My First Really Enjoyable Bowl

[Eaglesgift]

Where you at? I had no problem ordering mine, maybe I could bird dog one for you and post it.

That's very kind of you but I managed to sort it out this morning - I used my wife's card instead and her bank's 3D Secure form worked fine with the payment processor. I only managed to find one shop online that had all the hardwood models in stock: The maple Diplomat / Great Dane Spool / Country Gentleman and the Ozark Mountain (not sure if that one is maple). I read a post that the hardwood ones might be discontinued, which was a good enough excuse for me to want to grab them while I still could!

(I'm in Thailand by the way)

 

[Erehwesle]

That's very kind of you but I managed to sort it out this morning - I used my wife's card instead and her bank's 3D Secure form worked fine with the payment processor. I only managed to find one shop online that had all the hardwood models in stock: The maple Diplomat / Great Dane Spool / Country Gentleman and the Ozark Mountain (not sure if that one is maple). I read a post that the hardwood ones might be discontinued, which was a good enough excuse for me to want to grab them while I still could!

(I'm in Thailand by the way)

No problem, buddy, let me know if you want to set up a trade if you are looking for any specific tobacco, we can set up a tea for tobacco trade, I'm sure!

Good luck with the pipes, I am enjoying mine.

 

[Eaglesgift]

No problem, buddy, let me know if you want to set up a trade if you are looking for any specific tobacco, we can set up a tea for tobacco trade, I'm sure!

Good luck with the pipes, I am enjoying mine.

Thanks, me too. I tried some cheaper aromatics over the last few days - Mac Baren 7 Seas range - and although I prefer the non-aromatic blends I've tried so far, I still enjoyed them. I'm thinking there's no need to tie myself down to one type of blend or to just stick with 'premium' blends either: I'm enjoying the exploratory stage.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I tried both of those but I'm not very good at packing/smoking flake tobacco yet. I do like the flavour...almost like toast/hay/food of some sort...difficult to put into words. I had a bit of trouble keeping them lit though. Also tried the EMP and I liked that much better than the other English blends I've tried so far.

Oh, and I had another bowl of Royal Yuck. I have to admit, I quite like it. It was also the first time I've smoked anything to the bottom of the bowl without a single relight. It's quite strong - I've read some people say they never get a nic buzz from pipe tobacco but I definitely do from that.

It probably needed some drying time.

 

[Eaglesgift]

It probably needed some drying time.

I've just put some out to dry for a bit.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I've just put some out to dry for a bit.

Perhaps you should also rub out the flake into smaller pieces to, make it easier to pack and smoke.

 

[Eaglesgift]

Perhaps you should also rub out the flake into smaller pieces to, make it easier to pack and smoke.

Yeah I think you're right. I tried the fold, stuff and twist method before but maybe I'm not ready for that yet.

 

[mso489]

I had reservations about Royal Yacht from all the negative posts, but I found it just fine and polished off the tin. I have another one somewhere that I plan to enjoy by-and-by. To me, it is a tobacco forward plum aromatic, well blended, and that's just fine. Take your time. What you don't like, jar up and try again in a year. Your tastes will change.

 

[danimalia]

Awesome! The Partagas pipe tobacco sounds like it might be a bit of a crossover English Aromatic. You can use SP's tobacco locator to find bends of similar components for branching out.

 

[danimalia]

I'm thinking there's no need to tie myself down to one type of blend or to just stick with 'premium' blends either: I'm enjoying the exploratory stage.

I think that is exactly the right approach! I've tried to keep an open mind and try just about everything myself

 

[newbroom]

I agree that part of the appeal to beginners is the fervor some posters here express for their favorite blends.
It makes you want to share that experience.
Still, I think that you can establish a 'palette' baseline with one blend and experiment with the others, one at a time till you have that sought after experience.
For instance, for me, I stuck with tubs of SWR and augmented with all and everything...then went to PA...still smoking other blends...and then Carter Hall....each of those Codger blends took me time to 'learn' and I was still tasting all kinds of other blends.
Part of that I guess was the ease with which those Codger blends smoked, and too, they seemed to be fairly priced.
Because I'm a nicotine addict, I smoked several bowls a day from the beginning, and so I sought after an inexpensive line of tobacco which I found in D&R. Their blends are just perfect for me and I use them to make my own 'adjustments'. I've been at it about 6 years now.

 

[Eaglesgift]

Awesome! The Partagas pipe tobacco sounds like it might be a bit of a crossover English Aromatic. You can use SP's tobacco locator to find bends of similar components for branching out.

Yes, I don’t think it’s got any topping but the black cavendish makes it smoother and sweeter than an English blend, or at least the couple I’ve tried anyway. It’s also incredibly easy to smoke - doesn’t seem to want to go out and doesn't get hot. And I like the taste.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll try that. There’s so many blends to try - I feel like I’ve been drinking instant coffee all my life and I’ve just been told I can grind my own beans - even the bad blends (edit: not bad blends - blends I don’t like) taste so much better than cigarette tobacco or the machine-made cigars I sometimes smoke.

