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A caveman and his pipe

So I was reading another thread and saw this...

I think care and appreciation are the biggest parts here with cigars. If a guy ruins a cigar, he's usually just smoking it to show off or celebrate an occasion and doesn't have any experience. Pipes can be fool-proof too and self-explanatory as long as you take it slow and care about what you are doing.

I responded:
My pipe proved that I'm a fool, I guess. Couldn't get the darn thing to stay lit for more than 30 seconds. I tried packing it 3 times using the Frank method, another technique I read elsewhere, then just guessing. Each time the result matched descriptions of how it ought to be. This fool's gonna need more practice!

Result? Threadjack, as follows. (My apologies to the OP of that thread!)
Practice makes perfect! Also, make sure your 'baccy isn't too wet when you fill (I dislike the term "pack") your pipe. No matter the method, it wont stay lit very well if it's too wet.

I was thinking it might be too wet. It feels a little more moist than I expect is appropriate. Any shortcuts for drying it, or just leave some out for a few days?

Edit: I should have googled first and posted second. Turns out sufficient drying might happen just leaving it out for a half hour.

No worries, we love to answer questions here!


Well in that case, continuing to jack this thread...slightly better success tonight, if you consider having to puff hard every 5 seconds to keep it alive and getting 3 minutes out of it good. I'm going to let some dry overnight...

Make your own thread if you wish. A "smoking journal" of sorts. We can all chime in with tips/tricks/hints/advice and you can keep a running tally of your smoking adventures to learn from.

Ok, have to ask... what tobacco are you using in what pipe?

So here I am.

To answer that last question: I've got a couple cobs, one a MM and one a cheap eBay cob from China.

I'm practicing on drugstore tobacco, Admiral's Choice Cherry Cavendish, because I don't want to waste decent (and expensive) stuff by failing to smoke it. (I was going to get Captain Black but then I asked SWMBO for her opinion on the options that were there and she said her dad smoked cherry and she'd like to smell that. I was happy to oblige. Perhaps a mere captain caveman such as myself should not attempt to smoke his Admiral? A rank issue?)

I also tried once with Milan Neapolitan.
http://www.milantobacco.com/milanpipetobacco.htm
I have their sample pack. Once I get the hang of smoking the pipe I'll try the non-aromatic and English samples but for now I'm saving them.

I'm not disappointed in my results, just chatting about it. I've loaded my pipes maybe 7 times and lit them about 40 times (based on match usage -- 1 box of 32 plus a few tries with a lighter). I've played with a variety of techniques I've read for charring, tamping, stirring, even poking a hole down the center (which was a disaster, next draw was a mouth full of ash). I don't think I've smoked one whole pipe's worth yet. I don't imagine that's a sufficient amount of practice.
 
Ok, I'm not that far into pipe smoking, either, so not the expert. Here's some things I noticed when starting out... Often times flavored Cavendish blends are *very* cased/wet.. and they way they are cased, they don't dry out really easily (or at all). That could be part of the issue you've run into. I'd stick to the MM cob, just so you know you have a quality pipe you are working with. They have a fairly large tobacco chamber, and I tended to pack them too tight trying to fill them, which also doesn't help.

I ended up going with a 3 step fill, which was loosely grab a good pinch of tobacco, gravity drop it into the bowl. Do it that till the tobacco is slightly over the top. Tamp it lightly till the bowl is tamped down to about half, nice and easy, not tight. Gravity to the top, loosely tamp down till it's about 3/4 filled. Top it off one more time and this one you can pack down with some pressure to it's solid but sort of "springy" feeling.

The first match is really just a char light, trying to singe and such the whole top layer, and it will go out, don't try to puff it to keep it lit. Use your tamper to lightly tamp down the singed layer, then you can go for the full light on the second match. Generally only takes 3 or 4 good sturdy sips while moving the match all over the top, couple good 2 or 3 sips right after that, and it should be pretty good to go and enjoy. Try that with one of the non-aro tobaccos you have, see how that goes.

Having to relight 3 or even 5 times through a bowl, and having like 1/5 or so left at the bottom is pretty normal, so don't sweat that part. Don't try to over puff to keep it lit, just tamp every so lightly and relight.
 
+1 to most everything (if not all) that Rat said. The flavored cavendish is sometimes so laced with PG (propylene glycol) that a bag won't dry out even if left open for a year. Nothing wrong with it, just made for average consumer, not a pipe connoisseur.

I fill the same way, good method to get a feel for things.

