Frequent Tamping is Key

[Buckler]

So I think I’m on to something, for myself at least, but this may help others.
Frequent tamping throughout a bowel can avoid re lights.

I am finding now (about 9months in to my pipe smoking journey) that if I tamp throughout the bowel I need far less re lights. Instead of waiting till the pipe goes out naturally. Rather then tamping and re lighting, if you tamp throughout the bowel you push the ash layer down (too thick of an ash layer inhibits the coal from getting enough oxygen I believe) the pipe stays lit.
?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I tamp 2 to 4 times while smoking a bowl. Might benefit from tamping a couple of more times. I don't think about or care about relights, I don't do slow smoking contests.

 

[jei64822]

Depends on the blend for me -- flakes tend to expand and require more tamping, whereas ribbon cuts create a compact ash by themselves.

 

[captainsousie]

I tend not to tamp my bowels as it leads to some pretty bad constipation.

Plus, it's a pain in the ash...

 

[Chasing Embers]

I hold my finger on the ash cap with each draw unless otherwise occupied.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Depending on the size of the bowl, and how I loaded it... I typically tamp half dozen times. Light tamping is key for me.️

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I'd tamp 2 to max 4 times, if the pipe would not keep lit without excessive tamping I'd just empty it, maybe a sign of poor packing?

 

[Buckler]

I'd tamp 2 to max 4 times, if the pipe would not keep lit without excessive tamping I'd just empty it, maybe a sign of poor packing?

Interesting. I tend to pack quite light as I was packing what I thought was too firm at the beginning. Perhaps I need to move back the other way again.... ?

 

[Buckler]

Depending on the size of the bowl, and how I loaded it... I typically tamp half dozen times. Light tamping is key for me.️

I do tamp quite light with the smallest amount of pressure I feel.. But thank you for the feedback. ?

 

[stokesdale]

So I think I’m on to something, for myself at least, but this may help others.
Frequent tamping throughout a bowel can avoid re lights.

I am finding now (about 9months in to my pipe smoking journey) that if I tamp throughout the bowel I need far less re lights. Instead of waiting till the pipe goes out naturally. Rather then tamping and re lighting, if you tamp throughout the bowel you push the ash layer down (too thick of an ash layer inhibits the coal from getting enough oxygen I believe) the pipe stays lit.
?

That's why tampers were invented...

 

[Grangerous]

I hold my finger on the ash cap with each draw unless otherwise occupied.

 

[bullet08]

I don't really think about tamp or relights anymore. Just automatic reaction now as need arises. They really don't distract from the enjoyment of smoke.

 

[Merton]

I have been smoking a pipe for more than 30 years total and have never owned a tamper until a month ago when i received a nice pewter tamper. It looks nice. Feels nice to hold. Still have not used it. I wonder if there are others who do not tamp or who don't find a need to do so regularly.

 

[jerseysam]

Interesting. I tend to pack quite light as I was packing what I thought was too firm at the beginning. Perhaps I need to move back the other way again.... ?

Buckler, my two cents only.....I also pack ribbon/shag a hair lighter than maybe the 'average'. I got in that habit when I picked up pipes again in lieu of playing the drying game. I also think going a shade easy on the pack is not a bad strategy for newer smokers....typically one of the first hurdles is the 'relight a minute' cycle where the pipe overheats and gurgle out and going lighter on pack helps avoid that.

By going lighter, I tamp (in some form) quite a bit again to 'average'. Most of the time this takes the shape of what Chasingembers described.....I very gently 'touch' the tobacco with my thumb. This is just a quick, no-thought tap every couple mintues. Every so often I'll do a little proper 'tamp' by pushing the edges down and making sure the the ember is dispersed, usually with an actual tamper but sometimes my thumbnail (if the pipe isn't a burning cauldron, it's actually fairly easy to tamp with a digit without damage ?).

My point in sharing here is less a technique tale and more to say what you are doing is not out of the ordinary for many smokers. Can you take your growing experience and pack heavier....looking for a sweet spot between tamp and relights? Sure. But at least to me, the most important thing is to be enjoying the flavor and smoking experience.....if one has a few more split-second muscle-memory 'taps' of the bowl moreso than another smoker but is having a great smoking experience.....I wouldn't rush to change my technique.

 

[logs]

Whatever gets the job done.

 

[kcghost]

Whatever works for you is fine. Personally your method wouldn't work for me. But, I have only been smoking a pipe for 48 years.

 

[sablebrush52]

The particular tobacco blend has a lot to do with it. I can pack a bowlful of Yorktown, after getting to the proper moisture level, fire it up and smoke the whole bowl without a relight, tamping, or any other intervention. Hell, I can even stop smoking a bowl, put it in my pocket, run into a store to pick up a couple of things, come out, pull the pipe from my pocket, and keep smoking it without a relight. Same with any number of other blends. I still tamp from time to time, just "because".

Still other blends, mostly flakes, may need the occasional relight and a tamp or two, to smoke the whole bowl. It varies with the blend.

Like others have said, it's what works for you.

 

[Scottishgaucho]

I have been smoking a pipe for more than 30 years total and have never owned a tamper until a month ago when i received a nice pewter tamper. It looks nice. Feels nice to hold. Still have not used it. I wonder if there are others who do not tamp or who don't find a need to do so regularly.

I don't own one....I usually just use my finger as my pipe bowls are small. If Molly the terrier is close by I get her to do it.

 

[captainsousie]

Now for my serious post.

Tamping is a bit of an enigma for most. Some say it is to help keep the ash properly compressed so that the ember gets proper airflow. Some say it has to be done in an spiral manner to keep the burn even (not sure how you do that but I've read it here a few times). Some say it is a vast conspiracy to ruin pipe smoking. Still others say that tamping techniques vary by tobacco cut, dryness, and type as well as packing, smoking cadence, environmental factors and bowl geometry. Personally, I go with the last idea as it makes more sense than "because that's how I've been doing it for my smoking career."

In my experience, tamping can make or break a bowl for me depending on a lot of variables which include how much attention I'm paying to what I'm doing. Some blends need babysitting while others just burn easily. It can also be different if I'm in Mumbai with 90% humidity vs Wyoming with 15% humidity.

In other words...it depends and tamp in a way that works for you.

 

[Buckler]

I have been smoking a pipe for more than 30 years total and have never owned a tamper until a month ago when i received a nice pewter tamper. It looks nice. Feels nice to hold. Still have not used it. I wonder if there are others who do not tamp or who don't find a need to do so regularly.

So you never get to the point where there is so much ash you simply can’t relight???