Totally agree on using a clay. It helped me slow my cadence and also changed my clenching style from biting to hanging.
On Smoking Slowly and the Benefits...
- Thread starter cosmicfolklore
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This is a great write up and good advice. I definitely started out smoking too fast, mostly due to foolishly fretting over keeping the pipe lit. Over time I've learned to stop worrying about relights and appreciate the value of smoking slowly. It really does improve the whole experience.
Even having grown up around pipesmokers, I still started off puffing too hard. I think it's a natural progression of learning. Like pressing too hard when learning to write or overcompensating with the handlebars when learning to keep balanced on a bicycle. But, once you get the basic lighting it and keeping a bowl lit, then you can start to focus on getting more flavor and enjoyment out of your smokes.
Fold and stuff easily lasts an hour+ no matter the size of the bowl. Perfect for a long drive.
I can’t get an hour in the morning. I am a fast smoker sometimes, and appreciate small to medium bowls a lot. But I always listen to the old and rush on, mea culpa.
You know... I can't always smoke in the perfect cadence either. I mean, I know folks won't believe this... I'm just not perfect. But, I'm closer than most, ha ha. JK. Anyways, as long as you are enjoying it, then you're doing it right.
Nice post Cosmic.
I've been at this for about 5 years now. In the beginning, I smoked like a speeding steam locomotive.
Now, I'm a slower smoker, but not quite a sipper. Working on it. I have noticed the slower I smoke, the more relights I have, that's okay though...nothing wrong with relights.
I've been at this for about 5 years now. In the beginning, I smoked like a speeding steam locomotive.
Now, I'm a slower smoker, but not quite a sipper. Working on it. I have noticed the slower I smoke, the more relights I have, that's okay though...nothing wrong with relights.
Excellent reminder. This should be a sticky. I find it easier to let the smoke drift into my mouth, rather than pulling it in, with a pipe I can clench than with one that I have to hold. Doesn't make sense maybe but then I'm even less perfect than Cosmic.
Slow smoking is the way to go. Gradual and deliberative does it. When I'm doing tasks, I have to move fairly fast to get anything done. If I move slowly, I tend to distraction and daydreaming. So some bounding around is inevitable for me.
However, when I go into a dawdle, I'm really good at that. My wife grew up in deeply rural Missouri, and we visit and talk with her family on the phone. The long conversational pauses are part of the culture. Some city folk take this as hostility, but it is not at all. They ruminate before they answer, and interrupting the pauses is as rude as interrupting their conversation.
Some Native American cultures require long pauses after someone has spoken, to denote that people are taking in what they've heard and are thinking about it to understand it thoroughly.
Make sure to slow down, especially with pipe smoking. It's your opportunity to get in touch with yourself and hear your own thoughts. Stop being a go-getter and see what you can learn.
However, when I go into a dawdle, I'm really good at that. My wife grew up in deeply rural Missouri, and we visit and talk with her family on the phone. The long conversational pauses are part of the culture. Some city folk take this as hostility, but it is not at all. They ruminate before they answer, and interrupting the pauses is as rude as interrupting their conversation.
Some Native American cultures require long pauses after someone has spoken, to denote that people are taking in what they've heard and are thinking about it to understand it thoroughly.
Make sure to slow down, especially with pipe smoking. It's your opportunity to get in touch with yourself and hear your own thoughts. Stop being a go-getter and see what you can learn.
Taking it slow begins with the first light. I find that if I kiss the tobacco with the flame, rather than trying to get the whole surface ignited, it starts me off on the right foot. A few more light touches and the bowl keeps going with the least effort and most flavor. Sometimes, if the bowl is properly packed, I don't need to tamp.
@cosmicfolklore Are you thinking of me? My first pipe was a clay although it didn't take long for me to break my first clay pipe! I'd like to see how long I can make a clay pipe of baccy last as well...
OP - great post. This is my key to an enjoyable smoke. Years ago it took a couple months to grasp the cadence. Whole new world for me.
It's true. The slower I smoke, the more I salivate. Literally and figuratively. I've slowed my cadence down a lot this past year, and the difference is unbelieveable. I first learned to smoke slowly, the first time I smoked in our brand new lease. I was pretty much trying to hide the fact that I was smoking it, while sitting right next to her. I had been smoking Briar fox for a few years at that point, and I never tasted it like that before.
Great point here. Get good flavor from the get go by not scorching the leaf by trying to build a massive cherry, instead grow comfortable with intermittent delicately delivered relights as needed.
Great post! I learned this with pipes and cigar's too flavors are much better more interesting slowly tasting the smoke
I still have to tell myself to slow down all the time 
I still have to tell myself to slow down all the time 
I like to think there is a monk in a cave somewhere up in the Himalayas, sipping/levitating and getting a good month out of a bowl.
I have a question about lighting and keeping your pipe lit but I don’t know how to formulate the question. Does going as slow as possible mean more relights? Do you start very slow as well? I’ve burnt my tongue lighting my pipe recently just out of frustration, especially lighting flakes. But the real question is about going slow and relights.
We are darned lucky to have this forum which is populated by fine people who are passionate about sharing and helping others. Thanks for your comments and your time.
No. Not any more than usual. Nothing wrong with relights other than they are annoying. The thing to do is finding out how you can smoke slower first. It's frustrating, but so is tongue bites. You can control how fast or how slow you can breath. And volume of air going in and out of your mouth. Same thing with pipe smoking. Slow down and just sip. Let the smoke just flow into your mouth. And you can control this pretty easy. Might take some time, but you have been breathing your whole life!