I’m sure it’s been repeated ad nauseam, but I’m really frustrated that I can’t keep the pipe lit. Not even for a little while.
Frustrated!
- Thread starter Pastor Charlie
- Start date
Make sure your tobacco is dry. Dryer than you think. What are trying to smoke and what cut is it?
In addition to drying the tobacco more, you might need to pack looser to allow greater air flow. You can adjust the pack by lightly tamping just enough to keep the ember touching tobacco below it.
I still have that problem from time to time.
On the plus side it makes the smokes that do go really well seem that much better.
Should be one of the easiest smokes there is…..Carter Hall.
That's an aromatic. Give it good dry time. And like The Iron Monkey said pack it looser. Also, I've had some ribbon cut that they didn't do a good job on. If you see thick chunks break them up. Could also use all those methods on a different pipe and see if that's causing it. I love Irish Black X it's a relighter for sure, I mixed a little ribbon cut Bayou Morning in it. Doesn't change the flavor and it stays lit now.
Another thing I just thought of, don't over char when you do your char light. You dont want to create a super thick burnt char that smothers the flame. Just a light char then light it up.
Don't get frustrated, as hard as that may be. I've been smoking a pipe now for 4 years and relights are my life! Just enjoy the flavours while it's burning and relight as necessary.
It's kinda funny actually, how I have struggled with keeping a pipe lit for this long. I clearly am not doing something "right" seeing how many others here can apparently go about their business with a pipe lit for an hour like it's nothing. I've tried every which way to dry out, rub out and pack and I still can't get an entire bowl to smolder with minimal relights. Maybe the humidity in my area is always too high, preventing my drying time to make a difference. Maybe I just suck at smoking a pipe!
Oh well, I still enjoy it.
It's kinda funny actually, how I have struggled with keeping a pipe lit for this long. I clearly am not doing something "right" seeing how many others here can apparently go about their business with a pipe lit for an hour like it's nothing. I've tried every which way to dry out, rub out and pack and I still can't get an entire bowl to smolder with minimal relights. Maybe the humidity in my area is always too high, preventing my drying time to make a difference. Maybe I just suck at smoking a pipe!
Oh well, I still enjoy it.
You'll hear completely different views on this from different people, and there's no substitute for practice. However, here's my advice. Drying will help, but with practice you can easily smoke tobacco that is more moist than people think, and some tobaccos really benefit from keeping some moisture. With packing you CAN pack too loose, but you are far more likely to be packing too tightly. Most of the 'packing methods' don't work, often pack too tight, and you'll be much better for just putting tobacco in the pipe and gradually getting a feel for it. Tamping helps keep the ember on the tobacco below, but use your finger. The heat means you will struggle to over-tamp, and again it will give you more of a feel for it.
The problem is, different cuts, moisture levels, and types of leaf will all burn differently, and produce different amounts of smoke, needing slightly different packing and (maybe) cadence - again, there's no substitute for just doing it for years. We also all have to relight sometimes, don't worry about it!
The single most important piece of advice - don't puff hard and fast! You can smoke a pipe barely drawing on it at all, and it will stay lit far longer. Barely moving the muscles in your throat and mouth will draw smoke out of the pipe, you really don't need to 'puff' at all.
The problem is, different cuts, moisture levels, and types of leaf will all burn differently, and produce different amounts of smoke, needing slightly different packing and (maybe) cadence - again, there's no substitute for just doing it for years. We also all have to relight sometimes, don't worry about it!
The single most important piece of advice - don't puff hard and fast! You can smoke a pipe barely drawing on it at all, and it will stay lit far longer. Barely moving the muscles in your throat and mouth will draw smoke out of the pipe, you really don't need to 'puff' at all.
@Pastor Charlie. Good advice above. Carter Hall should burn fine with drying, and also correct packing which is just going to take practice frankly.
After I load, I test the draw. If it’s like a thick milkshake, try it again. It should be like sipping on a straw IMO.
It’s ok to be frustrated, just know you can and will get it with practice.
Good luck!
After I load, I test the draw. If it’s like a thick milkshake, try it again. It should be like sipping on a straw IMO.
It’s ok to be frustrated, just know you can and will get it with practice.
Good luck!
On the flip side, don't forget your tamper. You will need to lightly tamp as you go along for an optimum burn.
Your issue is air fuel ratio. Wetter fuel be it wood or tobacco or any plant material like that requires more heat to steam off the water and leave usable fuel.
My method which might work for you is this. Some aromatics are notorious for not drying. I've left some Sutliff aromatics out for weeks and the moisture remained the same as crudely measured on a wood moisture meter. Tools notwithstanding, the moisture should have changed relatively regardless of accuracy in measurement.
