Tongue Bite Progress Update

[frozenchurchwarden]

That is news to me! Yes, some find it negative, but only a few have fessed up about that. Are you sure "a lot" is accurate?

Drawing down the flame into the tobacco requires large quantities of air movement, "Sipping" and "Lighting" are mutually exclusive actions, therefore anyone who gets tongue bite from "hard puffing" will get tongue bite from re-lights.

People who keep their tobacco tinder dry and never re-light will need so few puffs that the initial light will have negligible effect, but I can't see any way around re-lights being just as bad as unrestrained puffing, they are mechanically identical, they are the same thing and will have equal effect whatever that effect may be.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Not clear on your second paragraph. Relights for me take a fraction of the time as the first light and don't need to resemble over puffing.

They are not identical!

 

[kcghost]

Bite can be a tough thing to overcome particularly when your mouth is susceptible to it.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Not clear on your second paragraph. Relights for me take a fraction of the time as the first light and don't need to resemble over puffing.

They are not identical!

The problem is if you're lighting with a match you're working against physics, the heat of the flame is propelled upward and you need to fight to overcome it, individual technique won't change the minimum force required.

It is important to note at this point that bowl size significantly affects how much air moves through the bowl for a given puff, a 17mm/0.67" diameter bowl has half the surface area of a 24mm/0.94" diameter bowl, you'll only need half the effort to move the same amount of air through the smaller bowl, if people are having trouble then it should be highly encouraged to try a smaller bowl.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The problem is if you're lighting with a match you're working against physics, the heat of the flame is propelled upward and you need to fight to overcome it, individual technique won't change the minimum force required.

I draw all flames down, and do not try to point a flame downwards to the tobacco. That works against physics! And may well scorch your fingers.

It is important to note at this point that bowl size significantly affects how much air moves through the bowl for a given puff, a 17mm/0.67" diameter bowl has half the surface area of a 24mm/0.94" diameter bowl, you'll only need half the effort to move the same amount of air through the smaller bowl, if people are having trouble then it should be highly encouraged to try a smaller bowl.

My point above was in part that a relight takes a fraction of the heat that an initial light does. Many times, a fraction of a second.

 

[anotherbob]

You keep posting that.

Any flame source will work fine as to the temperature at which it ignites the tobacco. The operator simply needs to adjust time and/or distance.

which is what people do here. Posting their opinions and experiences. I totally agree that a bic is usable for lighting a pipe, however it's a lot easier to not over heat the light with a lighter or soft flame and could significantly help the inexperienced not burn their tongue. Especially with probably needing multiple relights. The other place it really helps is with flakes. Well if you like smoking flakes the way I do. Which is to get an extra large ember. Personally I think a lot of newbies might stick it out longer and enjoy themselves more if they tried any other source of flame then a bic or similar lighter.

 

[jpmcwjr]

bob- I couldn't disagree more. What I and others have written about is a matter of physics.
Sure, there may be some newbies- and oldies- who are too thick to move the source of heat further away and for a shorter period to reduce the intensity of the light.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I draw all flames down, and do not try to point a flame downwards to the tobacco. That works against physics! And may well scorch your fingers.

The volume of airflow required to draw a match flame down into the bowl is far beyond the volume of a normal sipping cadence, that is an objective fact.
How quickly you can re-light your pipe is up to your skill in managing your tobacco, but for someone who is unskilled and requires many re-lights it is a fact that they will experience the same burn as they would from fast puffing.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The volume of airflow required to draw a match flame down into the bowl is far beyond the volume of a normal sipping cadence, that is an objective fact.

So, you use a pointy thing for relights? Unnecessary.

Or are you saying the initial light requires more volume of air than sipping a lit pipe? If so, of course, but so what?

How quickly you can re-light your pipe is up to your skill in managing your tobacco, but for someone who is unskilled and requires many re-lights it is a fact that they will experience the same burn as they would from fast puffing.

Not necessarily. If the relights are as they should be (a quick light, less than a second) tongue bite is unlikely.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

So, you use a pointy thing for relights? Unnecessary.

Or are you saying the initial light requires more volume of air than sipping a lit pipe? If so, of course, but so what?


Not necessarily. If the relights are as they should be (a quick light, less than a second) tongue bite is unlikely.

"As they should be" doesn't apply to this section of the forum.

We're in the basics and beginners section, people are not going to be able to re-light as an experienced pipesmoker.

For new pipesmokers eliminating re-lights is very important to their enjoyment of the pipe, and choosing a no-fuss tobacco that burns easily is one of the highest priorities.
Thus, historically the easy burning "Codger Blends" outsold all other blends of pipe tobacco by an order of magnitude.

 

[Dudditz]

Good for you buddy!!! Glad that you are finding your way through and enjoying the experience along the way!!! Outstanding!!!

 

[jpmcwjr]

"As they should be" doesn't apply to this section of the forum.

We're in the basics and beginners section, people are not going to be able to re-light as an experienced pipesmoker.

Some new to pipe smoking will have already grokked that a re-light is very different, much shorter than the initial light. Others will have read same and understood it. Still others won't get it for some time.

