe dedicated to it.

 

[doctorbob]

I don't dedicate a pipe to 1792, which I love, because I feel a light 1792 ghost makes pretty much any tobacco better!
Doc

 

[workman]

I assure y'all MM 965 does NOT improve with tonquin. Hence the dedicated pipe. I also have one lat pipe. I don't know if it is necessary, but it is kind of fun to try and organize and find out what works.

 

[midwestpipesmoker70]

I have just a few pipes set aside for aromatics as I don't smoke many aros. The rest of my pipes are split in half basically. One half for any mixture with latakia and the other half for all other mixtures. Seems to work out fine although I do not have the most discerning taste buds. I will smoke anything in my meerschaums and cobs.

 

[cigrmaster]

I dedicate my pipes into certain categories and specific pipes. I have my Va,VAper and Vabur and aromatic flake pipes and then my non flake aromatics. I also dedicate certain pipes to certain blends as I have found some magical combos. I don't smoke any Latakia or Oriental blends so no worries about ghosts from them.
I do smoke St Bruno flake which has just a hint of Lakeland and have a specific pipe for that. I don't smoke anything else with Lakeland, but if I did I would certainly dedicate pipes to them as they ghost worse than anything in my experience.

 

[luigi]

I don't want to risk (yet). 2 pipes for latakia, one for vapers and occasional pure virginia, 2 for burleys or non-vanilla light aromatics and one for everything else. I love to follow some rules as I believe it's hard to completely "deghost" a pipe in which you smoke any tobacco.

 

[derekflint]

I only have 7 pipes at the moment. 2 for straight Virginia's, 1 for English and Scottish, 2 for VaPer's and VaBur's and 2 that I use when I go fishing or hunting or something outdoors that I will smoke different blends in. I wouldn't touch an aro with a ten foot pole !!

 

[tobaccojoe]

I would love to be able to dedicate pipes to certain particular blends in the future, but for now I have two pipes solely for English/Latakia blends and two pipes that I smoke only Virginia based blends out of. I'm still in Finding My Favorite Blends phase, though, and it's been about 2 years, so I have plenty of time to sort it out.

 

[badbeard]

I was generally resistant to the idea that dedicating pipes was necessary.. until I smoked St. Bruno. Smoking any English blend after a bowl of that is pretty horrible, so I have quarantined St. Bruno to it's own MM Legend. I've now attempted to keep Englishes, especially those made by Pease which seem to ghost Latakia worse than any other, in their own pipes. Virginia and Burley based blends don't seem to interfere with each other. Admittedly though, I don't smoke a lot of straight Virginas, and if I did I might dedicate a pipe to those also. There is something to it, even if it's just solely to satisfy my neurosis.

 

[perdurabo]

I smoke all Lakelands in one pipe. Actually two. I have a cob dedicated to lakelands, I have a briar dedicated to Rum Flake. Peterson's Hyde Park (lite Lakeland) I smoke in a briar dedicated to aros, because the "Lakeland" ghost in the other pipes crush Hyde Parks delicate flavors, which are similar to rum flake. Hyde Park is the only Lakeland that doesn't ghost like a fiend. It'll ghost, but not like his big brothers.

 

[spartan99]

Like many here, I separate by style: Latakia, Virgina/Burley, codger burley, and aromatic in my case. Having just got my first Lakeland (Best Brown #2), I've set a cob aside for it as well. I'm not sure how important it is to dedicate by style, but I have enough pipes that it isn't a bother. On the rare occasion that I've 'cheated,' I haven't noticed a ghost.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I am not only dedicated but hopelessly devoted to my pipes. ::

I’ve gotten more lax with the whole blend dedication thing. I still don’t smoke aromatics in my Virginia based Pipes... well, I don’t really smoke anything but Virginia based blends in my Virginia pipes, butI have a row of pipes that have just become “whatever” pipes. I have three that are strictly aromatic burners, and about twelve that never see anything but straight Virginias. Three that are fantastic Erinmore burners, and one strictly Semois burner. Well, I have a few more blend dedicated pipes... but, I used to be more strict. ::

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Hmm, about the St Bruno ghosting issues,agreed it may leave a faint floral /lakeland ghost to a pipe,and when this issue occurs with my pipes I have found a pretty efficient remedy to remove this 'floral scent' what I do Is that I rinse the chamber with hot water/with toothbrush scrubbing,

then I put that pipe to a 24 h rest and then do smoke few bowels of Burley forwards (Golden Extra, PA, Amphora Brown)blends in it.This usually works out pretty satisfactory.