Pipe newbie

[eldonkr]

I've always liked the idea of smoking a pipe. and even entertained the thought. One of my friends was smoking his pipe when I was at his house a while back. And I liked the smell of the tobacco. So I went out the other day and bought a pipe and a bag of Captain Black pipe tobacco.

The pipe was a $10 pipe at my local smoke shop. The box says HaoJue and on the side it says HG-685. I dont know what that means but there you go.

I make this thread in hopes that the pipe smokers with experience on the board can offer some tips for pipe smoking and pipe care.

For example I'm having trouble keeping my pipe lit.

And, do all pipes require a filter even though the guy at the smoke shop says mine doesn't.


Feel free to pass along your wisdom to me. Also feel free to recommend good pipes and tobacco blends to me.

 

[Sir RBH]

Pipes

hello there

Thanks for posting. Always good to read of new pipe smokers.. i like to smoke a pipe and although not a veteran at it.. i do enjoy on a regular basis
RBH

 

[DerMann]

What a coincidence, my friend and I went out in hopes of finding a tobacconist in town just yesterday. The only tobacconist within downtown limits was really just a place to buy cigarettes, but they had the essentials for beginning pipe smoking.

Picked up a corn cob (with a filter, probably same as yours) for $4, a pouch of Captain Black Royal and a pouch of Prince Albert.

I don't know if you were told about it, but all pipes require (at the bare minimum) a tamper tool to work (a poker is useful, too). If you didn't pick up a pipe tool, you can use a nail or something that looks like this:

--------|

The tamper is used to compact the tobacco so that it burns well. In my (very) limited experience, Captain Black can be a little troublesome. It is a bit wet, and if you smoke too hard, it can get VERY hot and cause tongue bite (taking a break for most of today because of that reason). If you have it packed well enough, though, and you smoke it at just the right speed, it's a very enjoyable tobacco (especially for the price). I have read that it is difficult to keep CB lit, as it is fairly wet, but keep at it and you'll get a good smoke going.

I smoked a bowl with the filter in my pipe, and then took it out to try it without. The smoke is a bit more enjoyable as far as flavour goes, but the heat did rise a bit. All in all, filters are largely unnecessary. Many pipes below the $40 mark come with filters. I really don't see that many pipes over $50 with a filter standard. Again, it's really not very useful.

As my pipe is corncob, I just scrape out the ash, remove and wash the mouthpiece bit (the proper name escapes me), and let it air dry. I would get some pipe cleaners, which are very inexpensive (especially if you get them from a tobacconist, not the art supply kind).

As far as tobacco goes, try a little bit of every thing. If you have a good tobacconist in town, he will gladly recommend different blends and styles. Peterson, Dunhill, Samuel Gawith, and GL Pease make very good tobacco, and should be available nationwide. Try tobaccoreviews.com to see what other pipe smokers have said about tobaccos.

Lastly, don't be afraid to relight your pipe. I'm still learning and I relight 3-5 times a bowl.

Hope this helps!

*EDIT*

I just tried out a new tobacco, Prince Albert, and it stays lit MUCH better. Although it's not a cavendish (personal taste), it's still a very mild and enjoyable smoke. Cheap, too. A 1.5oz(?) pouch was a little over two dollars. I only smoked it for ten or so minutes whilst speaking with a friend and making my way back to my dorm, but had I been smoking Captain Black, I would have had to relight several times.

 

[eldonkr]

thanks for the tips.

I'll try the Prince Albert. I bought a three way pipe tool, it has a tamper, a pokey thing, and a spoon looking thing on it. I'll take a picture with my phone of my set up and post it up here.

I have to keep re lighting the captain black. It doesn't bother me that much. I've just been letting it go out and then relighting it when I want to take a puff. I can usually take about 8-10 pulls off of it before the bowl is cash.

Any other tips anyone can offer? Blends they like?

How about how to clean the pipe?

Or a good way to store my pipe, or other kinds of pouches or bags I can use to store the tobacco so if I want to enjoy my pipe on the go I don't have to carry around the bag it came in.

