My fiance and I are interested in learning all the inns and outs to this lifestyle. So any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My first question would be. Is it better to have multiple pipes for the different flavor tobacco ? Also is it Better to use matches or lighter and would a Regular lighter be better then a torch lighter?
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Most of the questions you ask are subjective. Personally, I prefer wooden matches, and maintain distinct rotations for aros, blends with latakia, and blends without. You will find that different smokers do different things.
Everyone will agree, however, that torch lighters are for cigars, not pipes. They are too hot, and are able to scorch the briar. Soft flames.
Most of the questions you ask are subjective. Personally, I prefer wooden matches, and maintain distinct rotations for aros, blends with latakia, and blends without. You will find that different smokers do different things.
Everyone will agree, however, that torch lighters are for cigars, not pipes. They are too hot, and are able to scorch the briar. Soft flames.
I also agree with Jud. For lighting, I used to use wooden matches exclusively but now mostly use them for the initial lights then use a soft flame lighter for relights.
Everyone is their own expert on these questions. Personally, I like matches for lighting pipes, for the soft flame, for the ritual, and for the sound and sight of scratching a match to life. I don't designate pipes and would only do so if I smoked Lakeland aromatics. I've never been bothered by ghosting of other tobaccos, Latakia or others. I do have quite a few pipes, so ghosting is mitigated.
RedHot, I agree w/all of the above. I have many pipes, but none are dedicated to a specific flavor, although some do… I prefer lighters outdoors and matches indoors, but many only like matches, or only lighters… You’ll have to navigate some of basics on your own as there are no right or wrong answers, which can be half the fun ?
Never use a torch on a pipe. You will scorch the bejeesus out of it. Rotate your pipes according to the type of tobacco you are going to smoke (have Virginia pipes, have English, i.e. Latakia, pipes, and aromatic pipes). Your preference as far as what to light your pipe. I prefer a good pipe lighter others prefer matches. Some people prefer Zippo and some even do it with a cheap Bic lighter.
I have two tobacco mixtures presently and use any pipe.
I started out with matches, but they made a mess.
I sought after a lighter with a soft flame that didn’t require flints and such. I chose a Lotus and have been very pleased.
I agree with above. I use a standard Bic, I don't own matches but I see the pleasure in one. If you taste sulfer then try a regular lighter. I am not refined enough to know if pipes really get ghosted. I bought a bunch of pipes and 3 or 4 of the more expensive were still only 50$. I am branching out into English tobaccos so I had enough pipes to dedicate to aros vs English. I absolutely love the English and am looking forward to buying stronger varieties so maybe I will notice. I smoke around the wife and friends so I have to still do aros if I want to smoke around them. When you order something research if it really ghosts before smoking n make your decision. Latkia, lakeland, and some grape version tobacco is what I read about most affecting a pipe. I don't know the grape brand but it sounds like a pipe needs to be dedicated to just that tobacco. People even deep clean the pipe and can still taste it. I have a several pipes but not enough to designate just 1.
Cobs are forgiving and cheap. Easy to have as many as you want to dedicate, and nothing to cry about if you decide to toss one.
Also: arrive alive don’t tamp and drive.
I tamp and drive but do it on the top of my steering wheel. I keep my eyes on road and start with a tamper. Fingers for mid to end bowl so I don't have to look for the hole. During smoking tamping, I clench the pipe 1 hand on wheel while other does a quick little tamp.
I used to see a lady do her makeup and hair at least one day a week about 20 years ago. She would take out a curler and toss it in the back seat. That was at 5 in the morning with little traffic but one day I never saw her getting ready for work again. I hope she moved.
While I'm not going to say one thing is better than another, I will say what I found works for me is a dedicated pipe for Lakelands and Virginias. For the Lakelands pipe, it's to control ghosting. For the Virginias, it's to keep anything not Virginia out of it. Other than that for pipes the only other "rule" I have is no Latakia in a cob, that taste or effect doesn't work for me. But your milage may vary.
A word about pipe dedication though. Sometimes, for me, the understanding of why is helpful. So all tobaccos will ghost to some degree, in the sense that even the smallest mud puddle is tidal to a degree. Lakeland tobaccos ghost a pipe for entertainment. Latakia can as well, which is why some dedicate a pipe to the leaf. Same with aromatics. It's a way to keep those flavors from soaking into the wood of other pipes. So I'm not tasting rose or geraniums or campfire when I'm looking forward to a nice comforting burley. Virginias, on the other hand, aren't a very strong flavor (generally). So for the Virginia dedicated pipe, I'm trying to keep everything else out. In the end, I can smoke anything in my Lakeland pipe. I can smoke anything except Lakeland in a Lat pipe. But I can only smoke Virginias in my Virginia pipe.
