i would smoke till it went out, let it cool and flip the pipe over and knock a bit out. just the powder.
Since i start and stop alot, i noticed i would draw real hard to get the flame going again and that ash was like insulation keeping the stuff under from re-lighting. thus extra hard and hot draws... bite city. I was just curious if you ashed out fairly regularly.
Though I have come under the impression, a pipe will always just bite me - and I need to smoke a pipe in more moderation. once a day is the limit... rather then all day everyday. I just need to find a way to enjoy more cigars on the go rather then the pipe.
Aj
Several possibilities here. It could be something as simple as you are tamping too hard. You pack it right, it burns well and then when you tamp you add pressure, which packs the tobacco more making the draw hard. Try just allowing the tamper to do the work for you. In other words just set the tamper on top of the tobacco and pick it up a about 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch and allow it to fall on the tobacco don't use your fingers and press down. The ash will tamp but the rest of the pack will remain how you had it.
It could also be that a piece of tobacco is blocking the draw hole too.
I would not give up on multiple bowls, I too have blends that I can only smoke once a day but there are others that I can smoke all day sometimes it really is the blend or the type of tobacco used that does not work with your body chemistry that causes bite.
I often mix pipe tobaccos. I can't remember if I've brought this particular aspect up before, so, I'll ask. Usually, I blend the tobaccos together in a small tin, and then pack the pipe. Sometimes, though, I'll pack in layers. Often, if a particular pipe tobacco is fairly bland, or neutral, I'll put some at the bottom, then the more flavorful tobacco on top. It's usually because the one on the bottom is cheaper, and, it picks up the flavors from whats being smoked through it. Sometimes, I'm just looking to create a transitional bowl, though. Anyone else do this?
Usually when I don't have enough for a full bowl at the end of a jar or tin. It is not often that I find a blend that I can do much with. Sometimes I might say I wish this one had more lat. in it but adding it often takes away other things that I want to taste too. I have tossed bland blends before, they are usually cheap anyway.
Should add some of the transitional bowls have been very good though. I really, really liked the bowl of SG's Celtic Talisman and H&H's Black house. Lat and cherry very good! So not all of my experience with this has ended poorly.
I haven't really tried this much other than topping off a bowl with the last few flakes of a jar and even then they are blends that are really close in profile anyway, I just don't know enough about the different tobaccos to know what will compliment what. I have had some blends mixed at the B&M biased on there suggestions and then adjusted the ratios to fit my pallet. There are so many blends available already that I don't see a need to get to far into blending my own just yet, maybe someday.
Well, being new at this, I burned out my cob pipe. I didnt even know that I was smoking so hot. How can I tell if the inside is getting way too hot? Because the outside didnt. Or could it have been a structural error? Either way, time for a new one. Lol
Well, being new at this, I burned out my cob pipe. I didnt even know that I was smoking so hot. How can I tell if the inside is getting way too hot? Because the outside didnt. Or could it have been a structural error? Either way, time for a new one. Lol
You need to tamp more. Look for Catfish's thoughts on this in this thread.
Well, being new at this, I burned out my cob pipe. I didnt even know that I was smoking so hot. How can I tell if the inside is getting way too hot? Because the outside didnt. Or could it have been a structural error? Either way, time for a new one. Lol
You need to tamp more. Look for Catfish's thoughts on this in this thread.
A few thoughts.
1) You're almost certainly smoking too fast.
2) Nothing against cobs, the "No break in time" thing is good, but they're not very forgiving, as you've found. For just a little more, you can get a reasonable briar. $40 - $65 to Baracini, Bjarne, LaRocca, Stanwell, heck even Dr. Grabow or Medico will get you a good utilitarian pipe that you can learn on, and will still last you for years.
3) We all know "Where there's smoke there's fire". But, there can be fire without smoke. You see it whenever you use your lighter. So, one of the most common mistakes aspiring pipers make is to assume that if they're puffing, and there's no smoke, they must re-light. This is rarely the case. More often than not a few puffs with your tamper resting atop the tobacco, lightly, will produce the products of incomplete combustion, and the associated flavors that come as a result, known as smoke. It will also slow down the burn, and cool the entire process somewhat, thus enhancing your experience. The importance of tamping CANNOT be overemphasized.
4) The tamper is NOT for packing your pipe.
