New Here and Need Help

[saltedplug]

Depending on the depth of the ash after tamping, you'll need to remove it at about 3/8s-1/2". Let the ease of lighting become more difficult to know when to tamp. The best and easiest tamper to use is your finger.
Only a couple guys mentioned packing, which to me is the most likely culprit for too many relights, but as you know relights are a way of life with the pipe. If you notice, after setting a blaze with relights such that flame comes out of the top of the bowl, which I'm not advocating but using as an example of a robust light, the pipe burns vigorously, but even with puffing, the volume of the smoke and the burn of the pipe moderate, and then again after an interval go into a low burn and then out. Codgers know how to balance the burn between low and going out. My point is that relights are a function of years of experience.
In the meantime I'd concentrate on packing. The surest sign that the pack is too firm is the number of relight. It tok me a longtime to learn this as I insisted sticking my finger into the bowl. Just a bit of pressure with my little finger after each layer caused me troublesome relights. When guys told me to just drizzle the tobacco into the bowl, I always thought I knew better.
At any rate I rethought packing and now gravity fill, producing a mound of tobacco, which I ease, not push, into the bowl, and I stop pushing before I can feel the tobacco's firmness underneath resisting. I've begun gently rubbing my finger horizontally over the packed bowl to establish a level service for lighting, but again without pushing down.
Post about whether you are having better luck. Good luck!

 

[newbroom]

Remember those "Chinese finger traps" ?

Keeping your bowl going is something like that.

 

[phantomwolf]

Try a few of those Nording Eriksen 'Pipe Keystones' in your bowl. I never have, but I have seen a few guys on here say they are great for keeping a bowl dry and maintaining air-flow.
https://www.pipesandcigars.com/p/eriksen-pipe-keystones-pipe-filters/1485358/#p-121396

 

[toddryan84]

In the meantime I'd concentrate on packing. The surest sign that the pack is too firm is the number of relight. It tok me a longtime to learn this as I insisted sticking my finger into the bowl. Just a bit of pressure with my little finger after each layer caused me troublesome relights. When guys told me to just drizzle the tobacco into the bowl, I always thought I knew better.

I've actually tried a multitude of methods, including gravity filling and I get similar results with each :/ I also noticed that one time with gravity filling the pipe burned incredibly hot and I felt as if my tobacco burned within a few minutes (probably error of mine as well lol) then I've tried the roll method, where I just put a mound of tobacco into the palm of my hand and roll the open end over the bowl in a circular'esque motion to fill the bowl. I've had good luck with that, but also there have been times where I've had terrible luck with that.
When I first started, I was doing the three finger pack method, and that has been the worst method for me. I suppose all of this comes down to lack of experience still on my end.
I'm gonna gravity fill tonight and see what happens!

 

[fitzy]

It sounds to me that your tobacco is no where near dry enough and/or a packing issue.
Let us know if you try the microwave and the results you get.
Most tobacco's particularly Va's and Va/Per's smoke best for me when they are almost crumbly but not to the point where it just falls apart.

 

[toddryan84]

Those keystones look interesting, will they work in any briar? or only the Nording ones?

 

[toddryan84]

It sounds to me that your tobacco is no where near dry enough and/or a packing issue.

I'm thinking this could be the culprit, and I think too that even if they are dry enough when going into the bowl, the fact I smoke outside in very humid weather seems to counteract that.
Question: I have some old (about a year or more now) tobacco sealed in ziplock bags which is sealed in an even larger ziplock bag....some seem pretty dry to me (I have CD Haunted Bookshop that seems really dry) do you think I could start with that and see if it helps any?
I can never tell when tobacco is too dry or too moist to be honest.

 

[jpmcwjr]

You can buy a hygrometer for ten bucks or less. Then you'll know. About the size of half a small matchbox, they can reside inside a bag or jar, but need hours to adjust to give a good reading.
Most likely the above tobacco is still too moist to smoke well in your conditions. But try it!
You don't need packing techniques or stuff in the bottom of the bowl if the tobacco is right going in.

