My Epiphany About the Importance of Packing

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

a pipe smoker who likes to make things Very complicated for no apparent reason.

That's what these forums are for.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

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The only pipe smoker I know named Frank is from Alaska... While I hope it's not true, It is plausible.

 

[Waning Embers]

After I saw his videos I concluded that this Frank dude is a pipe smoker who likes to make things Very complicated for no apparent reason.

Many do, many like simplicity. It's a source of enjoyment for all types.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

It's like the erotic foreplay.

We get these types of comments from time to time.

Sometimes I think maybe modern Psychiatry might be on to something. Haha

 

[bersekero]

We get these types of comments from time to time.

Sometimes I think maybe modern Psychiatry might be on to something. Haha

Thank you for the big smile you offered me after that.
This was the first example that came to mind I don't know why haha.

 

[lithicus]

I think we make things more complicated than they really are.
The Frank method is a pipe-packing technique where you lightly fill the bowl once, then press a large, cohesive plug of tobacco on top using gentle but firm pressure. It creates an even, airy pack that promotes a cool, consistent burn with minimal relights.
Variations on the final stage depend on the individual smoker, the tobacco and the bowl size.
Overthinking and over-explaining sometimes lead to more confusion.
Generally I try to keep things simple and skip unnecessary refinements that have nothing critical to offer. But I totally understand fellows who enjoy a 10 minute ritual preparing the pipe. It's like the erotic foreplay.

This is very valid. Especially the over explaining leading to more confusion. I can see how my story telling style of writing could contribute to that. But, essentially, my entire post boils down to:

I just dropped tobacco into the pipe; tapping it against my palm after every pinch. Essentially, the gravity fill method. Once I got toward the top, where a pinch would not fall into the pipe but rather sit in a "half in half out" state, I ever so lightly pressed this down so everything was just under the rim.

I think this is about as straight forward as it can get. Unfortunately, it seems to be too late to add this as a tldr at the top of my original post

 

[lithicus]

From here I learned to take a small amount out of the tin and let it dry before placing it in the pipe. If you dip the pipe into the tobacco, that means either all the tobacco is already dry, or you're putting moist tobacco into the pipe. Please explain. Apparently you have enough already dried tobacco in a pipe pouch so that the dipping is even possible.

Like with gravity filling, moisture is made irrelevant. You can adjust the tightness of the packing while smoking to adjust for the moisture of the tobacco.

I agree with @Chasing Embers on this. One time, just to see what would happen, I really really really dried my tobacco before smoking it. We're talking hours. I could immediately tell it lost flavor. So, I never dry my tobacco now. And, the gravity fill method was the first I've tried that allowed me to smoke straight out of the tin getting little to no moisture in the bottom of the pipe and maintaining flavor from top to bottom. Gravity filling does indeed seem to make moisture level irrelevant.

 

[Sig]

From here I learned to take a small amount out of the tin and let it dry before placing it in the pipe. If you dip the pipe into the tobacco, that means either all the tobacco is already dry, or you're putting moist tobacco into the pipe. Please explain. Apparently you have enough already dried tobacco in a pipe pouch so that the dipping is even possible.

I guess I didn't explain completely.
I would never do anything as barbaric as putting my pipe into a pouch of tobacco.
I was just explaining that pipers have used the "Frank Method" for decades before it was "invented". With very minimal experience, we learned that long before the internet.
If you have never seen an old timer dipping his pipe into a pouch of Captain Black, you must be young.
It was common practice years ago....and still is with many....even some on this site.
The myth that tobacco has to be dry is just that, a myth. Tobacco is sold at the moisture level it is meant to be smoked. That dripping wet FVF straight from the tin tastes MUCH different than fully dried FVF. I much prefer it on the moist side.
I very rarely, if ever, let tobacco sit out to dry. I have no issues with a wet pipe, or with keeping it lit. With a bit of practice at cadence control, any tobacco can burn cool and dry-ish.

 

[bersekero]

Thank you for the excellent post!
But we have learned that wet tobacco causes tongue bite. I was suffering from that until I've learned to dry my tobacco.

 

[Sig]

Thank you for the excellent post!
But we have learned that wet tobacco causes tongue bite. I was suffering from that until I've learned to dry my tobacco.