For new pipesmokers eliminating re-lights is very important to their enjoyment of the pipe, and choosing a no-fuss tobacco that burns easily is one of the highest priorities.
Thus, historically the easy burning "Codger Blends" outsold all other blends of pipe tobacco by an order of magnitude.

I don't think I said anything about what tobacco to use, and I agree with your choice. I can't agree that eliminating re-lights is a high priority.

 

[Scottishgaucho]

As shown everyone can be affected by tongue bite in different ways so it's not always easy to pinpoint the cause for others.
For me it was all about experience. I used to puff like mad because I thought to look like a proper pipe smoker you had to billow smoke as if you were a steam train going up a steep incline. Soon as I stopped that behaviour and slowed down my tongue bite pretty much disappeared.
Although it has to be said even now, 50 years after I tried the pipe for the first time, I can still get tongue pipe with certain blends. St James Flake was the last blend that gave me tongue bite. The reason being I loved it so much I ended up puffing too hard and couldn't put the ruddy pipe down. ?

 

[didimauw]

I have always been very sensitive to re-lights and that continues to this day, it seems like everyone forgets that re-lights are opposite of the advice to only gently sip, for a lot of people re-lighting has a huge negative impact on the enjoyment on the pipe.
At this point the burning characteristics of a blend are "almost" the highest priority when choosing my tobacco, I'll still put up with some flakes to try and squeeze some flavor out, but if I want to smoke my pipe to relax there will be at least a partial blend of Shag Cut Tobacco in the bowl.

That or I'll be smoking a sacrificial briar and using a jet torch that requires almost no puffing to re-light.

This is how I am too. I will choose a blend that's dry out of the gate and smokes easily, over something that I prefer the taste of. Strangely enough. I choose smokeability over flavor.

 

[hawky454]

Tongue bite, who needs it!?

I have the chemistry that makes me more susceptible to bite/burn, it sucks, especially if you love the flavor of the blend that bites you. I seem to be alone in this theory so I’m guessing it just works for me. I find if I just power through the bite, my mouth acclimates and I no longer get bit. If I take a week or so off from smoking a pipe, I find that even some of my favorite blends will bite me bad (no matter how slow and cool I smoke) but I’ve just learned that it will go away in due time.

I’m happy you’ve found something that has worked for you and will possibly help others. My brother gets it so bad, he will not smoke a pipe anymore, he sticks to cigars. Most people that get bit early on do not find it worth it to continue smoking, it’s a shame because if you can just get past the bite, it opens up a world of great pleasure that I personally never tire of.

 

[Anchovies]

I will add to this thread - as a follow tongue-bite sufferer - that using a Peterson P-Lip pipe has made a huge difference. It hasn't fixed everything ... the top of my mouth gets irritated now ... but I don't get tongue bite at least when smoking through that pipe.

 

[SpyHill]

"As they should be" doesn't apply to this section of the forum.

We're in the basics and beginners section, people are not going to be able to re-light as an experienced pipesmoker.

For new pipesmokers eliminating re-lights is very important to their enjoyment of the pipe, and choosing a no-fuss tobacco that burns easily is one of the highest priorities.
Thus, historically the easy burning "Codger Blends" outsold all other blends of pipe tobacco by an order of magnitude.

I think this is correct. One of the main issues of new pipesmokers is keeping a pipe lit, and that implies reducing relights. I am a brand new pipesmoker, and I have to relight 20-25 times in the course of 30 minutes. It's quite frustrating, and a few forum members have been trying to help me out with my pipe issues. Tongue bite hasn't been a problem for me simply because I can't keep the pipe lit. I'm drying and packing looser, trying techniques, etc. May be dropping my Grabow soon if this continues.

 

[cigrmaster]

Just so you know there is a tobacco strain called Red Virginia that for some people it is like pouring battery acid on your tongue. I suffer from this but I over came it by finding all kinds of flakes and plugs that had no reds. My cellar consists of 43 flakes and plugs and no reds. In the beginning I used Biotene Mouth wash to help and I never have any bite as long as I say away from the reds.

 

[bullet08]

It's a given fact that some people will get allergic reaction to some type of tobacco. And it's given new pipe smokers will run into possible issues. But after awhile, we'll all learn to avoid tongue bite. It's like getting your first cut with a knife, or getting that first burn. I don't remember how I stopped it from occurring. I think I remember having some issues. Dry tobacco and well packed bowl might be it. It just went away, and I can't say with any definition what solved the problem. Maybe my mouth toughened up.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Just so you know there is a tobacco strain called Red Virginia that for some people it is like pouring battery acid on your tongue. I suffer from this but I over came it by finding all kinds of flakes and plugs that had no reds. My cellar consists of 43 flakes and plugs and no reds. In the beginning I used Biotene Mouth wash to help and I never have any bite as long as I say away from the reds.

I have the exact same reaction with Gold Virginia.
Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake feels biting even after 8 years age and smoked in a digitally temperature controlled electric smoking device.
Oppositely pure Red VA is fairly tame.