You could try a pipe lighter (like this) if matches aren't your thing. I find a lighter easier for relights, but its a YMMV thing.

Relights are not a bad thing, better to relight often than burn your mouth and get tongue bite puffing madly at a dying ember. Some 'baccy left in the bowl at the end is a good thing. It's called "dottle", it keeps the rest of your 'baccy moist enough to smoke and flavorful without being too hot.
 
I will definitely try that filling procedure. It sounds similar to what I've been doing when not trying the Frank method or other documented procedure, just guessing/doing what comes naturally, except for the tamping.

I was thinking of maybe getting a pipe lighter, too. However, I'm trying to keep a lid on my expenditures and I've been blowing a lot of money lately, especially on hobbies like this.

3-5 relights per bowl is what I've commonly read, and that a bowl lasts and average pipe smoker 45 minutes or so, sipping 1-3 times per minute. Does that sound about right?

Any recommendations on a practice tobacco? Doesn't need to be the best tasting, just needs to light/burn in a consistent and predictable way so I can fix my technique, must be inexpensive (because of my budget, but also because I might waste a bunch), and ought to be a drugstore brand so it's easy to get (also because shipping makes even the cheapest tobacco expensive).
 
It's possible you are over tamping during the filling process then. Testing the draw during filling, I get almost no resistance in the draw even during the char light, then just light resistance from the tamping after the char light. The tobacco needs oxygen pockets in the fill to help it burn smooth and easily, plus over tamping helps cause over heating.

Number of relights, how long a bowl lasts, and even the cadence you can pull sips at really vary a lot depending on the pipe, it's shape, the tobacco, how it's filled into the pipe, and how hard your "sip" is compared to the guy that said how many per minute. All that being said, those things are a pretty generic average, yeah.

You can actually use a standard cheap bic for a pipe lighter if matches just aren't your thing. They have a soft flame, fairly easily directed into the bowl, or even those mini bics so the flame is even smaller and softer.

Easy smoking/burning drugstore brands... Carter Hall and Sir Walter Raleigh (reg and aromatic,either one) are the two that spring to my mind first. I'll let others chime in on other suggestions.
 
It's possible you are over tamping during the filling process then. Testing the draw during filling, I get almost no resistance in the draw even during the char light, then just light resistance from the tamping after the char light.

Agreed that Caveman is probably over tamping, not surprising since he is probably used to clubbing things :laugh:. A lot of people I know, myself included, do that when first starting out. The resistance on the draw should be comparable to sucking a beverage through a straw. When getting my friends started on pipe smoking, I recommend testing the draw after each partial fill and tamp. That's what worked for me. Eventually you don't even have to think about it. You just know how hard to pack the tobacco based on the dryness of the tobacco, the shape of the bowl, the draft on that particular pipe, etc...took me a few months to get there though.
 
It's working a little better tonight. The Admiral's Choice is definitely more dry now, having been sitting out on the counter on a flattened brown paper bag for 24 hours. Loading as described above certainly helped too.

Having to relight 3 or even 5 times through a bowl, and having like 1/5 or so left at the bottom is pretty normal, so don't sweat that part. Don't try to over puff to keep it lit, just tamp every so lightly and relight.

I think I'm still at a lot more than 5 relights per bowl but it's less frustrating. I should try some of the non-aro.

How do I know when the bowl is done?
 
How do I know when the bowl is done?

That is a good question, and it's hard for me to put into words other than "it's done when you think it's done". Some key signs would be: no more flavor, it's bitter, too hard to re-light, nothing is left but ash...stuff like that. But never be afraid to end a bowl early if you aren't enjoying it anymore. It is just cents-worth of 'baccy you are talking about...this is a luxury hobby after all.
 
I am more or less a NOOB to pipe smoking as well. I find that I often over think filling the bowl with baccy. Just fill it and move on.

As for lighting, I have found that different baccy's require a different number of chars and tamps before they actually start burning well enough to smoke.

And for knowing when the bowl is done, the_edski put it very well when he said, " its done when you think its done". When you get to that point of your bowl....you will know.
 
OTC cherry blends are notoriously goopy and difficult to smoke without tongue bite. Carter Hall is a good OTC IMO. The plus side is, if you can master smoking the Admirals cherry Cavendish (which I detest personally, but to each his own) you should be able to smoke anything of better quality.
 
It's working a little better tonight. The Admiral's Choice is definitely more dry now, having been sitting out on the counter on a flattened brown paper bag for 24 hours. Loading as described above certainly helped too.

