Reloading a Pipe.

[ezypikns]

I may be using the wrong term here. I typically put tobacco into a pipe and smoke it to completion....approximately. If I want to smoke more, I'd select another pipe, fill it and smoke that. Of course, I limit my smoking to evenings and weekends....right now.
Does anyone have a favorite pipe that they smoke all day? One which they simply smoke multiple times during the day? I'm sure pipe smokers in years gone by (who may have only HAD one pipe, and probably only smoked one type of tobacco) did just that.
Just curious.
Thanks

 

[piperl12]

Yep for sure, I load a pipe in the morning and grab a pouch of the tobacco I will smoke all day and smoke that pipe. I come home, give it a cleaning and put it up for a couple days. No hard, no foul and I have yet to hurt a pipe. In fact after twenty years I have never had one go sour. The key is cleaning your pipe when you are done not babying the pipe. Just like a good rifle, you can shoot it all day long as long as it is cleaned when you are done.

 

[kcpoe]

I smoke a cob all day. However, I think I have pushed it harder than it liked as it has cracked around the belly. I contributed to that crack by two means: 1) Smoking too fast. 2) Not letting it cool enough between smokes.
I havent put my briar pipes through that punisher yet....(yet....).

 

[salewis]

I have tried to smoke the same pipe for two or three smokes. However, the pipe get too wet at the bottom of the bowl even though I smoke non aromatic blends. Usually, I smoke once and then trade pipes. I really do not understand how a pipe can be smoked all day unless the pipe is cleaned a few times and left at least an hour or two between smokes.

 

[piperl12]

Hmmm could be body chemistry because non of my pipes smoke wet either. If I get a gurgly pipe I get rid of it.

 

[cigrmaster]

I personally would never smoke one of my pipes more than twice in one day and rarely do that. Yes you can smoke a pipe multiple times, but it will not perform to it's optimum. Briar needs to dry out, after a few bowls the pipe will be wet and your tobacco will not taste as good as it can. Of course this is just one anal pipe smoker giving his opinion. As with all things pipes, do what ever you feel works best for you.

 

[piperl12]

Harris, I am on to you. You are just trying to enable my PAD addiction. Do you know how many pipes I will have to pack in a day to maintain the current smoke my pipe for five hours at work if I change pipes after every smoke? The cats out of the bag boys Harris is working for the International Must Buy More Pipes Council. The IMBMC has single handily been responsible for all of your pipe addictions. It is one of the three evils in the world along with the Illuminati and the fake Elvis convention. They are all by the way trying to take over the world and read our thoughts. Speaking of which I must go get my aluminum foil. Oh right and tell my wife that Harris says I need 50 more pipes!

 

[sfsteves]

after I got my first quality pipe, I had that and a couple of real crappy others ... I smoked the good one multiple times each day and totally ignored the others ... I did this until I got a second, then a third decent pipe, which was the best part of a year ... and, even then, I tended to smoke the first one more than once a day because it was the best one I had ... fact is, it was the best pipe I EVER had ... it was several years before I had the luxury of resting it for a day or two ... in the course of that experience, I learned that Harris was spot-on (above) when he said:

"... you can smoke a pipe multiple times, but it will not perform to it's optimum.

Briar needs to dry out, after a few bowls the pipe will be wet and your tobacco

will not taste as good as it can."

 

[sfsteves]

piperl 12 said:

""Do you know how many pipes I will have to pack in a day to maintain the current

smoke my pipe for five hours at work if I change pipes after every smoke?"

Whatever the answer to that question may be, Harris is still absolutely right in his advise ... which is not to say you can't do as you do ... I used to do the same thing as you're doing and I did it for years ... that said, Harris is still correct in saying that the pipe will be wet and the tobacco won't taste as good as it otherwise could.

 

[piperl12]

You guys missed the part that didn't disagree but rather can't get the go ahead from she who must be obeyed lol I would be quite happy with a 100 pipe rack in my truck. Maybe I could modify the gun rack :wink:

 

[bryanf]

Some pipes can handle repeated smokes others can't. I find peterson system pipes can be smoked all day. I used to smoke a billiard basket straight pipe all day, but only the first 2/3rds tasted good, and I would dump and waste a lot of wet tobacco. Did that for 5 years before getting my pete in May of this year. Now every smoke is dry with the pete down to the bottom. I run a couple pipe cleaners through it each night and clean the mortise every other day or so. It gets 8 hours rest a day while I sleep, and that's enough for it. My other pipes would go sour, but never this pipe.
I have other pipes, but the most I'll smoke them is 2 bowls in a day, or I can taste them smoking wet and steamy.

 

[sablebrush52]

I usually put several bowls through a pipe in a day, sometimes more than several. I also run a pipe cleaner or two through the stem between bowls to pull out moisture and tar. At the end of the day, the pipes get cleaned with the stem getting cleaned with alcohol. Then the pipe gets to rest for a week at a minimum. So far, no issues.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

+1 sablebrush - and if I had to carry a suitcase of pipes with me to be out and about, I probably wouldn't go far. I can't imagine men 100 years ago, or even 30 years ago, hauling around a bag of pipes, lol.

