How Long Should a Pipeful Last?

[Bengel]

Find a cork that fits the bowl top and cork it?

 

[Bengel]

Don’t over think? You’re not the boss of me!!

I read on page three of the New Pipe Smokers Guide that in order to thoroughly enjoy the piping experience you need three things.

1. a pipe
2. tobacco
3. an unlimited imagination based on peer pressure that you’re the only new pipe smoke that gets frustrated and wants to quite pipe smoking and the unrelenting realization that the old timers were born with a pipe in your mouth and all the answers involving said pipe smoking are complex Euclidean theoretical physics questions who sole reason for having a slide rule is those damn paper cuts and the charring light is actually a manifestation of the whole embodiment of fire in our primal society.

Just roll with it. It’s a pipe. It’s tobacco. You’ll get it. You’ll figure it out.

Overthinking ruins the zen of the “process”

 

[Streeper541]

Q. How long should a bowl full last?
A. Until it's finished.

 

[Donb1972]

I don't know how long a bowl should last...I just smoke until I don't want to anymore. Sometimes I go back to it later, sometimes not.

 

[sandollars]

It's certainly not the same for everyone. I get about 45 minutes out of a standard prince and about 90 minutes out of a group 4.

I got 2 1/2 hours out of a Peterson House pipe, and have never been able to finish a pipeful in a Weaver Magnum.

 

[The Clay King]

I normally get about 10-15 minutes out of a small clay pipe...

 

[kcghost]

I have no problem with putting the pipe up and relighting it when I have time. Depending on where I am at I may have to put a windscreen on the pipe to keep the contents from falling out.

 

[sparker69]

A friend of mine does the half-bowl, or less, thing when taking smoke breaks. Think he just dumps it. And there's nothing wrong with smoking a partial bowl and saving the rest for later. I do it all the time with my last pipe of the night. (Drowsiness supervenes.) I don't own one, but it would seem that a Savinelli Tortuga would come in handy for this practice, if you wanted to pocket the pipe afterwards during the day.

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Funny - I was thinking the same thing - ie. smoking with a Tortuga model with the top. I have this exact model (626) and it's great if you have to stop in the middle of a bowl.
But still, that being said, I think that you have to think a bit about your pipe smoking. No - there is not one way to smoke a pipe - there is no "pipe orthodoxy" or at least there should be as little of it as possible, (not saying there is not, within the community, helpful advice from smoking veterans,). But, if you're trying to smoke a pipe like taking a "quick cigarette break", you might have a bit of difficulty. Going back to my cigar example, I don't bring robustos for my lunch time break. Why? I would have to smoke them WAY too quickly, which would produce a horribly bad taste, not to mention multiple mechanical issues, (uneven burn, canaling, etc.,). With Cubans, when I pull one out, I make sure that the situation is "optimal": ie., I have the time, the weather is perfect, no wind, etc.. Because otherwise, I would be wasting it, and I think as well, not respecting the workmanship that went into the cigar. With cigars, it's maybe easier to think like this because of the cost factor. Pipe tobacco is much cheaper. But again, you have to maybe ask yourself: does a pipe fit into these ten or twenty minute breaks? Maybe it's not something that I can do at that time. (Oh, and as a footnote - not meaning to discourage you from this fine hobby).

 

[telescopes]

How long? Ask the Owl.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Longer than the ecstasy of your honeymoon, shorter than Once Upon In The West.

No idea what that means, however, I’m 45 minutes into a bowl in a Peterson Iora and expect to hear many more songs on 70s on 7 before it’s done! Brothers Johnson on now!

 

[OSOBUCO]

If you want a smaller pipe, buy it. As an alternative, smoke what you want of the larger pipe and finish it later. Or fill it half way.

Agree. I often fill half a bowl in a larger pipe - OR - I use a small pipe - OR - I fully load a big bowl and finish the other half at another time. For me revisiting a pipe after half a bowl isn't a problem...relighting a cigar that has sat a while is nasty to me.

 

[Misanthrope]

I smoke 1-2 bowls a day, usually. Weather permitting, my morning pipe is either a Briarworks C151XL or a Moonshine Cannonball with my own “trash blend” that’s basically a little bit of everything, and it’ll last roughly an hour or so. If I have another later in the day, it’s in a smaller pipe like a Briarworks C111 Bullmoose or one of my Al Pascia Curvys, which last somewhere around 30 to 45 minutes.

If the weather sucks, I’ll grab a twee little Briarworks OR01 stubby apple and smoke a shag cut tobacco instead. That’ll last me about 15 minutes on average.

 

[Chasing Embers]

But, if you're trying to smoke a pipe like taking a "quick cigarette break", you might have a bit of difficulty.

It's actually considerably easier. No need for an ashtray, no fiddling with trying to get a cigarette out of the pack, and remnants left in the pipe are biodegradable.

 

[bullet08]

Doesn't really matter how small the bowl is. They all take at least 30-45 minutes for me. Not sure why. Shag cuts are faster, but so are ribbon cuts. Biggest difference is between flakes and rubbed. Rubbed, as in shag, ribbon, and so on burns quicker than any form of flakes or plugs. Best bet is to load less or stop and relight later.

 

[Michigan_Bill]

Sometimes I feel as though I want a shorter smoke, so I pick a smaller clay. But paradoxically enough, whenever I smoke a pipe…. Time seems to stop. So I have no idea how long a bowl lasts. Until it’s finished.

 

[BigWeird]

I got a new question
Well two actually

Firstly is there a good pipe to buy I keep breaking my cheap ones and it sucks cause I really start to like one then boom it dies
I was gonna buy a Peterson but am afraid I'll break it just as easily
Secondly I have a medico ventilator pipe that I'm having issues with getting to smoke right anyone have any pointers or ideas

 

[BigWeird]

Also I wanna say thank you to everyone who's been helping on here and for the pipe tips much appreciated

 

[Chasing Embers]

Firstly is there a good pipe to buy I keep breaking

They're all pretty fragile, you have to be careful with them. Definitely avoid meerschaum.

 

[BigWeird]

If it's any consolation I only have broke the stems and one briar which was a cheap one anyway everything else is good to go so far
I also got softies for helping me with chewing on the stem

 

[BigWeird]

Will definitely avoid meerschaum until I'm more matured at this