Unable to Gain Pleasure from Smoking Pipe

[frozenchurchwarden]

1. It takes two or three weeks to acclimatize your tastebuds to the smoke. Don’t smoke too much either or you’ll just fry your tongue, I’d suggest one bowl every two days at maximum (three bowls per-week).
2. Re-lights are a reality of pipesmoking. You can look for blends that burn better but they usually don’t taste as good (e.g. a dry burley blend). Get some Carter Hall and you might have some better luck staying lit while getting some flavour to enjoy.

Try some Virginia Flake once every week or so as your technique develops, it tastes great but is more difficult to keep lit.

 

[bnichols23]

Mike, if it were anybody else we'd probably go round & round, but I worry about your kids' well-being enough as it is. Besides, I know you mean it. :rofl:
B

 

[perdurabo]

Keep going at it, YouTube helps!

 

[benvierre7]

Thank you everyone for the sagely advise and remarks. Now I understand that reaching that 'Nirvana' state requires a certain time period and lotsa patience. Have been trying to smoke 2 bowls a day to increase the probability, but I am going to slow down after reading frozenchurchwarden insight.

On a side note, is Frank method of packing worth mastering as a beginner or should I stick to 3 pinch packing.

I tried both, still requires me to light every 7-8 puffs.

 

[brooklynpiper]

@benvierre

I would like you to try to do 3 pinch but when you pack it down do every tamp with the same force as you use on the first, lightest tamp. Then, as you experiment, go firmer or softer. Just a thought. Let us know

 

[cosmicfolklore]

On a side note, is Frank method of packing worth mastering as a beginner or should I stick to 3 pinch packing.

I tried both, still requires me to light every 7-8 puffs.

Ultimately, what these packing techniques are doing is teaching you how tight to pack... except the Frank method, which is a scam to make new pipes smokers look silly... like using hemp string to light your pipes. These are the snipe hunts of the pipe world. But, once you know how tight to pack, just put the tobacco in the pipe and smoke it. There is no need for all of those "techniques."
There is so many variables as to why your pipe would go out. I can keep my pipe in a clench and slowly savor the smoke for 30 minutes, put my pipe down, go to use the bathroom in a convenience store, buy a soda, get back in the truck and just put my pipe in mouth and continue.
For me, before I learned how to smoke properly, I was hitting my pipe with the lighter, because I felt that there needed to be a big cloud of smoke, and the fire needed to be hot in the pipe. But, then I realized that pipes are about thin wisps, not puffs. Sure, puff to get it going, and then thin long nearly non-detectable wisps of smoke coming out. If it is on the verge of going out, that is when you get the best flavors. If you surf these waves down the backside of the cherry going out, you will be rewarded with much more clear flavors from the tobacco, a cool mouth, and you can easily keep balance by controlling the wisps. Surf the wave on the backside of going out, keep it balanced and ride it to the top and back down again, keeping balance by regulating. But, if you keep hitting it with fire, expecting cigar-like smoking, taking the pipe out of your mouth every few minutes, then you are in the wrong genre. Some guys go for big wisps, burnt mouths, and probably would be happier with a cigar. Pipes can do that, but just expect to have to relight all the damn time.
YMMV, there are no rules. So, just find what works for you... or don't. Pipes aren't for everyone. a lot of guys feel like they need hand-hold other guys through this, but I take the easier route. If you don't like it, or it's too hard for you, try cigars. Any idiot can smoke those.
Whatever happens, have fun. ::

 

[jpmcwjr]

For all but plugs, flaked, and caked tobaccos, you do not need any technique to load a pipe. None.
If your tobacco has been dried enough, just scooping it into the bowl and pressing down will do it. If dry enough, it will not clump up. You'll be able to draw easily. You will have far fewer relights and less chance of bite. Too loose after smoking a bit? Tamp it gently while drawing.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've heard that but plugs can be kinda hard to get lit. ::

 

[warren]

You're thinking of "but pluggs", two gees.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sorry, I was just ASSuming... ::

 

[benvierre7]

@brooklynpiper - thank you, will try and share the results.

 

[warren]

Got it! :nana:

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

On a side note, is Frank method of packing worth mastering as a beginner or should I stick to 3 pinch packing.

Try to think of the Frank Method as more of a guideline than a science.
Follow Frank’s loading advice often enough and you’ll end up with a sort of a three finger “Pinch and Shove” technique aimed getting at similar results as the “Air Pocket Method”.

The most important lesson is that you’re learning to load the bowl with even pressure along the height of the side wall, not just pressing down and compacting the tobacco around the draft hole.

