This is now my third foray into pipe smoking. The past two flamed out (awful pun intended). I subsequently sold off my acquired pipes and tobaccos and returned to cigars. This third go round came with a renewed vigor and stubbornness and has been far more successful and I intend to stick with pipes indefinitely. My one takeaway from these three experiences, and the one thing that could have kept the first two from ending in frustration, is the swirl packing method. When it comes to ribbon cut tobacco, which is the tobacco most frequently recommended for newbs, no method is simpler, more consistent, and (easily) lends itself to cool, relight-minimized, smokes. Yet, when you search Youtube for packing methods, it's 80% 3-Step and 15% Frank. I'm not sure why this simple method gets so overlooked by the YTPC.
For anyone who's interested, here's the video that helped me:
For anyone who's interested, here's the video that helped me: