Outside of packing better, and sipping slowly, then slower, then slower...are there certain types of pipes that smoke VAs more easily? I always overheat, no tongue bite, but the flavors I enjoy so much are experienced few and far between when smoking straight VAs. Any pipes come to mind? Or any other advice would help. Mac Baren #1 is what I'm looking to conquer.
Preferred VA Pipe
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I’ll start by saying that any pipe is capable of providing a great smoking experience for straight VA so long as it’s not a complete piece of shit and your technique is good.
Having said that, I’ve had good luck with some pipes more than others. There’s a smallish churchwarden in my collection that does very well. I’ve also had better luck with tall narrow chambers as opposed to shallow wide ones. My Sav 320 defies every attempt at smoking VAs but YMMV.
My new Falcon does quite well but so do many others in my rotation, so I’m not sure what that means, but I do really enjoy smoking the Falcon. I recently bought a Wiebe Radiator Pipe specifically for VA Flakes but the verdict is still out on whether I’m gonna like it for that purpose. I read good things but we’ll see.
Lastly, I don’t own many pipes with conical chambers but those I do have are excellent VA pipes. Shape may or may not play a role, I don’t know. Could just be excellent engineering and quality craftsmanship and the bowl shape is merely coincidental.
That’s my 2 cents worth. Hope it is useful.
Having said that, I’ve had good luck with some pipes more than others. There’s a smallish churchwarden in my collection that does very well. I’ve also had better luck with tall narrow chambers as opposed to shallow wide ones. My Sav 320 defies every attempt at smoking VAs but YMMV.
My new Falcon does quite well but so do many others in my rotation, so I’m not sure what that means, but I do really enjoy smoking the Falcon. I recently bought a Wiebe Radiator Pipe specifically for VA Flakes but the verdict is still out on whether I’m gonna like it for that purpose. I read good things but we’ll see.
Lastly, I don’t own many pipes with conical chambers but those I do have are excellent VA pipes. Shape may or may not play a role, I don’t know. Could just be excellent engineering and quality craftsmanship and the bowl shape is merely coincidental.
That’s my 2 cents worth. Hope it is useful.
My favorite VAs are flakes or coins. I get a longer/slower smoke by folding & stuffing in a billiardish bowl with a greater depth-to-bore ratio vs. a wider bowl. Not sure how that would play if the flakes were rubbed out.
Just ordered a lb of PS Luxury Bullseye. My Canadians/Lovats/billiards are anxiously awaiting its arrival.
OP mentioned conical chambers. Don’t have one, but may have to feed my PAD just to compare.
After some thought I realized that all of my Canadians and lovats are dedicated to VA / VaPer and Flakes.
Several billiards get used for VA but they tend to be workhorses and are used for other blends as well.
Funny I never really thought about the Canadians in my response above but in hindsight I realize that I’ve frequently associated that shape with VA or Flakes.
Funny what you think of - or don’t as the case may be.
Just contemplating the original post some more makes me realize that over time almost all of my wide shallow pipes and most every bent pipe is used for a English / Balkan or Aromatics, but I don’t remember consciously deciding to do it that way. Just seems to have evolved. There must be some exceptions but at the moment I can’t remember the last time it wasn’t so.
Hmmm, interesting ?
Several billiards get used for VA but they tend to be workhorses and are used for other blends as well.
Funny I never really thought about the Canadians in my response above but in hindsight I realize that I’ve frequently associated that shape with VA or Flakes.
Funny what you think of - or don’t as the case may be.
Just contemplating the original post some more makes me realize that over time almost all of my wide shallow pipes and most every bent pipe is used for a English / Balkan or Aromatics, but I don’t remember consciously deciding to do it that way. Just seems to have evolved. There must be some exceptions but at the moment I can’t remember the last time it wasn’t so.
Hmmm, interesting ?
Thicker walls are good in my experience as well. A MM General is a pretty good VA pipe in my experience. Some people swear by wider bowls with VAs, but I generally use taller, narrower shapes which work well for me.
I average smoking four bowls of Virginia flake or ribbon per day. I've found thick bowled pipes with smaller inner diameter of 0.75" work the best for me. Regardless of what bowl you use, Virginia blends burn hotter than others. They also seem to have potential to cause a chemical reaction/burn. Make sure they're dry to minimize steam. Smoke very slow, sip. If the bowl warms up, put it down.
Learning to smoke Virginias is worth it.
Learning to smoke Virginias is worth it.
+1
In my experience with Virginias, the dryer the better. Also, for me, when smoking indoors I find rubbing flakes out completely helps to get an even fill and a slow and more even burn, particularly when you are “sipping”, verses puffing like a locomotive! However, when smoking a bowl outdoors, with the motion of walking or a breeze, I find a broken flake generally smokes better and is more flavorful due to a more dense and slower burn.
Any of them. More about technique than equipment.
Same experience and recommendation here.
Funny, my bent pipes are dedicated to english/burley while my straight pipes are also VAs. On purpose but for no reason.
