Yeah there is no average. I smoke up to 6 a day one day, then none, and another day 1. Just do it when you want to.
I must be doing something wrong.....
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On YT Muttnchop Piper's channel may be a useful source for any new piper
Well, using the Frank method I don't feel as bad about smoking several bowls a day.....the three stage method was going to cost me a fortune in tobacco and it was less than a pleasant smoke. Loving this forum!!
packing a pipe is hard to teach. It's more of a knack. My suggestion is try a few different methods and see how it effects the experience.
But it takes some time before it really clicks and becomes a natural zero thought near instant process.
The way I pack a pipe is a modified version of the three step method and I find it easier and more effective.
Gravity fill the pipe (sprinkle the tobacco into the chamber and tap your palm on the heel of the pipe to level off the tobacco) I do that for the first 2/3rds of the chamber (some variation with certain blends and cuts) and only press the top 1/3rd down.
So just to step by step. Grab a pinch sprinkle it into the chamber gentle tap the pipe repeat until there is about a 1/3rd of the upper portion of the chamber empty. Sprinkle more tobacco into the chamber (usually makes a bit of a mound over the rim) and then press the tobacco town with the flat surface of your thumb. Check the draw by sucking on the pipe stem. Once you start feeling a very slight but noticeable resistance on the draw you're good to go. Works good for me.
it's a fine way to pack a pipe. One should be able to get a consistent pack job and an easily smoked pipe.
This is what caused me problems that ultimately led to quitting the pipe back in my 20’s. Of course, no real internet to speak of then, and the local tobacco shop guys were more interested in talking with their friends over cigars than teaching a young pipe smoker how to pack a bowl.
Of course, I’m back now. And the internet is insanely helpful. But sometimes TOO HELPFUL. Everyone has their idea is the “best” methods. These boards are much more helpful than most of what I’ve seen on YT.
I also quit and came back for that reason. I like lots of opinions though. Sometimes one thong doesn't work for me but someone elses is perfect for me. But yeah there are no best methods. I do think that the 3 pack method is bad for so many people that it shouldnt be the first thing every new person sees.
There's nothing 'wrong' with the 3-step method per se, it's just that newbies are usually tamping down too hard between each 'fill'.
All of us here I'm sure, can recall when a newbie how not each bowl was just right and how sometimes, one had to empty out the tobacco and start again.
Funny thing about that though is that having issues with packing is such a distant memory.
It's like as if one day, everything just fell into place.
I had to stop and think "How do you pack a bowl Chopper?" because it's something that I do without conscious effort. I simply just pack a bowl. Muscle memory I think it's called.
Regardless of cut, whether it's ribbon or a flake, my fingers have learnt to pack a bowl just right every time. Except for my small bowls, I use a finger to tamp and that might be one of the things that helped me to learn because a finger is way more sensitive than a tamper.
When I'm packing a small bowl and need to use a tamper, I use way less pressure than when I was a newbie and therein may lay with newbies who are having issues; they're tamping too hard, especially when using the 3-step method.
All of us here I'm sure, can recall when a newbie how not each bowl was just right and how sometimes, one had to empty out the tobacco and start again.
Funny thing about that though is that having issues with packing is such a distant memory.
It's like as if one day, everything just fell into place.
I had to stop and think "How do you pack a bowl Chopper?" because it's something that I do without conscious effort. I simply just pack a bowl. Muscle memory I think it's called.
Regardless of cut, whether it's ribbon or a flake, my fingers have learnt to pack a bowl just right every time. Except for my small bowls, I use a finger to tamp and that might be one of the things that helped me to learn because a finger is way more sensitive than a tamper.
When I'm packing a small bowl and need to use a tamper, I use way less pressure than when I was a newbie and therein may lay with newbies who are having issues; they're tamping too hard, especially when using the 3-step method.
I tried a stop and think about what I was doing recently because I have a brother who is learning. I was trying explain it him. I messed it up lol. My general method is as follows:
open pouch, drop pipe in with bowl parallel to tobacco level, give it a shake to fill, smoosh some more in with finger till it feels right, tamp with thumb a bit. ( kind of tamp a bit on one side and twist) Light twice, with a gentle thumb tamp in between to crush the char. My great uncle showed me that a long time ago, and it works great. I realize it sounds complicated, but it takes less than ten seconds. I should make a video maybe.
open pouch, drop pipe in with bowl parallel to tobacco level, give it a shake to fill, smoosh some more in with finger till it feels right, tamp with thumb a bit. ( kind of tamp a bit on one side and twist) Light twice, with a gentle thumb tamp in between to crush the char. My great uncle showed me that a long time ago, and it works great. I realize it sounds complicated, but it takes less than ten seconds. I should make a video maybe.
basically keeps coming back to the fact that it's a knack. One that's almost impossible to explain to a new smoker. That's why I think trying different methods helps, more likely to accidentally hit the sweet spot. But at the end of the day it's what works for you.