Here is a picture of my pipe and stuff

 

[Delthayre]

*puff*

That's the right sort of pipe tool to buy. I love those, they're very cheap, effective and rugged.

If any nearby tobacconists sell their own blends, you should consider those are they might be cheaper than the tinned tobacco. I have settled upon Lexington, a house blend sold only by Edleez, here in Albany, but I smoked several tinned varieties before that. I recommend Dunhill's Standard Mixture Medium and Peterson's Sweet Killarney. I also urge you to avoid Dunhill's Royal Yacht, it provides entirely too much nicotine; I sometimes had trouble walking after smoking it. It is good to sample a range of blends when one begins smoking pipes; someone among the various mixtures of Virginias, Orientals, Latakia, Burley and Cavendish one is bound to find a suitable one.

Pipe cleaners are all that one will usually need to clean the pipe. Any good tobacconist should carry them, as do art supply stores, although I'm not sure if those are quite as suitable. Avoid any pipe cleaners that are too thick, I find those to be difficult to use.

 

[eldonkr]

What a coincidence, my friend and I went out in hopes of finding a tobacconist in town just yesterday. The only tobacconist within downtown limits was really just a place to buy cigarettes, but they had the essentials for beginning pipe smoking.

Picked up a corn cob (with a filter, probably same as yours) for $4, a pouch of Captain Black Royal and a pouch of Prince Albert.

I don't know if you were told about it, but all pipes require (at the bare minimum) a tamper tool to work (a poker is useful, too). If you didn't pick up a pipe tool, you can use a nail or something that looks like this:

--------|

The tamper is used to compact the tobacco so that it burns well. In my (very) limited experience, Captain Black can be a little troublesome. It is a bit wet, and if you smoke too hard, it can get VERY hot and cause tongue bite (taking a break for most of today because of that reason). If you have it packed well enough, though, and you smoke it at just the right speed, it's a very enjoyable tobacco (especially for the price). I have read that it is difficult to keep CB lit, as it is fairly wet, but keep at it and you'll get a good smoke going.

I smoked a bowl with the filter in my pipe, and then took it out to try it without. The smoke is a bit more enjoyable as far as flavour goes, but the heat did rise a bit. All in all, filters are largely unnecessary. Many pipes below the $40 mark come with filters. I really don't see that many pipes over $50 with a filter standard. Again, it's really not very useful.

As my pipe is corncob, I just scrape out the ash, remove and wash the mouthpiece bit (the proper name escapes me), and let it air dry. I would get some pipe cleaners, which are very inexpensive (especially if you get them from a tobacconist, not the art supply kind).

As far as tobacco goes, try a little bit of every thing. If you have a good tobacconist in town, he will gladly recommend different blends and styles. Peterson, Dunhill, Samuel Gawith, and GL Pease make very good tobacco, and should be available nationwide. Try tobaccoreviews.com to see what other pipe smokers have said about tobaccos.

Lastly, don't be afraid to relight your pipe. I'm still learning and I relight 3-5 times a bowl.

Hope this helps!

*EDIT*

I just tried out a new tobacco, Prince Albert, and it stays lit MUCH better. Although it's not a cavendish (personal taste), it's still a very mild and enjoyable smoke. Cheap, too. A 1.5oz(?) pouch was a little over two dollars. I only smoked it for ten or so minutes whilst speaking with a friend and making my way back to my dorm, but had I been smoking Captain Black, I would have had to relight several times.

Thanks for all your tips. I went out and bought some pipe cleaners. I also got a pouch of prince albert. It smokes great, I actually smoked a bowl of it when I recorded my show for next week (show is link in signature). I like the Prince Albert.

I also found a buy 1 get 1 deal for Dutch Masters. Its a Cavendish with Kentucky Straight Bourbon or something like that. I haven't tried it yet because they don't fit in my stash box (an old cigar box).

I've noticed that you live in Indiana. If you live near my location we could hang out, wear funny hats and smoke our pipes.

@Delthayre

Thanks for your tips. I'll see if my local shop has any of their own blends, I don't think they do anymore.

