I Still Cannot Pack a Bowl Well?

[seanv]

Don't be afraid of tamping. When tamping use minimal pressure and draw a long draw while the tamper is in contact with the tobacco

 

[seanv]

I have been packing bowls so loose in an effort to make them draw throughout the whole bowl that when I have to tamp ash that first time, it is about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bowl already smoked. Like I have a 1/2" of ash sitting there when I tamp down. Should I not tamp and just dump ash instead?

Dumping ash is fine. Ash can insulate and also suffocate a good ember. The trick is just time and experience

 

[Chasing Embers]

that very open draw I packed has become a pin hole that will barely smoke.

Tobacco swells as it is burned. Smack the open end of the chamber against your palm to loosen things up.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

When I tamp, I only tamp ash and I try to not even really touch the tobacco. Am I doing that right?

Its a feel thing. In general, tamp very, very lightly. If you've packed too loose, you'll have to tamp more firmly. Over time, experience will give you the feel to where you won't even think about it.

 

[mso489]

Loose tobacco should be the easiest to smoke, but don't beat your head against the wall about it. Go back to the cuts that burn well for you, and every third or fourth bowl, go back and try ribbon or other loose cut. You don't want to jam the tobacco in the chamber, but you can gingerly settle the leaf in the chamber, leaving room for air to pass through. Likewise with tamping, do it gently, but you want all the unburned tobacco to join the ember. Take your time and twiddle around with it, and go back to cuts that work for you to keep it enjoyable.

 

[bullet08]

As the tobacco burns down, the less dense bottom feels more open. You might consider learning the art of tamping.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Over time you figure it out. Or, I did.

 

[Akousticplyr]

Might be the pipe?

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Been smoking a pipe since September, and many times it goes well. I have largely been smoking cube cut, flake, and crumble cake type tobaccos lately. Recently I have been revisiting some of the more standard cuts of tobacco and I have a problem packing the bowl. At least I think that is the problem. It is like I have forgotten what I was doing a month ago that made those burn well.

It seems that no matter how loose I pack by the time I have smoked half way or a little more, that very open draw I packed has become a pin hole that will barely smoke. Even If I run a pipe cleaner down the pipe, that may work for a moment but then often right back to a bowl that isn't tight, but won't draw. I can't constantly be getting tobacco in the airway, can I? Like a few times every bowl?

With the flakes, cube cuts, an crumble cake type this doesn't seem to be a big problem, but on more typical cuts it is. It does happen some with the cube cuts too, but mostly not. I have been doing gravity feeds to make for a looser bowl, but it still seems to end up tighter after some smoking even though it hasn't even been tamped or barely tamped at all.

I barely use a tamper, I don't pack it down as I am smoking unless I feel I really have to do so because it is too loose to burn well. It almost seems like the light ash falls down in the tobacco and starts clogging things. Am I packing too loose? Do I need to remove ash from the bowl more often? I wish I knew other pipe smokers, I'm sure if someone watched me pack and smoke they could help me easier, but as it is that is not possible so I turn to you guys (again). I honestly think part of what I like about crumble cakes, flakes, and cube cut is that they are easier to pack and smoke for me.

These were the same cuts I started smoking, and I swear it was going better before I started smoking all the flakes.

I know this is user error, just trying to figure out if it is the smoking or the packing or both. I do dry everything before smoking, at least a half hour (usually longer) in a fairly dry house (around 40% humidity). This isn't the biggest deal in the world, but it does seem to cause a lot of re-lights on that last half or third of a bowl as the draw gets worse and the tobacco doesn't burn as well. I feel like if I smoke any slower I will no longer actually be smoking at all, but the tobacco does seem a bit moist down there towards the end too sometimes on these cuts.

Once again, about the time I think I am starting to get the hang of all this, turns out I look like a kid trying to smoke his dads pipe without a clue! I am sure that if there is a way to do so, I am making it harder than it really is. I still wish I could watch (in person) someone with a lot of experience pack and smoke a few bowls of different tobaccos. I have watched plenty of videos and I think I might still suck at smoking.

To give you examples of what I am talking about, a couple that have done this recently were Father Dempsey, Yorktown, and I think Pegasus also. I swear I have smoked the Pegasus and Dempsey without this happening in the past. I just cannot figure out what I am doing differently now than I was before I went down the flake rabbit hole.

Oh, also one more question, how much of an ember do you guys try to get going when you light the pipe? I have been just trying to get just enough to make it smoke a bit, but I saw a fella on one of these forum pages the other day saying that beginners are too afraid to get strong ember going in the beginning (because we are told to real slow and not ever puff) but that you should start with a full strong ember when lighting. Any opinions on this?

Do you still have the same problem with a Cob?
If you don't have one try getting a Missouri Meerschaum Country Gentleman, the draft in that pipe is so open it should be very difficult to get it blocked.

 

[Ryan]

Do you still have the same problem with a Cob?
If you don't have one try getting a Missouri Meerschaum Country Gentleman, the draft in that pipe is so open it should be very difficult to get it blocked.

