Matching Pipes With Tobaccos and Building a Rotation

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Dec 6, 2019
4,296
19,375
33
AL/GA
I think my new plan for the winter is to use a small-medium pipe and some strong tobacco like rope or twist. Smoke 10-15 minutes a few times instead of one long session. I sometimes get small cigars for winter but even they usually last 20-25 minutes.

Its a bitch, trying to have an enjoyable "quick smoke" with a pipe. That's a good plan I may try this too.
 

smokey789

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 14, 2020
116
226
61
Western Pennsylvania
I think my new plan for the winter is to use a small-medium pipe and some strong tobacco like rope or twist. Smoke 10-15 minutes a few times instead of one long session. I sometimes get small cigars for winter but even they usually last 20-25 minutes.

I probably need to modify the bit on my mouthpiece for the one that burns me. I got it because it is small and I liked the shape. I had that same intention for it. I need to just do it. I don't like modifying something made that way. I think I will, though and try it this summer instead of waiting too long. Maybe this fall will be a good time.

I don't know. It's thin and I smoke faster in the cold. It gets hot when I do that. I have to think about this.
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
2,769
9,044
50
Where NY, CT & MA meet
Its a bitch, trying to have an enjoyable "quick smoke" with a pipe. That's a good plan I may try this too.
Yeah, there really isn’t such a thing but I never seem to remember that you can come back to it and don’t have to smoke it all at once. I go easily 4 months without a real smoke in the winter. Frigid short days don’t really inspire me to be outside.
 
May 2, 2020
4,664
23,771
Louisiana
I am always surprised to hear when people say that a blend tastes the same in every pipe. That's just not been the case for me. I've tried blends that I loved in one pipe but when smoked in a different pipe the same day I didn't care for it.
I’ve experienced this before as well, but always chalked it up to what is usually smoked in the pipe. For example I usually smoke Balkan Supreme in one specific briar pipe I have, but not always. When I smoke it in another, the flavor doesn’t seem as full. But I don’t think it has anything to physically do with that pipe, other than it’s seen a lot of that blend and already has that flavor in the pipe. At least that’s my hypothesis. I don’t notice a difference among the other pipes I smoke it in.
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,033
14,644
The Arm of Orion
Hearing the opposite surprises me. A bit like saying mashed potatoes taste different eaten from a bowl than a plate or a drink tastes different with a different sized straw.
Yeah, but keep in mind: food tastes the same if you use the same dish all the time only if you CLEAN/WASH it between meals. If you serve mashed potatoes in the same dish where you had tuna salad yesterday, with all the bits of tuna caked in, your taters will definitely taste fishy.

Too many people out there smoking pipes with the fabled cake. Sure recipe for ghosting.

I wipe my pipes religiously and furiously after every smoke and sure enough, the same blend tastes the same regarless of pipe.
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
2,769
9,044
50
Where NY, CT & MA meet
Yeah, but keep in mind: food tastes the same if you use the same dish all the time only if you CLEAN/WASH it between meals. If you serve mashed potatoes in the same dish where you had tuna salad yesterday, with all the bits of tuna caked in, your taters will definitely taste fishy.

Too many people out there smoking pipes with the fabled cake. Sure recipe for ghosting.

I wipe my pipes religiously and furiously after every smoke and sure enough, the same blend tastes the same regarless of pipe.

Thanks for saying this. I didn’t really have the patience to type it myself, lol.

On the flip side, I do find that some pipes are finicky. Nasty, hot, bland, then all of a sudden will come alive with the right blend. That is not the case with most, though.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,249
108,351
On the flip side, I do find that some pipes are finicky. Nasty, hot, bland, then all of a sudden will come alive with the right blend. That is not the case with most, though.
A lot of the time those pipes can be fixed with drier tobacco and a lighter packing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ofafeather

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,249
108,351
Yeah, but keep in mind: food tastes the same if you use the same dish all the time only if you CLEAN/WASH it between meals. If you serve mashed potatoes in the same dish where you had tuna salad yesterday, with all the bits of tuna caked in, your taters will definitely taste fishy.

Too many people out there smoking pipes with the fabled cake. Sure recipe for ghosting.

I wipe my pipes religiously and furiously after every smoke and sure enough, the same blend tastes the same regarless of pipe.
I disassemble, clean, and polish my pipes after every smoke.
 

PipesRock

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 21, 2020
643
4,295
Florida
My pipes are lumped into general categories of Virginia blends, Latakia blends, and aromatics other than that no particular order.
^^^^
This... but I don't have a why other than it seemed like a good idea at the time. One decent Sav billiard and a few cobs for aromatics as I don't do aromatics much yet. A bulldog and authors for English/Orientals, and certain billiards and cobs for Va/VaPers. No particular reason and didn't give it much thought after telling myself it felt right.
 

PipesRock

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 21, 2020
643
4,295
Florida
I think my new plan for the winter is to use a small-medium pipe and some strong tobacco like rope or twist. Smoke 10-15 minutes a few times instead of one long session. I sometimes get small cigars for winter but even they usually last 20-25 minutes.
I can understand that. Opposite issue here as I sit on my back porch in central FL and it's like 90% humidity and "feels like" 95 deg. ? at 10:30PM!
 

aguineapig

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 12, 2014
140
774
Sometimes certain pipes do like certain blends, but I don't find the hard rules like narrow tall bowls for flakes, or wide bowls for English necessary. Plenty love flakes in a wide pot, and I have some very small, fairly narrow bowled pipes that I enjoy English blends in.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,837
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
After 48 years of enjoying pipes and tobaccos I have finally found the foolproof system for matching pipes to tobaccos.
Aside from restricting pipes to blend type, as in pipes I use for English/Balkan/Oriental blends do not get used for smoking Virginias, ect., I grab whatever pipe I feel like smoking and put whatever I feel like smoking in it. Honestly, all those rules about pipe chamber shapes I have found to be of secondary importance to getting the moisture level right.