The pipe cleaners I got work pretty well. One thing that I have noticed is that the metal part that holds the tobacco comes off of the bowl or whatever it is called, I don't know the anatomy of a pipe.

I was cleaning my pipe for the first time and I noticed a huge build up of crud underneath that thing. I used a paper towel to clean that stuff out.

 

[eldonkr]

My pipe seems clogged. I have inspected and thoroughly cleaned every section and have found no clog.

What now?

 

[phase pistol]

I myself recently started smoking a pipe. Must be some sort of trend.

Always use pipe cleaners after smoking the pipe. I insert the cleaner, both one way then the other, ALL the way thru so that the end comes into the bowl itself. This removes the carbon deposits from inside the tube part. You don't want that stuff in your lungs. I also leave a clean pipe cleaner in the pipe, when I am not smoking it. This will absorb moisture and keep the pipe ready for smoking.

What I'm reading says you should NOT smoke the same pipe more than once per 24 hour period. This is to let the pipe "rest". I have however always ignored this, and so far have suffered no ill effects. But I guess for best results you should have two or three pipes in the rotation.

Carbon "cake" will build up in the bowl, but that's OK. You don't have to scrape it completely empty each time.

Do some googling and you'll find various pipe sites and blogs. I got my pipe and a sampler of tobaccos from pipesandcigars.com ; they seem like decent folks and will respond to your questions.

There are two types of pipe tobacco, "aromatic" and "English". Aromatics have a more pleasant smell, and might be fruity or spicy or whatever. These smells are easier for non-smokers to deal with. English tobaccos just smell like pipe tobacco, but some folks will find it nauseating.

I never got a tamper tool for my pipe, I just use a pair of tweezers that I happened to have, which have a flat end that I use to scoop out the ash, and to tamp down the tobacco. The trick to packing a pipe, is to take a wad of tobacco, fill the bowl loosely, TAMP it down with the tool (it will pack down to half way). Then take a draw on the pipe; it should pass the air easily (not clogged). Refill the bowl with loose tobacco and tamp down again, repeating until the bowl is full.

For me both the beginning and the end of a bowl are problematic. The beginning of the bowl is hard for me to light, and it takes several passes before it "catches". During this time I sometimes inhale tobacco flakes or even flaming bits of tobacco! lol

Once the pipe is going, I can get about 40 minutes out of it, puffing occasionally. Several relights are usually necessary. As the bowl fills with ash, scoop it out gently until you get down to the black tobacco, and re-light if necessary.

Now the end of the pipe is tricky too. I find that I'm greedy and try to get ALL the puffs down to the very bottom of the bowl, and I inevitably end up sucking ashes at the very end. Ugh! I am trying to see this coming and stop puffing earlier. But I hate to leave unburned tobacco.

I have not found a "favorite" brand yet; pipesancigars sold me a sampler pack of about six tobaccos. Most of them are OK. I do find though that many people ridicule Captain Black for being too common, or they say it tastes terrible. I guess it is the Budweiser of tobaccos.

Anyway that's all I know at the moment. Good luck and don't let the cancer get cha!

- Karl

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Well thanks a lot guys, after all this pipe talk I went and won an estate pipe on eBay. So, when it gets here and I get set up with some tobacco, I'll be sure to report back with details.

 

[Wooster]

I picked up pipe smoking recently aswell, and I love the ritual of packing and lighting the pipe. Though packing the tobacco in just the right way is an art on it's own, I hope to get better at it as time goes by.

I have to re-lit very often, but I'm told that's just something every rookie has to go through.

 

[Schnottus]

I've been experimenting with pipes for the better part of a year now and learned quite a bit... Almost all my pipes were estate off of ebay, I find most of the ones I get are horribly maintained, have way too much cake, and require extensive cleaning before use. I've bought about 20 estate pipes off ebay, I'd say 5 were completely unsalvageable and only half of the remaining pipes were good enough to be put into my pipe stand for regular use.

