Short Smoke Breaks and Strong Tobacco

[makhorkasmoker]

After several years of pipe smoking, I find myself sticking mainly with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks.

I will typically pack a pipe in the morning, smoke maybe five or ten minutes--the first quarter of a small bowl. I will then set the pipe down, go do something, work or whatever. A few hours later, I'll smoke a little more. I set the pipe down again.

Because the tobacco is strong, both in nicotine and flavor, I am satisfied with the short smoke. In fact, I would not want to sit down and smoke an entire bowl straight through. It would be too much for me.

It works out well. I don't smoke inside, and when I am outside, I'm often doing something that makes smoking cumbersome, even if I clench. So sticking with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks frees me up to do what I need to do.

I feel that smoking a little of the strong stuff encourages better technique too. if I puffed too fast, it would be overwhelming.

I smoke less tobacco this way, quantity wise.

And because I have to be careful with strong tobacco, I am more aware of the smoke, usually in a good way.

There are disadvantages. When I am tobacco shopping, I find myself skipping any blends rated as "medium" nicotine strength or less. This, and the fact that I smoke mainly straight burleys, narrows down my choices quite a lot.

And there are times when I'm not careful enough and the strong tobacco doesn't sit well with me. Maybe I'm not feeling 100% that day, or I smoke a minute or two longer than I should, and I feel a little woozy. I'm rarely careless enough to get totally knocked on my ass by it, but it does require caution. It's definitely not a carefree way of smoking.

But on the whole, it suits me.

Anybody else smoke this way?

 

[blackpowderpiper]

I subscribe to this methodology often myself.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I have in the past considered smoking that way, but never actually got round to it, for fear that I lack the self discipline and would end up smoking the lot.
I do like strong tobacco, but only before bedtime, when I have a medium or small bowl stacked right up.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

After several years of pipe smoking, I find myself sticking mainly with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks.

I will typically pack a pipe in the morning, smoke maybe five or ten minutes--the first quarter of a small bowl. I will then set the pipe down, go do something, work or whatever. A few hours later, I'll smoke a little more. I set the pipe down again.

Because the tobacco is strong, both in nicotine and flavor, I am satisfied with the short smoke. In fact, I would not want to sit down and smoke an entire bowl straight through. It would be too much for me.

It works out well. I don't smoke inside, and when I am outside, I'm often doing something that makes smoking cumbersome, even if I clench. So sticking with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks frees me up to do what I need to do.

I feel that smoking a little of the strong stuff encourages better technique too. if I puffed too fast, it would be overwhelming.

I smoke less tobacco this way, quantity wise.

And because I have to be careful with strong tobacco, I am more aware of the smoke, usually in a good way.

There are disadvantages. When I am tobacco shopping, I find myself skipping any blends rated as "medium" nicotine strength or less. This, and the fact that I smoke mainly straight burleys, narrows down my choices quite a lot.

And there are times when I'm not careful enough and the strong tobacco doesn't sit well with me. Maybe I'm not feeling 100% that day, or I smoke a minute or two longer than I should, and I feel a little woozy. I'm rarely careless enough to get totally knocked on my ass by it, but it does require caution. It's definitely not a carefree way of smoking.

But on the whole, it suits me.

Anybody else smoke this way?

I very rarely smoke a whole bowl in one go; there are usually time constraints involved and my mouth can become “blitzed out” after a bit so I set the pipe down, go and do something else and pick it up later.
I usually never smoke to the very bottom of the bowl, I find that the tobacco down there has lost any flavour at that point.
Smoking this way means that a medium sized bowl can last me for a day though I usually scoop out any dregs leftover, the next time I want to smoke that pipe and don’t relight that tobacco.

 

[danish]

After several years of pipe smoking, I find myself sticking mainly with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks.

I will typically pack a pipe in the morning, smoke maybe five or ten minutes--the first quarter of a small bowl. I will then set the pipe down, go do something, work or whatever. A few hours later, I'll smoke a little more. I set the pipe down again.

Because the tobacco is strong, both in nicotine and flavor, I am satisfied with the short smoke. In fact, I would not want to sit down and smoke an entire bowl straight through. It would be too much for me.

It works out well. I don't smoke inside, and when I am outside, I'm often doing something that makes smoking cumbersome, even if I clench. So sticking with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks frees me up to do what I need to do.

I feel that smoking a little of the strong stuff encourages better technique too. if I puffed too fast, it would be overwhelming.

I smoke less tobacco this way, quantity wise.

And because I have to be careful with strong tobacco, I am more aware of the smoke, usually in a good way.

There are disadvantages. When I am tobacco shopping, I find myself skipping any blends rated as "medium" nicotine strength or less. This, and the fact that I smoke mainly straight burleys, narrows down my choices quite a lot.

And there are times when I'm not careful enough and the strong tobacco doesn't sit well with me. Maybe I'm not feeling 100% that day, or I smoke a minute or two longer than I should, and I feel a little woozy. I'm rarely careless enough to get totally knocked on my ass by it, but it does require caution. It's definitely not a carefree way of smoking.

But on the whole, it suits me.

Anybody else smoke this way?

I am with you here, although I did not pack my pipe before going to work, nor did I crave the strongest tobacco.
5-10 min. smoking breaks was fine for me (and my boss). Capstan satisfied my craving and didn't taste that bad after relighting the same bowl several times. Still often smoking that way in my garden today and pipes stay at home, since smoking at work not 'workable' here anymore, ha ha.

