Just a Couple Beginner Questions...

[drumdude777]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9) - Bob

Hi guys, just a couple questions from a noob! Thanks a bunch for your time.

1. I tend to get a chemical-type burning in my mouth quite often. With really any blend. Sometimes I have to have warm water to rinse my mouth with during smoking. Its not a temperature burn -- its like a hotness from a pepper. Anyone else have this ever?

2. Is there any real benefit to briar pipes over cobs? So far Ive only had cobs. From the bit I've read, it seems the main benefit of briars over cobs is perhaps longevity? No taste/smell benefit right?

3. Are tinned tobaccos generally better than bulks?

4. I got a bulk ounce of haunted bookshelf the other day. Tasted great other than an odd "old cheese" smell. I dont men a perique type smell, but like if you had a scratch and sniff of a "bad cheese" scent...its that kind. Think this is just the blend, or perhaps its gone bad?

Thanks so much for entertaining these (probably) silly questions!

 

[alaskanpiper]

1. Likely due to your cadence and the pace at which you smoke (probably too fast, very common). Check out some youtube videos on “breath smoking”. Could be a moisture issue as well, many blends need to dry in open air for a while (usually anywhere from 30 min-2 hours depending on moisture content). Different blends (especially virginias) require a slower, sipping pace.

2. Longevity, shorter break in time, heat absorption, taste, aesthetics, and more. Cobs are great but briars are a whole different world.

3. For the most part yes, but there are myriad very fine bulk tobaccos out there.

4. Many tobaccos have very unique smells out of the tin/bag. Does not always show up in the taste. Unlikely that it had “gone bad” but its possible. Some tobaccos have mind-bogglingly odd aromas, but can still taste wonderful.

Overall, your cadence and tobacco moisture levels are probably the culprit for most of what you’ve inquired about. Check out breath smoking and keep trying, eventually it will all “click”

 

[trubka2]

^^ What he said. For sure, just be patient and keep at it, and you'll figure it out.

chemical-type burning in my mouth

That's probably what they call tongue bite, which most people experience at some point. It has different causes, most of them related to burning the tobacco too hot, which does weird things to the ph of the smoke. Like alaskanpiper said, you can fix that by slowing down. And if your cob gets hot to the touch at all, give it a break for a while.

I'd stick with the cobs for now if I were you just because they're good for learning, but briars are awesome and definitely worth trying.

Think this is just the blend, or perhaps its gone bad?

Yeah, HB smells like old man farts, I think. Yum, good stuff!

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Chasing Embers]

1 Dry the tobacco, pack it lighter, smoke it slower.

2 No, both smoke the same to me and I've had a few cobs for nearly 20 years.

3 It differs from blend to blend.

4 Tin note and taste are the same to me. Smoke slower and try retrohaling.

 

[docrameous]

Hi guys, just a couple questions from a noob! Thanks a bunch for your time.

Welcome! I am a fairly new piper and this forum has been awesome. I have yet to see someone tell me that I asked a stupid question or that my experience was invalid.

1. I tend to get a chemical-type burning in my mouth quite often. With really any blend. Sometimes I have to have warm water to rinse my mouth with during smoking. Its not a temperature burn -- its like a hotness from a pepper. Anyone else have this ever?

Unless you have some sort of personal chemical or allergic reaction to tobaccos in general, this is likely 'tongue bite'. Lots and lots of threads in this forum on this and there is plenty on the internet about it. The goal is to go low and slow... instead of billows of smoke like a freight train, generally wisps of smoke. Not only do you avoid tongue bite, but the flavours open up.

2. Is there any real benefit to briar pipes over cobs? So far Ive only had cobs. From the bit I've read, it seems the main benefit of briars over cobs is perhaps longevity? No taste/smell benefit right?

Some swear by corn cob pipes and some swear by briars or both.

I started with a cob and it is still my favorite for Virginia based tobaccos. I also smoke a cob when I am fly fishing. There's a website somewhere out there devoted to the benefits and strengths of a cob, so smoke it until you are ready to try a briar... or splash out and get a briar!

3. Are tinned tobaccos generally better than bulks?

Not necessary. It is really down to personal opinion. Go to tobaccoreviews.com as well as the tobacco discussion forum on this site and sometimes you will see this talked about. I asked in fact a day or so ago if anyone could tell a difference between C & D Pegasus in a tin versus bulk. The answer pretty much was 'no'.

