Problems Packing My Peterson Tankard

[pipingruotsi]

Good day fellow pipers,

I've had a Peterson tankard for about 6 years that hardly ever gets smoked because I can never seem to keep the dang thing lit. It's a shame b/c I really like how it looks. It's a narrow, relatively deep bowl...about 1.5" deep and a little less than 3/4" wide. I'm sure my problems are packing related. I've tried every packing method I know without success. Does anyone out there have any tips?
Thanks

 

[barleynbaccy]

Have you tried to the cube cut method on a flake you enjoy? Having the cubes expand as you go might make your life easier, if you haven't tried it yet.

 

[mso489]

I haven't heard from anyone who's happy with their Peterson tankard. Most of us have Peterson pipes we love;

I do. But everything I've heard about the tankard (which I don't own) is negative. As for this problem with

staying lit, as long as the draw is okay, and you've tried a variety of tobacco, and you don't have trouble keeping

other pipes lit, I'd say it is some kind of design problem, maybe not a wide enough drilling for the height of the

bowl. It's a light little stem, and it may be that they made the bowl too deep for that small a bore. Does anyone

out there enjoy their tankard?

 

[rcstan]

My Tankard is about 3 years old , the draw is a bit tight therefore I keep it for smoking stronger flakes, either rip-fold-and-stuff or cube. It does seem to smoke wetter than the other Petes so usually I dry the baccy almost to a crisp and it works great. You might have to find the right blend for it....

 

[rcstan]

Oh, and pack it a bit looser to start with, then gently tamp as needed once lit.

 

[pipingruotsi]

@ samcoffeeman, mso489 and rothnh: I've never had problems getting a cleaner through it. However, now that you mention it, the draw does seem a little tighter than normal. It's a p-lip too. So maybe I accidentally obstruct the hole also. Everything else looks the way it's supposed to. There's no "well" in the bowl and it's a straight shot all the way through the stem into the bowl. The thought had occurred to me, also, that there might be something wrong with the proportions -- height to width etc. But I'm no expert and figured Peterson probably knows better than I.

@ barleynbaccy and rcstan: I'm not sure I have ever tried flake/slices in it -- which is ironic b/c I usually have some around. Unfortunately, I don't have any at the moment either. I think a trip to the tobacco store is called for this weekend. I'll give cube cutting and roll and stuff a try.
Thanks all! and I'll update when I have something to update

 

[pipingruotsi]

Hi all,

I got a VA flake today and tried it in the tankard. I cube cut the tabac after letting it dry for about 40 minutes and lightly packed it. It was a much improved experience. I still had to relight more than I normally do, but it was by no means a frustrating experience this time. Smoked it all the way down to ash at the bottom. I think with some more practice to figure out the best draw, the pipe now has some promise. I still found myself blocking the p-lip hole at times.

Thank you for the suggestion!!!

 

[rickpal14]

Another problem solved by our all knowing members!!!

 

[rcstan]

Good job!
What roth said ..... and also you might want to experiment with positioning that P-lip ( it has a sweet spot where the draw is excellent, but any other arrangement, well......it sucks - or rather it doesn't ) and keeping it spotless, it tends to collect gunk easily. None of my other P-lipped Petes do that ...

 

[pipingruotsi]

I have a bent p-lip Killarney that I've never had problems with, either....must have something to do with the shape of the tankard and the way I usually hold my pipe.

 

[dochudson]

I have a tankard dedicated to 1792.. I Z-fold about a 1/2 flake and then roll it in my finger longways and slide it right in.