I've been picking-up on flavors lately more than ever before. More & more over time as I've slowed-down and become more conscious. Chocolate, cacao, figs, raisins, etc...
What Smoking Minutiae have You Picked Up On?
- Thread starter Bivymack
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Although many pipe smokers here, many with way more experience than I, dry their baccy to almost crispy, I prefer some moisture in mine. Just a touch dryer than the point where it sticks together.
I don't have any issues with dottle, keeping a pipe alight or any bad tastes.
Switching to a pipe got me off a 35 year cigarette addiction so I choose blends with mild nicotine and since I inhale every few puffs I prefer milder blends.
It's not humid here for most of the year.
Whether those factors have anything to do with it I'm not sure but it's worth paying attention to see if there's a difference between mild and stronger blends.
I'd also expect high humidity to have an influence.
Latakia was an acquired taste for me. It's a really strong flavour.
Although I now quite like the stuff, I like blends where it doesn't dominate.
If you find a Latakia blend too strong, 'dilute' it with straight Virginia, Burley [or a bit of both] to suit your tastes. [When an English blend is too astringent, adding a touch of Burley fixes it for me]
Or blending in an aromatic is a rather nice change of pace.
Try all genres to find what suits your tastes.
Count Pulaski and Epiphany are both very good crossover/American examples I'd recommend.
You gave up the ciggies for a pipe? Good for you.
Over 11 years ago I switched to a pipe to get off a 30-40 a day cig addiction.
What a difference it's made. No longer do I crave and I can go all day without when otherwise occupied.
I've not craved for a cigarette since.
Puffing on a pipe is so much more enjoyable and way tastier.
“Any other experiences or observations you folks have picked up over time?” - OP
Yes. Many. Here’s one that may do wonders for a new smoker’s enjoyment. — Set the tamper aside.
On first light, keep that going as long as you can and don’t concern yourself with the expansion. Allow some ash to form and then use the tamper only to level the ash. Never press. If you’ve loaded the pipe correctly, you’re work is done.
Aggressive tamping will ruin your experience faster than anything else. I think you’ll find that your bowl will burn more easily to the bottom without overuse of the tamper.
As for tobacco. I’m a burley nut at all times of the year. Especially in the fall.
Yes. Many. Here’s one that may do wonders for a new smoker’s enjoyment. — Set the tamper aside.
On first light, keep that going as long as you can and don’t concern yourself with the expansion. Allow some ash to form and then use the tamper only to level the ash. Never press. If you’ve loaded the pipe correctly, you’re work is done.
Aggressive tamping will ruin your experience faster than anything else. I think you’ll find that your bowl will burn more easily to the bottom without overuse of the tamper.
As for tobacco. I’m a burley nut at all times of the year. Especially in the fall.
I’ve had an on and off relationship with cigs since about 16. I’ll smoke for a several months, quit for a year or two, rinse and repeat. There are always feels of guilt associated with smoking because I can feel it wrecking my lungs, but the desire to smoke something is almost always there. So far a pipe is scratching that itch, and you’re spot on, smells and tastes better. 11 years, congrats!
I’ve been using a finger for tamping lately. There’s something about being able to feel where the ember is, not that I know what to do with that information yet… you’re absolutely correct, I’m too much too often right now and it does cause me a relight frequently.
This forum’s membership has been a wonderful source of information.
Reteohaling has been a good skill to learn.
Reteohaling has been a good skill to learn.
Me too. When I was a young pipe smoker I worried too much if I was doing it right especially amongst older pipe smokers. My old hiking and biking mate who was a Condor and Falcon smoker told me just to enjoy it.
Just to add to the burley recommendations, here's three VaBurs:
Walnut Flake now called Original Flake
St Bruno
Revor
Walnut Flake now called Original Flake
St Bruno
Revor
It's an interesting observation, though in my experience, the density of the smoke isn't related to the wetness of the tobacco. Different blends with different components produce different amounts of smoke. I mostly smoke Virginias and Va/Pers and most of those do not product a lot of smoke, more of a wispy amount, unless one is pushing them to cremate ones pipe and produce a foul tasting smoke.
Some Burleys can product fairly prodigious amounts of smoke, if clouds of smoke are something you desire.
I smoke on auto pilot and have done so for a while now. I went through the growing pains as everyone else did, and some catch on quickly and others do not. Patience and determination are the most important things in the beginning. Paying attention to what you are doing so that when you do get it right, you know how to repeat it.
For me, whether it's minutia or other things I've learned along the way, one is that smoking a pipe for me rarely grows boring. Tastes change, pipes change, tobaccos change. I've never grown bored with briar. To me, the wood on a beautiful pipe has a mesmerizing quality, even when it's not being smoked. There is always a tobacco I am really enjoying. With things like drying, there is no right or wrong, only right for you at the moment (hang on, I just threw up a little in my mouth because that sounded a little too much like "I'm living my own truth!" You know when you hear that it's bullcrap 99.99% of the time and the person saying it really means "I'm going to live in line with my delusion!"). But with drying, do it your way to the level you like. Some guys will lay their tobacco out carefully and time how long they let them dry with a stopwatch. Me, I just nuke it for 15 minutes to 30 seconds. Don't like a pipe style? 5 years from now you may. Do you love expensive pipe lighters? You may not care in a few years. But either way, it's a wonderful journey.
I tend to remove ash more often. I've become a bit picky with the taste of too much ash in the bowl. Now, I rid the top of the ash (just touch it from the side and turn the pipe upside down) maybe 3-4 times in an hour and then tamp lightly. A quick relight then gives a thick smoke immediately if you want that.
This way I find it easier to keep the pipe going with a consistent taste all through the bowl.
This way I find it easier to keep the pipe going with a consistent taste all through the bowl.
Maybe not worth adding, but I adopted an informal, very casual form of breath smoking that made a big difference in much fewer relights. Maybe I just finally learned how to smoke a pipe. I don’t know any other pipers.
Wet, dry, bone dry. These are the terms most often seen here. It'd be good if there were a somewhat precise scale, but afaik, I know only one person who actually measures such.
Good advice.
The thing that every new pipe smoker should know is that most of us with experience can remember what it was like when we were newbies before we got the hang of it and that even then we continue to learn.
That's why most are happy to share their experience with newbies as evidenced here every day.
Many, including myself, have mentioned how finding pipe smoking forums has improved their experience.