I Just had a Pipe-smoking Revelation ...

[Anchovies]

Title edited. Capitals!

I was browsing through this page as it's Saturday morning and just sipping some coffee..

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... it's actually a site sponsor and I would highly recommend checking out their site if you have not already, it's the best quality online pipe shop I've seen yet. Huge photos of pipes with all the dimensions etc. clearly marked.

Anyway ... I didn't post to plug them, just when you see something good it's nice to share ... anyway, so I was reading through that article and came to the bit that said the pipe should be packed so that the draw is like sucking liquid through a straw.

Mine has never been that tight, I always packed far more loosely. My usual packing method was basically "sprinkling" the tobacco into the bowl and then just "neatening it up and patting it down", and doing that 2 or 3 times until the bowl is full. When I draw on it unlit, there is mostly no difference to drawing on it when the bowl is empty.

I thought to myself okay, maybe I'm packing too loosely here. I wonder how tight I can pack and still get a good draw while it's unlit? The answer really surprised me. I took the amount of tobacco I usually fit into a full bowl and this time with each packing I actually pushed it down a little harder and kept drawing on the pipe as I was packing to ensure the draw wasn't too tight. Nope - just like sucking water through a straw.

However, what was normally a full bowl of tobacco for me now barely took-up half the bowl. I was sceptical that this was right but thought I'd give it a shot ... it was definitely right.

Not only did I get less bite, but the tobacco burned so much nicer and tasted so much better. I never really got a "hot bowl" in my hand, but now the heat in the briar was barely noticeable against my hand. It wouldn't have been noticeable if it were a warm day. That half-bowl only required a single re-light (not that I care about re-lighting, just saying) and took the same amount of time to smoke as a full bowl of my previously loosely-packed method.

Conclusion: I've been packing my pipes like a sissy!! All the warnings "DO NOT PACK TOO TIGHTLY" ... I took them all a bit too seriously and kind of skipped over the "... or too loosely" bit. I mean, on the third packing I jammed it down pretty good while constantly testing the draw. I was surprised at just how hard I could pack it in there in the end. But maybe that's only because I've been packing them so loosely a "normal" pack felt unusual.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Never take any pipe smoking opinions as the gospel. Everything about it is subjective to the individual smoker. The draw on my pipes is just as open full as they are empty. It's all about what works for the smoker.

 

[Chasing Embers]

it's the best quality online pipe shop I've seen

They stock no meerschaum so nothing for me.

 

[Fralphog]

@Anchovies ,
As I read through your post, I was listening intently because it was counter to everything I have read and practiced smoking a pipe over the years. And as @Chasing Embers states, “It's all about what works for the smoker.”
I‘m going to go check out the site and in line with @mikethompson rigor go about testing this method systematically.

 

[Anchovies]

@Anchovies ,
As I read through your post, I was listening intently because it was counter to everything I have read and practiced smoking a pipe over the years. And as @Chasing Embers states, “It's all about what works for the smoker.”
I‘m going to go check out the site and in line with @mikethompson rigor go about testing this method systematically.

To be clear it’s not as if I’m jamming it in with force. I’m just pushing it down a bit harder than I did before, which is not a big feat because that was barely anything at all. I don’t want to give the impression I was busting a vein in my forehead compacting it or anything. Lol.

Most of the advice I hear is not to pack too tight OR too loose. I’d just been ignoring the second bit until now but I think it’s almost (not quite) as important as not packing too tight. There is a sweet spot to be found and in my new found opinion it is not “super loose”.

Yes, that is of course personal and subjective. But also worth experimenting with. The trick is to keep testing the draw as you do the last pack.

 

[Anchovies]

Never take any pipe smoking opinions as the gospel. Everything about it is subjective to the individual smoker. The draw on my pipes is just as open full as they are empty. It's all about what works for the smoker.

Well, sure. That goes without saying. And doubly true when the “advice” comes from a newb like me.

I wasn’t intending to instruct anyone on the one and only “right way”. I was just relating a personal little “ah-ha!” moment I had.

It is still however worth experimenting with. You never know and I’m sure even the most experienced pipe smoker Is liable to have things to learn - or may just change their preferences over time.

