Ghosting Paranoia

[PiperCalvinist]

I just got my first Peterson pipe! . It’s the first pipe I’ve spent over $100 on, but now I’m met with what I was not anticipating - ghosting paranoia. Well, that’s exaggerating a bit, but I couldn’t wait to get this thing and smoke it, and then once I got it the thought came “Now what do I smoke?” I also received today some Haunted Bookshop and some Peter Stokkebye’s PS24 Nougat. I’d like to smoke both of them in it. But will one ghost the other? Do I need to concern myself with that? Or do I only need to be concerned if I smoke some goopy cherry flavored aromatic or a blend that contains a strong percentage of perique or Latakia? I’d really like to hear from you experienced pipers on this. Is ghosting made too much of? Is it legit, and I should only dedicate this new pipe to a certain kind blend? Please help me out on this matter! Thank you!

 

[PaulRVA]

My best smoking pipe is a Peterson 309. I’ve burned everything imaginable in it from Lat Bombs to Lakelands, just a total pipe version of a Witches Brew. Trying to be a purist is too much work. I say smoke what you want , when you want and damn the torpedoes as you may end up with your favorite pipe in the end!

 

[Servant King]

Firstly, congrats on the new Pete, it's a beaut!

Secondly, while you're probably not going to ghost it with either blend (Nougat's a fairly mellow aro), you do have to ask yourself how deeply you plan on exploring different blend types. Using myself as an example, when I first started out, I wanted to basically try everything under the sun there was to try, and I bought both blends/samples and pipes accordingly. And now, 5+ years later, I have a crap-ton of different blends, and relatively few pipes (about a dozen). Although I dedicate pipes to blends in a pretty strict manner, I don't have any real concerns about ghosting, and never really have. The consensus seems to be that the two main things to watch out for are excessively PG-laden aromatics and Lakelands, neither of which I smoke, so that's one less thing to worry about for me.

Haunted Bookshop has about as much of a chance of ghosting your pipe as a fart would. But don't fart in a bookshop, because then it might truly become haunted...

 

[telescopes]

I wouldn't worry. If you smoked the same blend over and over and over - sure some blends can and will do that. Neither of the blends you mentioned have ghosted my pipes.

 

[proteus]

Most likely this will not be your last pipe. Only way to know for sure is try it. If for example the pipe becomes ghosted Latakia then it becomes a dedicated Latakia pipe. It's not like it isn't usable. Then you go out and get another pipe either different or just like it and you know not to smoke Latakia in it if for example that was the ghost tobacco. Or you might enjoy a touch of Latakia in all your blends. Not all ghosts are bad, some are Casper. Some people like the ghost effect.

 

[anotherbob]

I just got my first Peterson pipe! . It’s the first pipe I’ve spent over $100 on, but now I’m met with what I was not anticipating - ghosting paranoia. Well, that’s exaggerating a bit, but I couldn’t wait to get this thing and smoke it, and then once I got it the thought came “Now what do I smoke?” I also received today some Haunted Bookshop and some Peter Stokkebye’s PS24 Nougat. I’d like to smoke both of them in it. But will one ghost the other? Do I need to concern myself with that? Or do I only need to be concerned if I smoke some goopy cherry flavored aromatic or a blend that contains a strong percentage of perique or Latakia? I’d really like to hear from you experienced pipers on this. Is ghosting made too much of? Is it legit, and I should only dedicate this new pipe to a certain kind blend? Please help me out on this matter! Thank you!

my experiences with ghosting says not really an issue except in estate pipes. As in estate pipes that got one thing smoked in it for years and years. I smoke everything in my pipes and never felt like I ruined any of them.

 

[OzPiper]

Ghosting is a problem only IF you have a sensitive palate
And don't want your flavours muddled.
Some blends ghost more than others eg Lakelands, latakia, aromatics

I have pipes for aromatic blends, ones for latakia/oriental blends and ones for everything else

Some actually find it interesting to smoke different genres in the same pipe

No right or wrong. Just what suits you.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Permanent ghosting is a bit of a myth. Many of my top tier pipes were bought for aromatics but the residual flavors are easily dispelled if need be.

 

[fireground_piper]

It takes a lot to ghost. I mostly smoke one pipe and I smoke everything in it.

 

[PiperCalvinist]

It takes a lot to ghost. I mostly smoke one pipe and I smoke everything in it.

That’s what I want to hear!