 

[kylef]

I've been smoking a pipe for a little over three years, I think--although not very frequently, so I still consider myself a relative newbie.
I had no experience with pipes, and assumed the whole thing was pretty easy so I didn't even do any research. My first tobacco was Peterson Luxury Blend. Wow, it smelled great in the tin. I packed my pipe, puffed away, and couldn't keep it lit for even 5 seconds. I was thinking "what the hell--this is impossible!"
I gradually learned about drying out the tobacco (and I now know that Peterson blend was pretty moist out of the tin,) and how to pack. I remember some time after, I was trying out Peter Stokkebye Black Dansk, and through some alignment of the stars, I must have done everything right, and I had that nice, relaxing, flavorful smoke that was like I imagined pipe-smoking to be. After that, I knew it was possible. While I still had some bad smokes after that, they became much less frequent, and now they're pretty rare--and if I do have one now, I usually know what I did wrong.

 

[benvierre7]

@kylef - thank you for insisting it is humanly possible. Did you struggle with flavor initially as well? For me all I can say about my smoke's flavor - "smoky", "ashy" and a kind of uncomfortable sensation at the back of throat.

 

[daniel7]

For me all I can say about my smoke's flavor - "smoky", "ashy" and a kind of uncomfortable sensation at the back of throat.

That's usually like that when you smoke it too fast or you take too long puffs. Try it slower. If it is packed correctly (not too tight) you don't need to worry that you need to relight it. Maybe only at the bottom. I think you need just to slow down a little bit. One bowl lasts around 45-60 minutes usually (not "king size"-type pipes), I think it is a good indicator if you smoke too fast or not. In my opinion pipe smoking became less popular because world and society started to work on a higher speed - but by smoking a pipe you can get back a piece from the slower "old world". And this is one of the many reasons why I love to smoke a pipe. So try to adapt to this smoking instrument of the old world and slow down, relax.

 

[sablebrush52]

I'm sort of a newbie myself, having smoked a pipe, off and on, for only 47 years. Methods are fine, but really unnecessary. People have been smoking pipes for thousands of years without methods. The Frank Method works fine, but I can't get too serious about him because Frank packs his tobacco straight from the tin without drying it. That tells me he doesn't know beans about how to get flavors. Stick with experimenting with packing and moisture and cadence and you'll eventually get the combination that works for you.
What Cosmic writes about nursing that coal so that the tobacco is barely simmering and about to go out is exactly where it's at for getting the most flavor out of a blend. But, it takes experience to understand the combination of moisture, packing, and cadence to make that work. I can do that all day, any day, without even thinking about it, but I've had a little practice. I can smoke a bowl without needing to relight, stick a smoldering bowl in my pocket while I duck into a store to do a bit of shopping and pull it out and continue my smoke without needing a relight. But...I've had a bit of practice. And mind you, the relight thing isn't a goal and never was. I'm not into stunt smoking or parlor tricks. I've just had a bit of practice so all of this is simply second nature.
All that said, different blends, different cuts, have different burning rates, so not all blends can be smoked without the occasional relight. Some popular blends are frankly a challenge to keep lit, so I don't bother worrying about it. It's more important to me to enjoy the flavors I get when the tobacco is barely smoldering.
Where a lot of pipe smokers seem truly clueless is with the matter of optimal smoking moisture for tobaccos, but the knowledge level is improving and people are discovering that there were more flavors in their favorite blends than they knew.
I went through all the same learning that you are now doing. I was fortunate that 47 years ago there were a lot more people versed in the arcane art of smoking a pipe, so I got some good pointers early and that helped.
You might do worse than to pick up a tin of H&H Vipratti. It's a fairly strong (for a Va/Per) flavored blend. It has the benefit of being one of the few blends tinned at an optimal smoking moisture. You'll get a sense of what a proper moisture level is. And you could dry it more, but with this blend it's really not necessary. It's a fairly easy blend to smoke. I personally think it does better in a large bowl, but you might find that it gives you something pleasant back for your trouble.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

plenty of sound and solid advice here ,I liked the Cosmics and Sables the best,so true, now when I can say something on this very subject is that one is better off when not overthinking all this 'how to pack and smoke,and yes the dryer the tobacco the better it smokes&tastes, generally speaking,,

 

[jpmcwjr]

What brothers sable, cosmic and Paul write.
You can master all 83 techniques for packing a bowl, but if the material is too damp, don't make no hoot of no difference no how.
Enjoy!

 

[maxx]

Yep. The wet/dry issue is important. I got an order of tobacco that was tinned just this year, and for some, only weeks ago. It’s pretty moist. I had to relearn to let it dry a bit to get a fuller flavor.