 

[Eaglesgift]

I agree that part of the appeal to beginners is the fervor some posters here express for their favorite blends.
It makes you want to share that experience.
Still, I think that you can establish a 'palette' baseline with one blend and experiment with the others, one at a time till you have that sought after experience.
For instance, for me, I stuck with tubs of SWR and augmented with all and everything...then went to PA...still smoking other blends...and then Carter Hall....each of those Codger blends took me time to 'learn' and I was still tasting all kinds of other blends.
Part of that I guess was the ease with which those Codger blends smoked, and too, they seemed to be fairly priced.
Because I'm a nicotine addict, I smoked several bowls a day from the beginning, and so I sought after an inexpensive line of tobacco which I found in D&R. Their blends are just perfect for me and I use them to make my own 'adjustments'. I've been at it about 6 years now.

I need the nicotine too! I picked Royal Yacht and Nightcap for that reason, after trawling through loads of reviews looking for something stronger than ‘mild to medium’

Cheap tobacco’s not so easy to find here. There’s the Mac Baren 7 Seas blends and some Super Value / Tobacco Galleria blends (both Sutliff I think?). I’ve got the English Mixture (sounds like dog food!) and Fox & Hound but I’ve only tried a bowl of each so far.

 

[Erehwesle]

I agree that part of the appeal to beginners is the fervor some posters here express for their favorite blends.
It makes you want to share that experience.
Still, I think that you can establish a 'palette' baseline with one blend and experiment with the others, one at a time till you have that sought after experience.
For instance, for me, I stuck with tubs of SWR and augmented with all and everything...then went to PA...still smoking other blends...and then Carter Hall....each of those Codger blends took me time to 'learn' and I was still tasting all kinds of other blends.
Part of that I guess was the ease with which those Codger blends smoked, and too, they seemed to be fairly priced.
Because I'm a nicotine addict, I smoked several bowls a day from the beginning, and so I sought after an inexpensive line of tobacco which I found in D&R. Their blends are just perfect for me and I use them to make my own 'adjustments'. I've been at it about 6 years now.

Yeah, I was totally going to go that way myself..... but I have ended up getting seduced by blends with cool reviews or which have neat names, got me smoking Haunted Booshop and Visions of Calaphais.....

Considering they aren't all that expensive, I kind of feel like, why not?

 

[uzzi101]

When I hit my first perfect bowl it was sublime. The packing I found to be most critical. From there it’s the light light light tamping and slow going. The challenge of getting it correct is half the fun.

 

[Eaglesgift]

Perhaps you should also rub out the flake into smaller pieces to, make it easier to pack and smoke.

I had a bowl of ODF today and it tasted so good I was hungry as hell by the time I’d finished. Usually smoking suppresses my appetite but I seriously wanted to eat that tobacco.

 

[didimauw]

Very good! Before you know it, ALL of your smokes will be that pleasurable!

 

[Drew72]

I am still new as well. About six months in, but I smoke pretty infrequently (I just smoked my 54th bowl yesterday... so less than 2 per week). When it comes to packing, I put tobacco in the pipe, pack it down a bit, take a test draw to make sure resistance is to my liking, and continue until the bowl is full. I agree that overthinking technique is more of a barrier than anything.

Smoke well
Drew

 

[Eaglesgift]

I am still new as well. About six months in, but I smoke pretty infrequently (I just smoked my 54th bowl yesterday... so less than 2 per week). When it comes to packing, I put tobacco in the pipe, pack it down a bit, take a test draw to make sure resistance is to my liking, and continue until the bowl is full. I agree that overthinking technique is more of a barrier than anything.

Smoke well
Drew

Wow, 2 bowls a week - do you smoke something other than a pipe in between? I think I’ve had around 4 bowls a day most days. I’d probably have more but with one pipe, things started to get a little damp after the first 7 or 8 days - I started having to relight multiple times with blends that I used to find really easy to smoke. As it’s a MM cob, I left it out in the sun for a day (when my second pipe arrived) and it seems much better now.

 

[Drew72]

Wow, 2 bowls a week - do you smoke something other than a pipe in between? I think I’ve had around 4 bowls a day most days. I’d probably have more but with one pipe, things started to get a little damp after the first 7 or 8 days - I started having to relight multiple times with blends that I used to find really easy to smoke. As it’s a MM cob, I left it out in the sun for a day (when my second pipe arrived) and it seems much better now.

No, I don't smoke anything else. I never had a relationship with tobacco before getting curious about a pipe, and taking the plunge (at age 46) a little over 6 months ago. I have no nicotine dependency, etc. I enjoy a bowl when I have the time and the weather is nice. I have six pipes total but just four pipes that I use regularly-- those all have 9mm charcoal filters. I will not smoke without the use of a filter... just my personal thing. I have yet to really be afflicted by PAD or TAD, though I do have a number of tobacco blends that will last me some time given my infrequency of use. I like my stable of pipes, so don't see that growing any time soon.

I have enjoyed this hobby, but I would not consider it part of my lifestyle. Everyone has his/her own adventure with this. My only recommendation would be to pick up a couple more pipes so you have a rotation and one will always be at the ready.

cheers