Old Codger All Day Smoking with One Pipe

[bearwolf56]

While trying to figure out my issue with my pipe getting hot, I realized one of my issues was that I wasn't letting the pipe dry out enough between smokes. One good reason to have multiple pipes. Realizing this greatly improved my issue with my pipe getting hot like it was. Realizing this started me thinking about stories I've heard about old coders, back in the day would smoke one pipe all day, bowl after bowl, and sometimes back-to-back. For some the pipe seldom left their mouth. If all this is true, how did they deal with their pipes being wet, and getting hot?

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

You can run pipe cleaner through it and keep going. The wood does not hold water.

It's nice to have a fresh pipe, but not required.

 

[kcghost]

I work in programming job fifty years ago and while we had smokers, I was the only one packing a pipe. I lit it maybe twice a day (morning and afternoon}. No problem with heat.

 

[Pipke]

Being all in with the coding can make you loose sense of the passage of time. They might have spent some time still sucking on the pipe after it went out. But like @Richmond B. Funkenhouser said, run a pipe cleaner through and keep on chugging...

 

[Streeper541]

I generally smoke the same pipe all day long... Six to eight bowls a day minimum in that pipe. I don't have any trouble with heat poor moisture buildup. I rub the bowl out with a paper towel or napkin when I'm finished before I load it back up. I use a pipe cleaner as needed. No issues.

Sometimes I will smoke a different pipe between bowls, but I pretty much smoke the same pipe all day long. I can't even remember the last time I deep cleaned it. Most maintenance I do is to ream it out when the cake gets too thick.

 

[Briarcutter]

I smoke them back to back many times, always in the shop I find myself doing this. If it gets hot, I it's my fault for puffing to fast. As soon as I slow down, it cools down.

 

[Merton]

I also think that many of the pipe smoker of yesteryear had much lower expectations about both pipes and tobacco than folks like most of us (and certainly far fewer choices in both categories).... Undoubtedly true about a lot of different aspects of their lives as opposed to today.

 

[Pipeh]

I generally smoke the same pipe all day long... Six to eight bowls a day minimum in that pipe. I don't have any trouble with heat poor moisture buildup. I rub the bowl out with a paper towel or napkin when I'm finished before I load it back up. I use a pipe cleaner as needed. No issues.

Sometimes I will smoke a different pipe between bowls, but I pretty much smoke the same pipe all day long. I can't even remember the last time I deep cleaned it. Most maintenance I do is to ream it out when the cake gets too thick.

You might like trying a reuseable chamber brush - I think it's less messy than a paper towel.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-cleaners-and-cleaning-supplies/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=186259

 

[anotherbob]

I know a few pipe smokers like that now. I get the feeling most pipe smokers are more like that, but since we can talk to the freaks like us who care about quality and variety, we get a distorted picture of things.

 

[Briarcutter]

like us who care about quality

I was curious who you think those are that don't care about quality??

 

[Roach1]

You might like trying a reuseable chamber brush - I think it's less messy than a paper towel.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-cleaners-and-cleaning-supplies/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=186259

I use this after every pipeful. They do a great job. I also have the smaller one for the mortice and stem.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

On my days off I like to sit down with a cup of coffee and fire up a pipe. Usually, the pipe I pick is the one that I will smoke all day. Most of the time that equates to 4 bowls, sometimes less and sometimes more depending on what other activities I have planned. When smoking said pipe, I will run a pipe cleaner through it usually about halfway through a bowl and at the end of a bowl prior to re-filling. This helps keep my pipe dry and smoking well. I also give my pipe a small break between bowls to keep it from overheating. If I find myself puffing a little too fast and the pipe warming up too much, I'll also give it a few minutes to cool. This helps ensure a good smoking experience.

