Looking for tobacco advice.

MichaelRB88 said:

I've actually done great with captain black (white pouch). As I said, I seem to do better each time. Hopefully I'll be doing well by the time my tobaccos get here.

I think I'll grab a bowl of carter hall today and see if it's better for me.

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Yep its just like wet shaving. The more you do it the better you get. Packing seems to be the hardest thing to get down. Then its just puffing slow and enjoy. Once you get a feel for packing it eveything gets better. Welcome to the unending rabbit hole of trying new blends haha . Pipe collecting is fun too

Ponycarman said:

Yep its just like wet shaving. The more you do it the better you get. Packing seems to be the hardest thing to get down. Then its just puffing slow and enjoy. Once you get a feel for packing it eveything gets better. Welcome to the unending rabbit hole of trying new blends haha . Pipe collecting is fun too

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I'd like to get a couple more pipes. I'm thinking the country gentleman cob and maybe a reasonable briar. Baby steps......lest I make my wife upset. I don't enjoy going hungry.

MichaelRB88 said:

I'd like to get a couple more pipes. I'm thinking the country gentleman cob and maybe a reasonable briar. Baby steps......lest I make my wife upset. I don't enjoy going hungry.

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Good plan. Reasonable briars, I'd be looking at the Morgan Bones series, or if you want something a bit more refined/finished look, Rossi, La Rocca... watch for good sales on Stanwell or Savinelli.

MichaelRB88 said:

I'd like to get a couple more pipes. I'm thinking the country gentleman cob and maybe a reasonable briar. Baby steps......lest I make my wife upset. I don't enjoy going hungry.

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Hehe I know the feeling . Cobs are excellent . The morgan pipes bones line has been really popular around here and rightly so. They smoke great, are affordable, and look cool. There are lots of other nice briars too if your wanting something more finished.

Ponycarman said:

Hehe I know the feeling . Cobs are excellent . The morgan pipes bones line has been really popular around here and rightly so. They smoke great, are affordable, and look cool. There are lots of other nice briars too if your wanting something more finished.

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I'm not terribly concerned with elegance(fancy finishes, I don't know exactly how to say it); I wouldn't want one that would hurt my feelings too much if it were dropped or scuffed in some manner. Don't get me wrong, I'm careful with my inexpensive cob. I think filterless pipes will be my preference. I don't care for dealing with them; I don't prefer the draw wide open either, though.

MichaelRB88 said:

I'm not terribly concerned with elegance(fancy finishes, I don't know exactly how to say it); I wouldn't want one that would hurt my feelings too much if it were dropped or scuffed in some manner. Don't get me wrong, I'm careful with my inexpensive cob. I think filterless pipes will be my preference. I don't care for dealing with them; I don't prefer the draw wide open either, though.

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A definite prime candidate for a Morgan Bones pipe then. Nice variety of shapes, very reasonable price point, and they are a briar who's main point is to not worry about having them in a tackle box or such and not worry about them. Added points, so far my experience is they smoke wonderfully easy.

Definitely look at a bones . I liked my first so much I now have 4. A stubby pitbull (dont see this shape listed anymore), a stubby anse, a poker, and one of the smaller outdoorsman series bones. I love them all . I have modified them a tad to how I like them. Opened the airway just a tad on mine. Had to tweak the outdoorsman one a little more. But all smoked great from the start. It was just me tinkering haha.

I am starting out too and have made three online purchases and a couple of purchases at local B&M stores. I started out by getting some well reviewed English, Virginia/Perique, a light aromatic and some dark-fired Kentucky blends. I think I went and focused too much on the higher-strength full-bodied blends to start, but the Crown Achievement is one that I also got and it is a good one. Peter Stokkebye Proper & Luxury English, Luxury Navy Flake and Luxury Bullseye Flake. The point is - get a variety of blends in different blends and in a couple of different strengths. Go out and get some pint sized and 8oz mason jars and put the samples into. I think those two sizes cover 1 and 2oz samples pretty well - with the next size up for 4+ ounces - but find out what you like before you buy 4+ ounces of something. I have found that I really like Dunhill Nitecap, PS LNF and McLelland's 2015 Va-Per blend, but still trying others to find what suits me best. It is a rabbit hole like wet shaving for sure.

In my state - the price of the tobacco is pretty high. They charge a 40% excise tax on the tobacco price and then you get hit with the 6.25% state tax on that figure (tobacco + excise) - so it can get expensive to try from B&M stores here, so online is the way for me.

Even if you get something that you find is not exactly right - give it some age and try it again, or try and doctor it up by adding some condimental tobaccos to a blend later once you know what you like (latikia, cavendish, oriental, perique, etc.). That way you will not need to necessarily toss something that initially may not be a favorite.

Good advice about getting a couple of cobs - and separating the pipes to be used for aromatics vs. non-aromatics. I am also trying to see if I can leave a couple of pipes for Va-Per blends and others for English-style blends to see if it makes any difference or not. I have gotten a few nicer estate pipes, but not everyone likes estate pipes and the Bones pipes look very nice as do the Rossi line of pipes - and I am waiting for their inexpensive line of Author pipes to be stocked again at SmokingPipes, but the MM General, Diplomat and Country Gentleman get just as much use if not more than the briar pipes I have picked up.

If you want to have a cheap source of filters - I have been having great success with a piece of 3" x 36" x 3/8" balsa from the craft store - if will give me 100's of filters for the cobs from a single piece - and have even cut some 9mm filters out of it for a bigger filtered bent pipe I picked up. Easy to make a bunch and keep it in my on the go pouch.

