Packing tips for a new guy....
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First pack fill tap gently On the side of pipe , push down like a child, fill again push down like a mother, fill and push down like a father, draw on pipe too hard of a draw you packed it too tight, last push should be springy not hard, leave room at top so fire does not char rim Tbradsim the old cajun
hawk60ce These two video are very informative.
Several links with excellent information are located in the left column.
Just scroll down to the "Featured Articles".
I hope these will help.
Tobacco Pipe Packing Methods Part 1
Tobacco Pipe Packing Methods Part 2
:
:
Several links with excellent information are located in the left column.
Just scroll down to the "Featured Articles".
I hope these will help.
Tobacco Pipe Packing Methods Part 1
Tobacco Pipe Packing Methods Part 2
:
:
The way most people do it is called the three-step method. There's many youtube videos on it. Also check out the "pinch test" for checking for the correct moisture content of your tobacco. You either have to dry out or add moisture to your blends to make them smoke well. Some blends come in way too wet, so that helps.
Lawrence: Yep... excellent links and Bob did a great job to video those packing methods. They helped me quite a lot in the beginning. Lately it's two-step with anything but flakes. Flakes are fold and stuff. Works great !
Hawk: Practice, practice, practice and patience. It'll come to you.
Colcolt: There's a good article by Master Pease on Tobacco Moisture and re-hydrating on this forum.
Hawk: Practice, practice, practice and patience. It'll come to you.
Colcolt: There's a good article by Master Pease on Tobacco Moisture and re-hydrating on this forum.
I had the same problem. I seemed to char my tobacco and had to re-light a lot. I found I was over thinking things. I finally just packed the pipe, light, tamped lightly, and re-light, Im somking well now. The 3rds rule didntwork so well for me at first either. I packed a little at a time untill the bowl is full. There isnt a rule that says you have to pack a pipe in 3rds.
I learned this from Steve Brooks at the Chicago show. First shake (dribble) enough tobacco to just fill your bowl. Then make a plug of tobacco and stuff it in your bowl. the draw should be light.I've tried the other methods and would invariably regress into packing to tight. This method has worked for me and some of my friends who are very experienced pipe smokers. I'd like to add Don't scorch your mouth with a big full light (reference Fred Hanna's great book "The Perfect Smoke") just a nice light lite will do. Hope this works for you. jim
I tried the three step method and it never really worked for me. Now I just put the bowl in the pouch/jar/tin and use one finger to scoop in tobacco until it is full. Just be sure not to pack to tight because you can always pack it down harder if it is too loose. The main thing is to try to pack it evenly throughout the bowl.
Starting out, I used the 2 tutorial videos Lawrence linked in his post. Very helpful. For the 3-Step, I fill the first one loosely and then tamp it just hard enough to nudge the baccy past the halfway point. The second is my "real" pack and I tamp it more firm to just below the rim and test the draw. The 3rd step is really just me sprinkling some of the finder pieces on top to aid combustion and giving it just enough pressure to keep it in place.
For fun, I like to to the HARRY METHOD with my billiard shapes. It always gets a WTF look from other people and then they try it themselves and it works!
For fun, I like to to the HARRY METHOD with my billiard shapes. It always gets a WTF look from other people and then they try it themselves and it works!
Quite right, it's called the "three step method" on youtube, however I use a several step method, I use more like 5 pinches. The important part is just to get it real loose on the bottom and real tight on top (making sure not to cut airflow completely off). The other thing to note is that as you develope char and tamp it, it will become even more restricted in airflow, so I actually do a "draw test" to check airflow before I go to light it. Lately I've been going for less and less restricted airflows starting out.
One of the troubles about finding the right packing "method" is that with different pipe shapes and different tobacco cuts, there isnt really going to be any one, set in stone way to pack your pipe properly, but I live by a couple of rules when packing. I gravity fill the bowl, just sprinkling tobacco loosely into the chamber, until it is full, and then I take my index finger and tamp the tobacco down without any real resistance. I just let the tobacco settle to wherever my finger pushes it, then I repeat the process, gravity filling until it is full, and use light pressure to settle the tobacco to where it needs to go. Another thing, which is very important to me at least, is that whenever my bowl is full, I always check the draw before I light it. I like my pipe to draw as if it is empty even when filled with tobacco. As with most things in the pipe hobby, Your Mileage May Vary, and trial and error is probably going to be the best way to go.
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