Pipe newbie

[DapperCat77]

I too just recently started smoking a pipe, I got my first pipe for Christmas. I also had a problem lighting and keeping it lit. At first I was packing too loose, then too tight. After a little experimenting I found how to pack it just right now my lighting problems are all gone.

 

[John Boyer]

What better way to start the New Year than with reflections over the Pipe?

It is a common frustration of those of us first engaging the Pipe: “how to keep it lit.” This is our first lesson--the Pipe is in control! After nearly 25 years of Pipe smoking, I will re-light 3-4 times per bowl, excluding the pre-light. In fact, I will often find myself re-lighting unnecessarily; it is just part of the ritual. It is such an anomaly to keep the Pipe lit through an entire bowl, that it is actually a contest among accomplished Pipe smokers for prizes. Once we think we have mastered this technique, we will change Pipes, blends or encounter different cuts of tobacco and be humbled-once again.

The personality of the Pipe is unlike any other tobacco practice. We cannot engage the Pipe with feelings of worry or anxiety. If we attempt to do so, we will learn to set these feelings aside, give them up, put the pipe down and wallow in our own "self pity" or--worse yet--give up the Pipe entirely. The Pipe will not tolerate it. It is wonderful how the Pipe guides us in this way.

With this, I wish all Pipe smokers a Happy New Year and many years of joy and peace that I am confident your Pipes will bring!

 

[shortbow]

Dang, John, wish I could put it so well. Those who seek enlightenment don't need 20 years in a Zen monastery, they just need to smoke a pipe.

 

[jazzncocktails]

Helpful Guidelines for Pipe Packing

What better way to start the New Year than with reflections over the Pipe?

Great reflections, Mr. Boyer!

While primarily a cigar smoker (and only occasional at that), I practiced some pipe smoking last winter and have been thinking of returning to it--it's a great winter pasttime, even in southern California where it gets just cold enough. Like many inconsistent or new smokers, I had trouble both packing the bowl and keeping it lit. The guidelines at the following website proved to be immensely helpful; hope you new pipe smokers find them as useful.

How to Pack and Light Your Pipe

Cheers!

 

[John Boyer]

Wall Street Journal Article on Pipe Smoking

Attached is a very encouraging Wall Street Journal article, particularly for those of us with an interest in pipe smoking. John

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123509294170728733.html

 

[jamespowers]

Attached is a very encouraging Wall Street Journal article, particularly for those of us with an interest in pipe smoking. John

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123509294170728733.html

A 96 year old pipe smoker. Well, that puts the scientists claims to a bit of shame as the old guy is still smoking and living after all these years. lol
Lots of good advice here. I clean my pipes witht eh kosher salt and cheap vodka routine when they get a build up.
My friend has this mean looking pipe reamer that cleans the heck out of cake build up. I don't remember the brand but it works.
I have about forty pipes that I get to use in rotation but mostly in summer. Winter is cigar season for me.

 

[Kermez]

I prefer pipes in the winter, but that's when for me all the great cigars and beers come out, so I am torn as pipe-smoking quite badly wrecks my sense of taste for a day or so.

 

[John Boyer]

A 96 year old pipe smoker. Well, that puts the scientists claims to a bit of shame as the old guy is still smoking and living after all these years. lol
Lots of good advice here. I clean my pipes witht eh kosher salt and cheap vodka routine when they get a build up.
My friend has this mean looking pipe reamer that cleans the heck out of cake build up. I don't remember the brand but it works.
I have about forty pipes that I get to use in rotation but mostly in summer. Winter is cigar season for me.

I clean my pipes with the traditional pipe cleaning alcohol; thinking I might not get much pipe cleaning done with the Vodka

It is also good to know that you have about 40 pipes. My wife thinks my 25 pipes are approaching borderline insanity; I can now tell her that I am just short of the right numbered of pipes of 40. I am currently attempting to build a separate but practical collection of Churchwardens, say, 6-8. Thank you for this advice and further evidence on the ideal pipe collection. John

 

[jamespowers]

I clean my pipes with the traditional pipe cleaning alcohol; thinking I might not get much pipe cleaning done with the Vodka

It is also good to know that you have about 40 pipes. My wife thinks my 25 pipes are approaching borderline insanity; I can now tell her that I am just short of the right numbered of pipes of 40. I am currently attempting to build a separate but practical collection of Churchwardens, say, 6-8. Thank you for this advice and further evidence on the ideal pipe collection. John

The right number? lol lol I am probably a bad example to use to any wife as I do not understand the words too many or enough.

 

[Macheath]

I clean my pipes with the traditional pipe cleaning alcohol; thinking I might not get much pipe cleaning done with the Vodka

lol

I didn't have that problem cleaning my pipe with Dewar's. This was last year, when I was trying different blended scotches, and I found out I wasn't too keen on the stuff. Decided I'd stick to Johnnie Walker for blends.

Does it make any difference though, what spirit you use to clean your pipe? I imagine the spirit will lend some of its flavor to the cake, but there was no discernible effect that time that I did use scotch.

 

[John Boyer]

lol

I didn't have that problem cleaning my pipe with Dewar's. This was last year, when I was trying different blended scotches, and I found out I wasn't too keen on the stuff. Decided I'd stick to Johnnie Walker for blends.

Does it make any difference though, what spirit you use to clean your pipe? I imagine the spirit will lend some of its flavor to the cake, but there was no discernible effect that time that I did use scotch.

