Too easy to draw?

[redpiperlvt]

Hey ladies and brothers of the briar,
New brother here, just bought myself a nice smooth finished Peterson Dublin Churchwarden last week and I love it. No real big errors to see, nickel band is on tight, holes are drilled straight... sure I had to clean out the bowl before I smoked it like everyone said.. not sure if it was stain or precarbonization.. either way I love my peterson..

Unfortunately, its almost too easy to draw.. When I light it I get nice pillowy clouds of fog, but as soon as the match goes away, i get little tiny puffs and wisps of smoke. And it seems like the pipe goes out almost instantly.. whats going on here? Do I have to break in the pipe more? is it the tobacco? I'm smoking Peterson's Connosieur's choice and it tastes awesome..

 

[nsfisher]

First light usually don't do too much. After char light, tamp and relight. If it still goes out on ya, and the draw is too easy, you may be packing too loosely mate. Try packing a bit tighter.

 

[spartan]

Get everything real nice and burnt with the first light but try not to burn your pipe.
Wait for the pipe to go out after the first light. Tamp so the top is now even.
On you second light you should get a good amount lit up so you can start smoking without your lighter now.
Tamp and puff, tamp and puff.
For these first two lights the tobacco will expand so tamping is important here but be careful not to kill the ember.
A churchwarden is a bit of a tricky pipe to learn how to smoke in if you're still new. The draw on a church warden is going to be different and requires much more patience to not overpuff.
Also make sure your blend isn't too wet. A good 15 to 30 min of drying time can do wonders.

 

[taerin]

C-clamps come in handy, if your packing too loosely, they will get ya there. Here's an instructional video outlining the use of c-clamps in pipe smoking, and other useful tips, such as proper lighting technique.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dauoV95rCUY

 

[nsfisher]

LOL, now dat is some funny shit right dere.

 

[lostandfound]

Pack it much tighter than you would think you should.

 

[mso489]

redpiper, the char light, then tamping, then relight method sounds good, maybe packing a bit tighter as

mentioned. You didn't mention what tobacco you are using, but something that is cut in even size will

help, like 1Q, Carter Hall, or Prince Albert. Once you get the feel and measure of the pipe, you can probably

smoke nearly anything. I think churchwardens are wonderful pipes, and everyone needs at least one on their

rack. They are a nice change of pace and do good things for the flavor of many blends.

 

[mrenglish]

When you tamp, only apply enough pressure to even out the ash. You do not want to use the tamp to pack the bowl tighter.
Another thing would be to pack in layers. Place one layer and then test the draw, rinse and repeat until the bowl is full. By checking the draw after each layer you can get a sense of how tight the pack is going and adjust. Typically start lighter at the bottom and get tighter as you go towards the top.
Ideally, you want just a slight resistance to the draw, like sucking through a straw.
Do not worry to much about relights as you will get better with practice. When I first started it, I could easily use half a box of matches on a small bowl, which was the Dublin Peterson churchwarden the wife got me. Almost twenty years later I am still smoking that churchwarden, but with a shorter stem.

 

[redpiperlvt]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I wasn't expecting such a range of ways to try and fix the problem, the torch and c-clamp method sounds cool lol.
mso489, I'm smoking Peterson's Connosieur's choice right now.
mrenglish, I'm using the triple layer method to pack my bowl (baby/woman/men handshake method) but instead of getting slight resistance, I get NO resistance on the draw which kinda makes me feel like the air is rushing past the ember and not through it to make it burn.
spartan, every time I tamp my pipe after the initial light the ember always goes out. Is there a specific way to keep the ember alight while tamping or is this another one of those "practice till you get it right" kind of things?

 

[redpiperlvt]

Also, I have my tobacco in a glass lever lock jar that's pretty air tight, but the tobacco is indeed pretty moist. Do I just leave my jar open for a while? also I travel with my pipe and jar everywhere i go.. even smoked out a party last night with my pipe lol. Learned real quick thats a bad idea by the dirty looks from the cigarette smokers ahahaha. Is it a bad idea to smoke a briar pipe otuside? Is it bad to travel with tobacco in a jar?

 

[mso489]

I'd carry a few bowls of tobacco in a ziplock bag (or nice tobacco pouch if you have it) to carry around.

I wouldn't tote around a glass jar, just use that for home storage. You can smoke a briar outside. If

you do it regularly, and encounter much wind, you might want to consider a wind cap (for sale online

and at pipe shops) or just pack a deep bowl only half way. You just don't want the wind channeling down

the bowl and burning up your tobacco and maybe overheating the bowl. Walking with a pipe ("lunting")

on a calm day, no problem. I like to dry my tobacco out, if it needs in, in a shallow ceramic bowl. I

leave it overnight, sometimes for a day or two before I smoke it up.