 

[craig94yj]

I bring a five pipe rotation with me everyday to work. One of these pipes is a $30 no-name made in Italy that I picked up at a local B&M. This little work horse is turning out to be a great smoker. I clean it immediately after use every time. I know you are supposed to let it cool, but for the price I really don't give it much concern. I have never had a problem with it and it is usually cooled by the time I am done cleaning and I have repacked it and lit another bowl. This pipe gets smoked probably 4 times in an 8 hour shift. My other go to is a Canadian that I picked up in a lot. This is also one I will reload after a cleaning. I think that is the key, because they never taste sour and I always let them cool before reusing. It doesn't hurt to have a $6 MM around. I have loaded one right after the other at times and only run a cleaner through the stem and change the filter. I get 10 filters for a buck so at 10 cents apiece I change after each use. I would not treat a $100 pipe the same way I use these though.

 

[piperl12]

After reading through all the comments on this thread, one thing has become evident to me. That is there are pipe hobbyist and people who smoke a pipe. What I mean by that is there are people who really enjoy the fiddling of pipe smoking. The tamping, lighting, cleaning ritual. The collecting portion. Even, and I mean no offense to anyone who falls into this category the collectors who believe they need the expensive pipes or they are not doing it right. Well I have to say I think I fall into a category of men who normally has a pipe sticking out of my mug. I don't half the time remember to bring a tamper with me so my finger gets the job. I probably hit it with a hammer at some point during the day so I can't feel much anyway. On a day that's its cold it keeps my hands warm for a few minutes. I smoke it while working outside, while driving, while sitting at home in my office or watching TV. I haven't bought a pipe since 2001 and that's ok because when I did I bought quite a few good pipes. The ones that didn't make the cut I got rid of. I have no wet smoking pipes. To be honest I can't remember what it was to have a wet smoke because I don't smoke that type of tobacco anymore. I have quite a few ziplock baggies of pipe tobacco laying around and I dip into one not knowing which tobacco I'm getting sometimes. That's ok its like Christmas morning. I shrug my shoulders and say well forgot I had that one and off I go. Sometimes I treat myself to a tin of something new. Sometimes it's a pouch of what the local corner store has. I guess what I am trying to say to these young guys is, if you want to be a collector, a fiddler, that's ok and I sure do think some of these high end pipes are nice. But there is no shame in grabbing a well made pipe regardless of the price of it from your rack and smoking the thing. Stop thinking so much about it and just smoke it. If I had all the pressure of today's pipe smokers to contend with about proper filling, tamping, lighting and breathe smoking when I started I would have quit long ago. I don't post this to offend anyone, just to remind the new guys and gals that you do not have to stress so much. Pipes are blocks of wood, you put tobacco in them and put a flame to that tobacco. If you want to make it more complicated go ahead. But you don't have too. Oh and for the record my collection runs the gamut from basket to higher end collectors pieces. They all have there place.

 

[ezypikns]

Wish I worked somewhere that I could smoke when I liked. Many people don't have that luxury these days.
I kind of agree with piperl12 as far as this is concerned.
"But there is no shame in grabbing a well made pipe regardless of the price of it from your rack and smoking the thing."

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I rarely have time to smoke multiple bowls, but when I do and I'm enjoying my pipe and tobacco then I will sometimes reload the pipe and smoke a second bowl. On a few occasions I've enjoyed 3 bowls with the same tobacco in the same pipe.

 

[allan]

If I had all the pressure of today's pipe smokers to contend with about proper filling, tamping, lighting and breathe smoking when I started I would have quit long ago

@Piper
I can totally understand what you are saying. In this world there are folks who polish their cars to a high shine, others who run their cars until the last drop of oil burns out of the engine and the 'red light' finally is buzzing uncontrollably. And both of them get by just fine.
There is no right and wrong in this as we all know; whatever makes you comfortable.
On sites like this one, pipe smoking is more like a hobby as other hobbies that interest many of us. We would like to know everything about pipes; how they are made, how to pack, how to prepare tobacco, how to polish etc etc. Others enjoy just stuffing tobacco into a pipe like many others in the past have done.
For me, I fall somewhere in between. I've seen what happens to the flavor in my pipe after smoking over 2 bowls without rotating-even after using pipe cleaners. I just don't think it's fresh anymore. I prefer to rotate and clean them all on a regular basis to get the most flavor out of each bowl. Polishing them is absolutely completely unnecessary for a good smoke, but I like the way a clean stem looks and it enhances my enjoyment of the smoking experience.
Hey, to each his own. The main thing is to spread the word to everyone that pipe smoking is a good thing and that this activity brings people together-something that I think we need to work on alot more.

 

[nscoyote]

well i currently have 2 pipes in my collection, with a couple more coming with untold thanks and favours owe'd to a forum member who knows who he is. this is due in part to life circumstances. but i am also a 20 year cig smoker who has chosen to replace them with the pipe as such when i get an urge to have a smoke i pack a bowl and smoke it till its gone, and repeat as needed. primarily in my MM Cob as the other pipe gurgles like a mofo after 1/2 bowl.

I have noticed that pipe smokers are like us bikers you have the ones like me who ride on the sunny days, the rainy days the -10º days, putting 30-50K+ miles on a year. then you have the ones who come out when they can and are either new to the bike and not comfortable yet in there skill level, or just only like riding in the sun for a couple hundred miles a year. but both groups are out riding and thats what matters.
if your smokingalot have a good smokable goto pipe that you maintain when it needs it and is cheap enough to replace when it needs it. and perhaps a nice dress-up pipe to wear out on the town with the missus.