Sipper or Puffer?
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Depends on the tobacco, pipe, and day. I smoke as slowly as I can, but some days puffing has to happen. Also, even sipping, I do puff once in awhile to avoid the relights. I don't typically relight my pipe, as I'd prefer it to just keep going. I suppose I switch back and forth frequently within a single bowl.
With most of the blends I like, sipping is rewarded. It also seems to have a type of kiln effect which causes the sugars in some types of leaf to caramelize, which I enjoy quite a bit, as then you get a rich sweet taste with the other varieties in the blend releasing their flavor to complement it, so the components become more distinct.
Hawky, it was probably me that said that big clouds were embarrassing, not Kashmir. Kashmir was classier than me, but I am the all time best at hyperbole. I think I made that statement with the choice words that if someone puffs, then don't set next to me at the pipe lounges, or something to that effect while describing breathsmoking. Yeh, I was being "persuasive" and prone to exaggeration, but you may smoke your pipe however you want. And, while we shouldn't tell a cowboy how to ride his horse, sidesaddle tends to draw a few chuckles. :
: Juss kiddin'
In all honesty, there are some blends that I think don't do as well as sipping or breathsmoking blends, especially latbombs... and a few goopy blends. ::
So, smoke how you want. Try new things.
: Juss kiddin' In all honesty, there are some blends that I think don't do as well as sipping or breathsmoking blends, especially latbombs... and a few goopy blends. :
: So, smoke how you want. Try new things.
Cosmic, there's no way that was you. It's not like you've discussed Vespas before, either. But yeah, I'm pretty sure that was you. Haha.
Puffers: Don't worry if the old guys look down on you for puffing, you'll be that cynical old sipper soon.
Puffers: Don't worry if the old guys look down on you for puffing, you'll be that cynical old sipper soon.
I knew that it was Cosmic, just didn't want to intervene. Kashmir could have said the same thing on the other hand.
Of course, I do that sometimes although I am not a clencher. I just can't control my saliva
You were asking because of the GIFs I've shared Duane? The guy in the second GIF is tasting the tobacco, after each sip he states his ideas about the tobacco, that's why he is not clenching. Actually the first guy is not puffing like crazy, he is just sipping a lot/deeper I guess.
The reason I smoke a pipe is all about flavor. Nicotine is secondary. So how I smoke is all about how to maximize flavor. Everything I've learned to do with with getting the moisture content just so, the kinds of packing, cadence, etc, is all directed at getting the most flavor from the blends that I smoke.
So the only puffing I do is when I first light up, and when I need to keep the pipe from going out. Otherwise I'm just sipping away in long slow sips followed by long slow snorks of just wisps of smoke. The tobacco is just simmering at the verge of going out. The pipe is barely warm. The flavor is at its maximum. It's pipe smoking nirvana.
But keep in mind that different blends produce different amounts of smoke. Some burley blends produce nice billowing clouds without having to be pushed. Virginias are another matter.
The other aspect is this. I like my pipes and have some pretty good ones. I appreciate the flavors I get from smoking them. So I'm not prone to ruining them. Smoking hot on a regular basis is going to ruin one's pipes. The chamber walls will be come heat stressed and will form stress cracks on the chamber walls. Over time, sour oils will seep into those cracks. If money is no object and you don't care about the workmanship that goes into a fine pipe, then incinerate away and enjoy those increasingly sour smokes.
So the only puffing I do is when I first light up, and when I need to keep the pipe from going out. Otherwise I'm just sipping away in long slow sips followed by long slow snorks of just wisps of smoke. The tobacco is just simmering at the verge of going out. The pipe is barely warm. The flavor is at its maximum. It's pipe smoking nirvana.
But keep in mind that different blends produce different amounts of smoke. Some burley blends produce nice billowing clouds without having to be pushed. Virginias are another matter.
The other aspect is this. I like my pipes and have some pretty good ones. I appreciate the flavors I get from smoking them. So I'm not prone to ruining them. Smoking hot on a regular basis is going to ruin one's pipes. The chamber walls will be come heat stressed and will form stress cracks on the chamber walls. Over time, sour oils will seep into those cracks. If money is no object and you don't care about the workmanship that goes into a fine pipe, then incinerate away and enjoy those increasingly sour smokes.
PapipeGuy:assumably we both have something in common,only I regret I can't afford buying sigle malts,,
That sounds like no fun. I was going to throw in also that for many of the blends I enjoy, smoking hot = less flavor. Often the most flavor is smoking dry and very slow, up to an hour for a regular-sized bowl.
I tend to follow @crashthegrey, I try to sip as much as I can But have to puff out of necessity to keep it lit. I’d rather puff a few times than have to relight every few minutes. In my rookie opinion it keeps my pipe overall cooler and tasting better. But I’m not going to lie, I’m new to this, and am definitely no stranger to the relight!
I think the word "puffing" is not quite the right word... I guess it would be the middle ground in-between puffing and sipping, I like the way that Anthonyrose described it, I think I may be a sippuffer. I've been smoking a pipe for a long time and I've never ruined or burnt one out due to my smoking style (knock on wood). I still have some cobs that I purchased in 2009 that are still going strong to this day. My pipes never get hot and I don't have a problem with tongue bite. I guess my point is that I produce smoke when I... well... smoke and I'm not a "barely let it smolder" kind of guy. I've never actually seen a pipe smoker that didn't produce a good amount of smoke but like a said in another thread, I don't know any pipe smokers and the only ones I see are in the movies or on YouTube. I guess I should dig up the thread that influenced this topic so that this might make a bit more sense. If I get a little flavor when the pipe is at a smolder I get much more flavor when the pipe is fully going, not burning hot but not barely smoldering either. This is a tricky subject and I don't think I'm articulating it very well. My apologies.
I should also note that I am mainly a clencher.
I should also note that I am mainly a clencher.
Go to a pipe show and you will see lots of them, quietly sitting, still, watching the action around them, the only sign of life being the occasional curl of smoke that they emit.
My Uncle Leon would just set in his chair after dinner with his pipe and the TV. I never saw smoke till one of us would ask him a question or he had to yell at us. Then smoke would roll out of his throat as he would answer or yell. Ha ha. I think of that as I yank my pipe out and yell at the dog. Its not inhaling, just sort of savoring the smoke, maybe the top of the throat, the gullet, for lack of a better word.
Well, it IS called smoking. Smoke is required... I like the smoke. I don't like a hot pipe, but smoke is the purpose to me.
^ This.
You definitely know my pipe is lit, but then I slow way down and sip slowly until it almost goes out then puff it up a bit.....repeat.
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