Did I Just Make A Mistake?

[JSPiper71]

I think you've achieved a big win here. I'm waiting for my wife and kids to do anything but mock me regarding my latest hobby.

 

[AlanH]

I just want to say my wife bought me an artisan pipe for Christmas (she hates smoking) It was a great gift I let her know it was the greatest gift ever ? ?

 

[mso489]

My wife has bought me a number of gift pipes, most of them more pricey than I would usually buy myself . And she bought me one of those little hand graters just like the one in the post by Monty55, but copper colored. I thanked her, genuinely, but not really visualizing what good it would do. My mistake. I finally cracked a tin of McClelland's Dark Star, well aged and now discontinued. It is/was famous for not burning worth a damn, so to get started, I got out the little grater and prepped about two bowls to see if that would help. It absolutely made the blend work, light right up and keep an even burn, with some but not many relights. Which gave me a full experience of this dark and lovely Virginia masterwork of the blender's art. So, will you use a grater on a daily basis? I doubt it. But if you happen upon an application, it could be perfect. The other approach would be to use a coffee/spice electric grinder, which might be quicker and easier, but I sort of liked having the rapport with the leaf, felt like I was doing something directly. I'm not suggesting that anyone should go out and buy a hand grater, but if you are given one or see one at a flea market for fifty cents, be glad. It takes up no space and does great work when called upon.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It was probably free with the purchase of a new White Spot pipe, and now she passed on buying you that pipe.
They do work well. I like to use an electric coffee bean mill to grind down some of my flakes and plugs. I'm not a fan of flakes, folded and stuffed.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

What makes you feel this way?

 

[Ahi Ka]

What makes you feel this way?

The two guys on the radio

 

[puff_not_snuff]

The two guys on the radio

Did it happen to be these guys?

 

[cigrmaster]

Buy one and you are on the NSA's watch list.

No I don't know if that is a fact, it sounds like it could happen.
I would never do that to my pipe tobacco. I either fold and stuff all my flakes and if it is a wrap around flake, I pull off chunks and stuff it into the pipe. If I am cutting up a plug, I will most likely use the cube cut method.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Are we talking about something like this?

View attachment 125834

If so, I do not understand why any pipe smoker would want to grind they're tobacco up at all. This works great for some things, but pipe tobacco is NOT one of those things. In all my years on here I have never heard mention once of taking a plug, block, or rope, slicing off some and grinding it up to a course powder. We either rub it out, cube it, or fold and stuff it in our pipes. I'm confused as hell as to why anyone would do such a thing to their pipe tobacco. And just as confused as to why anyone would tell you it works great for pipe tobacco. Maybe it's just me, but I bet you will NOT like the results, and you won't end up using it and she will be disappointed that you don't. Just suggest something more useful instead.

Honestly, they're more practical for tobacco than you'd think.

Especially for beginners who aren't as dilligent about drying and properly (read: evenly) packing their bowls, this can really help - basically turns any blend into the ease of a cube-cut (in so much as how easy it is to load and smoke those blends).

 

[Ahi Ka]

Did it happen to be these guys?

I’ll never know as your thread was locked…

 

[puff_not_snuff]

I’ll never know as your thread was locked…

That makes two of us!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I do prefer cube cutting for the less flavorful flakes, like Virginia and VaPers, but for any latakia flake or robust burley like Cotton Boll Twist, I grind them babies down. They just smoke so much better, IMO.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Btw, that grinder would not of ground the tobacco into anything close to a powder, more like erratic shags.

 

[monty55]

My wife has bought me a number of gift pipes, most of them more pricey than I would usually buy myself . And she bought me one of those little hand graters just like the one in the post by Monty55, but copper colored. I thanked her, genuinely, but not really visualizing what good it would do. My mistake. I finally cracked a tin of McClelland's Dark Star, well aged and now discontinued. It is/was famous for not burning worth a damn, so to get started, I got out the little grater and prepped about two bowls to see if that would help. It absolutely made the blend work, light right up and keep an even burn, with some but not many relights. Which gave me a full experience of this dark and lovely Virginia masterwork of the blender's art. So, will you use a grater on a daily basis? I doubt it. But if you happen upon an application, it could be perfect. The other approach would be to use a coffee/spice electric grinder, which might be quicker and easier, but I sort of liked having the rapport with the leaf, felt like I was doing something directly. I'm not suggesting that anyone should go out and buy a hand grater, but if you are given one or see one at a flea market for fifty cents, be glad. It takes up no space and does great work when called upon.

Well I'll be damn. My mistake. One truly does learn something new every day.

 

[kcghost]

My wife would rather buy me things I need instead of things I want. It's a never ending battle.

 

[Jacob74]

^Socks and underwear are perfectly valid gifts!

 

[FALaholic]

Haha! I used to seize these things all the time back when I was in uniform. Although said items always had other residual “stuff” in it.

I literally thought that no one ground tobacco in them even though that’s what they are marketed as…just like carburetors scales.

Yeah, I would have taken her up on tha, but not the end of the world. Makes me appreciate my wife…just bought me a new Peterson Spigot!