My Take on Tips Learned Here.

[Lucashly]

What I Have Learned About Smoking A Pipe from The Forum- original

Title edited.


When I welcome new people to the Forum I see there are many new smokers. This thread is for them.
I would like to start by saying this is only my way to smoke a pipe. I have searched the Forum and there is overlap as to how to smoke a pipe. I have found that these different ways are sure fire ways to enjoy a pipe. I will be repeating myself from others but maybe I have a few nuances.
1. In general, dry the tobacco until it is flaky but not so dry as a potato chip.
2. I am not an advocate of layering the tobacco in thirds. Each third compresses the lower third which makes for a poor draw.
3. Gravity feed the tobacco. As the tobacco is put in the bowl tap the side of the bowl to drop the tobacco further into the bowl.
3. Gently compress the top layer of tobacco so that the tobacco does not fall out.
4. Use a small flame just enough to light the tobacco. This avoids the rim from getting singed. Typically, it does not take long to light the tobacco.
5. With your first light the tobacco will rise. Gently tamp the tobacco back into the bowl. Lightly Inhale as you do this.
6. I suggest tamping the weight of the tamp. But if you have a wood or aluminum tamp, they weigh practically nothing so tamp more than the weight of the tamp or get a steel tamp. Have a tamp that is conical so you can accumulate the tobacco to the center of the bowl. Get a tamp that has holes in it so as you tamp the air will penetrate the tamp as you inhale through your tamp. You cannot over tamp. By this I mean sometimes there maybe 2 mm of ash and tamping the ash keeps the embers going. If there is nothing to tamp then there is nothing to tamp. Nothing lost. But don't force a tamp. I rather over tamp than under tamp. Tamping is important because it compresses the ash so the air can bypass the ash which can increase the draw. Tamping is important to try to keep the tobacco lit.
7. Sip the stem like a straw to inhale. This voids tongue burns and a stained tongue.
8. Dip the tip of your tongue behind the back of your bottom teeth. The tip of the tongue has a small surface area and is prone to burn. If you put the tip of your tongue behind your lower teeth, the tip of you your tongue is protected.
9. Don't, don't worry about relights. This could be the tobacco or your technique.
10. Smoking a pipe is supposed to be fun and relaxing. Don't get frustrated.
11. For the best smoke avoid electronic devises. It gets in the way of watching what you are doing, avoids distractions, and lets you concentrate on the relaxation of the smoke, taste the leaf, and the scenery around you especially if you are outside.
12, Don't place the stem on your tongue. It decreases the draw and can cause tongue burn. Have the stem in the center of your mouth or towards your pallet.
Other suggestions or comments would be helpful.

 

[warren]

I could take issue with a few of your points. But, it's your pipe to enjoy as you wish. And, "whatever makes you happy, tickles me to death", to quote/misquote? somebody in a John Wayne movie, The Alamo perchance.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Good summary. We could start a new thread to argue and parse and nitpick every single number but I see that you have been studying hard and learning.

I suggest you copy this post and revisit it yearly. Probably change some nuance year 1, do a complete rewrite the next year, and just laugh every year thereafter.

 

[Piping Abe]

You forgot that you are not a true pipe smoker unless you only produce little tiny whisps of smoke. Any visible smoke means you are losing flavor.

 

[yanoJL]

You skipped the step about spending lots of $$$ on pipes and blends, haha!
Nice work, brother!

 

[sardonicus87]

While I applaud the effort, making this post to help newbies is an exercise in futility. There's a bunch of posts that say the same thing, blog posts on SP and so on, but nobody's going to do a search first, they're still going to post the same questions over and over about how to do all this stuff, even if this is the very first thread on the page.

It's the same with all forums for all things. Nobody even tries to look anything up anymore, they just jump right into asking questions that have already been asked 100 times a day, for all days, forever.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Not futile. There are folks who can read, comprehend and put into practice a list of things such as the tips above.

Your Sysyphus' rock is too big! It'll kill him, and 45º+ is really tough!

 

[Butter Side Down]

I agree with you on 99% of everything you say. But I'm going to make a huge deal out of the 1% where we differ.

Just kidding.

In all seriousness, this is a great list and I'm 100% down with it.

While there will always be people who disagree with you on one point (or every point), I still think it's worthwhile to occasionally reflect on the things you've learned along the way and offer thanks to the people who helped you figure them out. Whether their advice was helpful or not, they still played a part in landing you where you are now.

 

[proteus]

Each to their own ... for me not sipping like a straw but indirect drawing by nose breathing or wafting it by breaking the seal around the stem and lip. If one full draws down a pipe it mainly would be to save it from going out but not as a rule. The sipping part is right but that might cause light headed ness. The breathing is full on but the smoke comes in the airstream from indirect Venturi effect. It's so hard to explain really. If one gets lightheaded or too much smoke output that a clear indication of potential improvement opportunity in my opinion...

 

[Michigan_Bill]

The important thing is to enjoy. All the rest in ancillary.

 

[bullet08]

Yeah. Revisit them in few years.