Is Pipe Smoking like riding a bike?

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cam9

Lurker
May 1, 2017
23
0
As a very new pipe smoker, I am having all the typical challenges that you would expect, and not getting the hang of it yet.
My intent is to be an occasional smoker. I know it seems to be a constant learning experience, but once one gets the basics down to the point where you can enjoy a pipe, will you loose the technique if you don't smoke often? Please let me know. Thank you.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Well, you might get rusty, like playing an instrument or speaking a foreign language, but I wouldn't think you'd lose it altogether.

 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
11,582
15,255
SE PA USA
It becomes second nature, at least for me. We all hear stories of old men in recliners, pipe in mouth and sound asleep, still puffing away.....

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Woods, I don't think you get to be able to smoke in your sleep by being an "occasional" smoker! :rofl:

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I think it's true that a lot of the mechanics of pipe smoking become muscle memory and you never lose them. I grew up with my dad packing, lighting, tamping, relighting, tamping with his index finger, knocking the pipe, etc. By the time I picked up a pipe in my thirties, it was automatic. Naturally, he was a central influence in my life, so I'd really imprinted with this habit. He also passed me a little chaw now and then, but in that case, I was permanently cured at an early age. He smoked nothing but Granger, with a few years off for King Edward cigars, until he quit cold turkey at about age 65. He never had more than one pipe, and maybe a functional near-burnout as a backup, until he could get to a newsstand or drugstore to buy a new pipe, as you could do in those days. All of his needs were spare and Spartan, to a striking degree.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,074
Carmel Valley, CA
For some of us, there's not a lot of technique. If your tobacco is dry enough, it's hard to pack poorly, hard to tamp or relight improperly, and hard to leave a pipe wet as the tobacco burning in the bottom will dry the pipe nicely. YMMV!

 

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
27
NY
It becomes second nature even though I've fallen into a funk in keeping my pipe lit lately. lol
(I'm with Warren on the spandex but I also need to add this requirement: Please DO NOT post pictures of Nate in spandex)

 

rapskar

Lurker
Apr 20, 2017
5
0
I am in a similar situation than you. I started a couple of years ago and I stopped after a few months. When I started again it was a bit hard to keep the pipe lit, but nothing like the first time.

 

mrharris

Might Stick Around
Dec 2, 2015
51
0
Indiana
You have to have started off in better shape than me. I was on the top of a mountain in Estes Park, Colorado with a cruddy basket pipe and the wind blowing thirty miles and hour. You think that stopped me? It should have... I was thinking too much about scenery, which is definitely important. I finished the bowl- mostly still full- in the car which was most anticlimactic. It all got a lot better. I now have about twenty pipes, many antiques that I've not yet cleaned up. Only about seven are smokers, but they are definitely cherished. I'll go a month or two in between smokes but find that, fortunately in this case, old habits die hard.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
One should always wear all of the available safety devices. Oh... and dress for the weather kids. Asbestos aprons are good when smoking and enjoying an adult beverage indoors or out. And remember this, always, when smoking in bear country, take along someone slower afoot than you are. Good advice indeed! And no Lycra Spandex!!! One little ember and... poof!

 

alexnorth

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 7, 2015
603
3
I am an occasional pipe smoker and after I got the hang of it the pipe treats me good even after a lengthy hiatus. Don't sweat it!

 

gmjabsky

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 3, 2015
152
0
Asa a pipe smoker and a cyclist, I can unequivocally state that risks of saddle-sores ar much, much lower for the pipe.

 
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