I made a post in the maintenance section a few days ago. I was deep cleaning an estate pipe Dr Grabow Grand Duke, but it was never a very dirty pipe. Just wanted to try my best to avoid ghosting. I mostly had to do work on the stem and I think that part turned out pretty good. I also stripped the lacquer off of the bowl and rubbed it down with mineral oil until I can afford white rouge / carnauba wax and the tools/wheels to apply it.
Cross posting everything below just because I think it would be good to share my first experience with everyone.
I decided to try the Arango Balkan Supreme since it had a lower strength, no flavoring, a fuller taste, and a more pleasant room note.
I think it was pretty darn good! It's hard to say as I have nothing to compare it to. But, it was soft and smooth while still being dark and having a little spice/kick to it. I felt the smoke overall was very pleasant! I'm probably not using any of the right words here, and I do find the taste hard to describe. But, I'm guessing a lot of the taste came from the latakia as it has "generous amounts".
If there was ghosting, I couldn't taste any of it. I also didn't notice anything odd flavor wise with the very thin honey/charcoal coating I gave the bowl.
The bowl did smoke a little hot, but I'm certain that was more my cadence that anything else. At no point did I feel it was actually smoking hot in the mouth. I got more into the swing of things towards the end of the bowl. I didn't have to relight too often until I got toward the end of the bowl where I was lighting more frequently; trying to ensure I burned as much of the tobacco as possible to try and get an even cake on these first few bowls.
Overall, I'd definitely call this little project a success and I look forward to smoking more and trying different blends in the near future!!
Cross posting everything below just because I think it would be good to share my first experience with everyone.
I decided to try the Arango Balkan Supreme since it had a lower strength, no flavoring, a fuller taste, and a more pleasant room note.
I think it was pretty darn good! It's hard to say as I have nothing to compare it to. But, it was soft and smooth while still being dark and having a little spice/kick to it. I felt the smoke overall was very pleasant! I'm probably not using any of the right words here, and I do find the taste hard to describe. But, I'm guessing a lot of the taste came from the latakia as it has "generous amounts".
If there was ghosting, I couldn't taste any of it. I also didn't notice anything odd flavor wise with the very thin honey/charcoal coating I gave the bowl.
The bowl did smoke a little hot, but I'm certain that was more my cadence that anything else. At no point did I feel it was actually smoking hot in the mouth. I got more into the swing of things towards the end of the bowl. I didn't have to relight too often until I got toward the end of the bowl where I was lighting more frequently; trying to ensure I burned as much of the tobacco as possible to try and get an even cake on these first few bowls.
Overall, I'd definitely call this little project a success and I look forward to smoking more and trying different blends in the near future!!
I liked it quite a bit when I saw it, but I might've gotten luckier than I realized. And, thank you for the warm welcome!! I'm glad you found my post enjoyable!