Non Babe Newbie

[misu]

I'm not a hottie or babe. Maybe back in the day I was, but I'm too old for that nonsense now. I quit smoking cigarettes in 1997. My father passed from lung cancer. Being an RN, and sounding like him when I coughed, I quit. I've taken to smoking cigars with hubby while camping but I just can't find one I like and they take too long to smoke. My father also smoked a pipe and I remember really liking the smell of his tobacco. Don't get me wrong, a good cigar smells good, I just prefer the smell of pipe tobacco. I just bought my first pipe last week. It's briar wood and has an apple-ish shape. I have Seville tobacco, which I like, and a chocolate Cavendish tobacco which I like too. It's mellow and not overly chocolate-y which, to me, is good. I've ordered a churchwarden type pipe and a meerschaum pipe. I was told that the meerschaum is more acceptable to different types of tobacco instead of one pipe for each tobacco. The churchwarden is what came up when I searched for "Ladies Pipe". I like the idea of a longer stem. I won't burn my bangs trying to light it :]

I've never really cared, so much, what people think except to say that I don't want to look stupid smoking a pipe. I get that there's a learning curve, but, as with most enjoyable things in life, technique is everything. Any help in that area would be appreciated. Like, how do I keep the pipe lit without constantly puffing on it? Is it that the pipe isn't broken in? Is it because it's not packed well enough? Or, is that part of the pipe smoking experience?

What types of tobacco are more mellow? Which tobaccos go better with a glass of wine? I found out that the chocolate tobacco seems to go better with cherry bourbon than merlot wine. Which was a surprise to me because semi-sweet chocolate goes really well with a good merlot. What tobacco goes well with a morning cup of coffee?

Also, are there any other middle aged women out there that smoke pipes?

 

[brdavidson]

Hey Misu, welcome aboard. I posted a response to your Buffalo question, check it out. IMO coffee goes with any tobacco its my drink of choice while smoking. I'm new to the hobby so probably not overly qualified to help with tobaccoo selection. Current favourites are Peterson Sunset Breeze (an aomatic), Dunhill Early Morning Pipe (english blend) Escudo (virginia perique). I'm still sampling lots as my tastes change.

 

[timely]

Welcome aboard, Lanes I.Q. is always a good start for tobacco. I am sure you will like it.

 

[withnail]

Welcome to the forum. For loads of information about Meerschaum pipes, search for "white goddess" in the search box on the forum.
As for keeping a pipe lit, it could be that you are packing your bowl a little too loosely or the reverse, over stuffing the bowl. When I started smoking a pipe, I was told so often that you shouldn't over pack, that I went to far the other way! If you are over packing, trying to draw a breath through the unlit pipe, it will feel quite restricted. If the draw seems fine, you might want to try tamping down the tobacco just a little more. Once you get the feel for it, it's like riding a bike and becomes second nature.
As to tobacco selection - I think the best way to go is to try several different blends (see if you can get any sample sized packs from your favourite tobacconists) and make a note of what you think of them and what types of tobacco are in the blend. You'll soon notice a pattern which will help you choose other blends with more confidence.
Enjoy! ::

 

[wnghanglow]

I agree with everything Rothnh said , except for tobacco review sites. The reviews can be helpful to get a general ideal but they should be taken with more than a pound of salt lol you'll get people explaining how the aromatic tastes good on a tobacco that had no aromatic qualities. people will explain how they taste fruity undertones like figs or butter or nutty flavors which I can almost guarantee you will not taste until you smoke that blend for at least a few months straight and have a few years under your belt. I have learned to smoke and get my impression of a blend before I read those reviews.

 

[chopz]

i'm not a middle aged woman either, but in my opinion drying tobacco can be as simple as having it sit open for a little while (not too long, but if it dries too much it's easy to moisturize it again by putting a damp napkin in with it for a day) or packing a bowl and not smoking it until later. i've found pipes don't need to be dedicated to certain kinds of tobacco with the exception of english or latakia blends (there are rare exceptions). as for keeping a pipe lit, i find packing it loosely and very gently tamping a few times during the course of a smoke works for me. i smoke virginias, va/perique blends, burleys and (rarely) aromatics in the same pipes. doesn't bother me.
i've never clumped a bit of tobacco together and dropped it to see what would happen. i can kind of feel how damp it is with my fingers. if it's not crackly and crumbly and has some spring to it, it's not too dry.
oh and i don't think you'll look stupid. i'm sure you'll look fine smoking a pipe.

 

[misu]

Thank you so much for the welcomes and the good advice. I knew that I came to right place when I came here

I will have to check my tobacco to see if it's too moist.

And thank you for the review sites. I'll be sure to check them out. I think I have to see what I like first before I read reviews. I think it's like tasting wine, you don't know what kinds you like until you've tried a few. It isn't anything I can tell by reading until I've tried a few.

Do the english and latakia blends take over the pipe's bowl? Kinda' like a dominant flavor for the pipe?

Again, thank you for the advice. I do appreciate it and keep it coming

 

[captainbob]

Welcome Aboard misu,
You will learn that you can sip rather than puff and keep your pipe going without a lot of bother or clouds of smoke. Just practice. If your pipe is too hot to hold against your cheek, you are puffing too hard. Maybe give my Cornell and Diehl Blend a try. It has a full flavor of six tobacco's and six light aromatic ingredients. It is very popular from the standpoint that women love the aroma. Perhaps you will enjoy smoking it. Here is a link where you can read about my blend, a couple of very favorable reviews and the price to try it. I give you lots of credit for smoking a pipe. Carry on!
http://pipesandcigars.com/coditincabob.html

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[judcole]

Welcome aboard. You've gotten a lot of good advice already. Be patient, and enjoy the journey.
If you still want to try a cigar now and then, try a half-corona size - about 4x40.Montecristo makes some nice ones that won't break the bank, and they will only last about 20-25 minutes.

