I can not seem to keep my pipe lit without it getting extremely hot! I have tried a couple different packing techniques but I can't seem to figure it out. Any thoughts?
Troubles With Virginias
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Now I don't see how you could be having trouble with vaginas...oh wait you said virginias. Its a good thing a read this post closer oh wait don't hit send.
Lay out your tobacco on a plate for 45 mins to a couple of hours before you smoke it. I find, that tobacco that is too wet, can be hard to light and burn hot, regardless of what it is. I smoked some Esoterica Tobacciana "And So To Bed", wet, wet, wet. Hard to light, burns hot, taste is ok. I let it dry for awhile, it's cool, and flavorful, and takes to light much better. I've also had the same experience with McClelland Blackwoods Flake, an all VA blend. Same deal, hot, hard to light, and taste ok. Let it dry, epic smoke. Just my thoughts, YMMV.
If you're smoking an average sized pipe in less than 45 minutes, you're smoking too fast. Slow down.
Assuming your shop blend cavendish is a heavily cased aromatic (most of them are) that's a lot of sugar. Sugar burns hot. Slow down.
Virginia has lots of natural sugars. Slow down.
Assuming your shop blend cavendish is a heavily cased aromatic (most of them are) that's a lot of sugar. Sugar burns hot. Slow down.
Virginia has lots of natural sugars. Slow down.
I agree with all that has been said here and would like to reiterate. Dry your Virginias out for a half hour or longer and smoke SSSSSSSSSSSSSLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. You are not going go get billowing clouds of smoke but just a smouldering whisp of smoke from your pipe and your mouth. I find that exhaling those little whispy sips through your nose often while smoking Virginias is heavenly. I will, every so often, take a big deep long slow puff and exhale it through my nose...it's near euphoric. Your eyes water up and you get a burst of flavour that subsides with long finish like a good single malt whisky.
Pinch it hard between your forefinger and thumb. If it stays clumped together, it is too wet. If it is just at the point of "clumping together" it is ready to smoke.
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I also agree with all of the above...especially drying the tobacco before you pack your pipe. I always spread out about a bowl full on a paper plate and let it sit for an hour or even more before packing.
Also, I have a few pipes that just smoke too hot for VA's, so I only smoke english blends in those.
Also, I have a few pipes that just smoke too hot for VA's, so I only smoke english blends in those.
That is a major bummer man. I love VA. I will smoke them even if they burn the crap out of me. For me, the pain is worth the taste. The trick is, of course, to figure out how to smoke a particular blend, be it VA or what ever. That is why, I'm never bored with the pipe, even if I literally get burned from time to time.
If you are an x cig smoker, you are trying to do what all x cig smokers, puff, drag, inhale and look for the cloud of smoke. This is a common fault when switching to a pipe. All advice above is bang on mate.
Ohin3 nailed it, smoke patiently. Drying is a huge help. I don't smoke VA's that often and have a tin of OGS in a glass jar. The OGS is a nice change of pace from my usual English tobacco. I opened the tin this past summer and I just smoke a flake last week. It was dry enough to be almost brittle, which packed and smoke wonderfully, a completely different experience than when the tin was newly opened. A smallish pipe is also a must.
Although I agree with all the advice given above, I have to wonder about all the fuss I've read over many months concerning re-lights with Va blends. Is it the nuisance factor, or some sort of apparent smoking-technique inadequacy implied? To some extent, it is simply "what-is". I look at it as a requisite series of short smokes from a single bowl. Additionally, I have never encountered a single pipeist nor non-smoker snickering about my repeated tamps/re-lights. So, someone tell me why this seems to be an issue?
If you can't keep a pipe of anything burning pretty constantly then I would say that it is too tightly or loosely packed or the tobacco's humidity level is too high. I regularly smoke straight Virginia flakes and never have an issue with them staying lit. I stumbled through over the years till I figured out that my most memorable Virginia smokes came when I let the tobacco dry out to the point that it would form no more than a very loose clump when tightly pinched and packed the pipe in a way that the unlit draw offered up no more resistance than a cigarette. I now apply that same philosophy to all tobaccos and never ever have a hot or wet smoke from anything.
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