Pipe Myths

[UB 40]

Without getting into the nature and role of myth -- and the somewhat different question of why some do or don't enjoy thicker culture surrounding an activity -- I think that the OP regarded unnecessary fears in pipe management. In which case, I'm surprised that nobody yet has mentioned the removal of a stem before the pipe has fully cooled.

And another one I really never understood.

The post really turns out nice as a discussion about unproven habits when it comes to pipe handling.

 

[UB 40]

Kant and all the philosophers, scientist, and physicist can do what they do. But they can not answer the question of why one person, in a moment of hate and revenge, puts down their sword, and finds comfort in forgiveness.

Life, as I have had the privilege to discover it, is not linear. Nor have I traveled it without knowing the presence of a guiding hand and presence. Although I do not have explanations for every mystery I've encountered, I don't require them.

But I do know this. An uncaked pipe, being smoked in the wind, will tend to have the heat inside drawn toward the direction of the wind and this will result in a burnout. I have recreated this experiment successfully, unfortunately, four times. That said, in all cases where the pipe had some cake, no burnouts occurred.

So, if Kant and all the scientist want to discount building up a cake, so be it. I rather enjoy the ceremony of smoking a new pipe in thirds. If someone doesn't, don't - smoke it at will.

My father, a heavy, hard, overbearing smoker, NEVER had a pipe burn out in over 70 years. He never even had an uneven chamber develop. That's not an illusion. Especially for a locomotive.

Doubt it. No worries on my part. I am poet by trade, a teacher by pay check, and retired after many long years. Mystery is just par for the course.

What did you say you are? A preacher?

 

[UB 40]

What did you say you are? A preacher?

Now I got it you said a teacher. They are quite similar.

Let’s listen to the old guys sitting on the porch again.

 

[UB 40]

Obscuring truth never leads to a good outcome.

I am with you.

 

[UB 40]

I don't think you're quite human which is not a bad thing. But there are several very basic human needs you insist are not needs at all. You're an odd one, which is a good thing. But I disagree and say people need myths and several other things that are part of most of our basic nature.

It does perplex me how many new smokers seem to have this impression that there is a very narrow line of correct ways to smoke. It's like cooking there are some immutable facts but as long as it's safe and enjoyable it's right. Like if you pack too tight it makes it harder to smoke but that isn't a matter of correct or not.

First of all people need brain, you’re car is not built on myths it won’t drive. But what bothers me is the rules of pipe smoking every newbie is in told.

Aren’t there a lot of ways to feed a cat?

 

[telescopes]

First of all people need brain, you’re car is not built on myths it won’t drive. But what bothers me is the rules of pipe smoking every newbie is in told.

Aren’t there a lot of ways to feed a cat?

Skin. That's skin a cat.

 

[Ray Popp]

Skin. That's skin a cat.

Unless it belongs to a guy named Schrodinger ...

 

[telescopes]

Obscuring truth never leads to a good outcome.

That's a bit of a straw man argument. No one is suggesting the truth - if there is such a thing - should be obscured. Understanding the role of myths and how they work in a society is not the same as obscuring truth.

 

[Boognish]

Idk if this has already been said for myths: meers and corncobs can’t be ghosted.

 

[Ray Popp]

That's a bit of a straw man argument. No one is suggesting the truth - if there is such a thing - should be obscured. Understanding the role of myths and how they work in a society is not the same as obscuring truth.

In reality, it reveals truth ...

 

[telescopes]

In reality, it reveals truth ...

Precisely. In my example of my dad building cake early in the smoking process of a new pipe, he did so because he believed it would protect his pipe from burning out. He smokes hard and in open drafty areas. Behind most myths are elements of truth. Dismissing a myth "obscures" the search for any truth that might sit at its heart.

 

[crashthegrey]

I've always had an aversion to needing a lighter to light my lighter

You already do. If your flint wears, your lighter won't light. You need a spark to light that fuel. If the first spark also lights my hemp wick, it is no different. And you can wrap it around the lighter, so in essence I just remove the need to hold a button down.