I have a couple of little cobs, and I don't have too many problems with them. I've mostly smoked cube cut and flake in them.

 

[Ryan]

Might be the pipe?

I wish I could blame my tools, but it seems to carry across from pipe to pipe.

 

[Jaylotw]

I have a feeling it might be your pipe? I've had a pipe or two that, by some unfortunate geometry or whatever were prone to clog up here and there. No real problem. I'd just shove a cleaner all the way down, into the chamber itself and clear the clog.

The idea of ash "falling through" the tobacco might be true, too. I've never done the so called gravity fill, but always tried to achieve a higher density on the top of the bowl than on the bottom. That way I've got a good, strong and even ember, almost like a "cap," and when I tamp (which I do pretty often) this even, dense "cap" compresses the tobacco underneath in an even fashion. If your fill is too loose, you might not have an even ember, but an ember that burns straight downwards, or "tunnels," leading you to tamp ash into the draft hole at the bottom of the bowl.

Of course, I don't even really think about it when I smoke, it's just automatic after 15 years. I still clog a pipe up, fairly regularly. Ain't no big deal. We can go on and on for days about technique, but honestly if you overthink it you'll loose enjoyment. Even a clogged up pipe can be enjoyed with a few cleaners nearby.

 

[J-Evverrett]

I’m with simmerdown on the ”old timer” method. Stick the pipe in the pouch/tin and use one finger to scoot/push it in till it starts to fight back slightly. Then firm up the top with your thumb a bit and fire away. As for tamping, I use my index finger mostly. If you burn yourself, you tamped too hard lol. That’s how I learned it. The uncle who showed me that had been smoking a pipe for 40+ yrs, and my granddad showed him that. There are a lot of other methods, but this one has never failed me. It becomes second nature.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I just load up the the chamber, and tamp until the draw is fairly tight.
After lighting up I don't draw or pull, I just breathe through my nose and exhale from the mouth.
if you draw or pull you are creating all sorts of problems.

 

[Mtlpiper]

I think you may have hit the nail on the head when you said you're new and you're trying a whole bunch of different tobacco.

So they'll have various humidities and cuts. It will naturally take a bit longer to get to your comfort zone with each.

I'd recommend maybe drying out the tobacco more.

But if it's getting damp at the bottom, that could also be from smoking too fast (the moisture in the winter air will condense as you draw) or with moisture from your mouth/breath.

The 'breathing technique' that @Morrison Jeremiah mentioned would help with the condensation and dampness in general.

One tobacco that's almost impossible to mess up (at least I can't imagine how) would be Tabac Manil's "La Petit Robin" if you like a somewhat punchy Burley/Virginia mix. You just have to pack that stuff down harder than anything else. It comes bone dry, intentionally.

Good luck though and hopefully, you can enjoy figuring it all out. Ultimately, try not to get too frustrated. You'll get it with time for sure.

 

[jpmcwjr]

um, stirring? I have not seen a lot of talk of stirring. I do it a little at the bottom of the bowl sometimes, am I supposed to be stirring more often? I guess I had the idea that you were supposed to load it up and not touch it except for when you really had to tamp.

I never stir, and recommend against that.

 

[PeterPipersPizza]

I just load up the the chamber, and tamp until the draw is fairly tight.
After lighting up I don't draw or pull, I just breathe through my nose and exhale from the mouth.
if you draw or pull you are creating all sorts of problems.

Really? In the breath method you don't draw in? I thought the method involved you did so every 2 or 3 breaths out? And mean while drawing in the whole time but like sipping a straw? I am a new pipe smoker and am having the same problem as the original poster.

 

[Ryan]

I just load up the the chamber, and tamp until the draw is fairly tight.
After lighting up I don't draw or pull, I just breathe through my nose and exhale from the mouth.
if you draw or pull you are creating all sorts of problems.

This made me think more about what I was actually doing, and I think you helped me find one of my problems. I have not been really been making an effort to exhale out my mouth, sometimes kind of keeping it closed and exhaling nasally.

I didn't realize how much air I was breathing back out the pipe by doing this. Hot, moist, mouth air was probably adding moisture to the tobacco at the bottom of the bowl as well. I should have known this from the other day when smoking my little Morgan cob; I noticed moisture collectin inside the transparent mouthpiece. I didn't think much of it at the time.

I paid more attention on the last two bowls and they burned better, but more importantly I picked up more flavors after I actually made a real effort to exhale from the mouth. Thanks!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Really? In the breath method you don't draw in? I thought the method involved you did so every 2 or 3 breaths out? And mean while drawing in the whole time but like sipping a straw? I am a new pipe smoker and am having the same problem as the original poster.

You do. I continuously draw for 3-4 breaths. Sounds like he is inhaling the smoke with each breath.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Really? In the breath method you don't draw in? I thought the method involved you did so every 2 or 3 breaths out? And mean while drawing in the whole time but like sipping a straw? I am a new pipe smoker and am having the same problem as the original poster.

I don't give a damn about out any breathing method apart from the one I use, which works perfectly.
Sounds like you've been watching Mutton Chop Piper videos, avoid them like the plague.
He doesn't have a clue