4. I got a bulk ounce of haunted bookshelf the other day. Tasted great other than an odd "old cheese" smell. I dont men a perique type smell, but like if you had a scratch and sniff of a "bad cheese" scent...its that kind. Think this is just the blend, or perhaps its gone bad?

I haven't done that one yet! Some tobaccos are an acquired taste, more than others!

Thanks so much for entertaining these (probably) silly questions!

Nothing is silly... and I pretty much guarantee you that any question you have has been asked before by many of us. Make yourself at home!

 

[mikethompson]

You have a lot of good advice here already, but you will find that much about pipe smoking is personal preference. Some say cobs are the same as briar, some say they are completely different.

The trick is to find what works for you in the end.

 

[scloyd]

Great advice already and I don't have much to add except keep at it and don't give up. Everything will come together.

 

[whsergent]

About question 1, what are you smoking? Some people are more sensitive than others to perique and latakia and have bad reactions to them.

Other than that, concerning 1, as others have said drier and slower will help, also get a briar pipe. Some cake build up in the briar pipe will mellow the smoke.

Cobs imo are not a good start for a beginner, Smoking burning wood stem in a pipe that is guaranteed to finish wet is not imo a good introduction to pipe smoking.

 

[cshubhra]

On #4

My jar of Haunted Bookshop smells exactly the same as yours. It started with a buttery smell and then it became really stinky blue cheese (Over a period of 1 month in the jar)

I don’t taste it in my pipe though. However if the smell is putting you off, jar it for a few months, air it out after that, and see if it’s gone.

 

[mso489]

My experiences with chemical burn have nearly all been with aromatic blends. When I changed to mostly non-aromatic, even full strength, I experienced only rare instances. On the briar versus cob question, a briar is often a lifetime possession if you take care of it and keep track of it. I have and regularly smoke my first pipe bought in the 1970's. Unlike some, I consider cobs permanent pipes and tend to buy them or refit them with "permanent" acrylic stems. Since I have lots of pipes, they last a long time, but they probably do not generally have the lifespans of briar pipes and they often do not respond as well to restoration, though that can sometimes be done quite well. I have found cobs easy smokers, but not everyone does. I think the last two questions have been well addressed, so I'll leave them alone.

 

[danimalia]

When I first started, I didn't expect to smoke as often as I do now, and thought I'd just stick with cobs. After all, a MM cob is a perfectly good tobacco furnace, and everything else was mostly irrelevant to me... Well, it hasn't worked out that way. Now I smoke a cob rarely despite maintaining a high opinion of them.

Here is what I consider the benefits of briar over cob:

1. Looks. Highly personal, obviously.
2. Variety. Briars are made by factories and artisans all over the word and the diversity of shapes, styles and finished reflect that. Cobs are limited to shapes that, well, fit a corn cob.
3. Stems. The plastic bits on cobs aren't as durable or comfortable as tge vulcanite ir acrylic most briars use. Many high-end briars put as much time and thought into their mouthpieces as they do their stummels.
4. Smoking characteristics. Again, highly personal, but a well broken-briar with a thin cake seems to deliver a cooler, more flavorful smoke than a cob. For me, anyway.

On the flip side, here are my downsides to briars vs cobs:

1. Cost. They're just more expensive. Even a cheap briar will cost you 3-4 times the price of a cob. And that's the low end.
2. Maintenance. Briars require more cleaning and maintaining than cobs. I've had a cob get funky on me and stay that way even after a good cleaning. What did I do? I chucked that sonofabitch out by the railroad tracks and bought a new one. Don't worry, I removed the stem to recycle it first.
3. Availability. Just about every B&M and online retailer has plenty of good ol' MM cobs available. You can find them in head shops and drugstores. Depending on your tastes, shopping for briars can require a lot more time and patience.

Anyway, I've gravitated towards briars. I suggest getting a good quality (but reasonably priced) briar or two and figuring out what you prefer. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with cobs, though, and some people smoke them exclusively.

 

[perdurabo]

When I started I burned my tongue all the time. Usually it’s cadence, wet tobacco, and lack of technique. “Perdurabo!”

Briar are nice. They can smoke great or terrible. It depends on the tobacco. Corn Cobs, once broken in (5 to 10 smokes) are far superior. That’s my opinion. That seems to be my wife’s opinion, after smoking the same tobacco back to back from briar to cob. Subjective?

 

[rushx9]

Keep it slow and low(temp). Smoking can dry my mouth out and after my tongue is dry, bite follows. So water with your smoke is a good thing. I also like the acidity of red wine or coffee with most blends. When you smoke too hot the sugars burn and the ph of the smoke shifts to basic causing a chemical burn that is much worse than a steam bite. So be careful not to torch the tobacco when lighting and keep your puffing rate as slow as possible.