I dont believe wet tobacco causes tongue bite. If fact, its verifiably not the case. Tongue bite is caused by a chemical reaction to tobacco, or something added to the tobacco.
I smoke many moist blends, no tongue bite. But when I smoke some blends at any moisture level, they bite....looking at you MacBaren.
For some people wet tobacco may make the chemical reaction worse, but wet tobacco alone isnt CAUSING the bite.
In that case, tongue bite would be solved, but it is not. Powder dry MacBaren VA#1 has caused many pipers to wax poetically about the hell fire and viper venom attributes of the fantastic Va#1......my all time favorite blend. It doesn't bite me!......very bad.

 

[bersekero]

Now that I think about it, combustion produces, among other things, water, so even the burning of dry tobacco will generate moisture, and in any case, we’ll end up smoking moist tobacco after a certain point. That’s why the dottle is wet, as is the pipe itself.

 

[Sig]

Now that I think about it, combustion produces, among other things, water, so even the burning of dry tobacco will generate moisture, and in any case, we’ll end up smoking moist tobacco after a certain point. That’s why the dottle is wet, as is the pipe itself.

Agreed.
Many pipers say wet tobacco causes tongue bite due to steam. The tongue and mouth are a lot tougher than people think. Have you ever picked up a piece of hot food that burns your fingers and popped it in your mouth? It feels fine in your mouth. Or been sipping coffee that is perfect drinking temperature, but gives you 2nd degree burns when you spill it in your lap?
Steam would have to be extremely hot to burn your mouth. Far hotter than moist tobacco can produce.

 

[Pipeandapencil]

Seems like if you just keep at it long enough you will eventually learn to compensate for your own individual circumstances.

 

[NookersTheCat]

Yeah I believe tongue bite is mostly body chemistry and improper technique. I use the 3 handshakes technique to load and I've gotten it down over the years so that I can load just about any type of tobacco damn near perfect (not that I always do, just that I can) and I never have a problem with keeping a pipe lit or all these questions. I get a nice even draw and once I feel the draw loosen, it's time to tamp lightly. After tamp, keeps rolling til it gets to the point nobody reasonable should wanna smoke what's left behind.

As far as tongue bite, it can happen on nearly any blend depending on how fast I smoke and how often I've smoked recently... Yet some tobacco types will almost consistently bite (burleys for me, apparently not for a majority of others tho as it is always quoted as the friendliest smoothest easy going leaf type around)
As for moisture as mentioned above, there's always moisture in tobacco.. even if you think its dry as dust itll still produce moisture chemically when burned (burning something is a chemical process)

 

[bersekero]

I should mention that ever since I started drying my tobacco, my pipes haven’t gurgled once.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

I should mention that ever since I started drying my tobacco, my pipes haven’t gurgled once.

Ya I've found that I get way more taste from the tobacco (smokes better/easier too) when I dry it a little bit more - closer to 'crispy' than straight out the tin.

But how much time actually varies a lot blend to blend.

 

[lithicus]

Thank you for the excellent post!
But we have learned that wet tobacco causes tongue bite. I was suffering from that until I've learned to dry my tobacco.

For what it's worth, and this is just my opinion (man this thread has gone off the rails lol), I have heard that tongue bite can be either chemical or heat related. If no matter how cool/dry you smoke a specific tobacco, it gives you tongue bite, then it is likely chemical. Similarly, if you puff and puff and puff, determined to burn a hole through your pipe, you're going to burn your tongue. I don't think anyone would say otherwise.

I should mention that ever since I started drying my tobacco, my pipes haven’t gurgled once.

This makes sense. Even though combustion itself will produce moisture, drying the tobacco reduces the total moisture. If you are getting good flavor top to bottom, your smokes are leaving the pipe relatively dry, and you aren't getting tongue bite, then there's likely little reason to change. Maybe you get sick of drying your tobacco ahead of time or something and that pushes you to explore new techniques. But, no reason to fix something that's not broken!

Ya I've found that I get way more taste from the tobacco (smokes better/easier too) when I dry it a little bit more - closer to 'crispy' than straight out the tin.

But how much time actually varies a lot blend to blend.

