Filling the Bowl with Tobacco-What to Use?

[macaroni]

I repurposed on of a kitchen measuring pitcher and a smallish pewter tray with edges (small enough to be lightweight and with edges tall enough to catch and keep the overfilled/spilled tobacco) a couple of years ago. It's a 2 quart/64oz plastic measuring cup with both a handle and pour spout at opposite ends (both handy, one for fetching at start and finish and one for guiding excess tobacco back into the jar - small or large).

I place the pitcher in the tray and pour the necessary tobacco plus some into the pitcher from one of my jars. Then, and happily since the pitcher is large enough to put my pipe into and reach into with my other hand, I hold my pipe down in the pitcher and fill it pinch by pinch. I need a pitcher with about an 8" opening to get my hand into as I reach down into the bottom and gather tobacco. The bottom of the pitcher is flat, allowing me to brush the larger pieces to one side when the pipe's almost full--and gather the smaller almost granule size pieces from the other side--which I sprinkle on top of the bowl.

Then I place the jar in the jar, pour the remaining tobacco from the pitcher back into the tray and then pour whatever's spilled from the jar back into the pitcher. Repeat the process one more time and I'm done. Very little spillage on my "smoking table"/work area when done.

Takes a minute or so, to do it slowly for me.

Just wondering how anyone else fills their pipes without wasting excess tobacco or making a bit of a mess. Perhaps you just reach into your jar, perfectly pinch the right amount and fill the bowl without dropping any? Or do you make a filthy mess, waste tobacco, and don't notice since you wear bifocals and don't see so well anymore LOL?

Teaser--do you often have a dark, dirty fingertip or thumb or both as you smoke--or perhaps smudge stained shirt or trouser where you wipe your filthy appendages? LOL. For you simpletons who just do it and never think--look at your filthy self sometime! LOL As they say--get your head out of your ass! And regarding NOT overthinking--in your case, why don't you just forego thinking--it probably won't do YOU any good! LOL
kindly
mike

 

[Brendan]

I put a bowls worth, plus a pinch more on a small plate. Once it's dry to my liking I just carefully load over the plate, and any remaining leaf I purposefully put into a empty cabbies mixture tin.
After a few bowls I have enough for a quick, no nonsense bowl when time is short and I want a quick fix.

 

[macaroni]

. . . Once it's dry to my liking I just carefully load over the plate, and any remaining leaf I purposefully put into a empty cabbies mixture tin . . . .

Good Morning Brendad,

I like your method. But for me, pouring or pinching from a plate will either leave those powder-like crumbs on either the plate or my smoking table. I'm a, "spiller," I suppose LOL! I need a pouring lip
kindly
mike

 

[Brendan]

Good Morning Brendad,

I like your method. But for me, pouring or pinching from a plate will either leave those powder-like crumbs on either the plate or my smoking table. I'm a, "spiller," I suppose LOL! I need a pouring lip
kindly
mike

Ha! Yeah! I completely forgot about that..

If the missus is nowhere to be seen, a quick huff and a puff..

.. and it's the vacuums problem.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Place pipe in jar, fill pipe with finger, pull pipe from jar, light, and smoke.

 

[Casual]

First I get out my best measure. I carefully weigh exactly 38.5 grains of tobacco. If it’s a ribbon cut, I’ll separate the constituent tobaccos out into separate piles to make sure I get properly representative proportions. Picking out Samsun from Izmir is tricky, but you get the hang of it.

Then I lay the strands in the pipe with tweezers, in a log fire pattern, carefully making sure there’s enough room for a perfect burn.

Anything less would be uncivilized.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

First I get out my best measure. I carefully weigh exactly 38.5 grains of tobacco. If it’s a ribbon cut, I’ll separate the constituent tobaccos out into separate piles to make sure I get properly representative proportions. Picking out Samsun from Izmir is tricky, but you get the hang of it.

Then I lay the strands in the pipe with tweezers, in a log fire pattern, carefully making sure there’s enough room for a perfect burn.

Anything less would be uncivilized.

