EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9) - Bob
It's a new year and I am starting to march towards my first anniversary of taking up the briar. At the end of July, I posted some of my reflections to new smokers working to get into the hobby. You can read it here:
As I re-read that post, I can tell you smoking has only got better and better. Much of what I wrote, I still think, but I believe I am missing one component...
SMOKE SLOWLY
I thought I was, I was trying to, but the reality was I was not. As bantered on in these forums over and over, pipe smoking really becomes so pleasurable right at the point of a pipe going out. The smoke wafting gently in your mouth as the tobacco burns softly, is where it is at.
At least for me, it is an instinct and 'felt' thing that comes from practice, rather than a timed thing... though to force me to smoke more slowly, I started roughly timing some of my pipes with a goal to stretch it out. Sounds contrived, but that's how my brain is wired. Today's pipe of Pegasus was in excess of an hour in a medium sized bowl. I don't always time it as it would kill the experience, but occasionally the mood strikes me to keep an eye on the clock to really focus on slowing down.
My motto borrowing from some other activities is:
LOW AND SLOW
I tell myself it starts even at the moment when I light the tobacco with my lighter. Be gentle and use the lowest amount of heat as possible to get the tobacco lit. Then slowly, but ever so very slowly, sip. Occasionally I have to step it up briefly to get the tobacco back on it's way, but I am not fussed about another gentle relight.
And careful use of the tamper can make the world of a difference. Just throwing the tobacco in and hoping for the best in a perfectly packed bowl, at least for me, is fantasy.
Anyhow, what a wonderful hobby. I don't get to smoke every day, but when I do, it is an hour or so of pure quiet pleasure... oh yeah, another thing... it's not easy to hold a conversation while piping (at least for me). I can do a bit better with an easy burn tobacco like Carter Hall, but my cadence is too erratic if I am socialising. I have come more and more to the point that if I really want to have a free rolling conversation, I need to smoke a cigar.
Anyhow, hope I am not over doing it, but that's what's working for me. Reading on these forums there are many personalities and that's what's partly awesome about this, it is a personal and individual experience...
Here's to enjoying our pipes in 2020!
It's a new year and I am starting to march towards my first anniversary of taking up the briar. At the end of July, I posted some of my reflections to new smokers working to get into the hobby. You can read it here:
Attn Newbies - If I Had It To Do Over Again. :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
Almost three months ago I started smoking a pipe for the first time. I had never smoked anything in my life (it's the honest truth!), but I always enjoyed the room note of my uncle's pipes and thought I would give it a go. I thought I would post my learnings for any newbies who are just getting...
pipesmagazine.com
As I re-read that post, I can tell you smoking has only got better and better. Much of what I wrote, I still think, but I believe I am missing one component...
SMOKE SLOWLY
I thought I was, I was trying to, but the reality was I was not. As bantered on in these forums over and over, pipe smoking really becomes so pleasurable right at the point of a pipe going out. The smoke wafting gently in your mouth as the tobacco burns softly, is where it is at.
At least for me, it is an instinct and 'felt' thing that comes from practice, rather than a timed thing... though to force me to smoke more slowly, I started roughly timing some of my pipes with a goal to stretch it out. Sounds contrived, but that's how my brain is wired. Today's pipe of Pegasus was in excess of an hour in a medium sized bowl. I don't always time it as it would kill the experience, but occasionally the mood strikes me to keep an eye on the clock to really focus on slowing down.
My motto borrowing from some other activities is:
LOW AND SLOW
I tell myself it starts even at the moment when I light the tobacco with my lighter. Be gentle and use the lowest amount of heat as possible to get the tobacco lit. Then slowly, but ever so very slowly, sip. Occasionally I have to step it up briefly to get the tobacco back on it's way, but I am not fussed about another gentle relight.
And careful use of the tamper can make the world of a difference. Just throwing the tobacco in and hoping for the best in a perfectly packed bowl, at least for me, is fantasy.
Anyhow, what a wonderful hobby. I don't get to smoke every day, but when I do, it is an hour or so of pure quiet pleasure... oh yeah, another thing... it's not easy to hold a conversation while piping (at least for me). I can do a bit better with an easy burn tobacco like Carter Hall, but my cadence is too erratic if I am socialising. I have come more and more to the point that if I really want to have a free rolling conversation, I need to smoke a cigar.
Anyhow, hope I am not over doing it, but that's what's working for me. Reading on these forums there are many personalities and that's what's partly awesome about this, it is a personal and individual experience...
Here's to enjoying our pipes in 2020!
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