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hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,751
Chicago
Honestly there isn’t much I would change. Every step has been a worthwhile part of the journey with pipes. Yeah I wish my palate was more open earlier but looking back there are so few smokes I didn’t enjoy at the time that it’s a matter of missing what I didn’t know about. If I have a pipe regret it’s not cellaring earlier but then again what I liked in the past didn’t really need to be cellared. So I am making up for lost time now. Tobacco wise, my foray into cigs is the only thing I regret.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,808
29,643
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
So in just about any hobby/sport/past-time, there is that thing you learn three, five, ten years in, and the moment you do, your immediate reaction is "Man oh man, why couldn't I have known about this when I started!?" Pipe smoking is no different (I had been smoking for almost a decade before I clued in to how a tamper actually gets used), and so I want to hear yours. For me, I'm specifically wondering what tobacco blends you wish you had come across much earlier, but any instance works.
like when I found out how much ladies like cuddles, actually probably best that took a while to figure out.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,808
29,643
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I wish I didn’t listen to the “three step” method of packing tobacco: where you push the tobacco in with the strength of a baby, then the strength of a woman, and then finally the strength of a man. This is terrible advice to give to a newbie, and a terrible way to pack in general because it restricts airflow. The Frank Method is much better.

I also wish I knew how important it was to dry tobacco. This, combined with better packing, would have made my early pipe smoking experience much better.

Oh, and get yourself a pre-transition Barling. #barlingbros #barlinggang
that three step method probably worked back in the day when it was social acceptable to arm with wrestle babies. You know when people actually knew the strength of a baby.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,808
29,643
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
Answering the original question. I wish I actually knew what blends I love back at the start. I've always loved my pipes and always smoked them weekly or never when I was broke (which was most of the time). But the first blend I loved disappeared so fast and was over ten years after starting to smoke. Also how Good a Zippo pipe lighter actually is.
 

Magpiety

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 7, 2019
537
1,773
Kansas City
Honestly there isn’t much I would change. Every step has been a worthwhile part of the journey with pipes.

Same. The farmer next door taught me, and he only smoked Prince Albert out of Grabows. I really enjoyed the process of finding new tobaccos, more complicated packing methods, and then simplifying all of it back down all on my own. All necessary, all enjoyable.
 
Jun 23, 2019
1,848
12,768
I wish I had quit cigs and gotten serious about pipe-smoking a lot sooner. I would have been better off in every way. Then again, if I hadn't been paying 20 bucks a day for cigs by the end, I would have had a tougher time justifying the sums I spend on PAD and TAD to myself... So, yeah, as usual, no mistakes, and no regrets to report here.

Yup, this is me to a T.

Me Brain: "Hmmm, $400 is a lot for a pipe."
Me Heart: "Yeah, but that's like a month of ciggys..."
Me Brain: "Damn, that's super cheap then!"

If I knew early on that I had an allergy to Red Virginia tobacco, I would have saved layers of flesh on my tongue and lots of money. I am just thankful I found out in 2012 which allowed me to cellar fast and deep.

It took us a while to realize, but one of my mates have an allergy to Red Virginias too. You should've heard our debates at our tastings before we figured that out ?

Answering the original question. I wish I actually knew what blends I love back at the start. I've always loved my pipes and always smoked them weekly or never when I was broke (which was most of the time). But the first blend I loved disappeared so fast and was over ten years after starting to smoke. Also how Good a Zippo pipe lighter actually is.

+1 Getting a pipe insert for my Zippo really changed my smoking habits.
 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,744
27,344
Carmel Valley, CA
In last few days, I found out the reason behind false and true light. Still working it out. But, if you char the tobacco evenly or mostly even, true light can burn the tobacco evenly all the way down. Or at least until the moisture kills the ember.

I worked out that, for me, the char light is a pile of crap. Sometimes I do it, but that's only because the initial light didn't take, or I didn't pay attention and the pipe went out quickly.

If your tobacco is moist, it will rise a bit in the chamber, and you may indeed need to do two lights. But all my lights are true lights. Except when I screw up.
 
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bullet08

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
8,946
37,968
RTP, NC. USA
I worked out that, for me, the char light is a pile of crap. Sometimes I do it, but that's only because the initial light didn't take, or I didn't pay attention and the pipe went out quickly.

If your tobacco is moist, it will rise a bit in the chamber, and you may indeed need to do two lights. But all my lights are true lights. Except when I screw up.

That's what I used to do. Go with one light. Somd times it was a great smoke, some times something was missing. At least for me. So, been looking at the ember for awhile. Noticed if all the top was lit, smoke was thicker and flavor was fuller. Some times I was covering the top with ember with first lighg, some times not. But if I do second light after distributing the charred tobacco around, it's certain I'll cover the top with ember.
 

davidsaulmarshall

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 18, 2019
103
528
Cambridge, MA
But why is it a winner, lol?! As someone who only started really ordering from the different on-line retailers about a year ago, my one or two experiences with them have been uneventful. I'm sure there is a story here, I'm just not clear on what it is.

Pipes and Cigars has a real bad reputation for being one of the more disorganised and feckless online retailers. Things will often take days to ship, or not ship at all. If you're really lucky, you'll get your order and then they'll send a free-of-charge duplicate a week later. Their customer service also leaves much to be desired as emails will often go completely unanswered.

All in all, with so many other great options, Pipesandcigars will never get my money.
 
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