I bet you coat your bowls with Grey Poupon too

 

[judcole]

Humans love ritual. Pipesmokers seem to be especially fond of it. Some of us like complex ritual; others of us like it simple.
I am of the latter camp. Load my pipe over the jar, or perhaps over the lid. Is the baccy in a pouch or tin? Load it over that. Simplicity.
No wrong way to do it, as long as it works for you.

 

[Dublin Old Man]

I put tobacco on 8.5 x 11 sheet of printer paper. It works well if I need tobacco to dry. I hold pipe over paper and pinch tobacco to add to pipe. Excess falls on paper. Fold paper into a curve to pour remainder into pipe or back into the tobacco tin/jar.

 

[OlJawBone]

i prefer my world with a fine dusting of ash and leaf. makes me feel at home.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Place pipe in jar, fill pipe with finger, pull pipe from jar, light, and smoke.

View attachment 95213

Er, not with that one!

Though that's what I do with larger jars. More often fill from pouch with one finger, finish off with a pinch @ 10.23 pounds of pressure from the digit.

 

[warren]

Put a bit ot blend in the bowl, add a bit more, then even more, until bowl is filled. Or, scoop in the pouch. It really only matters that the "vast majority" of the tobacco ends up in the bowl. Sweep any droppings onto the floor with your hand. Light blend and enjoy. Vacuum floor once a week. Ignore droppings in the truck or on the bare ground. My goodness, some of you make the experience into an ordeal. I suppose it has a lot to do with how each of us is wired or the moneys in out wallet.

 

[Bobby Bailey]

I usualylly load mine over small sheet of paper and use tbe paper to reture the leavings to the jar. Always paper in the truck, tractor, house, or shop and I keep carry tobacco in a very small jar.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

I use a paper plate. Easy to dry on, easy to dump the excess back into the jar/pouch/tin.

 

[briarfoxx]

I put tobacco on 8.5 x 11 sheet of printer paper. It works well if I need tobacco to dry. I hold pipe over paper and pinch tobacco to add to pipe. Excess falls on paper. Fold paper into a curve to pour remainder into pipe or back into the tobacco tin/jar.

I do the same, using printer paper. It's the perfect size for drying out even two bowls at once. I used to put the leftovers back in the tin, but I think it hastened drying out the tin, so now I'll either load them into a smaller pipe for later or just toss it if there isn't much.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I smoke mostly flake. Usually takes around 10 seconds to load up. If it is ribbon, I grab a bit and stuff it in until full. I don’t sweat losing a few scraps here and there.

 

[mso489]

If I can't get the pipe itself directly in the jar, tub, pouch, or baggie, I can usually put it directly over the jar opening and load a pinch at a time, tilting the jar as necessary, but not so far that the loose tobacco can't drop back in the jar. This all requires focus and a semi-steady hand, but it seems to work for me. Usually, if any bits fall in my lap, it is just one or two, and I pick them up and drop them in the pipe or jar. You can't sneeze while doing this, or have the cat dance in your lap. Stuff happens.

 

[sablebrush52]

Teaser--do you often have a dark, dirty fingertip or thumb or both as you smoke--or perhaps smudge stained shirt or trouser where you wipe your filthy appendages? LOL. For you simpletons who just do it and never think--look at your filthy self sometime! LOL As they say--get your head out of your ass! And regarding NOT overthinking--in your case, why don't you just forego thinking--it probably won't do YOU any good! LOL

A bit defensive, are we? I never suspected that the topic of packing a pipe could provide such deep emotional trauma to anyone.

As for filling a pipe, If it's in a humidor I just open the top and dip. Pouch, the same thing. Baggie, same thing. Tin? Sometimes over a plate, depending on the nature of the cut. Codger scoop does it for me every time. Flakes? Dried out on a plate, pack the pipe, pour the excess back in the tin or jar.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I never suspected that the topic of packing a pipe could provide such deep emotional trauma to anyone.

Oh, I've seen Frank Method threads get brutal back when I was modding. I always felt my heart break for those tiny little Frank Method people, getting curb stomped by the Preferred Ones.

Putting the tobacco into the pipe is serious shit for some.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Get a small Dyson that's dedicated strictly to tobacco bits, and vacuum up droppings and leftovers. Once a week empty the contents into a pipe or jar, and enjoy the mixture.