Lighting it, as long as you avoid torch lighters almost anything will work. I've used trench lighters, wooden matches, Zippos with and without pipe inserts, and a good old Bic. All light a bowl. What works best will depend on your varying milage.
A word about pipe dedication though. Sometimes, for me, the understanding of why is helpful. So all tobaccos will ghost to some degree, in the sense that even the smallest mud puddle is tidal to a degree. Lakeland tobaccos ghost a pipe for entertainment. Latakia can as well, which is why some dedicate a pipe to the leaf. Same with aromatics. It's a way to keep those flavors from soaking into the wood of other pipes. So I'm not tasting rose or geraniums or campfire when I'm looking forward to a nice comforting burley. Virginias, on the other hand, aren't a very strong flavor (generally). So for the Virginia dedicated pipe, I'm trying to keep everything else out. In the end, I can smoke anything in my Lakeland pipe. I can smoke anything except Lakeland in a Lat pipe. But I can only smoke Virginias in my Virginia pipe.
Lighting it, as long as you avoid torch lighters almost anything will work. I've used trench lighters, wooden matches, Zippos with and without pipe inserts, and a good old Bic. All light a bowl. What works best will depend on your varying milage.
Throwing my 2C in... the first year you'll be smoking a pipe, you'll both be learning a lot and developing your tastes. It's best to figure out if it's for you before you plough a load of money into it because it's very easy to spend.
It's a lot like getting into wine or whiskeys - there's so much to try before you establish the baselines and as it's based around consumption it can get expensive.
I'd say get some cob pipes and just start to try out some tobaccos, there are plenty of lists of blends that are good to start out with.
If you enjoy smoking, you'll probably be tempted to buy another pipe here and there later on. So later on you'll be dealing with the pipe dedication issue. At that point, you can also look at churchwardens or various different shapes that would be advantageous for different blends you enjoy. Honing the craft so to speak.
@RookieGuy has good advice on dedication. I'd add that you should try a bunch of tobaccos in any pipe as it will tend to pick the tobacco for you that it smokes best with.
TLDR: As other's have said, when you're starting out it pays to go cheap on the pipes and the lighters (cobs and bics), invest in the tobacco.
It's a lot like getting into wine or whiskeys - there's so much to try before you establish the baselines and as it's based around consumption it can get expensive.
I'd say get some cob pipes and just start to try out some tobaccos, there are plenty of lists of blends that are good to start out with.
If you enjoy smoking, you'll probably be tempted to buy another pipe here and there later on. So later on you'll be dealing with the pipe dedication issue. At that point, you can also look at churchwardens or various different shapes that would be advantageous for different blends you enjoy. Honing the craft so to speak.
@RookieGuy has good advice on dedication. I'd add that you should try a bunch of tobaccos in any pipe as it will tend to pick the tobacco for you that it smokes best with.
TLDR: As other's have said, when you're starting out it pays to go cheap on the pipes and the lighters (cobs and bics), invest in the tobacco.
I was thinking you'll have to find out for yourself until you asked about the torch. And a torch for pipes just seems wrong. That can damage a pipe so easily. Also pipes are better at lower temperatures. I've smoked one pipe for years with whatever style of tobacco I had at the time. (now I have a small cellar and 10 pipes). The difference with ten pipes isn't really something I'd call critical. Pipe smoking is sort strange in that it's got a very initiation type quality to it but that doesn't mean there are right and wrong ways to do things. It means that certain things have certain effects and how much you care about those effects while often more dramatic then they seem like they should be (matches versus lighter) they all come down to how you feel about the outcome of those effects. In fact there are things that are critical important to me for years or months and then just not.
I prefer different pipes for different blends. Specifically, I would at least have a pipe for blends with latakia, one for aros, one for virginias. I even go so far as to dedicate a pipe to a blend If I really like it, but that may be unnecessary. Definitely not torches. Matches or lighters are personal preference.
If you use corn cob pipes you can afford to dedicate pipes more easily in the beginning. That will remove the guess work of the thought "is that flavor a ghost from a different blend or from the one I'm smoking?". If you only smoke one blend, or one type of blend out of a pipe, you won't have to wonder so much when something tastes off or different. This may help you learn about the flavor profiles of different blends a little easier.
If you use corn cob pipes you can afford to dedicate pipes more easily in the beginning. That will remove the guess work of the thought "is that flavor a ghost from a different blend or from the one I'm smoking?". If you only smoke one blend, or one type of blend out of a pipe, you won't have to wonder so much when something tastes off or different. This may help you learn about the flavor profiles of different blends a little easier.
Found out this week that driving and pipes aren’t for the faint of heart.
