*I’ve copied an old quote from Cosmicfolklore at the bottom of this thread. If he or someone objects to this, please accept my apologies and remove the post.
Tolstoy never said there are many wrong ways to smoke a pipe, but there are also many right ways.
Years ago, I thought I had money to burn (I didn’t, I was just irresponsible). I was a lonely bachelor. I had a small collection of expensive pipes including a Kyriazanos, a Becker, an Ashton, an Il Duca, etc. But I didn’t really know how to smoke a pipe, although I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Actually, the way I was puffing, I don’t know how my tongue survived. At some points, for various reasons, I quit smoking and sold my pipes. Here’s a tangent: last year I came back to pipe smoking with determination. I really do love the pipes, tobacco, and smoking. I’ve been enjoying the journey. However, in February I got a bit sick, maybe COVID, after that, I had a month of horrendous tree allergies that made smoking impossible. When I tried, I couldn’t get any flavor. Then, I had a terrible back injury followed by a stomach problem that left me unable to eat for three days. I finally recovered and smoked a pipe last night. To the topic I’ve wanted to discuss: my wife and I have been practicing a bit of mindfulness meditation. We need it with the stress of raising two young boys. Plus, I’m an anxious guy. I’ve been thinking about how to really improve my smoking technique because I don’t feel I ever got to a correct enjoyment of pipe smoking. Last night I was reading over some old threads when I came upon an explanation of a pipe-smoking method by Cosmicfolklore. I shall copy his comment below. I do have a question for the really experienced pipe smokers here. Do you do something like this? Some variation of this? I actually found that trying to do close to NOTHING was the best smoking experiences I’ve had. I want to do MORE of this and MORE NOTHING can be done. This topic may be a dead donkey by now. There’s no right way to smoke. But it might be great to tell new pipe smokers: try smoking without smoking. Here’s Cosmic’s comment on how to smoke a pipe:
I don't blow back through my pipe. I just leave my mouth unsealed. The key part is to relax your cadence, just stop puffing at all, and as you breath the gullet of your neck will be slightly enough to keep a trickle of smoke circulating. It really requires no thought. And, it would make the most boring video in the world, because there is literally nothing to see. I have seen a few and they really aren't exactly what I do or have seen men do while growing up. Not that they are wrong, just doing it differently.
When Kashmir was prolifically posting here, he would write that it is merely just walking around with a lit pipe in your mouth, with no sign of smoke or anything.
You are merely savoring the smoke. I usually do it when driving, working at my workbench, working in the garden, reading, or walking, or really anything that occupies my mind, so that smoking becomes a passive, non-cognitive thing.
At first, yeh, it does take some thinking, like in learning to drive, you have to think about every little detail of shifting gears, let off gas/clutch/shift/ gas/ as you let off clutch... But, then in no time you are shifting gears without even thinking about what you are doing.
But, there is no one way of doing any of this. Just find a way that works with your... style.
Tolstoy never said there are many wrong ways to smoke a pipe, but there are also many right ways.
Years ago, I thought I had money to burn (I didn’t, I was just irresponsible). I was a lonely bachelor. I had a small collection of expensive pipes including a Kyriazanos, a Becker, an Ashton, an Il Duca, etc. But I didn’t really know how to smoke a pipe, although I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Actually, the way I was puffing, I don’t know how my tongue survived. At some points, for various reasons, I quit smoking and sold my pipes. Here’s a tangent: last year I came back to pipe smoking with determination. I really do love the pipes, tobacco, and smoking. I’ve been enjoying the journey. However, in February I got a bit sick, maybe COVID, after that, I had a month of horrendous tree allergies that made smoking impossible. When I tried, I couldn’t get any flavor. Then, I had a terrible back injury followed by a stomach problem that left me unable to eat for three days. I finally recovered and smoked a pipe last night. To the topic I’ve wanted to discuss: my wife and I have been practicing a bit of mindfulness meditation. We need it with the stress of raising two young boys. Plus, I’m an anxious guy. I’ve been thinking about how to really improve my smoking technique because I don’t feel I ever got to a correct enjoyment of pipe smoking. Last night I was reading over some old threads when I came upon an explanation of a pipe-smoking method by Cosmicfolklore. I shall copy his comment below. I do have a question for the really experienced pipe smokers here. Do you do something like this? Some variation of this? I actually found that trying to do close to NOTHING was the best smoking experiences I’ve had. I want to do MORE of this and MORE NOTHING can be done. This topic may be a dead donkey by now. There’s no right way to smoke. But it might be great to tell new pipe smokers: try smoking without smoking. Here’s Cosmic’s comment on how to smoke a pipe:
I don't blow back through my pipe. I just leave my mouth unsealed. The key part is to relax your cadence, just stop puffing at all, and as you breath the gullet of your neck will be slightly enough to keep a trickle of smoke circulating. It really requires no thought. And, it would make the most boring video in the world, because there is literally nothing to see. I have seen a few and they really aren't exactly what I do or have seen men do while growing up. Not that they are wrong, just doing it differently.
When Kashmir was prolifically posting here, he would write that it is merely just walking around with a lit pipe in your mouth, with no sign of smoke or anything.
You are merely savoring the smoke. I usually do it when driving, working at my workbench, working in the garden, reading, or walking, or really anything that occupies my mind, so that smoking becomes a passive, non-cognitive thing.
At first, yeh, it does take some thinking, like in learning to drive, you have to think about every little detail of shifting gears, let off gas/clutch/shift/ gas/ as you let off clutch... But, then in no time you are shifting gears without even thinking about what you are doing.
But, there is no one way of doing any of this. Just find a way that works with your... style.