 

[mikethompson]

@mikethompson rigor

Mwah ha ha!

 

[Fralphog]

To be clear it’s not as if I’m jamming it in with force. I’m just pushing it down a bit harder than I did before, which is not a big feat because that was barely anything at all. I don’t want to give the impression I was busting a vein in my forehead compacting it or anything. Lol.

Most of the advice I hear is not to pack too tight OR too loose. I’d just been ignoring the second bit until now but I think it’s almost (not quite) as important as not packing too tight. There is a sweet spot to be found and in my new found opinion it is not “super loose”.

Yes, that is of course personal and subjective. But also worth experimenting with. The trick is to keep testing the draw as you do the last pack.

I didn’t “read” anything into your post. I thought it was interesting and as the saying goes “nothing ventured nothing gained”. Have an awesome day!

 

[burleybreath]

Here's the deal, and I speak with the authority of one recently released from an insane asylum: if the tobacco is packed too tight, you should pack it looser; and if the tobacco is too loose, you should pack it tighter. Controversial, perhaps, but I don't give a sh*t what anyone else thinks.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Wide open for me, thanks! But to each their own.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Like shopping liquid through a straw isn't terribly off as long as the liquid isn't a chocolate malt. I prefer my draw a little more open than that.

 

[bullet08]

The only proper packing is one that works for you. And this changes as the time goes by.

 

[dunnyboy]

The advice you reference is sound as a starting point. It is a gloss on the codger scoop. Of course, this approach applies only to loose tobacco, mainly ribbon cut. It would be hard to apply it to flakes or coins that are not rubbed out. Smoking intact flakes and coins is its own thing and is favored by many smokers of those blends. Packing compressed tobacco requires you to take into account its expansion during combustion, which means there will be no resistance on the cold draw.

 

[mso489]

A blacksmith or a pipe fitter might have a different experience packing a pipe tightly than an office worker. I once shook hands with a Vietnamese landscaper who looked quite slight. He did not give me an intentionally manly handshake; in fact he was quite easygoing, but you could just feel the power in his grip. So what is packing a pipe tightly to one person as compared to another covers a huge range.

 

[Anchovies]

I feel I should clarify something in my OP lest people think I'm telling lies...

... this morning when I did first try a bit harder packing, my pipe did indeed burn cool, barely noticeable in my hand like I said.

As they day has progressed and I've smoked another four of five bowls through the pipe, I noticed it's getting hotter and hotter. I guess this is normal as the pipe gets used during the day and moisture builds up in it.

I'm still HUGE on my new packing technique though. It's really working for me. I'm even going back and trying tobaccos that I bought and didn't like much and discovering they taste quite different and WAY better when packed "properly"* ... and still not bite.

I do wonder if the almost unavoidable bite I was getting before was at least partly due to increased moisture/water-vaper/heat/whatever caused by the loose packing.

* "properly" for my personal subjective tastes.

 

[cigrmaster]

I pack my folded and stuffed flakes and plugs on the firm side. For me too lose makes the pipe smoke too hot and it loses flavor. I prefer a bit of moisture when I pack a pipe. I have found especially with flakes that more moisture means a cooler and more flavorful smoke. I have also noticed the pipe burns longer. I can get 1.5 to 2.0 hours of smoking pleasure with a a group 4-5 sized pipe.

Everyone should do what works best for them. Just because I am always right, no need to change things up.

 

[anotherbob]

This kind of reminds me of when I accidentally let a tin dry out "too much" and debated tossing it. Said might as well smoke it as I am not made out of money. Best smoke I had up to that point. Pipe smoking has this great little revelations built into the experience.
Oh and they're all things you can read about but you have to experience them yourself.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I always pack down tightly, so I can just about get a draw, and tamp as I go.

 

[Sgetz]

I only smoke once a week now so take my comments as you will. I have had great smokes from fold and stuff and cube cut. I recommend you try this. If you have found a method that gives you great smokes then do it!!!!

 

[Casual]

They stock no meerschaum so nothing for me.

They have their own line made for them, of many standard shapes.

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