 

[anotherbob]

My nose warmer gets mostly strong blends through it during my first work break.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Ah, the infamous "one hitter" technique.

 

[workman]

Ah, the infamous "one hitter" technique.

It has a name?

 

[mso489]

I smoke incrementally more often than not. I don't think you always have to do this with strong blends; some mediums work well too, or even milds.

 

[F4RM3R]

yes I’ve gravitated to shorter smokes with stronger blends, although I smoke medium size bowls and I’ll smoke the whole bowl

 

[workman]

After several years of pipe smoking, I find myself sticking mainly with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks.

I will typically pack a pipe in the morning, smoke maybe five or ten minutes--the first quarter of a small bowl. I will then set the pipe down, go do something, work or whatever. A few hours later, I'll smoke a little more. I set the pipe down again.

Because the tobacco is strong, both in nicotine and flavor, I am satisfied with the short smoke. In fact, I would not want to sit down and smoke an entire bowl straight through. It would be too much for me.

It works out well. I don't smoke inside, and when I am outside, I'm often doing something that makes smoking cumbersome, even if I clench. So sticking with strong tobaccos and short smoke breaks frees me up to do what I need to do.

I feel that smoking a little of the strong stuff encourages better technique too. if I puffed too fast, it would be overwhelming.

I smoke less tobacco this way, quantity wise.

And because I have to be careful with strong tobacco, I am more aware of the smoke, usually in a good way.

There are disadvantages. When I am tobacco shopping, I find myself skipping any blends rated as "medium" nicotine strength or less. This, and the fact that I smoke mainly straight burleys, narrows down my choices quite a lot.

And there are times when I'm not careful enough and the strong tobacco doesn't sit well with me. Maybe I'm not feeling 100% that day, or I smoke a minute or two longer than I should, and I feel a little woozy. I'm rarely careless enough to get totally knocked on my ass by it, but it does require caution. It's definitely not a carefree way of smoking.

But on the whole, it suits me.

Anybody else smoke this way?

I do it on the rare occasions when I'm out drinking.
Only then, and often I'll end up smoking cigarettes, like everyone else.

 

[OzPiper]

Nope.

I smoke for the enjoyment and relaxation, so a brief smoke holds no interest for me. And I don't smoke for the Nic-hit.

With coffee, if I'm pressed for time, I will occasionally have a double-shot espresso. But I much rather sit, sip and nurse a coffee over 30mins, often doing a crossword, during my lunch break.

It's all about taking time-out and clearing my mind of accumulated shit.

 

[ray47]

Prior to retirement I took short smokes at work. Usually it was some Five Brothers in a small Falcon bowl. Now that I'm retired I have more time to sit back and enjoy a large bowl.

 

[Parkland_Puffer]

It has a name?

Thats a term for single hit pot "pipes".

 

[Gabby Hayes]

I smoke that way quite often when pressed for time. Usually with some Haunted Bookshop or Old Joe Krantz for the nicotine jolt. Just out of curiosity, what are the strong blends you’re referring to?

 

[kgs]

I smoke strong shags in small pipes. These days I am mainly smoking Gawith Hoggarth & Co.'s Dark Bird's Eye in a little cheap French pipe. It is a Genod. I guess it is a group 1 or group 2 in size. It is a shabby bent billiard with a bunch of fills, but I like the grain and the drilling is pretty good. It is hard to find good drilling even in expensive pipes, so it is special to find great drilling on such a cheap one. It has this bent goose neck stem. It is made out of that cheaper vulcanite that is nice and soft on the teeth and gets that grubby "patina" very quickly. I would however like to raise the bottom of the bowl with some pipe mud so I can stop wasting so much tobacco.

I will occasionally have a 5 or 10 minute smoke, but generally I will smoke for at least 20 minutes. Sometimes I will smoke the whole bowl in one sitting. That will take maybe 45 minutes to an hour. I sip the smoke and I tend to let my pipe go out a lot. I am not really interested in smoking for longer than an hour. If could smoke indoors I would probably nurse a small bowl all day, taking 5 minute smokes here and there.

I am not good at multitasking. When I smoked cigarettes they used to always go out on me. I was always relighting half-smoked cigarettes by putting them into the flame of a zippo cupped in my hand. If I smoke a cigar it will also go out. So of course I cannot keep my pipe lit. I don't mind. I enjoy using my lighters. I have a nice little collection of different types from different eras and whatnot.

I would say that our smoking styles are similar. I think this is the way that people used to smoke their pipes in the old days. Old pipes, especially clays, appear smaller. And I imagine that tobaccos were stronger then too, both in flavor and nicotine. I have been reading an old book about by a WWI u-boat captain. He has described sailors with small shag pipes in their teeth several times.

 

[Grangerous]

That wouldn’t interest me at all. It’s a relaxing pastime, nothing more and it requires a peaceful hour.

In fact, all this talk of being pressed for time or grabbing a quick smoke on a 5 min break baffles me.

 

[btp79]

Thats a term for single hit pot "pipes".

Now that I think about it, 5 brothers could definitely work in a dugout ?

 

[PipeIT]

I sip and savor slowly anything I’m smoking to enjoy it.

I don’t think of smoking the pipe as any other way.

I also don’t smoke for nicotine, I’m all about the flavor.

 

[Steddy]

For me different situations call for different smokes. I will get cranky at work if I don’t smoke beforehand so that means if I’m pressed for time a quick smoke of something strong. I much prefer to relax with a bowl or two but life happens.

Better a quick fix of burley or shag than nothing. I mean most of us are drug addicts to some degree.