New to Pipes and to the Forum. My Questions and Ramblings...

[paintedklown]

Well gang, my pipe smoking adventures continue on today. On the way home from work this morning, I stopped and picked up a small pouch of Carter Hall and a small pouch of Prince Albert.
I am trying a small bowl of the Carter hall right now, and Even after the first few puffs, I noticed a HUGE improvement in the quality of the tobaccos. The flavor of the Carter Hall is comparable to that of a mid quality cigar IMO. This is MUCH better than my pouch of Super Value Chocolate tobacco.
I haven't tried the Prince Albert yet, but if I don't like it, I can easily see the Carter Hall becoming a "daily" smoke for me. Perhaps it is my "noob" palate, or just the quantum leap in taste over the Super Value, but I am impressed.
I am hoping I enjoy the Prince Albert as well. These two tobaccos are available locally and cheap, just the way I like it! p

 

[martiniman]

Lots of great advise, just want to add.
Welcome aboard. :D

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Lots of great info in this thread. The saying, "you learn something new everyday" is very true when it comes to pipe smoking.
I'm glad you are enjoying your new hobby. It's easy to be overwhelmed with tobacco's and pipes as there are so many varieties of each out there. I've just passed my 2 year mark of pipe smoking and I still consider myself a newbie. There is so much to learn and pay attention to. As you continue to enjoy the hobby you will learn the tricks of the trade and become more knowledgeable about the hobby. It just takes time and practice.
As for the corn cobs, as its been said before, they're great smoking pipes. I know several people that only smoke cobs and nothing else. Heck I have 6, and use 4 on a regular basis.

 

[chopz]

i think the grabow will serve you well for now. the wood is a bit thin so it can get hot to the touch if you don't smoke slowly. that super value tobacco is what you need to avoid though. just buy some basic over the counter pipe tobacco. no need to delve into the connoisseur stuff. some prince albert, carter hall or sugar barrel will taste a lot better.

 

[05venturer]

Carter Hall is my go to smoke usually in one of my MM Cobs, it is a good no nonsense smoke. My suggestion would be to pick up a 14 oz tub of that and then just occasionally pick up a tin or sample of something a bit different to keep costs down until you find what you enjoy the best. I smoke a few different tobaccos but alway's have some Carter Hall in my rotation. It also works well to mix with other tobaccos.

Glad you are enjoying the cobs.

 

[paintedklown]

Good morning pipers.
This morning, I am puffing on the pouch of Prince Albert that I picked up yesterday. While it is am improvement over the Chocolate tobacco, I do not like it near as much as I do the Carter Hall. Not what I would consider bad, per se, just not as flavorful as Carter Hall tobacco.
IMO the Carter Hall has a more "complex" flavor, that really reminds me of a cigar. The Prince Albert is just more of a mellow tobacco flavor.
EDIT: I have smoked all three of my different blends from the MM cob. It's a decent pipe, but near the end of the bowl, I do have some issues with inhaling small (sometimes still burning) bits of tobacco and ashes. Blech!!! Nasty stuff indeed. Is there any way to prevent this from happening? I am guessing that a filter (or a pipe designed to not take a filter) is my only option.

 

[judcole]

Ok fellas, please do not take any offence to this, but I have to admit that I liked a MM corncob pipe more than I liked the DR. Grabow. IMO, the MM was more "neutral" and didn't seem to impart as much flavor on the tobacco as the Dr. Grabow.

I am not a Grabow fan; I would always recommend an MM over a Grabow if you are starting on a tight budget.

near the end of the bowl, I do have some issues with inhaling small (sometimes still burning) bits of tobacco and ashes.

Part of this is learning when you need to dump the bowl. Part of it may be smoking too fast.
You are starting off well; if you are enjoying the CH, I would suggest some MacBaren Burley London. Worlds away from CH, just like that was from your Super Value junk. At $15, bulk, for 8 ounces from here, it's also a helluva deal (although I would suggest grabbing a smaller amount at first).

 

[slackerdiver]

Welcome from another cigar guy jumping to the other side of the tracks! I can tell you that about three weeks into pipes, coming from cigars, that it gets much more enjoyable as you continue to pick up and apply the tips you learn here. My biggest problem was that I was sucking on the pipe like I do a cigar and I learned you simply can't do that. From this forum I learned that you sip pipes, you puff cigars.

near the end of the bowl, I do have some issues with inhaling small (sometimes still burning) bits of tobacco and ashes.

Pick up a pack of 6mm filters from your B&M - they fit the MM cobs like they were designed for them. I have one cob I am exploring VaPers in and find the filters nice for toning down the Perique a bit (happened to get a blend very heavy in Perique).

 

[ohin3]

The wood taste will subside as the pipe breaks in. The more you smoke a new pipe the more the wood evenly chars and develops a carbon cake. Let it build up to the thickness of a dime or so and then keep maintaining that level of cake buy reaming it back to the thickness of a dime when necessary and you will always have a good cake to insulate your briar from burning.