Pipe Smokers

[Monk]

When I smoke I usually enjoy a cherry blend. I have some great stuff from Covent Garden in London from my last trip to the UK. I also smoke Peterson Irish Oak and Sherlock Holmes blends: http://www.peterson.ie/category.asp?categoryID=9&type=1

-W.

[The Korean]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but to the pipe smokers-What is the trick to packing the bowl? I asked pipe smokers at local B&M and they say practice practice practice, but I think I am going backwards.

[Monk]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but to the pipe smokers-What is the trick to packing the bowl? I asked pipe smokers at local B&M and they say practice practice practice, but I think I am going backwards.

Well not to be an ass, but they are right . I owned my first pipe at 17 and it took me a hell of a time to get it to be tamped down so that it held a good ember in the bowl. Now, I'll try to tell you the way I do it, but who knows if its right... works for me

First off, you need to get the right amount of tobacco. Too little and you'll be through it in no time, too much and it will be too compressed to smoke. I take about 2 or 3 pinches of tobacco. Then I press slightly down with my thumb to tamp it, or use a tamping tool from a pipe tool. If the pipe is too compressed you can always use the long thin needle-like tool to loosen it up and get some airflow. At the end of the day though, practice will help you get a feel for it. Good Luck

-W.

[Newfie]

Desert Rat is a well versed pipe smoker, so maybe he'll chime in here too.

Here's the way I pack "ready rubbed" tobacco (some call it the 3-layer method):

• Take a little and drop it into the bowl till the bowl is full of loose tobacco. Tap the side of the bowl with a finger on the other hand and the tobacco will settle. Drop in some more 'till full and tap again. Keep this up and eventually, the tobacco will not settle any more. Now tamp the tobacco with a finger "with a baby's touch". At this point, you should feel no or very little resistance with the draw.
• Repeat above till the bowl is full again and will settle no more and tamp with a finger again. Now tamp it down "with a woman's touch". You should now feel a little resistance to the draw.
• Repeat again so the bowl is a little overflowing, and press down "with a man's touch". Now, if I've done it right, I will feel resistance to the draw similar to the draw I'd get on a nice Robusto cigar (what I consider nice may be loose for some). REMEMBER; at this point, loose is better than tight. If it's tight, dump it and start over. If it's a little loose, you can tamp a little more after lighting.
• I find the best success with lighting most tobaccos similar to a cigar. You should do a "false" or "toasting" light, making sure the tobacco is "toasted" evenly across the top. Tamp it lightly and then relight, puffing in long, deep draws.

The phrase "Practice, PRACTICE, PRACTICE" is right and can't be stressed enough. Also, until you get the feel for it, always puff on the pipe while tamping. Nuttin' worse than a jammed pipe. It burns and smokes like shit.

There are more methods for packing a pipe than there are ways to light & cut a cigar. I use a "fold & stuff" method for flakes, ropes & plugs, and if you do a search on "youtube.com", there's a German chap who has a few nice videos of roughly the method Will describes above.

Froggys and Dunhill are some of my favourite 'baccys, especially Nightcap (Tyler, didn't know you were a puffer, I believe our tastes may be quite similar). Personally, I don't stock too many Aromatics. I prefer blends with loads of Latakia and maybe some Perique.

For those of you interested, HERE's a link to what pipe tobacco I have right now.

EDIT:

3 more things I should have added:

• How dry or wet? - If your tobacco is too wet, it'll smoke like a too-wet cigar, which is like sucking on a wet rag, only worse. Pipes are also harder to keep lit if wet. Many cigar smokers like their smokes at a certain RH factor, may be 62%, 65%, 70%, whatever. I find tobacco different. Many tobaccos seem to smoke better at different humidity levels, but that can depend on the pipe, your mood, the conditions (ambience), etc.
• Relights - They're gonna happen. Accept it and learn to like it. There are times I let the pipe go our purposefully just for the flavour & smoke "punch" on a relight.
• Tongue Bite - Like relights, it's gonna happen, especially to a Newbie, and it happens to experienced smokers too. Main reasons are damp tobacco and smoking too fast. Either slow down, or dry your tobacco a little more, or both.