Now it's been out for 72 hours and it's quite dry. It still doesn't stay lit for as long as I'd like, but it burns fast and hot. I guess this is as good as Admiral's Choice cherry cavendish gets. I'll have to give one of those non-aros a chance tomorrow, or see if I can get my hands on some Carter Hall.

Re-reading the thread I think I haven't been tamping enough:
Agreed that Caveman is probably over tamping, not surprising since he is probably used to clubbing things :laugh:. A lot of people I know, myself included, do that when first starting out. The resistance on the draw should be comparable to sucking a beverage through a straw.

Resistance most of the time has been more like sucking air through a straw. Each pull sounds like sucking air through a straw too. Everything and everybody says not to tamp too hard so I've been avoiding tamping too hard. It's kinda like everybody constantly saying "no pressure" so there is air space between my beard and razor...I guess I need to follow directions less obediently and pretend I'm doing whatever it is everybody does that caused those directions to be written.
 
I've found that the best tamps are when just a little bit more than the weight of the Czech tool is needed to get the ash down. When I tamped and heard/felt a crunching noise, I didn't really need a tamp but was too early. In doing that I was decresing the amount of air between the leaves and a relight was usually needed.

Now, I wait till the smoke becomes thin and when I tamp and almost no excessive pressure is needed.
 
Well, give it a good solid tamping, and you'll feel/hear the difference, plus you'll be able to tell as you go when you over tamp.
 
Resistance most of the time has been more like sucking air through a straw. Each pull sounds like sucking air through a straw too. Everything and everybody says not to tamp too hard so I've been avoiding tamping too hard.

Yeah. A sucking sounds is pretty indicative of under-tamping. Trial and error, you will get it to your liking soon enough.
 
Milan Milestone and some heavier tamping, somewhat better results. I'm still not getting the results I want but I'm getting there. This is good progress.

This stuff is very mild. Description from their site:
"Milestone (Non-Aromatic) Pipe Tobacco
Milan's master blender David Meyer brought together aged Golden and Red Virginias, select Burleys, and other proprietary tobaccos to create this special 100th Anniversary non-aromatic blend. Milestone has a nice room note and is medium in strength, yet smooth on the palate. Tantalize your taste buds with hints of nutmeg, caramel, and an underlying sweet spice on the finish."

Edit: Well, it's mild at first but as I smoke it down it gets stronger.

Wife likes the smell of this too so I guess she's not stuck on the cherry stuff. Also she says she likes how I look while smoking the pipe.

I dug up some old drugstore pipe tobacco that I had bought maybe 8 years ago. One is Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey, still sealed in its pouch. The other is Captain Black Royal (Blue Pouch), unsealed. I understand good quality tobacco sealed in a tin gets better with age; is this stuff, though, likely to be any good?

Any suggestions what chain stores might have Carter Hall or Sir Walter Raleigh? I can have trouble getting to a proper tobacconist during their hours. I stopped in a Walgreens but they only had what looked like a store brand. The CVS where I bought Admiral's Choice also had Captain Black (White and Gold) as its only other brand.
 
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I've found that the best tamps are when just a little bit more than the weight of the Czech tool is needed to get the ash down. When I tamped and heard/felt a crunching noise, I didn't really need a tamp but was too early. In doing that I was decresing the amount of air between the leaves and a relight was usually needed.

Now, I wait till the smoke becomes thin and when I tamp and almost no excessive pressure is needed.

This. +1
 
I dug up some old drugstore pipe tobacco that I had bought maybe 8 years ago. One is Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey, still sealed in its pouch. The other is Captain Black Royal (Blue Pouch), unsealed. I understand good quality tobacco sealed in a tin gets better with age; is this stuff, though, likely to be any good?

Any suggestions what chain stores might have Carter Hall or Sir Walter Raleigh? I can have trouble getting to a proper tobacconist during their hours. I stopped in a Walgreens but they only had what looked like a store brand. The CVS where I bought Admiral's Choice also had Captain Black (White and Gold) as its only other brand.

As long as the 'baccy you dug up isn't crumbly or moldy, you could give it a shot at smoking and see how it is.

Do you have Rite-Aid in your area? I don't, but I've heard they have 'baccy there as well.
 
Oh, and tonight's selection from that sampler...I kinda lost track but I think it's this one:
Jefferson Street (Non-Aromatic) Pipe Tobacco
A medium strength sliced burley blend with some Turkish and Cavendish tobaccos. This blend offers a rich, nutty flavor with a slight hint of rum raisin and a moderately sweet finish. Nice room aroma.


This might be my favorite so far.
 
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