When you smoke a briar pipe over time a sort of ashen-layer, called the cake, will build up on the walls of the pipe. This is good since it protects the wood from getting burnt by the direct heat of burning tobacco. It is recommended you keep this cake about the thickness of a nickel, any thicker and the cake might crack your pipe when it gets hot and expands. This is what the spoon shaped part of three way pipe tools is used for, scraping the cake off. When I buy a pipe off ebay I usually remove all the cake by scraping which can be a tedious process because some of the pipes I've gotten seem like they've never been cleaned and the cake is rock hard.
After getting the cake off I soak the pipe in clear alcohol, usually everclear although I've used vodkas and gins with good results. The alcohol will dissolve whats left of the tars in the pipes. If you really want it clean you can fill the pipe with kosher salt and then pour alcohol in so that the tars released get absorbed by the salt. If you do remove all the cake with this method I recommend coating the inside of the pipe with honey so the ash from the first time you smoke it sticks to the walls and starts to build up a cake. If you have a corn cob or meerschaum (white stone) pipe none of this applies since they don't need a cake and hardly ever build one up.

As for smoking it a large part of keeping it lit for the whole bowl comes down to proper packing. Different tobaccos require different pressures when packing and really the only way to learn how to keep it lit the whole way comes down to practice. Another factor to staying lit is how moist the tobacco is, a lot of chain store tobaccos put PG (propylene glycol I believe) in their tobacco to keep it moist while on the store shelves. Too moist and you will have to let them air out a little. Better tobaccos won't have this problem but I hear lots of you mentioning tobaccos like captain black, prince albert, and similar others so I assume you are buying them at chain stores like walgreens. I started on the same tobaccos and while ok when you don't really know much about pipes they become terrible the instant you try a good tobacco. One of my personal favorites is trout stream, although with a little research you can find lots of good tobaccos online.

As for filters I'm kind of split on those. I've had good luck both with and without. When I do use them they do get very soaked with juices but when I don't I never have a problem either so I gets it's kind of a personal call.

 

[Schnottus]

For me both the beginning and the end of a bowl are problematic. The beginning of the bowl is hard for me to light, and it takes several passes before it "catches". During this time I sometimes inhale tobacco flakes or even flaming bits of tobacco! lol

Now the end of the pipe is tricky too. I find that I'm greedy and try to get ALL the puffs down to the very bottom of the bowl, and I inevitably end up sucking ashes at the very end. Ugh! I am trying to see this coming and stop puffing earlier. But I hate to leave unburned tobacco.

I have not found a "favorite" brand yet; pipesancigars sold me a sampler pack of about six tobaccos. Most of them are OK. I do find though that many people ridicule Captain Black for being too common, or they say it tastes terrible. I guess it is the Budweiser of tobaccos.

- Karl

If the beginning of the bowl is problematic I am guessing you aren't doing a pre-lighting burn. What this means is you pull a little harder than you normaly would if you were smoking while moving your flame around all the tobacco on top, you should see it all start to glow red if done right. Once all the tobacco is red you should immediately tamp the top down again. This will leave an unlit bowl of tobacco with a layer of charred/partly burnt tobacco at the top. Then you light it again and you will find this charred layer ignites very easily and creates a good burn throughout the bowl.

I can't imagine how you are sucking ashes up at the end as I often smoke mine to the bottom and have never pulled ashes up. I'm guessing your pipe has a huge airway or you are pulling too hard.

I've ordered from pipesandcigars multiple times and would highly recommend trout stream as a good all around smoke although I also really liked mocha black and the W.O. Larsen tobaccos.

 

[CigarMan]

Hey all, I've worked for the local tobacconist for about 10 years now and would be happy to offer any help or information possible. Many of the folks here have answered your question pretty well. It's good to start with a nice starter/inexpensive pipe to see if you'll even enjoy it first of all. And you will notice that you will have to continuously relight your pipe at the beginning. Most of this is because it takes some practice to pack the tobacco in the pipe just right so that it will smoke well. There's generally a 3 to 5 pinch rule, drop the first pinch loosely in the bowl, next one also loosely, but tamp it down, next one the same and continue until you have a nice spongy pack (similar to the feel of a cigar - firm, but spongy). Light the bowl and tamp down the hot ash, relight and tamp down again that way you get some of the hot ash further down in the bowl so that it will burn from the bottom/middle instead of just the top. Relight and you should have a nice even continuous burn. Of course this takes practice, but that's the fun of smoking a pipe . . . practice, practice, practice . . .Eventually invest in a better quailty pipe and you will notice a considerable differnce in smoking.

