The Dangers of Alternating Tobaccos in a Single Pipe

[smokinginquirer]

What are your opinions on smoking one kind of tobacco, cleaning the pipe and letting it rest, and then smoking a different kind of tobacco? Do the "pros" with larger collections dedicate one pipe to one kind of tobacco? Or is it an individuality thing, and one need not be too concerned with alternating tobaccos in one pipe?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I am at the point, where I have hundreds of pipes. So, I "could" dedicated each pipe. But, I have an order that I will smoke a pipe to ensure that the ghost of the previous blend doesn't ruin a smoke.
I will smoke a Virginia or VaPer after a latakia, and a latakia after an aromatic, but never a Virginia after an aromatic, nor an aromatic after a latakia. Does that make sense?
Most of my pipes are purely Virginia smokers. I have no idea what a perique ghost is, so VaPers are always in the Virginia groups. I have four pipe strictly dedicated to vanilla aromatics. Four strictly Lakeland pipes. And, latakia doesn't ghost but for maybe one or two bowls, so latakia can be smoked in any Virginia pipe, but usually I don't.
I hope that helps. ::

 

[uperepik]

Your going to get a ton of different opinions on this subject. I do use specific pipes for specific blends just because of taste purposes but I don't follow the "rest" rules at all. If you are diligent about cleaning (I'm not) you probably wouldn't have to worry about ghosting too much. It's all preference.
If you only have one or two pipes I wouldn't be worry about it, or you can get a few cob pipes while your testing what you like.

 

[voorhees]

I dedicate pipes to certain blends. I use small chambered pipes for Virginia based tobaccos. Larger pipes for English. And i have dedicated pipes for the few aros I smoke.

 

[badbeard]

Some people seem to be more sensitive to ghosting than others, and certain tobaccos leave a much more detectable flavor than others. I don't have large pipe collection at all, and so I had to adapt to that issue. If I am concerned that a particular tobacco is going to clash, I will quarantine it to a cob for a while before I move it over to briar. I'll smoke it along side a few other tobaccos I frequent, and if it's bad then I just let the cob be it's home.

 

[nevadablue]

My 'taster' doesn't care, so my 'looker' picks a pipe that is pleasing to me at the moment and I use that. I do try to keep my pipes pretty clean however.

 

[philobeddoe]

All of my pipes are dedicated, either to a style of tobacco Heavy English, Std. English, Virginia, Va/Per. etc., or to specific blends. Never cross the streams....it would be bad!

 

[smokinginquirer]

If you only have one or two pipes I wouldn't be worry about it, or you can get a few cob pipes while your testing what you like.

Yes, this was my thinking, too.

 

[smokinginquirer]

I will smoke a Virginia or VaPer after a latakia, and a latakia after an aromatic, but never a Virginia after an aromatic, nor an aromatic after a latakia. Does that make sense?

Cosmic, could you unpack that a bit more for me, please?

 

[jazz]

Uperepik's right, there are loads of views on this and in the end, it will come down to what you personally find acceptable.
I am a little fussy about this but not a huge amount. I don't have enough pipes to be too fussy but I would likely say that if I had a thousand of the things.
I have pipes for blend types as opposed to specific pipes for specific blends. So, I will smoke Virginia, VaPer, and VaBur in the same pipes and that really is most of what I smoke. However, I like to keep Latakia blends and their pipes separate because I can taste Latakia in a pipe for many smokes after the fact but that's just me. Other people won't taste it for long and are not bothered.
There are exceptions though and an example is Revor Plug. I love it and it's a VaBur but is so obnoxious that it has its own pipe but I will happily smoke it in a Latakia pipe. Sometimes I'm convinced that there is actually Latakia in it and I know I'm not alone.

 

[jaytex1969]

As a "5 month pipe veteran" (aka NOOB) with maybe a dozen pipes (9 that I really use),
I have 2 latakia pipes, 2 perique, 1 VA pipe, 1 burley, 1 "beater" for anything, 1 just for the Black Frigate and a cob for the Hyde Park.
Based on reading how others divided usage, I figured this would give me the best opportunity to learn about the different varieties.
Many blends straddle categories. I tend to smoke them in the pipe designated for the strongest component in the blend.
Some, like Acadian Perique, defy classification based on contents.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Cosmic, could you unpack that a bit more for me, please?

I’ll try...

I don’t mind a Latakia ghost (if you want to call it that) in a Virginia or VaPer blend, but not an aromatic ghost in my Virginia/ VaPers. However, Latakia tends to cover most aromatic flavors that may linger, or else it compliments it. I don’t find Virginia or VaPers leave any lingering flavors, so anything can be smoked afterwards. Does that help?
All in all, these are not rules for myself. Sometimes I just grab a handful of pipes and head out the door and let the flavors be a surprise, so they are more like “guidelines”for myself.

 

[mikethompson]

Wouldn't keeping your pipe clean eliminate ghosting?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Wouldn't keeping your pipe clean eliminate ghosting?

Well, ghosting is really when a blend leaves a permanent flavor behind. These that I speak of are merely oils left behind and will most likely go away after a couple of smokes. Cheap aromatics and Lakeland’s will be your most likely subjects to leave behind a true ghost. In those instances you will either dedicate the pipe, or crush it under the heal of your boot.
Traditional cleaning of a couple of pipe cleaners and wiping the stem down won’t do anything at all towards preventing a ghost. However, I notice that when I run water through the pipe, it does eliminate a lot of the oils that would cause “ghosting” or lingering flavors, but not all of them.

 

[badbeard]

Just playing off of what Cosmic said at the end there, I have personally noticed that a lot of the oils and moisture that seem to contribute most to "ghosting", ends up in the shank. Running a pipe cleaner through the stem may not always swab out voids in the shank, particularly when you are smoking a pipe unfiltered that is meant to use a filter. This is also an issue when the mortise in the shank is a bit deeper than the tenon on the stem, leaving a significant gap. A careful cleaning of the shank with some Everclear or any other grain alcohol seems to do a lot for quickening ghostly departure. As with everything pipe related, your experience may vary.

 

[bigpond]

Shank brush for prez.

 

[smokinginquirer]

However, I notice that when I run water through the pipe, it does eliminate a lot of the oils that would cause “ghosting” or lingering flavors, but not all of them.

Wait, wait, wait. I've always been under the impression exposing your pipe to large volumes of water was a bad thing. Is that not correct?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Well, that has been the longtime belief, that water would hurt a pipe. But, I haven’t noticed it harming my pipes in any way. YMMV

 

[smokinginquirer]

Huh. Very interesting. I suppose your experience with a vast collection of pipes speaks a good deal louder than my conception.

 

[hawky454]

I find that if I dedicate a pipe to one blend the flavors of that blend become more enhanced as the pipe gets seasoned with it. I document my first 200 smokes in each new pipe and I’ve noticed that around the hundredth smoke the changes are remarkable and 200 + smokes of Condor in one pipe is heavenly. I only have a few pipes that are actually dedicated to one blend otherwise I just dedicate pipes to genres.