I'm actually quite surprised to hear this, if I'm being honest. I've heard people say: dry the tobacco to avoid moisture, to get it to smoke better, and things of the sort. But, I am not sure I've heard someone say drier tobacco has more flavor. I guess this is kind of obvious and implicit though. If the pipe isn't smoking well, flavor will inevitably suffer. And if drying the tobacco gets the pipe to smoke better, then of course the flavor will be better. It is undoubtedly more difficult to smoke moist tobacco well. And so, I think the majority (??) of pipe smokers dry their tobacco out. I believe people like myself are in the minority; packing tobacco straight from a freshly opened tin right into my pipe. I could be wrong here on the demographics though and it's not really important or my point.

But, to wrap the conversation back around to packing methods, it was only recently (and the purpose of my original post) that I gained the ability to smoke tobacco straight from the tin well/easily; which led me to a new world of flavors. I was smoking straight from the tin well enough to enjoy it. But, in hindsight, not fully enjoying the pipe top to bottom isn't "smoking well".

One of the most common "newcomer tips" I hear is dry the tobacco out. I think newcomers need to hear "pack your pipe lighter and with less tobacco" more often. I think the gravity fill might be the best method to do so. I hope all of my posts in this thread will help others who cannot intuit how to prepare, pack, and tamp a gravity fill.

I say it often here, but no judgement on my part if you smoke your tobacco straight from the tin or dry it out! I just find the conversation interesting. As long as we are all enjoying our pipes, then what more could we ask for

 

[lukasstrifeson]

For what it's worth, and this is just my opinion (man this thread has gone off the rails lol), I have heard that tongue bite can be either chemical or heat related. If no matter how cool/dry you smoke a specific tobacco, it gives you tongue bite, then it is likely chemical. Similarly, if you puff and puff and puff, determined to burn a hole through your pipe, you're going to burn your tongue. I don't think anyone would say otherwise.


This makes sense. Even though combustion itself will produce moisture, drying the tobacco reduces the total moisture. If you are getting good flavor top to bottom, your smokes are leaving the pipe relatively dry, and you aren't getting tongue bite, then there's likely little reason to change. Maybe you get sick of drying your tobacco ahead of time or something and that pushes you to explore new techniques. But, no reason to fix something that's not broken!


I'm actually quite surprised to hear this, if I'm being honest. I've heard people say: dry the tobacco to avoid moisture, to get it to smoke better, and things of the sort. But, I am not sure I've heard someone say drier tobacco has more flavor. I guess this is kind of obvious and implicit though. If the pipe isn't smoking well, flavor will inevitably suffer. And if drying the tobacco gets the pipe to smoke better, then of course the flavor will be better. It is undoubtedly more difficult to smoke moist tobacco well. And so, I think the majority (??) of pipe smokers dry their tobacco out. I believe people like myself are in the minority; packing tobacco straight from a freshly opened tin right into my pipe. I could be wrong here on the demographics though and it's not really important or my point.

But, to wrap the conversation back around to packing methods, it was only recently (and the purpose of my original post) that I gained the ability to smoke tobacco straight from the tin well/easily; which led me to a new world of flavors. I was smoking straight from the tin well enough to enjoy it. But, in hindsight, not fully enjoying the pipe top to bottom isn't "smoking well".

One of the most common "newcomer tips" I hear is dry the tobacco out. I think newcomers need to hear "pack your pipe lighter and with less tobacco" more often. I think the gravity fill might be the best method to do so. I hope all of my posts in this thread will help others who cannot intuit how to prepare, pack, and tamp a gravity fill.

I say it often here, but no judgement on my part if you smoke your tobacco straight from the tin or dry it out! I just find the conversation interesting. As long as we are all enjoying our pipes, then what more could we ask for

I think you'd be surprised with the results if you experimented a little with the dryness of your tobacco.

 

[lithicus]

I think you'd be surprised with the results if you experimented a little with the dryness of your tobacco.

I always enjoy a challenge The last time I dried out my tobacco was FVF. I don't know how anyone could smoke that without drying, but I also didn't know how to do a proper prepare/pack a gravity fill at the time either.

That being said, one time I accidentally left a flake out overnight. It had much less flavor than 1-2hours dry time. But, going from 1-2 hours to 8-12 hours is a bit extreme to say the least! I appreciate you sharing your experiences and I will try, as a result of you sharing, to experiment with drying my tobacco some. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Waning Embers]

I don't know how anyone could smoke that without drying,

Cube cut it and gravity fill. Same with all of their flakes.