I’m in the 2-4 times camp. Light... tap, then maybe once twice more. Perhaps dry out your tobacco a little more, or rethink your packing technique.
Frequent Tamping is Key
- Thread starter Buckler
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I'd say it varies. I go from zero to constant tamping depending on the day or the tobacco. But that's certainly one of the points of tamping. And just like everything pipe smoking you start out having to think about it to just kind of automatically knowing when it's time to use tamp. For example I don't think I've ever tamped a bowl of Five Brothers.
I sometimes use my index finger to smooth ash out and have, on occasion , done a quick dump of ash. I do relight, but if it has gotten to the point that there is too much ash then, life being short, I stop. For example, I sometimes smoke aromatics such as Autumn evening and Devil's Holiday. When you accumulate too much ash with these blends they become simply essence of ash. I am fortunate enough to have more pipes than I need (it did seem like I needed them when purchased) and more tobacco than, at age 65, I am likely to ever finish. However, I do not waste tobacco and almost always smoke close to the bottom leaving minor dottle. I am not knocking tamping and I really like the aesthetics of lots of tampers, If it makes you happy, go for it but, obviously, I don't see it as an integral part of the experience. On some you tube videos I sometimes think that the amount of tamping going on is faux sophistication. However, everyone needs to find their own comfort zone. There are some right answers in pipe smoking, but there are also lots of personal preferences and that is a good thing.
Here's what I tell friends and family (cigar and cigarette converts) when they first start with a pipe:
Tamp as needed.
I follow my own advice here.
Tamp as needed.
I follow my own advice here.
I tamp a fair amount more these days, I can‘t think it would be any less than 10 tamps per bowl, it has increased over time, you could be on to something here... Of course it depends on the blend too.
I don’t think I used a tamper though for the first few years, now I have a Czech pipe tool on my keychain. Something I just recently learned here, was tamping too hard, the bowl won’t lit very easily, I was guilty of that one for a long time.
I don’t think I used a tamper though for the first few years, now I have a Czech pipe tool on my keychain. Something I just recently learned here, was tamping too hard, the bowl won’t lit very easily, I was guilty of that one for a long time.
Depending on the blend, if you get a layer of loose ash at the top of the ember, it pays to gently dump it out before, or without tamping. You don't want to tamp so hard that air isn't getting through the ember, but you can sometimes tuck some of the unburnt tobacco around the edges of the chamber down into the ember, but all with a light touch. Partially covering the chamber with a finger to two, as chasing' suggests, often gets an ember going without a relight.
I tamp more with blends I am trying to figure out. I pack loosely and have to tamp it more often to get it where it should have been.
I'll tamp only when it feels necessary and if I have to re-lit its nothing major for me because its the way I smoke a pipe. After all it may take me 20 seconds to open a matchbook, get a match out, strike it and hover the flame over the tobacco. I would rather have a cool smoke vs a hotter smoke every time.
I’ve been only tamping after the pipe goes out. Going to try the gentle finger tap next time to see if I can keep the ember going for longer stretches. Good looks
I usually loosen the ash and then tamp/even out the ember 2-3 times per bowl.
Not more than four to six smooth pressures............Yes it's decent tobacco.................And not cow dung............
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I guess it's a personal thing. I think I tamp about 2-3 times per bowl on average. Haven't really thought about it much to be honest.
I pour ashes out when needed, usually around mid bowl. If it's on the verge of going out I put finger or two above the bowl and pull.
I pour ashes out when needed, usually around mid bowl. If it's on the verge of going out I put finger or two above the bowl and pull.
I don't tamp. It makes my tobacco taste sour
Whatever works for you is the right technique, no doubt.
Having said that, I’m in the “try not to tamp at all” camp. I figured out two things several years back and it changed the game for me. I wish I had realized sooner and I’ve shared this advice (FWIW) with many folks.
1. Most people pack too much tobacco in the chamber. The line between too loose and too tight is hard to find, but I always take out as much tobacco as I think I need, then I only attempt to pack 80% of my “estimate” in the chamber.
2. Most people fiddle too much, and over-tamping is the easiest way to screw up a bowl. You shouldn’t be using any real pressure at all, and it’s best to think of tamping as a way to even-out the ash, and absolutely don’t do it with the intention of compressing the tobacco underneath. Of course, you can tamp to correct a loose pack, but in my experience a bowl has to be very loose to suffer from it. A little shorter smoke isn’t a huge deal, but a soggy smoke that goes on forever isn’t enjoyable and you’re likely to end up with a lot more dottle, or if you force it, chamber damage.