I love it when Virginias gets knocked about in conversation as if it were all just alike. Nope, not all Virginias are the same. I smoke that MacBaren Virginia #1 in a wide pot or just an abnormally large pipe, not tall, but wide. Volume of smoke seems to tone down the acidic biteyness of it. I'll do this with thopse Virginias that seem more acrid, like Blackjack also.
Flakes are smoked in my tall stacked Hilsons, usually rubbed out, but sometimes I'll fold, but folding is not my preferred relaxed way of smoking flakes.
The fermented McClellands get my usual bulldog pipes, sometimes a tall skinny dublin, but mostly the wider, more .8x1.2" chambered pipes.
The more earthy Virginias, I might smoke in a latakia dedicated pipe, just to give it some spice. A really super sweet Virginia... well, I have one pipe dedicated to my absolute favorite sweet Virginias, and that is my Tinsky bulldog with a chamber more like a billiard than a funnel.
Of course this will mean diddly squat to anyone else, but it is all based on my own discoveries with trial and error. Wide to tame the acidic, tall skinny to focus flavors, average pipes for the run of the mill, and the spicy pipes for the bland ones.
YMMV, but what I would say is the takeaway here is that you can't just call all Virginias the same, so you'll need to diversify your thinking on which pipe for which specific blend.
Flakes are smoked in my tall stacked Hilsons, usually rubbed out, but sometimes I'll fold, but folding is not my preferred relaxed way of smoking flakes.
The fermented McClellands get my usual bulldog pipes, sometimes a tall skinny dublin, but mostly the wider, more .8x1.2" chambered pipes.
The more earthy Virginias, I might smoke in a latakia dedicated pipe, just to give it some spice. A really super sweet Virginia... well, I have one pipe dedicated to my absolute favorite sweet Virginias, and that is my Tinsky bulldog with a chamber more like a billiard than a funnel.
Of course this will mean diddly squat to anyone else, but it is all based on my own discoveries with trial and error. Wide to tame the acidic, tall skinny to focus flavors, average pipes for the run of the mill, and the spicy pipes for the bland ones.
YMMV, but what I would say is the takeaway here is that you can't just call all Virginias the same, so you'll need to diversify your thinking on which pipe for which specific blend.
After sleeping on this I realized that for the most part the pipes just chose the tobacco without much thought on my part.
The billiards I mentioned as workhorses just shine no matter what I smoke. The Canadians just seem to shine with Flakes & VA so that’s what I use them for.
My churchwarden is used when I’m sitting and contemplating so VAs are my go to blend I guess.
Probably overthinking it but it seems like it just evolved into what it is for me today. YMMV.
I do remember trying to choose a certain pipe and tobacco combination but it didn’t stick although I don’t recall consciously abandoning the idea or when it happened.
The billiards I mentioned as workhorses just shine no matter what I smoke. The Canadians just seem to shine with Flakes & VA so that’s what I use them for.
My churchwarden is used when I’m sitting and contemplating so VAs are my go to blend I guess.
Probably overthinking it but it seems like it just evolved into what it is for me today. YMMV.
I do remember trying to choose a certain pipe and tobacco combination but it didn’t stick although I don’t recall consciously abandoning the idea or when it happened.
I like smoking MacBaren's Virginia #1 in a corn cob pipe. C&D's Yorktown, a straight Virginia, just sings in a Savinelli second brandy bent pipe.
^^
I very much agree with this. Some of my favourite VA/per blends are flakes. With most of them, I definitely smoke them in what is often referred a 'flake pipe' (a thick-ish walled billiard/Canadian with a conical bowl) and use the fold, ruff and stuff method.
Dub-in-the-dam demonstrates it on youtube quite well here. If I'm smoking a crumblier flake, I sort of crumble up the leftovers and put them on top.
I smoke a number of Va flakes and use all kinds of pipes. Billiards, Dublins, Apple's, Rhodesian's, Brandy's and a Volcano. Most of my pipes are a group 4-5 and have inside widths of .75-.82. I fold and stuff all my flakes and get a nice cool and flavorful smoke.
I dedicate all of my pipes to either certain genres or blend specific.
I have found that Mac Baren VA no 1 to be a mild kind of boring smoke. It did not make it into my cellar. Two tasty Va flakes are Capstan Blue Flake and Peterson Flake(the old Dunhill Flake). I found those way better than the Mac Baren offering.
I dedicate all of my pipes to either certain genres or blend specific.
I have found that Mac Baren VA no 1 to be a mild kind of boring smoke. It did not make it into my cellar. Two tasty Va flakes are Capstan Blue Flake and Peterson Flake(the old Dunhill Flake). I found those way better than the Mac Baren offering.
Dublins and zulus with conical bowls seem to do a good job with Virginias, though I am more of a burley smoker, or burley blends. I also find cobs do Va's nicely.
How would you compare Capstan and Peterson Flake to Orlik? Orlik was suggested to me, and its good, but there is something about it just don't look forward to and I want to look forward to it. I get a lot of hay, but not so much grass, which is what I'm looking for...I think. I was looking for a good VA with a bit less bite than Mac #1. Orlik does burn cooler, but the flavor for me isn't anything to write home about for me. I do like Yorktown very much though.
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