Produce More Smoke ?

[rfernand]

@judeisme: It's possible you're not lighting the bowl fully. What you want is a hot "cherry" at the center of the bowl. You can do that by taking 3-5 long puffs while lighting. Also note the flame does not have to touch the tobacco all the time -- you can get it close, start a long, slow puff, and simply move your hand a bit away from the bowl. This will leave the tobacco well lit and produce an adequate amount of smoke.
And as most people told you, sip is best. But I'm imagining the problem is you're sipping very little smoke.

 

[plugugly]

Judisme is on to something here. Big billows of smoke are great! I just read that SEEING food makes it taste better. A diet trick is to dim the lights or, as I did, take your glasses off when you eat (try it, it works!).

So, to go all psycho-babble here, if sipping makes it taste better but seeing makes you THINK it tastes better ---- well??

 

[texmexpipe]

A lot of cavendish blends tend to have a fuller body of smoke. You can find most aromatics and even some non aros have cavendish in them. In terms of volume it really does depend on the blend and your cadence.

 

[deathmetal]

What's the stuff they use in smoke machines?

 

[shutterbugg]

What's the stuff they use in smoke machines?

Dry ice. Talk about something that'll give you tongue bite :D

 

[shutterbugg]

Billowy clouds

 

[deuce26]

I mostly clench. And, while I don't quite use the breath method, but rather sip, I find the constant flow of smoke satisfies my craving for the billowing cigar smoke in my former and ever diminishing cigar hobby. I try to slow down if my bowl heats up too much, but I do like more than mere wisps like cosmic. As you keep smoking you will learn what you like from tobacco, to packing, to cadence. And, as Brian always says, you are an expert on your own opinion!

 

[okiescout]

I agree with everyone on sipping and breath smoking, but... smoking my pipe in total darkness is not as satisfying to me as when I can observe some smoke. Maybe it is just me, and I have been known to be wierd, anyway that is what the X used to say :wink:

 

[easterntraveler]

You get a lot of smoke from hookah because of the glycerin in it. The only way you are going to puff similar clouds is by burning the hell out of your tongue.the hotter your pipe the less flavor you are going to get. If you want "clouds" stick with the hookah.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

If you want lots and lots of smoke, I say stick to the hookah. Or vape. Come on folks, don't knock vaping too much. I haven't had a cigarette in over a year now thanks to vaping, and it's kind of fun blowing huge clouds of vapor to the point that you can't see sometimes. The pipe, however, is where I get my true enjoyment and relaxation, and is where my passion is. Judeisme, I would suggest you try that if you want huge clouds of smoke. Doing so with your pipes is only going to ruin your pipe smoking experience and ruin your pipe. Sipping the smoke and detecting the different flavors of tobaccos in a blend is where the true beauty lies in smoking a pipe.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I had one of the vape things for a little while. I wouldn't knock them as a whole. What I mentioned was some sort of sup'd up vape that I've seen that fills the car.

The hookas that I've seen and tried at Lebanese festivals were all burning a Turkish mix of pipe tobacco. There must be some alternative tobaccos that some use in these things, other than pipe tobacco that would produce large quantities of smoke.
I don't knock big billowing clouds as a side interest for some, but I think the problem comes when guys get involved with the traditional pipe smokers thinking that big and billowy is "traditional." It's not at all. And, like sup'd up vaper things and special hooka tobaccos, making big billowy smoke is something outside the realm of what blenders are shooting for, pipemakers are designing pipes for, and "aficionados" of the hobby are going for. And, like vapes and hookas, it just might not set well with the rest of the forum members. "Might" be the pivotal word, since I don't speak for the forum.
But... if someone wanted to make big billowy clouds, you might look at what goes into making billowy. I know from building many fires that wet brush burns smokier than dry, wide fires burns more smokey, and lots of air is needed. So, maybe a wide bowl with thick walls, wet tobacco stacked on top of burning dry tobacco, and I know that burleys make more smoke than Virginias, so you might try one of C&D's Big and Burley blends or burley flakes, maybe hydrate them a lot first, since C&D seems to come very, very dry.
That's all I got. Hopefully it helps you big and billowy kids out. :wink:

 

[shutterbugg]

Seriously, smoke (or vapor) volume is only important if you inhale to get a quick nic-fix. If it's taste you're after then sipping is the way. It's just like drinking, if you're doing it for a quick buzz then guzzling Miller beer or throwing back shots of Smirnoff is fine, but if you want to really taste a drink you have to sip it.

 

[mcitinner1]

anthonyrosenthal74 said it best IMO

 

[robwoodall]

I think a lot of it is previously learned expectations.
I had no pipe smokers in my family, but watching my father blow smoke rings with a cigarette is a favorite childhood memory. I smoked cigarettes and cigars for years before I picked up a pipe. To me, smoking MEANT smoke. It was expected.
When I started with the pipe, I immediately fell into the trap of trying to make it produce the amount of smoke that I was used to. It took me quite a while and a whole lot of tongue bite to realize that pipes just aren't good at making lots of smoke. I still tend toward "smokier" blends. I like to see the smoke.
I'm glad I never posted a question about it, though. Some of y'all are kinda mean, telling a new guy to go back to the hooka if he wants to see smoke.

 

[derfargin]

Some of y'all are kinda mean, telling a new guy to go back to the hooka if he wants to see smoke.

I can see your point, but at the same time to get the most out of the pipe and tobacco, lots of smoke tends to really play against things.
In my original post i told them there are some blends that can stand up to puffing a bit more than others and some that wont tolerate it at all.
I'm not trying to be a dictator and tell people how to smoke a pipe, if they want huge clouds then by all means do whatever pleases you. It was more a cause/effect discussion.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It's like attending a wine tasting and standing up to ask the room, "how much of this do I drink to vomit as fast as possible?"

Well... maybe that wasn't the best example. Ha ha!!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I don't think anyone was trying to be mean, Rob. I wasn't at least. I think we're just trying to point out the best means to the end the original poster wanted to achieve. And the end, being lots of smoke, would be the hookah or the vape. The pipe and pipe tobacco just isn't designed with that in mind. Although I love when a blend puts out more smoke too

 

[easterntraveler]

How is stating a fact mean? He is not talking about producing just some smoke. Hookah clouds are just that, freaking clouds. He wants to experience something similiar. It's not going to happen. So yes, he should stick to hookah if that is what he wants. You are never going to see this done with a briar....
https://youtu.be/ZGZoP48DfQA

 

[easterntraveler]

Oh and yes hookah smoke is thiker. Like I said it is the added glycerin.

 

[robwoodall]

I get what you all are saying, and I agree. A pipe just won't work that way.
I just felt like a few folk forgot that new guys are... well, new! Explaining that pipes work differently is cool and helpful. Expecting him to already know that is not so much.
I used my own experience as an example, but I've seen the topic come up often enough that it's apparently pretty normal. It's easy for a new pipe smoker to wonder "where's all my smoke???"