@Country Bladesmith Thank you very much. Are these available at tobacco shops, or could you direct me to a good online retailer where I could obtain them?
Site sponsor smokingpipes.com. Stay away from the captain black and cherry stuff to start. It’s too tricky to learn with. It will get hot and wet fast and you’ll fry your tongue. Balkan Supreme is a fantastic starter. Burns easily. Listen to others on the old school Carter Hall and Chatham Manor “codger style” blends.
I like Smokingpipes.com for a big online vendor. Carter Hall might be found at a brick and mortar tobacco store.
On my way there now to purchase. Thank you all
Well, Chatham Manor is meant to be a match of Carter Hall anyway, so you’re good.
You can fry your tongue with most any tobacco if you try, but some make it all too easy for new pipe smokers to end up with tongue bite. Wet aromatics and Virginias are the biggest culprits, and are better approached once solid technique is established, at least in my opinion. Research the breathe/breath method. I think @chasingembers made a YouTube video that explains it pretty well. Avoid hard drags on the pipe, or drawing too quickly/often. The name of the game is a very slow smolder. You don’t want the tobacco to get too hot, or it will burn instead of smolder. A bitter smoke, or all tobaccos tasting the same, are tell-tale signs that you’re smoking too hot. It’s definitely a more complex thing than it looks, but it’s not brain surgery either. It takes some time to get the swing of it is all, so don’t get too frustrated with it if it takes a few bowls before having a decent go.
Thank you for the advice. I will look up the lead you gave me. I have been a Copenhagen snuff dipper for years, trying to cut back and giving the pipe a go. I still have to have the nicotine!
Ooh. Didn’t know that. Most pipe tobacco is pretty light in the nicotine department if you’re used to other forms of tobacco. If you need some stronger blends, check out D&R Picayune, Peterson’s Irish Flake (it’s not as strong as it used to be, but still a decent smoke), and MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired. The old K&K version of Irish Flake is what helped me switch from cigars/chew/snuff over to pipes, but they changed the recipe. It’s still recommendable, but the old version was a bit stronger/tastier in my opinion.
Thanks for the info @Country Bladesmith . I have found that the pipe in my mouth has a tendency to keep me from reaching for the snuff, perhaps it is a psychological thing. After I receive my order for the other blends I ordered I will see how it goes and then perhaps try out some of the stronger ones you mentioned.
