Anyone smoke a pipe?

J.S.

Hi all,
I thought I would see if anyone else smoked a pipe. I have been smoking cigars for almost 20 years but I started smoking a pipe just a little over a year ago. I generally smoke a bowl or two a day.

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kaspera79

I'm afraid if I start smoking a pipe, it will become another obsession. I was looking at pipe online yesterday, and people buy and sell used pipes. saying " some teething " Moderate teething ' I don't know, the first mouth should be the only mouth at least with pipes.. In my opinion. '

J.S.

Any pipe can be refurbished but it takes work. You can even replace the stem, if necessary. However, if you are just starting out you can pick up some cheep basket pipes that will give you the feel of what a pipe is all about. Some places will sell basket style pipes really cheap. One I can think of will do 3 for $30. That would be a great way to start. Pipe tobacco is much cheaper than cigars so it would not be an expensive obsession, until you start buying pipes you like for reasons other than just being good smokers.

kaspera79

Okay, now I have two feet in the door.... Do different pipes make the tobacco taste different, and how wide is the range of quality and price ( the smoking experience) of pipe tobacco.

J.S.

I am still new to the pipe myself, just over a year. I would say that the style of pipe has some effect on the tobacco but not really a flavor changer. It will affect the way a blend smokes (i.e., VA's tend to smoke hot so a deep but narrow chamber seems to keep the tongue bite down for me).

Quality does effect price but there is a point where the smoking experience does not get better with the price. Most would say that anything over $100 will not improve the quality of the smoke. I myself have 5 pipes right now. My best smokers are a Roma Select for less then $50 and a Cassano about $40. I have one that cost more but does not smoke as well. So price is a factor to a point but most of what is in the price is the look and finish, etc.

kaspera79

And at what price point does the tobacco quality become merely a status thing ? And what price is considered an average very good flavor/quality blend ?

J.S.

Pipe tobacco is very cheap compared to cigars. There are several blends that l like that are very cheap (e.g., a med. Lat. blend from Stokkebye) that I pay around $15 for 8 oz. Others are more, Gawith for example is $35 for 8 oz. Tins will run more then the bulk but they are good to try as you are only buying around 2 oz. at a time most are in the $7 to $10 range but some can be more.

Depending on the size of the pipe you should be able to get between 20 (large pipe) to 30 bowls out of 2 oz. For me a large pipe will take an hr. or more to smoke depending on the type of cut the tobacco is. So that is a lot of smoking for a very small price.

phobicsquirrel

I just picked up a pipe yesterday and have been smoking it a a lot. I'm going to get a much better one in the next couple of weeks and order some better tobacco. My local shop doesn't have much good ones. My question is how often are you suppose to re-light the thing? I've been using matches and it's annoying as I can never seem to light it good enough. I had one last a good 15 minutes before it went out.

J.S.

Relights are fine with a pipe. You will always have to relight once in a while. When I first started I was relighting every 5 min. or so. It was a little annoying. However, with time you will learn how to pack the pipe so that it will remain burning. I would recommend that you try the "Bob method" to start with and then as you get the hang of it you can move on to what Bob calls the "Frank method" that info is in this video too. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV9VppJzCxw

Sorry, I know that there was a thread on how to actually make this a link but I am to lazy to find it right now.

I would recommend watching A. Frank's method too. He will walk you through exact pressure for moving the tobacco down using your thumbs. This is really the key to getting the pack right and once you have that down you will be relighting 2 or 3 times max.

J.S.

I should add that Bob is Bob Tate, one of the editors for Pipes Magazine.

kaspera79

I better be careful or I will be spending the rest of my time on Pipe.com forum (lol)

phobicsquirrel

J.S.:
Relights are fine with a pipe. You will always have to relight once in a while. When I first started I was relighting every 5 min. or so. It was a little annoying. However, with time you will learn how to pack the pipe so that it will remain burning. I would recommend that you try the "Bob method" to start with and then as you get the hang of it you can move on to what Bob calls the "Frank method" that info is in this video too. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV9VppJzCxw Sorry, I know that there was a thread on how to actually make this a link but I am to lazy to find it right now. I would recommend watching A. Frank's method too. He will walk you through exact pressure for moving the tobacco down using your thumbs. This is really the key to getting the pack right and once you have that down you will be relighting 2 or 3 times max.

Thanks

phobicsquirrel

Does anyone know of a good place to pick up a nice pipe at a good price... like under 50 maybe 80?

J.S.

phobicsquirrel:
Does anyone know of a good place to pick up a nice pipe at a good price... like under 50 maybe 80?

PM sent.

Andrew Dzikoski

If anyone needs a pipelighter let me know we bought a few as a major closeout package from Colibri.

jsnake

Andrew Dzikoski:
If anyone needs a pipelighter let me know we bought a few as a major closeout package from Colibri.

I have a XIKAR pipe lighter and it is much better than matches which drove me nuts. I have 3 pipes now. 1 corncob and 2 unsmoked German pipes from the 1970's that I got off ebay. Here are a few pics of my pipe stuff. I also have about 20 tins and 22 mason jars of tobacco. The churchwarden with bling is my wife's pipe.

I recommend a corncob to start out. They are very forgiving and cheap in price. You need a tool and learning to tamp as you smoke will help keep you from having to relight. Your local B&M that carries pipe stuff should have some discount baskets and you can get a good pipe there. Also check ebay for some really great deals. Remember only smoke your briar pipe once a day.

docbp87

phobicsquirrel:
Does anyone know of a good place to pick up a nice pipe at a good price... like under 50 maybe 80?

Ebay!

PsychoSJG

Lookin for a gift for my grandmas friend who is a long time pipe smoker. Is there anything you can recommended for the seasoned pipe smoker, maybe something that made life much easier and whatever?

wwhwang

I know I said I was very interested in pipes a while back, but life got really busy and I put it off. Anyone know if there's any performance difference between the bent and straight pipes? Also, do you guys store your tobacco in the humidors as well or do you just keep them in ziplock bags with humi-pillows?

Also, any tobacco suggestions? I've been looking at the Davidoff tins.

skweekz

wwhwang:
Also, do you guys store your tobacco in the humidors as well or do you just keep them in ziplock bags with humi-pillows?

I read somewhere that pipe tobacco should be stored at an rH between 30-40%. I'll see if I can dig up the link for you.

EDIT to include link..

It's number 3 under Top 5 Questions About Aging Pipe Tobacco

jsnake

Bent and straight pipes can smoke differently. The same exact pipe can smoke differently as well. Just a matter of trying them and figuring it out. Some people prefer one over the other. I can't tell a difference other then position.

Almost everyone I know stores their tobacco in mason jars. You do not need a humidor or humidifier. No ziplocks with humi packs. These same guys also keep everything in their basement or "cellar".

As far as a gift I would get one of those pipe lighters. MOst have your tools built in and they really make pipe smoking easier and more enjoyable.