 

[PaulRVA]

I used to smoke one pipe all day all the time because I only had a few pipes back then. I’d just swab it out let it cool down and fire it back up. I still do that when around town running errands. I guess codgers selections of shag cuts, dried out ribbon cuts and stale Aromatics being the most common offerings helped most folks out as well preventing some of the moisture issues.
I don't have many dottle or moisture issues these days because I rotate and dry what tobacco I’m smoking and kind of always have once I got a feel for it. A fresh tin pop of some dank goop might act up on me occasionally though.
As far as heat an open draw and slow smoking with minimal relights
Keeps it in check.

 

[Sig]

Where I live in Amish country, almost all Amish males over 15 smoke a pipe.....and women over 60.......
I have no idea why women between 15 and 60 don't smoke.
Anyways, most of them have one or two corn cob pipes that they smoke all day. Most of them smoke the very cheap($10 per pound) "pipe tobacco" sold on the local reservation. Its not ACTUALLY pipe tobacco, its cigarette tobacco labeled as pipe tobacco to get around the NYS tobacco laws.
I do veterinary work and hoof work for many of them.
When they are here, we sometimes talk about pipes, and I share my pipe tobacco. They LOVE many of the blends I give them, even Latakia blends.
But they almost always say they could not smoke that all day. Even Virginia blends that are tame to us, they say are "treat" tobaccos.
They do not smoke tobacco for the flavor or for many of the reasons we do.
They don't care about fancy pipes, or tampers, or lighters...
They smoke for nicotine and the pipe is easier than rolling cigarettes.....their words not mine.
I believe a lot of codgers are the same way.
They like the nicotine and the pipe is a habit.
They have one or two pipes they like, and don't need no changing things!

 

[Briarcutter]

They do not smoke tobacco for the flavor or for many of the reasons we do.
They don't care about fancy pipes, or tampers, or lighters...
They smoke for nicotine and the pipe is easier than rolling cigarettes.....their words not mine.
I believe a lot of codgers are the same way.

I think you have a good point here.

 

[Streeper541]

You might like trying a reuseable chamber brush - I think it's less messy than a paper towel.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-cleaners-and-cleaning-supplies/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=186259

The sad part about your suggestion is that I actually have a complete set of reusable brushes.

 

[OzPiper]

While trying to figure out my issue with my pipe getting hot, I realized one of my issues was that I wasn't letting the pipe dry out enough between smokes. One good reason to have multiple pipes. Realizing this greatly improved my issue with my pipe getting hot like it was. Realizing this started me thinking about stories I've heard about old coders, back in the day would smoke one pipe all day, bowl after bowl, and sometimes back-to-back. For some the pipe seldom left their mouth. If all this is true, how did they deal with their pipes being wet, and getting hot?

I started smoking pipes in the early 1970s when I was a poor undergraduate and could only afford one pipe.
There was no internet and no pipe forums to learn from.
I smoked wet and before you knew it, that pipe soured and became rank, even though I used pipe cleaners after each and every smoke.
Much the same as wearing the same pair of sneakers day in, day out, without giving them an adequate airing

As soon as funds permitted, I bought a couple more pipes and rested them between smokes.
What a difference !

I know there are plenty of folks who smoke the same pipe the whole day or a couple of days without giving it a rest.
Not me.

 

[bearwolf56]

You can run pipe cleaner through it and keep going. The wood does not hold water.

It's nice to have a fresh pipe, but not required.

You are right about it not holding water. I guess I should have said damp instead of wet. Mine aren't actually "wet" but the inside of the bowl is a little damp.

 

[bearwolf56]

You might like trying a reuseable chamber brush - I think it's less messy than a paper towel.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe-cleaners-and-cleaning-supplies/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=186259

Thank you. I'll give that a try.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

You are right about it not holding water. I guess I should have said damp instead of wet. Mine aren't actually "wet" but the inside of the bowl is a little damp.

Personally, I'm good with wet.

After a couple bowls back to back my pipes are usually WET, the word damp wouldnt do it justice. A pipe cleaner, a paper towel, or even just a half hour of drying time can fix it though.

I only mentioned that in the pervious post to help someone who might read this later on.

In the begining of my pipe smoking I was under the impression that the pipe absorbed moisture. I have since found that's not the case. If it did, those codgers would have had soft mushy pipes.