 

[phantomwolf]

@ToddRyan I believe so, yes. Or at least others have said as much. Keep in mind the size of the draught(draft) hole. I have no idea if they are generally a standard diameter, but it would suck to get a rock stuck in there.

 

[toddryan84]

@jpmcwjr I actually have a very reliable digital and calibrated hygrometer that I use in my humidor for my cigars, maybe I'll toss it into that bag to see the humidity of the tobacco.
@phantomwolf Good to know, I will definitely try these if I still can't get it right after what was suggested here.

 

[tslex]

todd, welcome to the forum. Good advice so far.
I live in paradise as well (Cutler Bay, south of Miami) and long ago decided that I needed and indoor place to smoke int eh summer as much as the Nebraska guy would in winter. My den is on the central air, but does not have a return vent. The result is I can smoke in that room with no impact on the rest of the house.
FWIW, wherever I'm skoing (which still includes outside, as we like to sit around the pool and char some meat most Sundays after church) I don't dump ash but do lightly tamp it down maybe a third and halfway through or so.

 

[saltedplug]

I live in North Carolina and although not south Florida but any stretch the heat and humidity are no joke, and I don't experience the relight monster here. I think you're chasing a phantom regarding the relationship between humidity band relights. Remember, you're setting the tobacco afire. Perhaps a contributing factor, but no more.
When you're new there's so much to learn that it's easy to have a season of pipe wretchedness. There's so much to learn, and though you may feel otherwise, watching what you're actually doing gets lost in the doing.

I also noticed that one time with gravity filling the pipe burned incredibly hot and I felt as if my tobacco burned within a few minutes.

My guess is that you either underfilled the bowl or puffed like a freight train, the latter more likely, as smoking cadence is probably the most elusive of all pipesmoking skills.
Thank you for the progress reports.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I sometimes can't even let the pipe rest for 1 min without it going out."
Todd, that's pretty good going actually. I reckon I can count on one hand the times I have rested a pipe for a minute without it going out. That said, I once got quite a surprise when I put my pipe down to visit the loo and came back and it was still going!
Welcome to the forum by the way ::
"The best and easiest tamper to use is your finger."
Saltedplug, surely someone else's finger would be less painful :wink:
Regards,
Jay.

 

[toddryan84]

UPDATE:
I smoked some Lane BL/WB last night in my little MM Cob and I counted 6 relights, one relight I lit, took one puff and then went for a second puff and it was already out. I tamped JUST using the weight of the tamp...and I think I did this to somewhat of an anal retentive degree as I held the tamper just lightly between my index and thumb and just light sat it on top of the ash. One of the times after tamping, I got a good 2 min burn going on. I did get a tiny bit of bite but I am thinking it might have been from one of my relighting sessions because the normal puffs felt fine.
How do I know if my puffing cadence is too long? Is there a textbook measure of this?
(Btw, MANY MANY thanks to all the great responders and advice givers here, I really appreciate it! You guys have been great!)

 

[toddryan84]

@saltedplug
I think it was underfilled, I did gravity fill last night and I got a good 35 min session out of my cob last night.
How can I be sure if my puffing cadence is too much?

 

[toddryan84]

@tslex My gf lives in Kendall! I might have to have a smoking session with you sometime. I have found ZERO people my age interested in this hobby and it would be nice to meet some people that were interested in it and knew a thing or two.

 

[toddryan84]

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[jpmcwjr]

Todd-
What RH did you come up with?

 

[pipesmokingtom]

@toddryan84: Methinks you're falling in to the common trap of overlearning and undersmoking. Smoke more, talk about how to smoke less. That's the one piece of advice I would give my younger self.

 

[toddryan84]

@jpmcwjr I will check tonight I was rushing to work this morning and didn't check. I'm going to assume it's far less humid than my humidor as I have RH packs in my humidor to keep it at a constant 69%
I'm guessing inside the bag may be only slightly more humid that my home which is around 50% RH give or take. Will check and confirm this evening!