 

[misu]

Thank you for the cigar info. The good thing is, If I don't like them, hubby may

 

[misu]

What is the difference between meerschaum and a Missouri meerschaum? I was searching a pipe site and followed thins link: http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/Missourimeerschaum/index.cfm and see all corn cob pipes. I thought meerschaum was a type of magnesium stone? Or can any pipe be called a meerschaum? I'm confused.

 

[withnail]

You're right "meerschaum" is a soft stone found mainly in Turkey and has been used to make pipes for 100s of years. Missouri Meerschaum is a tongue in cheek name really. They are the best of the corn cob pipes. Just as the stone comes a from Turkey, the cobs come from Missouri!
Although they look like a toy or fancy dress accessories, they smoke really well and are cheap. As mentioned, it means any tobacco that might "ghost" your pipe can have its own MM corn cob pipe dedicated to it for only a few dollars.
Hope that helps

 

[ebag]

Definitely have to agree with Mike on the MMs. How I started smoking a pipe and just kept with it with the corncobs. So easy, and I prefer sampling the tobacco in MMs before moving it over to the briar just to get a feel for how the tobacco burns and lights and everything. Don't know why or where I picked up the habit, but its formed. haha

 

[05venturer]

+1 rothnh

Oh, and since you're just starting out, consider getting a few Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cobs (MM's, not the cheaper Chinese cobs). They don't cost much, smoke great, and allow you to have an instant rotation of pipes.

best bit of advice IMO is to get some MM Cobs. You can pick out any style u like and if it is a "filtered" pipe just pull the filter out. That is what I do with all mine.

here is the MM site

http://corncobpipe.com/
Welcome to the Club misu

 

[bigboi]

Miso, you have received some very good advice already...I just want to extend a whole hearted welcome!!!

 

[ejames]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[rondyr]

Welcome to the forum! I hope that you enjoy your time here. And hey, there's nothing wrong with middle-aged ladies. Some of the most excellent...errrmmm..."cuddling" I've ever had was with women that were "middle-aged"!
Firstly, and most importantly - do NOT ever worry about some moron that thinks that you "look stupid" smoking a pipe. Fact is, they're an idiot. I've never seen a woman with a pipe in her mouth or hand that did not look good, and that's a fact. When you find something that you enjoy, that enjoyment belongs to you and poop on what anyone else thinks or has to say about it!
Second, it often takes a "newbie" a good bit of time to learn how to properly pack a pipe and smoke so that it remains lit. When I first started when I was 18, seventeen years ago now, I could hardly get more than one puff before it went out and I had to re-light it. Now I pretty much never have to re-light my pipe unless I have to put it down and am not able to puff on it for a good few minutes. When you find that it seems to be dying out, you can blow through the stem of your pipe a few times, and then place two or three fingers over top of the bowl and inhale a couple of times. This almost always gets that fire right back to where you want it. It's a technique that is only somewhat easy to explain, so you will have to practice it to get it down.
Lastly, when "newbies" ask my advice on tobaccos, I recommend to them the following:
Captain Black White (Regular, called White because of the white pouch it comes in).

Frog Morton (very smooth)

Dunhill Nightcap

Dunhill Early Morning Pipe

Frog Morton On The Bayou (my personal favorite)

Hearth and Home's Black House

Brigadier Black Gettysburg (a peach-flavored aromatic, actually pretty good)
One of your BEST solutions? If you have one nearby, head to a Tobacconist. There, you can get some great recommendations about their "House Blends", which are usually blended to be a lot like the "brand name" blends, and an ounce of their blends usually only runs between $3-$4, which is a very cheap and effective way to test out different blends.
Trying out those blends, and others that the other guys have recommended, is a good way to figure out what type of pipe tobacco you prefer the most. As always, you can enjoy every single one of those blends and smoke 'em whenever you want. I do recommend, if you can, only smoking one brand/blend per pipe; that way you don't get any "ghosting" of flavors. The cheapest way to do this is to pick up some Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipes - in fact, for only $30 you can get a bag of about ten "Seconds" Corn Cob pipes (pipes that are still smokeable, but have some flaw that the manufacturer considers to be too great to sell normally). You can grab the grab bag here:
http://corncobpipe.com/index.php/10-pipe-grab-bag-of-smokable-seconds.html
I am very sorry to hear about your father, and I commend you for being able to give up cigarettes. I'm getting there myself, one day.
Again, welcome to the forums, and welcome to our very wonderful and enjoyable hobby.

 

[jah76]

Welcome aboard. My wife is a RN and she busts her butt on a Med surg floor. I wish she'd take up pipe smoking to relax.
You've gotten a ton of great advice but I always try and keep Jud's in mind...."it's a journey". Even the not so stellar parts. Those are the best to learn from.

 

[swhipple]

Welcome to the forum! Don't sweat the way it looks or skill level. The pipe is all about personal enjoyment. I enjoy the pipe much more now that I've learned to puff very slowly and I accept that I will have to relight once in awhile. Enjoy the discovery that smoking a pipe brings

 

[kashmir]

Welcome to PM Forums. A wonderful place to learn. So many great suggestions - I've got none to add, except go slow and enjoy the journey.