If I can be of any other assistance, please feel free to ask . . . HAPPY SMOKING!

 

[Gaige]

The joys of learning the Art of Smoking a Pipe.... :eusa_clap

Some things to remember:

1. It's a relaxing past-time. Don't rush it or you're missing out.

2. Everyone has to relight; I've never met anyone who doesn't... so don't worry about it.

3. Go back to #1. When you rush, you pull too hard, causing the tobacco to burn far too hot; this can (and will!) in time ruin your pipe, cause tongue bite, and generally put you off smoking a pipe completely.

4. Buy some pipe cleaner (I have "Pipemaster's Clean and Cure" and "Bee Pipe Sweetener". After smoking, clean your pipe and use these items to keep your pipe fresh. I usually let my pipe sit, disassembled, for 24 hours with a cleaner in the stem.

5. Check back on #1.

6. Enjoy!

 

[der schneider]

I put my pipes away 16 years ago but I have been thinking about starting up again. I still have a clay and a pewter tavern pipe. A friend recently purchased a meerchine {sp} and suggested smoking a bowl at martini night.

If you are in the indpls area on a tuesday evening you are invited to stop at the shop and join us for martini night.

I have a friend who owns a tobacco shop called santuary traders. he carries all sorts of pipes, tobacco's and snuff. I think he may have a web site.

I like the style of pipe you have recently purchased. I love the aroma of a pipe but do not care for the ashen taste I have a few days after. Maybe I need to take my time.

 

[eldonkr]

Well thanks for the help. I'll definitely take all the advice. Maybe its just my pipe, but I couldn't seem to get much out of it this evening. I'll give it a good clean here soon.

 

[Gaige]

If you're serious about pursuing pipe smoking as a past-time, you'd be well to save up some money and purchase a good pipe. It does make a world of difference.

I have around 16 now and many were purchased off of eBay as "estate" pipes, then brought to a local shop for a professional cleaning. I've obtained many excellent pipes this way.

 

[Nick D]

I've been a pipe smoker for several years (bought my first pipe and tobacco on my 18th). There's nothing quite like the scent of a good pipe. People will tell you that it reminds them of their grandpa, or an uncle.

Before getting an expensive(ish) pipe, you may want to practice on a corncob. Some people disparage the humble cob, but they're very forgiving, don't hamper the flavor, and are inexpensive. Even when you get used to it, though, a different pipe will have different smoking characteristics.

The pipe's going to go out, so don't worry about it. I once read that a pipe should always be at the point of going out. Sort of a hard thing to gauge, but the point is, smoke it slow and it won't bite you. Sometimes now I can smoke a whole bowl without needing to relight, but it's a rare thing.

Cheers,
Nick

 

[Lancealot]

When I first started out with a pipe I had trouble with getting the bowl too hot myself and scorching my tongue. I have gone over to a churchwarden since then that seemed to balance out the no filter with the heat. So I get a nice smoke flavor but the length of the stem cuts down on the heat greatly. Which reminds me I'm about out of my latest favorite McBrune mixture it's a Scottish blend my local tobacconist mixes up.

 

[John Boyer]

Speaking of Churchwarden's..my pipe for this evening is a Radice Churchwarden w/ bamboo stem loaded with Dummerston from Pipeworks & Wilke. This is the first Churchwarden I have owned and I am enjoying it greatly! It is a great pipe for smoking a stronger blend given the slightly smaller bowl and longer stem (although Dummerston is not strong by any means). I have historically shyed away from purchasing Churchwarden's as they appeared "ackward" and, traditionally, have small bowls. However, having learned how to better handle this 12 inch pipe, this shape may very well become my "pipe of choice". It is also an ideal pipe to smoke while reading. John