Tobaccos that Won't Bite your Tongue...At All!

[Professor Moriarty]

Thank you for your reply and for the tip regarding troublesome charcoal granules -- different brands of filters do feature different number/size/shape air holes at each end.

Variation in 9mm filter width is an interesting topic. I have identified three variations, from wide to narrow:
white elephant, everybody else, and Dr. Pearl.
Dr. Pearl, being narrowest, will fit any 9mm filter pipe, but I don't like how the filter moves back&forth in pipes other than Vauen, so I wrap some scotch tape around the filter, so that it fits snug, and prevents smoke from slipping around the filter.
On the other extreme, white elephant filters are too wide for my Vauens, and my Chacom!

Nix the idea of wrapping a 9mm filter with scotch tape to make it fit snug. I just had a bad experience.
Smoked a large bowl, good smoke, but when I removed the bit from the shank, I found the filter paper rather wet and swollen and un-stuck from the tape...requiring a bit of effort and some specialty tools to safely remove said filter and tape from the bit.
Gimlet did warn about the swelling effect, thank you. Also, "thocking" is the very word for the sound made by a loosely-fit filter!

 

[Gimlet]

Nix the idea of wrapping a 9mm filter with scotch tape to make it fit snug. I just had a bad experience.
Smoked a large bowl, good smoke, but when I removed the bit from the shank, I found the filter paper rather wet and swollen and un-stuck from the tape...requiring a bit of effort and some specialty tools to safely remove said filter and tape from the bit.
Gimlet did warn about the swelling effect, thank you. Also, "thocking" is the very word for the sound made by a loosely-fit filter!

I bought a 250 box of White Elephant filters a couple pf weeks ago because they were on offer. Usually use Dr Pearl as WE can be tight in some of my pipes. Got a Petersons Arklow which can be tricky to remove them from if I don't remember to do it as soon as it's cooled. While in a Savinelli Tigre I've no problem taking them out when smoked but struggle to push them in to start with. No idea why. Possible the Peterson with the blend I smoke in it generates more moisture. I do think the WE absorb more than the Dr Pearls for being tighter though.

I definitely wouldn't be wrapping anything round them. I've never had a tight one that's pulled apart on removal yet. But if it did it would only be a matter of running a pipe cleaner through to brush out the granules. Don't fancy having to shift a load of bunched up tape from inside.

Back to the biting subject, I've just finished the GH Bob's flake I bought recently and though it wasn't my favourite I'd grown to like it a lot more by the end of the pack. It was certainly very smooth and I can't imagine it ever biting.

Not so the Westmorland slices I've been trying. That's strong stuff. Almost brown twist levels of punch. I'm mixing what I've got left one third/two thirds with Ennerdale and that's a lovely blend. I'll be going back to Coniston cut plug and 1792 when it's finished though.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

I bought a 250 box of White Elephant filters a couple pf weeks ago because they were on offer. Usually use Dr Pearl as WE can be tight in some of my pipes. Got a Petersons Arklow which can be tricky to remove them from if I don't remember to do it as soon as it's cooled. While in a Savinelli Tigre I've no problem taking them out when smoked but struggle to push them in to start with. No idea why. Possible the Peterson with the blend I smoke in it generates more moisture. I do think the WE absorb more than the Dr Pearls for being tighter though.

I definitely wouldn't be wrapping anything round them. I've never had a tight one that's pulled apart on removal yet. But if it did it would only be a matter of running a pipe cleaner through to brush out the granules. Don't fancy having to shift a load of bunched up tape from inside.

Back to the biting subject, I've just finished the GH Bob's flake I bought recently and though it wasn't my favourite I'd grown to like it a lot more by the end of the pack. It was certainly very smooth and I can't imagine it ever biting.

Not so the Westmorland slices I've been trying. That's strong stuff. Almost brown twist levels of punch. I'm mixing what I've got left one third/two thirds with Ennerdale and that's a lovely blend. I'll be going back to Coniston cut plug and 1792 when it's finished though.