Nevertheless, my method with these kinds of tobaccos is to pack very loosely to get more air. How do I pack loosely? There's a couple ways. I use my pointer finger to guide a stream of tobacco into the pipe if I am loading from pouch. The technique could be described as imagine your fingers were like a bull's legs and your hand the body. Stand the bull up and your pointer finger would scrape the ground like the bull would do before charging. The other method is to trickle tobacco into the bowl and tap with finger to allow gravity to settle.
Do not pack down at all. Only tamp flat. You should not feel any resistance when testing draw. Some tobaccos will require more sustained resistance. Here is where less is more. You can alter resistance by tamping you cannot remove it without repacking. The level of resistance is key. Many people think that such a loose pack is no good. But it depends on the moisture.
Light with the customary method as charring, letting go out, relight. Tamp as needed to get the perfect draw and smoke level.. This is the perfect air fuel ratio.
Also an even charring light around the bowl covering the entire tobacco surface is key. Only lighting the center will not work for most tobaccos.
Good luck! This is the art of pipe smoking versus just burning tobacco.
My method which might work for you is this. Some aromatics are notorious for not drying. I've left some Sutliff aromatics out for weeks and the moisture remained the same as crudely measured on a wood moisture meter. Tools notwithstanding, the moisture should have changed relatively regardless of accuracy in measurement.
Nevertheless, my method with these kinds of tobaccos is to pack very loosely to get more air. How do I pack loosely? There's a couple ways. I use my pointer finger to guide a stream of tobacco into the pipe if I am loading from pouch. The technique could be described as imagine your fingers were like a bull's legs and your hand the body. Stand the bull up and your pointer finger would scrape the ground like the bull would do before charging. The other method is to trickle tobacco into the bowl and tap with finger to allow gravity to settle.
Do not pack down at all. Only tamp flat. You should not feel any resistance when testing draw. Some tobaccos will require more sustained resistance. Here is where less is more. You can alter resistance by tamping you cannot remove it without repacking. The level of resistance is key. Many people think that such a loose pack is no good. But it depends on the moisture.
Light with the customary method as charring, letting go out, relight. Tamp as needed to get the perfect draw and smoke level.. This is the perfect air fuel ratio.
Also an even charring light around the bowl covering the entire tobacco surface is key. Only lighting the center will not work for most tobaccos.
Good luck! This is the art of pipe smoking versus just burning tobacco.
After 20+ years of pipe smoking I can count on one hand the number if times I've smoked a pipe to completion without relights. And it was a cob every time, usually while standing at my lathe and mindlessly puffing.
Pack lighter, if you can't keep it lit it's to tight. ONLY tamp if you can't get it relit. Let the weight of the tamper do the tamping DO NOT apply pressure to the tamper. Tamping is only to settle the ash, not repack the pipe.
Pack lighter, if you can't keep it lit it's to tight. ONLY tamp if you can't get it relit. Let the weight of the tamper do the tamping DO NOT apply pressure to the tamper. Tamping is only to settle the ash, not repack the pipe.
You've been given a lot of good advice. I can't really add too much more, so I'll modify what's be said and call that my advice.
Don't take all the advice all at once. Start with just one thing. For example light it the same, dry it the same, tamp it the same, but try packing lighter. Try adjusting packing for a few smokes and see if that helps. Then maybe move onto drying it more.
Or whatever order you care to go in. The point is when you change several things all at once, you'll likely not resolve anything because it's all new rather than just the one part.
Don't take all the advice all at once. Start with just one thing. For example light it the same, dry it the same, tamp it the same, but try packing lighter. Try adjusting packing for a few smokes and see if that helps. Then maybe move onto drying it more.
Or whatever order you care to go in. The point is when you change several things all at once, you'll likely not resolve anything because it's all new rather than just the one part.
The less I focus on the details, the more likely I won't have to constantly relight.
Overthinking it is a real issue.
Overthinking it is a real issue.
Get some D&R 3 Sails and use that to learn about packing and lighting. It’s a very fine Virginia shag that burns like a champ, you can sprinkle in some other leaf for flavor if straight Virginia isn’t your thing. Good luck, take your time. Pipe smoking is all about balance, not too tight, not too loose, not too wet, not too dry etc. eventually you’ll find what works for you.
...in with just one more mention of the fact that, for a lot of places, the humidity has been rough lately. I get so pissed when my bowl won't light/stay lit simply because I forgot to set tobacco out near a heat source 4 hours ago... light packing and sticking to crispy blends has helped. I have made a mental note over the years that this can be the most frustrating time of year for pipe smoking (in my opinion). You are not alone - good luck!
Pretty much dryer tobacco and looser pack to start. You can adjust as you go along. Puff just to get the tobacco lit, then it's long slow sips to enjoy the flavors. If the pipe goes out, no beg deal, just relight.
Carter Hall should burn pretty easily once you get the moisture down and the pack looser. Once you get your cadence working you can experiment with variations in cadence, moisture, and packing.
Carter Hall should burn pretty easily once you get the moisture down and the pack looser. Once you get your cadence working you can experiment with variations in cadence, moisture, and packing.