 

[bassbug]

You already do. If your flint wears, your lighter won't light. You need a spark to light that fuel. If the first spark also lights my hemp wick, it is no different. And you can wrap it around the lighter, so in essence I just remove the need to hold a button down.

Ummmm....no.

Let's be clear, I couldn't care less about how anyone else chooses to light, smoke, clean or maintain their pipes. It doesn't bother me one little bit if you decide to carry enough stuff to fill a suitcase in order to walk to the park and have a smoke. I'm absolutely ambivalent about calling it an art, a hobby, a passion or anything else. I'm amused by, but generally ignore anyone that feels the need to "learn proper pipe smoking techniques and etiquette" but, IMO, all of that just adds to the "myths".

Bottom line for me...a pipe, tobacco, fire and the convenience of pipe cleaners. Most everything else is a frill and adds to the myths and stereotypes of smoking. Although I freely admit that I have what is probably an unhealthy obsession with whittling small branches and sticks into various shapes for use as tampers, which usually end up getting thrown out after a few days or weeks at most. I probably just want to whittle something.

 

[telescopes]

@bassbug I agree that there is no one way to smoke a pipe, nor is there a right way. My interest in pipe smoking "lore" or myths, and I am speaking only for myself, is more academic and perhaps a bit historically romantic in my notions of times gone by. I believe traditions and customs are important. They provide us structures and a sense of continuity. But of course, they should not limit us nor should we impose our practices on others.

I don't really watch Youtube pipe smoking videos so I have no idea what is out there or what people on Youtube may be telling others to do or not do when it comes to pipe smoking.

Has this forum become a hive of existentialist thinkers, Jean Paul Sartre with a pipe, expounding on what is and what is not truth?

Ceci N'est Pas une Pipe. C'est la Vérité.​

 

[crashthegrey]

Ummmm....no.

You mean to tell me you have a sparkless lighter? Neat! All kidding aside, a piece of hemp that lights once and stays lit is handy, especially in windy conditions. No multiple sparks from a lighter. And it rolls up and disappears in the pocket. It is a handy tool, but by no means the right way to do anything. Just dirt cheap and a great way to not need more than a moment of lighter use.

 

[Alejo R.]

I beg to differ.


Any pipe, clay, cob, meerschaum, fruit wood or brair, tastes better clean than if gunky. At the taverns in Olde England the clay pipes were occasionally baked in ovens to remove the goo. And there still today are a lot of pipe cleaners sold.

Since briar breathes, it’s slightly porous, continually smoking it forces the goo inside the briar (and any cake) where in time, it sours.

Rest and rotate your pipes.

If it doesn’t make for better smoking it’s a wonderful excuse to accumulate more pipes.

In olde england you die from Choleraif you share saliva...

 

[Alejo R.]

Myth: There are shortages of briar. What there is is a shortage of people who want to do such hard work for the same money that they would earn as waiters in any cafe in the same area where Briar is harvested.

 

[Alejo R.]

A myth is just a story told by a group over time, "myth" does not neccesarily mean false, most important cultural myths have at least some basis in historical fact, albeit exaggerated as years pass (especially in cultures with primarily oral instead of written histories).

To relate it to pipes, there is the myth of the Frank pack, which is indeed a way to pack your pipe. Is it a good way? That's up to you to find out, but historically, there probably was a guy named Frank that packed a pipe.

He was a German lad a decade and a half ago.

 

[Alejo R.]

I wonder if he ever had to write a book report on "If you shake it more than once, you're playing with it." His pipe, of course. I clean my pipes after every smoke, and the more that I smoke them the less that I can taste the briar.

It's unbelievable, but that myth was said in my school, in another language and in the pre-internet era, pre-computers in the house..."Más de dos sacudidas es paja" it says..

 

[Alejo R.]

Nonsense. Of course pipe smoking is unhelathy. Any smoking is unhealthy, and unnatural. But I enjoy pipe smoking and don't need to lie to myself or be a hypocrite about it to enjoy it. I've done a lot of things that were unhealty and just accept it as some of my life choices.

True