Effy said:

That is a shame. I've recently gotten in to snuff (the dry, sniffing snuff) again, which isn't too easy to find in any real varieties. Even pipe shops here in my part of Austria are okay, but then just over the border in Switzerland, maybe 45 minutes drive, is a great shop for getting new tobacco for pipes

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I have a theory about why the pipe is more alive in Europe than here in the US. In my experience, most Europeans have a little more free time then us, and tend to actually disconnect from the job when not there and enjoy their time. It may be a generalization, but our lives tend to be a bit more hectic, and we find it harder to actually sit down for a bit and relax for a bowl. When we have gaps in our schedule, we cram other things to do into it. It is a bit of a cultural thing, I think.

I've been enjoying a smoke on my drive to work for a couple days. It stops me from speeding and makes my drive quite enjoyable. Paired with good music, this could become a habit. I've got to stop the relights though.....

MichaelRB88 said:

I've been enjoying a smoke on my drive to work for a couple days. It stops me from speeding and makes my drive quite enjoyable. Paired with good music, this could become a habit. I've got to stop the relights though.....

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I did that for years when I had a one hour commute both ways. I had a great pipe in the morning and looked forward to a great pipe in the afternoon. A fantastic way to enjoy the commute!

Now you need to master the knee steer while tamping!

Riff Raff said:

I did that for years when I had a one hour commute both ways. I had a great pipe in the morning and looked forward to a great pipe in the afternoon. A fantastic way to enjoy the commute!

Now you need to master the knee steer while tamping!

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Knee steer is mastered. Tamping needs work.

I got my tobaccos today. Captain Black Black Sea is my favorite. The others are good, the crown achievement comes in second. I must be a fan of cavendish. The Black Sea also has Latakia. It's definitely good. The crown achievement didn't smell as good in the bag, but I was surprised by its flavor. I need to get a second pipe for the non aromatic ones. I think that's gonna give me a fresh outlook on the chocolate flake. I hope for a visit to a pipe shop in Nashville this weekend. I should be able to pick up a new pipe. I'm hoping for a moderately priced briar. Or maybe a nicer cob.

Thanks everyone for the help, and also for enabling me on a very enjoyable method of smoking (I smoke cigarettes as well). I prefer the pipe to cigarettes; it's not very practical during a busy day though.

An easy all day smoke for me is Cornell and Deihl Briar Fox. Its a nice natural tasting mild blend of Virginias and Burley. No detectable flavoring just a mild pleasant blend. You may like it.

MichaelRB88 said:

I got my tobaccos today. Captain Black Black Sea is my favorite. The others are good, the crown achievement comes in second. I must be a fan of cavendish. The Black Sea also has Latakia. It's definitely good. The crown achievement didn't smell as good in the bag, but I was surprised by its flavor. I need to get a second pipe for the non aromatic ones. I think that's gonna give me a fresh outlook on the chocolate flake. I hope for a visit to a pipe shop in Nashville this weekend. I should be able to pick up a new pipe. I'm hoping for a moderately priced briar. Or maybe a nicer cob.

Thanks everyone for the help, and also for enabling me on a very enjoyable method of smoking (I smoke cigarettes as well). I prefer the pipe to cigarettes; it's not very practical during a busy day though.

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Sometimes a smaller pipe can help make it more convenient. Mm makes some cobs that will smoke for 10-20 min depending on the blend and how fast you puff. I like them for short smokes out with the dogs. I grabbed a few when it got colder and I didn't want to stay out in the cold long. They are really cheap too. Around 5 bucks if I remember correctly. Light and easy to clinch too.

Razorfaust said:

An easy all day smoke for me is Cornell and Deihl Briar Fox. Its a nice natural tasting mild blend of Virginias and Burley. No detectable flavoring just a mild pleasant blend. You may like it.
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Good call

Ponycarman said:

Sometimes a smaller pipe can help make it more convenient. Mm makes some cobs that will smoke for 10-20 min depending on the blend and how fast you puff. I like them for short smokes out with the dogs. I grabbed a few when it got colder and I didn't want to stay out in the cold long. They are really cheap too. Around 5 bucks if I remember correctly. Light and easy to clinch too.

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That's what I have now. It was the only ones my local tobacco outlet had. I have, however, looked at their hardwood pipes. Very cheap and smaller still. I only have. 10-15 minute drive. I take my time and allow time to finish up in the parking lot before going in.

MichaelRB88 said:

That's what I have now. It was the only ones my local tobacco outlet had. I have, however, looked at their hardwood pipes. Very cheap and smaller still. I only have. 10-15 minute drive. I take my time and allow time to finish up in the parking lot before going in.

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Cool . I still have yet to try one of their hardwood pipes. They look nice though. I guess you could smoke half a bowl if shorter was needed. I haven't really played around with packing less than a bowl.

So I visited uptowns in Nashville. Great shop. Pipes were out of my budget. I did pick up a tin of orlik golden sliced and an ounce of bullseye flake. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to designate a cabinet for tobacco.

MichaelRB88 said:

So I visited uptowns in Nashville. Great shop. Pipes were out of my budget. I did pick up a tin of orlik golden sliced and an ounce of bullseye flake. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to designate a cabinet for tobacco.

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Definitely 2 very solid choices. I had to buy shelves and a cabinet to store the pipes and tobacco. lol It happens, just go with it.