Ah. The offending filter was indeed a WE. First time I've used the brand. No prior problems with Dr Pearl.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

Velvet, certainly. But it's so mild, I'm not sure it's got enough flavor to justify smoking it. Sutliff Estate is mild but has a bit more flavor. Burley Light Without Bite is also good.

Thank you sir! Upon your good recommendation, I have now smoked Burley Light Without Bite, by Lane. It will be one of my go-to to tobacco's for unfiltered pipes

 

[Elric]

Thank you sir! Upon your good recommendation, I have now smoked Burley Light Without Bite, by Lane. It will be one of my go-to to tobacco's for unfiltered pipes

Glad to have helped!

 

[K.E. Powell]

Thank you sir! Upon your good recommendation, I have now smoked Burley Light Without Bite, by Lane. It will be one of my go-to to tobacco's for unfiltered pipes

It is also a good burley to mix with other blends too. I'm rarely given to mixing my own blends, but I will occasionally add some Burley w/o bite to a blend if I want it to have a little bit more body. It also burns very quickly and evenly, so if I am working with a particularly stubborn blend, I may sprinkle a little bit of it on top so the charring light takes a little easier.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

B

It is also a good burley to mix with other blends too. I'm rarely given to mixing my own blends, but I will occasionally add some Burley w/o bite to a blend if I want it to have a little bit more body. It also burns very quickly and evenly, so if I am working with a particularly stubborn blend, I may sprinkle a little bit of it on top so the charring light takes a little easier.

BL/WB does burn well. I was able to sip a small bowl-full for one and a half hours.
I also am not given to mixing my own blends, but your idea of using BL/WB as "tinder wood" is excellent!

 

[Searock Fan]

 

[Grangerous]

Not to belabor the issue, but...
When I first started with pipes, I bought a kindle ebook for $0.99 called 101 tips for the Pipe Smoker. One of this tips was about Denicool crystals and Nording Keystones. The author suggested that uncooked rice in the heel also works. The idea being that the rice in the bottom would absorb steam moisture and mitigate tongue burn/bite.
I tried it. And the rice that I dumped in the end did seem to have soaked up some moisture.
Worst case, it would be a pretty cheap experiment should you care to try it.

Rice. That’s an interesting idea

 

[ParkitoATL]

...I don't like how the filter moves back&forth in pipes other than Vauen, so I wrap some scotch tape around the filter, so that it fits snug, and prevents smoke from slipping around the filter.

I snip a little rectangle of paper towel, wrap that around the filter, then twist it into the stem. The paper towel really works a trick at absorbing moisture. Honestly, many of my smokes now have the meer chips in the bottom of a 9mm filtered System pipe. I'll dry the tobacco, too. I never get bit.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

I snip a little rectangle of paper towel, wrap that around the filter, then twist it into the stem. The paper towel really works a trick at absorbing moisture. Honestly, many of my smokes now have the meer chips in the bottom of a 9mm filtered System pipe. I'll dry the tobacco, too. I never get bit.

Your paper towel technique is excellent, thank you for sharing. Please clarify one point, you put meer chips at the bottom of the bowl AND use a 9mm charcoal filter?

 

[ParkitoATL]

Your paper towel technique is excellent, thank you for sharing. Please clarify one point, you put meer chips at the bottom of the bowl AND use a 9mm charcoal filter?

Yes, I do. But that's mostly a cold weather development because the meer chips allow me to smoke a short bowl without having to smoke down at the heel. I feel like I get a much cleaner burn this way.

 

[shanez]

There are no tobaccos that won't bite your tongue...at all!

The truth is tongue bite is mostly a product of technique not the tobacco itself.

 

[Distant Roads]

After three months of smoking pipe about once a day and trying every new blend available, my two non-biting blends are:

- MacBarren Amphora Burley blend;
- McConnel Boutique Blend (an oriental / English blend, clone of the Early Morning Pipe).

These two are amazing when smoked slowly. But they also don't punish my tongue when abused, like when smoked outside on a windy day with a shorter pipe and a bit of haste - still no bite! At least for me.

P.S. I use a charcoal filter.