YMMV
Having said that, I’m in the “try not to tamp at all” camp. I figured out two things several years back and it changed the game for me. I wish I had realized sooner and I’ve shared this advice (FWIW) with many folks.
1. Most people pack too much tobacco in the chamber. The line between too loose and too tight is hard to find, but I always take out as much tobacco as I think I need, then I only attempt to pack 80% of my “estimate” in the chamber.
2. Most people fiddle too much, and over-tamping is the easiest way to screw up a bowl. You shouldn’t be using any real pressure at all, and it’s best to think of tamping as a way to even-out the ash, and absolutely don’t do it with the intention of compressing the tobacco underneath. Of course, you can tamp to correct a loose pack, but in my experience a bowl has to be very loose to suffer from it. A little shorter smoke isn’t a huge deal, but a soggy smoke that goes on forever isn’t enjoyable and you’re likely to end up with a lot more dottle, or if you force it, chamber damage.
YMMV
I always dump the ash halfway through a bowl as I find it tastes nicer and you get a better draw.
Still fairly new, and I smoke aromatics that I tend not to bother drying, but I tamp fairly regularly. I've also got a tamper I like, and I enjoy tamping as part of the ritual.
The art of tobacco pipe tamping :
Especially toward the bottom of the bowl …
When packing the issue of light vs hard is often complicated by the issue of blocking the hole.
You can be packing too light, but still block the hole. That is the reason for the German packing method, with a light pack below a tighter plug on top.
Meanwhile, as you get to the bottom of the bowl, there is a tendency for tobacco to once again block the hold (the result of normal tamping) and for there to develop a clump or plug of densely-packed tobacco.
Also, as I got to the bottom I sometimes would use the spoon portion of my Czech tamping device to push tobacco toward the hole (since a shallow amount of tobacco was resulting in a too-light draw and gurgling).
My new method/solution for all of these problems,especially as I get to the bottom of the bowl, is to use the poker/stick portion of my tool at the bottom, but ONLY after dumping ash. I will poke the bottom plug with the stick to break up the dense plug, and let some air in so it isn’t so wet. This has the added advantage of releasing all of the good flavors. The dumping of ash is to prevent mixing ash with the remaining tobacco, which has the horrible effect of getting ash in your mouth when you puff. After poking/stoking, you can do a normal light tamp.
FINALLY : When packing at the start, you can pack correctly and STILL block the hole, so keep checking the draw as you pack (3-step method) and if in the final step the hole gets blocked, just run a pipe cleaner through and unblock the hole.
Hope this helps!
Note : it’s all a learning curve and developing intuition.
… Part of the pleasures of pipe smoking!
Especially toward the bottom of the bowl …
When packing the issue of light vs hard is often complicated by the issue of blocking the hole.
You can be packing too light, but still block the hole. That is the reason for the German packing method, with a light pack below a tighter plug on top.
Meanwhile, as you get to the bottom of the bowl, there is a tendency for tobacco to once again block the hold (the result of normal tamping) and for there to develop a clump or plug of densely-packed tobacco.
Also, as I got to the bottom I sometimes would use the spoon portion of my Czech tamping device to push tobacco toward the hole (since a shallow amount of tobacco was resulting in a too-light draw and gurgling).
My new method/solution for all of these problems,especially as I get to the bottom of the bowl, is to use the poker/stick portion of my tool at the bottom, but ONLY after dumping ash. I will poke the bottom plug with the stick to break up the dense plug, and let some air in so it isn’t so wet. This has the added advantage of releasing all of the good flavors. The dumping of ash is to prevent mixing ash with the remaining tobacco, which has the horrible effect of getting ash in your mouth when you puff. After poking/stoking, you can do a normal light tamp.
FINALLY : When packing at the start, you can pack correctly and STILL block the hole, so keep checking the draw as you pack (3-step method) and if in the final step the hole gets blocked, just run a pipe cleaner through and unblock the hole.
Hope this helps!
Note : it’s all a learning curve and developing intuition.
… Part of the pleasures of pipe smoking!
G
Gimlet
Guest
I do, but only with certain tobaccos in certain pipes. I smoke SG 1792 flake in a big Chacom with a quite a deep bowl. That blend produces quite a lot of fine ash which occasionally can deaden the coal and stop the flame getting to it for a relight. If that happens i'll just invert the bowl and tip the loose ash out.