 

[hakchuma]

I smoke anything in my pipes except tobaccos that have a floral note. Latakia bombs, aromatics doesn’t matter. But that stuff that has a floral notes ruins my pipes - Full Virginia Flake by Samuel Gawith has made two of my pipes useless for anything but Full Virginia Flake even after sitting the pipes for a year I can still taste the floral notes when smoking a different tobacco in them So be careful with that. Otherwise I don’t mind any other ghost that might come with Latakia or other aromatics.

 

[PiperCalvinist]

I wouldn't worry. If you smoked the same blend over and over and over - sure some blends can and will do that. Neither of the blends you mentioned have ghosted my pipes.

Well, I just smoked some PS24 in it and it was awesome! I don't know if it was the tobacco, the pipe, or both? - but it was the best smoke I've had to-date!

 

[Sigmund]

Yep...I just keep the lakelands out...that isnt hard since I dont care for them. I have a couple of pipes I intentionally keep lat away from but I really dont think I can taste lat in my other pipes when I smoke a vaper. I have a feeling that another thing that ghosts estate pipes is keeping it full of spent tobacco and heavy cake for years on end. Of course, as said...lots of the same tobacco for years. Occasionally I smoke HU Moroccan Bazaar. I limit that to one pipe. It smells like a spiece rack and Im pretty confident it will quickly ghost a pipe since I can smell it in the pipe for days after one smoke.

 

[sardonicus87]

I have one dedicated to Lakelands. The others I used to smoke anything in them in rotation and nothing was ever a problem. Eventually I dedicated them for the hell of it to the major categories (English, VA, burley, aro), but none of them seem ghosted even after only smoking those things in them.

I don't smoke my briars too often, mostly just my one meerschaum, and I smoke everything except Lakelands in it and so far, nothing has ghosted it. But I usually switch up a lot. Though when I did have Maple Shadows, I smoked that almost exclusively for like 3-4 months and that didn't ghost it either. Supposedly meerschaum is resistant to ghosting, but others have had estate meers that were ghosted.

I'm not sure what it takes to ghost a pipe outside of Lakelands. But, I only would smoke a 50-100 gram tin at a time in any of them before switching to something else. Sniff test and they all smell the same except my Lakelands pipe that still smells like Ennerdale after it's been sitting in the open air, unsmoked for like 9 months.

 

[Hillcrest]

Do I need to concern myself with that?

Not really. A 24 hour salt and alcohol cleaning will remove most ghosting if it happens. Sometimes you have to do it twice. I picked a good condition Peterson Xl339S that had been used for 30 yrs to smoke Balkan Sobranie and the like. After light reaming and two salt baths... no residual flavors. I now use it to smoke aros and virginias without any distortion. If it happens, just clean it.

 

[fireground_piper]

That’s what I want to hear!

It’s probably worth noting that I don’t build any type of cake and will ream my pipe every dozen bowls or so. I imagine if you built a cake of something and maintained that cake, you’ll get some ghosting. I can’t really comment on that though, total guess.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Unless you have a tendency to smoke tobacco you don't like, I wouldn't worry about ghosting to much. I smoke just about anything I like in every pipe I own.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

If you smoke more than one blend in the pipe, there will be some ghosting. Whether it's enough for you to detect and affect how you enjoy the pipe remains to be seen. Varies person to person.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

There is a slight carry over on most blends, but it takes a well developed palate to detect most. I find that aromatics with a topping that overrides the tobacco flavors and many latakia blends will leave behind an easily detected flavor, but unless the pipe was dedicated to these aros and lats, you can smoke it out with other blends.

The only pipes that I have crushed and thrown away, were estates from eBay that were dedicated to Lakelands. I used every method, over and over to try to remove them. Those toppings get down deep into the briar. I wish it was a law that you have to disclose whether a Lakeland was smoked in a pipe before selling it.
But, really, if one like those tastes of Lakelands, then they would still buy them. It might even be a perk for them.
Heavily dedicated aromatic pipes can be the same, but those I kept set aside in case I ever get an inkling to smoke an aro.

On my pipes that are not dedicated to a genre, I will smoke a latakia after an aromatic, a burly or Virginia blend after latakia. I don't mind subtle ghosting this way. Actually, I kind of enjoy it.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Using the water rinsing method after each smoke really helps cut down on the minimal ghosts. If one is not phobic about water in your pipe. Those that are... well, maybe a chamber reaming with a wad of paper towel after each smoke.