Tips for Keeping a Pipe Lit

[Simmerdown☕️]

Less talking & more smoking. ?️

 

[TN Jed]

don't worry about it. Seems like the more you worry about it the more it happens. The less you worry the less it happens. Also when it goes out dump the ash that seems to help a lot actually. I think the ash can smother the tobacco sometimes. And it seems like not trying to make sure it stays lit somehow is the best condition for keeping it going. Like I think freight puffing it actually for some reason creates a situation that lets it go out sooner. There is probably some science behind it but I prefer to think that it's just how the magic pipe faries work.

What a fascinating thing the pipe and tobacco combination is. It's starting to remind me of the stick and ball of golf. The more you think about it the worst your outcome. I tried dumping the ash at halfway and it helped my smoke tremendously. For some unknown reason; maybe a dream or the inter web, I thought it was taboo to dump the ash. It took several months for me to figure out not to puff like a freight train, but I still catch myself stoking the fire. Every time I do it my bowl goes out within a few minutes. It's hard to break cheap cigar habits. Smoking a pipe is science.

 

[TN Jed]

I'm starting to figure out that proper tamping is as important as anything. I tend to get lackadaisical when the pipe is smoking good and forget to tamp until it's too late. Any tips on knowing when to tamp would be appreciated.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yeah, you should tamp 15 seconds before it's going to go out..... uh, how do you know when that is?

That's where science meets art meets experience.

 

[TN Jed]

"That's where science meets art meets experience."
Brilliant analogy.

 

[Swifturtle]

So far I have discovered that bone dry tobacco tastes like garbage, almost like a cigarette. I'll be sticking to slightly moist.

Thanks for all the help guys! I'm definitely coming back to this forum.

 

[Toast]

As an ex-cigarette smoker, deciding that relights are good was probably the single best thing I did because it helped me slow down.
Which isn't to say that I don't relight a lot less than I used to, but it's part of the ritual & it's fine when it happens.

 

[jpmcwjr]

So far I have discovered that bone dry tobacco tastes like garbage, almost like a cigarette. I'll be sticking to slightly moist.

Thanks for all the help guys! I'm definitely coming back to this forum.

Bone Dry is hyperbole and designed to help others dry their tobacco more, but still containing plenty of moisture.

Bone Dry literally would be under, say, 10% RH. Very dry but smokable tobacco would be over 50% RH.

 

[Beers 'N Briars]

I smoke a lot of flake tobaccos, and I find drying them out for 30-60 minutes before I rub out and pack gives me a fairly consistent smoke. If I’m smoking the occasional aromatic, then I’ll let dry longer and almost exclusively use a cob to keep the moisture manageable.

 

[J-Evverrett]

Something I’ve learned that may help. A pipe does not function in the same manner as a cigarette or a cigar as it burns. A proper pack, pace and moisture is key, yes. But the tamper, or your finger even is how the ember moves down the bowl to maintain contact with the drier, heated tobacco. As you puff, you’re stoking the ember. The tamp nudges it down as you go.

 

[OldWill]

Tamping carefully is definitely a key to staying lit. I often tell people to invest in a pleasing tamper so they will look at it and use it.....but I find myself resting a finger on top....works just as well. Guess my fingers are hardened at my age.

 

[dog_park_piper]

Don't worry about it. This comes with the territory as you learn to control your materials.

The above advice about drying down your tobacco and packing loosely is spot on. As you become more experienced you'll get a sense how things work together. Experiment with different moisture levels as well as packing densities, but start with a light pack and fairly dry tobacco. That should be easier to control at the outset.

If the pipe goes out, just relight. It's no big deal.

You stole my answer again. Don't worry about. It's not a cig.

 

[ashdigger]

Call me crazy, but relights don’t bother me. In fact it’s part of my autonomic nervous system by now.

 

[verporchting]

Call me crazy, but relights don’t bother me. In fact it’s part of my autonomic nervous system by now.

Couldn’t agree more! The whole smoke the entire tin on a single match nonsense has caused more grief for new pipe smokers than it bears thinking about.

Relights happen. Next.

 

[Eye-level]

When Jiminks two most used sentences/phrases are average number of relights and a few relights are needed...I reckon relights are probably okay. :D