On Smoking Slowly and the Benefits...

[The Libertine]

It took me a long time to figure out slow smoking. It truly is a wonderful experience. I enjoyed the post @cosmicfolklore

 

[occidentalist]

An average size bowl lasts me 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on the blend. My preference is for a well rubbed and exceedingly dry tobacco, packed somewhat tight.

Embrace the need for frequent re-lights (10 or so per bowl). Puff gently (sip)--shallow puffs, not deep puffs. The frequency of puffs, and the depth of the puff, are determined by how well the tobacco is burning. One needs to develop a sense for how warm the bowl is in the hand--the pipe, and the smoke, should never be permitted to grow hot, or cold!

Sense the amount of smoke entering your mouth with each puff. Strive to keep this smoke density constant--neither too little nor too much. When the smoke thins, it is time to do something--puff harder, or more frequently, until the smoke thickens--or tamp and re-light if the combustion can no longer be maintained by puffing.

After the first light, if the tobacco rises to a point where it might fall out of the bowl, I gently tamp it down.
If the bowl is properly packed, I have no need to tamp again until after the halfway point, at which point the need to tamp grows more frequent.

This is incredible to me. 90-120 minutes on one bowl. 20 minutes is probably the longest I've ever smoked a single bowl. I'm trying to wrap my head around making a modest sized bowl last 90 minutes while still actually "smoking" it. Even when I go through a bowl in 20 minutes it's still a satisfying smoke. I just can't fathom making it last 3 times longer than that while still doing anything that, in my short pipe smoking career, could qualify as smoking (smoked cigarettes for 15 years, cigars for 6). I'm a visual learner so in my mind's eye I picture lighting a bowl, sticking it in my gob, and then just letting it sit there with no interaction from me in order to make it last an hour. I'm obviously way off base. I'll have to scour youtube to see if there's a 60+ minute video of a guy smoking a pipe just to see his tempo.

As an admitted pyromaniac and maker of lightweight camping stoves and ridiculously overbuilt rocket stoves, I understand the relationship between airflow and fuel. It makes sense that the better a bowl is burning, the less frequent the requirement to puff. I'm pretty sure that my whole issue has to do with packing and drying. I tend to go by feel, letting moist aromatics sit as long as 20 minutes whereas a dry latakia blend may only have to sit for half that amount of time. I've tried the palm swirl packing method as well as simply filling a bowl, lightly tamping, and repeating until near the top. My results are inconsistent at best. At least that's my impression. My result is the same as yours: tobacco rises on first light, then tamp down, then need to tamp is much less frequent.

I'm doing the proper steps as described in your wonderful email: check smoke density on puff - if too light, puff harder/tamp - return to less frequent sips until smoke density begins lightening. Rinse repeat.

@occidentalist.. There seem to be two schools of thought, one as @Professor Moriarty has posted about staying focused, and mine, light the pipe and forget about it. But, Moriarty is right, especially in the beginning. Think about learning to drive a stick shift. You have to focus on letting up off of the clutch as you gently give it gas, then shifting, down shifting, etc... then after a while you no longer have to think about it. You just drive, no longer even thinking about the gas/clutch exchange. That's when you can just get a pipe going, and walk around doing things without having to think about it al all. I tend to walk around with unlit pipes in clench between smokes. And, mostly, I never even remember packing or lighting anymore.
But, if I had to maintain that level of focus as I did in the beginning, I would not smoke pipes. I have way too many thing to get done in a day to give smoking that much thought.

I probably fall more into this camp where I light my pipe and forget it unless it causes me issues. Your analogy makes complete sense.

Thanks everyone for your sage wisdom. I'm determined to get a 60 minute smoke!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

This is incredible to me. 90-120 minutes on one bowl. 20 minutes is probably the longest I've ever smoked a single bowl. I'm trying to wrap my head around making a modest sized bowl last 90 minutes while still actually "smoking" it. Even when I go through a bowl in 20 minutes it's still a satisfying smoke. I just can't fathom making it last 3 times longer than that while still doing anything that, in my short pipe smoking career, could qualify as smoking (smoked cigarettes for 15 years, cigars for 6). I'm a visual learner so in my mind's eye I picture lighting a bowl, sticking it in my gob, and then just letting it sit there with no interaction from me in order to make it last an hour. I'm obviously way off base. I'll have to scour youtube to see if there's a 60+ minute video of a guy smoking a pipe just to see his tempo.

As an admitted pyromaniac and maker of lightweight camping stoves and ridiculously overbuilt rocket stoves, I understand the relationship between airflow and fuel. It makes sense that the better a bowl is burning, the less frequent the requirement to puff. I'm pretty sure that my whole issue has to do with packing and drying. I tend to go by feel, letting moist aromatics sit as long as 20 minutes whereas a dry latakia blend may only have to sit for half that amount of time. I've tried the palm swirl packing method as well as simply filling a bowl, lightly tamping, and repeating until near the top. My results are inconsistent at best. At least that's my impression. My result is the same as yours: tobacco rises on first light, then tamp down, then need to tamp is much less frequent.

I'm doing the proper steps as described in your wonderful email: check smoke density on puff - if too light, puff harder/tamp - return to less frequent sips until smoke density begins lightening. Rinse repeat.





I probably fall more into this camp where I light my pipe and forget it unless it causes me issues. Your analogy makes complete sense.

Thanks everyone for your sage wisdom. I'm determined to get a 60 minute smoke!

And keep in mind, that this is all just the goal. I am not perfect. When I am worked up, I do tend to puff faster, but then when I catch myself, I force myself to slow down. On a few occasions I have been able to just let my passive breath affect the shape of my throat and keep a pipe going. But, i am not superman.

Back when we were doing a lot of meet ups on Zoom, folks would point out that they could see my smoke. I was like, "yeh, I am having a tad bit of social anxiety, so I am going to breath a lot harder. "

I think I have the best form and cadence when I am totally relaxed, but still involved in something that keeps my mind occupied. Chopping wood, not such great form. Rebuilding multiple diamond ring settings at my workbench, closest to perfect.

 

[WirelessSmoke]

I'm surely smoking slower than I did when I first started, but I'm quite certain I could slow down quite a bit more. Slowly picking up nuances in different blends that someone thoughtfully put together is becoming quite a pleasure. Excellent writeup.

 

[RL Bucktails]

Coming from smoking cigars it has been hard to slow down. Some days are better than others. Sometimes the tobacco is so good. A heated bowl reminds me to slow down.

 

[Pipke]

I noticed that I tend to obey the speed limit when I'm smoking a pipe behind the wheel. I've managed to make a country gentleman cob last 45 min filled with D&R dry dry dry burley like Two Timer. The experience is totally different than "a quick smoke."

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Coming from smoking cigars it has been hard to slow down. Some days are better than others. Sometimes the tobacco is so good. A heated bowl reminds me to slow down.

I have even found cigars to have more flavors when smoked slow, but of course that causes canoe problems sometimes. So…