This worked satisfactorily to me only with granulated or cub cut tobaccos such as PA or Half and half but haven
t had much of success with either Ready Rubbed long cut or ribbon cut tobaccies
You're missing out!I tried briefly, but gave up thongs long ago...
And I never tried anyone else's
You could be correct, but I'm not sure I'll ever knowYou're missing out!
Oddly enough, I smoke exclusively half and half and then Prince Albert for 15 years. It was what my older male relatives smoked
You can search the forum if you wish, as there have been a number of threads on how much people smoke around here. You'll literally find everything from 8 - 10 a day to once a month.
Yes. I found that out quickly. It is the method newbies are always told, but it doesn't work well. Once I gave that up and just packed it very lightly, I really started enjoying my pipes.Tha 3-step packing is THE WORST advice any new pipe smoker can be given
Absolute tosh - a bad smoke is almost always guaranteed
Hopefully better packing will fix the problem. If it happens again, avoid puffing hard to get it going again; just let it go out. The gently stir up the ash and remove it as much as can. Try not to disturb the unburned tobacco until you’ve dumped the ash. Then gently pry up the tobacco so it’s loose in the bowl, tamp it gently, and relight.
I always advice new people to use a variation of the Frank Method and a Gravity fill, gravity fill till the pipe is full then the Frank Method packing the baccy untill it feels tight BUT springy at the same time.
I forget who (on this Forum, I think) said it, but ...
1. Pack looser than you think.
I think each of us figure out over time what works for us and in some cases, what works for each cut type. Just pack it loosely ... and check the draw before you light.
2. Smoke slower than you think.
Some call it sipping on your pipe. I had a hard time figuring out what people meant until I watched some pipe smokers on YouTube. Some other clues, if/when your pipe begins to gurgle, you NEED to slow down. Also, I will as gently as I draw, puff out of the pipe. Not certain what is happening, but the gurgle goes away. This can happen to me on aromatics like Borkum Riff Bronze (it was bought in Italy). And it is a sign telling me to slow down.
3. Smoke dryer than you think.
This is certainly true. It helps ensure a cooler and dryer smoke because the tobacco is dryer. And from what I read, many pouches have large amounts of wetting agent.
This works for me. As folks here will say, YMMV ... but this works for me. I have not smoked a lot recently, but have smoked a lot over a long time. I have forgotten more than I remember about pipe smoking ... and thankfully, there is the internet and are forums today. When I started smoking a pipe, the Internet was the DARPA net and not publicly available, it was before COMPUSERVE and the birth of home computers ... thankfully, there were school buses and I did not have to walk to and from school uphill both ways ...
1. Pack looser than you think.
I think each of us figure out over time what works for us and in some cases, what works for each cut type. Just pack it loosely ... and check the draw before you light.
2. Smoke slower than you think.
Some call it sipping on your pipe. I had a hard time figuring out what people meant until I watched some pipe smokers on YouTube. Some other clues, if/when your pipe begins to gurgle, you NEED to slow down. Also, I will as gently as I draw, puff out of the pipe. Not certain what is happening, but the gurgle goes away. This can happen to me on aromatics like Borkum Riff Bronze (it was bought in Italy). And it is a sign telling me to slow down.
3. Smoke dryer than you think.
This is certainly true. It helps ensure a cooler and dryer smoke because the tobacco is dryer. And from what I read, many pouches have large amounts of wetting agent.
This works for me. As folks here will say, YMMV ... but this works for me. I have not smoked a lot recently, but have smoked a lot over a long time. I have forgotten more than I remember about pipe smoking ... and thankfully, there is the internet and are forums today. When I started smoking a pipe, the Internet was the DARPA net and not publicly available, it was before COMPUSERVE and the birth of home computers ... thankfully, there were school buses and I did not have to walk to and from school uphill both ways ...
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