 

[mikefu]

Most everything you asked has been answered how I would answer. But my $.02 on briars vs cobs- they do have different tastes. I believe that the cob brings a light grassy sweetness to the smoke, a “corniness“ if you will. I prefer cobs for many aromatics because of this. Also the obvious advantages of price and disposabilly. I have a few cobs dedicated to only one blend, like an Exotic Orange cob, and an Ennerdale cob. They just ghost so uniquely that everything smoked afterwards in that pipe tastes like them. Some Codger burleys seem better in cobs too. But the stems usually suck, so I change them out with a couple “forever stems” from Walker Briar works, which I interchange. But overall I greatly prefer briars for the feel, aesthetics, and general smoking characteristics.

 

[cigrmaster]

I am a fan of briar pipes exclusively.

 

[Frozenoak]

What they said, and don’t sleep on meerschaum pipes. I feel like they combine the best traits of cobs and briar and discard most of the negatives. Except disposability if that’s something you’re looking for.

 

[olkofri]

Here's a primer for you on burn versus bite:

Bad experience with tongue bite :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions

Yeah, the guy says "Oh, I would have to look it up"... He makes up his own names and is pretty sure all tobacco comes from the same company these days anyway. Great guy, and I enjoy shopping at his store, but a little opinionated. Almost as much as me, so pretty bad. I should start shopping...

pipesmagazine.com

These two terms are, alas, constantly used interchangeably but they are actually two completely different things. Whilst most times I let it slide, and have been guilty of mixing them up as well, in your case it's important to be specific, not in an attempt to be pedantic, but so that you can better zone in on the cause of your problems and take corrective/preventive action.

Sometimes, the peppery feel is neither burn nor bite, but a form of aftertaste. Weird, I know.

Good thing you're rinsing with warm water. Don't be tempted to use cold water or you may get blisters if it's a nasty burn. Some report that Biotene wash works wonder for healing a scorched tongue.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Keep it slow and low(temp). Smoking can dry my mouth out and after my tongue is dry, bite follows. So water with your smoke is a good thing. I also like the acidity of red wine or coffee with most blends. When you smoke too hot the sugars burn and the ph of the smoke shifts to basic causing a chemical burn that is much worse than a steam bite. So be careful not to torch the tobacco when lighting and keep your puffing rate as slow as possible.

+1 on drinking water while you smoke. Forgot that in my initial post. Keeping your mouth hydrated will not only help with less bite/burn but is also safer from a health perspective (some speculate). Also +1 to coffee with a pipe. Nothing like a morning bowl of Va/Per with coffee after a big breakfast. Sublime.

A few good non-torch charring lights is also good advice. Barely drawing flame to leaf a few times in a row, letting it go out, and doing it again once or twice before taking off not only makes the bowl smoke better, it is way less hot and doesn’t incinerate the leaf into a hot, ashy tasting, furnace of doom.

 

[rushx9]

+1 on drinking water while you smoke. Forgot that in my initial post. Keeping your mouth hydrated will not only help with less bite/burn but is also safer from a health perspective (some speculate). Also +1 to coffee with a pipe. Nothing like a morning bowl of Va/Per with coffee after a big breakfast. Sublime.

I'm just learning to appreciate Va/Vapers with my morning coffee. Oriental forward blends, especially lighter handed on Lat like Presbyterian, Durbar, and Standard Mixture Mellow, as well as otc burleys were my morning go-to blends for a long time. I was trying to replace that morning "coffee&camels combo". At first, perique and red VAs seemed a bit like munching hot peppers for breakfast and my tongue would be sensitive the rest of the day. I really just started smoking slow enough to truly appreciate VAs about 4 months ago myself, and now occasionally wake up with a hankering for a Navy Flake first thing.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I'm just learning to appreciate Va/Vapers with my morning coffee. Orientals, especially lighter handed on Lat like Presbyterian, Durbar, and Standard Mixture Mellow, as well as otc burleys were my morning go-to blends for a long time. At first, perique and red VAs seemed a bit like munching hot peppers for breakfast and my tongue would be sensitive the rest of the day. I really just started smoking slow enough to truly appreciate VAs about 4 months ago myself, and now occasionally wake up with a hankering for a Navy Flake first thing.

I also find english/balkan blends sublime with coffee, but I find them sublime anytime with anything, haha.