As noted, it is my practice is to use a commercial alcohol based pipe cleaner. I have only heard of Vodka and Everclear being used as appropriate substitutes. I have also heard that rubbing alcohol is undiserable for pipe cleaning, but I do not know exactly why. I am not sure about Scotch. Seems like Scotch would leave a residue. John

 

[shortbow]

I've never before been too bothered about pipe cleaning, aside from occasional reaming of the cake to a reasonable thickness and fairly frequent use of pipe cleaners.

But, I got a little freaked out recently, reading allusions elsewhere to the possibility of contracting tuberculosis from estate pipes. After searching around some, I found no concrete dissertations on why one should really be concerned about this given the rarity now days of TB, coupled with the feeling on my part that the nicotine et al in the pipe should kill any undesirable bugs.

But being sufficiently neurotic to half believe this stuff, I looked on some of the pipe boards about using rubbing alcohol instead of everclear or vodka, and was persuaded by informed egg-head types that it is perfectly safe for bowl and stem as long as you let it dry completely before smoking. Conventional wisdom says it should be at least 70% isopropynal. Anyway, I'm going to try it in the next couple of days on some new estates I got recently. If you don't hear from me, you'll know it shouldn't be used.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Shortbow, what do you think of your Estate Pipe, how does it compare to breaking one in yourself?

John, my old economics professor used to smoke a pipe, he must have been doing so for forty years or so now and he says he still uses three or four matches during a pipe smoke. I seem to recall that once I managed to smoke a whole pipe, with no phantom tobacco with just the initial light and pre-light. Interestingly this was while I was walking outside pretty close to the sea.

Walking and pipe smoking - a delight!

 

[shortbow]

Ethan, provided the pipe has not had a glopy aromatic smoked a lot in it previously, the lack of a need to bread it in is one of the joys of estates. The other big one is that you can get some really nice pipes that would be prohibitively expensive if bought new. (Given my meager resources.)

 

[jamespowers]

As noted, it is my practice is to use a commercial alcohol based pipe cleaner. I have only heard of Vodka and Everclear being used as appropriate substitutes. I have also heard that rubbing alcohol is undiserable for pipe cleaning, but I do not know exactly why. I am not sure about Scotch. Seems like Scotch would leave a residue. John

I have never tried Scotch but I wouldn't mind the residue if it left one.
I used Vodka because it has no real discernable taste. I think I use some cheap brand that was left behind by the previous owner of my house---Stanton's. It is only good for pipe cleaning so there is really no chance I might be tempted to drink some in the process.

 

[Copper]

I have never tried Scotch but I wouldn't mind the residue if it left one.
I used Vodka because it has no real discernable taste. I think I use some cheap brand that was left behind by the previous owner of my house---Stanton's. It is only good for pipe cleaning so there is really no chance I might be tempted to drink some in the process.

I used a touch of Laphroaig to get the lucite taste out of a new churchwarden stem one time. I pulled some into the stem like a straw, blocked both ends and just let it sit for a few days.

Though the taste of the whisky passed quickly, it took with it the plasticky taste and was quite pleasant.

 

[jamespowers]

I used a touch of Laphroaig to get the lucite taste out of a new churchwarden stem one time. I pulled some into the stem like a straw, blocked both ends and just let it sit for a few days.

Though the taste of the whisky passed quickly, it took with it the plasticky taste and was quite pleasant.

Then again, you had to taste Laphroig.
I am sure it worked because alcohol gets rid of quite a few sins in a pipe. I fill mine with kosher salt first and then wet this salt with the cheap vodka after blocking the stem. That white salt will turn brown after about 30 minutes and suck all the tar, and other stuff that taints the pipe, right out. Rinse with more vodka and let dry. No problems with nasty leftover tastes. :cool2:

 

[shortbow]

Is it important that the salt is kosher?

 

[Kid Mac]

Kosher salt has a much larger grain size than table salt and a more open granular structure; it's coarse salt. It is a better medium to absorb any tars and "gunk" loosened by alcohol (NOT rubbing alcohol which contain methyl alcohol).

Some pipe smokers avoid the salt and alcohol treatment because it can, in rare cases, damage a pipe (e.g. bowls cracking after treatment). I've never had this happen, but I rarely use the salt treatment. I suppose some saline could leach into any cracks or fissures and later crystallize and stress weak points in the briar.

I don't see why another absorbent medium couldn't work if you can't get kosher salt -- cotton rag, paper toweling, etc.

Dry ashes,

Mac

 

[jamespowers]

Kosher salt has a much larger grain size than table salt and a more open granular structure; it's coarse salt. It is a better medium to absorb any tars and "gunk" loosened by alcohol (NOT rubbing alcohol which contain methyl alcohol).

Some pipe smokers avoid the salt and alcohol treatment because it can, in rare cases, damage a pipe (e.g. bowls cracking after treatment). I've never had this happen, but I rarely use the salt treatment. I suppose some saline could leach into any cracks or fissures and later crystallize and stress weak points in the briar.

I don't see why another absorbent medium couldn't work if you can't get kosher salt -- cotton rag, paper toweling, etc.

Dry ashes,

Mac

The Kosher salt also lacks Iodine which could do a good job of messing up the taste of a pipe.
I have never had a pipe crack using this method and I have used it on dozens of my pipes to say the least. I imagine it could damage a pipe that might have some problems with it in the first place. Always inspect a pipe before doing anything with it. If deep cracks are apparent then it might be a good idea to go for any type of aggressive cleaning. Getting them wet will expand the cracks and could crack the pipe.
Other mediums could work but not as well in my experience. Nothing else sucks the garbage out of a pipe like salt.