5) Once you've acquired your briar, and you're in the middle of a bowl and it's getting clogged, DO NOT take the stem apart and use the poker on your pipe tool to push into the pipe from the stem port to clear it. You'll soon have a useless pipe, because the stem will loosen up too much. Instead, slide the poker down the inside of the bowl, closest to the stem, and gently sweep the opening at the bottom of the pipe. Another trick is once you're about 5 - 10 puffs in, and just starting to tamp, use the poker and make a shallow hole in the fired tobacco near the top. This sometimes produces amazing results.
6) Go to You-Tube and look up The Frank Method for packing and lighting your pipe, if you haven't already done that. Great advice there.
Try these things, and see if you don't get a lot more out of your next pipe. Good luck.
Thanks man. Yeah, im looking into getting a better (non cob) pipe. I also think that I was smoking too fast. But the outside of the pipe didnt get hot. Thats why it might be structural. Now the outside has a small hole with a burn mark around it. Thanks for the info though Amos.
Thanks man. Yeah, im looking into getting a better (non cob) pipe. I also think that I was smoking too fast. But the outside of the pipe didnt get hot. Thats why it might be structural. Now the outside has a small hole with a burn mark around it. Thanks for the info though Amos.
I tend to think that what Amos was saying is good advice, however I guess it is possible to get a defective cob though. I did not treat mine well or very carefully and I know that at least the first one got hot enough that it was uncomfortable to hold several times yet never burned thru or anything like that, I still use it now and then with no problems.
Thanks man. Yeah, im looking into getting a better (non cob) pipe. I also think that I was smoking too fast. But the outside of the pipe didnt get hot. Thats why it might be structural. Now the outside has a small hole with a burn mark around it. Thanks for the info though Amos.
I tend to think that what Amos was saying is good advice, however I guess it is possible to get a defective cob though. I did not treat mine well or very carefully and I know that at least the first one got hot enough that it was uncomfortable to hold several times yet never burned thru or anything like that, I still use it now and then with no problems.
It may be defective, however, consider this. What's insulation? Insulation is all about air space, and a corn cob has a lot more air space than briar. It's a matter of density. The denser briar transfers the heat, the porous corn cob insulates. Of course, another factor is that the corncob is more likely to have some kind of unseen bug-burrows that fired up.
Didnt have tongue bite or the outside get too hot. Even did the "cheek" test and didnt burn me. Dont know what happened. Wish I didnt throw it out so I could take a picture.
Looks like my cigars will get some aging while I'm exploring pipes, it's a little cool being a noob again. I watched a video today where a guy was using a clay pipe and rambling about taverns, which was pretty interesting with me being a history buff. The hardest thing right now is getting the method down...first bowl I was tamping, puffing and lighting like a mad man haha. Second hardest puff is finding a good rhythm. The guy was puffing roughly every 7 seconds, to the point where it was a little painful to listen to him make his point.Today I'm going to practice my packing while learning about the different cuts. Also want to pick up some aromatics to try out.
Looks like my cigars will get some aging while I'm exploring pipes, it's a little cool being a noob again. I watched a video today where a guy was using a clay pipe and rambling about taverns, which was pretty interesting with me being a history buff. The hardest thing right now is getting the method down...first bowl I was tamping, puffing and lighting like a mad man haha. Second hardest puff is finding a good rhythm. The guy was puffing roughly every 7 seconds, to the point where it was a little painful to listen to him make his point.Today I'm going to practice my packing while learning about the different cuts. Also want to pick up some aromatics to try out.
Yes, you probably will smoke fewer cigars at least initially but that can be a good thing, you can always by and store or if money was an issue buy what you really like since you will smoke less.
Pace setting is difficult at first. Not just because everyone is different but because different tobaccos require a different pace at times. I have found that as long as I only make 1 or 2 draws (never, ever 3) at a time I can puff along fairly frequently. Some blends you will find you will need to pack tighter, others looser then normal, some almost a continuous slow puff will be fine others long slow puffs with time between, even planning on relighting before of the spacing to keep it from biting. Don't be afraid to relight, it does not hurt and you really want the tobacco to smolder more then burn. It will take longer to finish the bowl and you will get a lot of cool smoke.
If you like to try or rotate through a lot of different tobacco make sure to pick up some 8oz mason jars next time your at the grocery store. I don't think I've finished an entire tin of one kind of tobacco in year. Once you open a tin throw it in the mason jar, label it. Keeps your tobacco fresh.
Ok I read through all of this and pretty much every other thread in here. What would be some good tobaccos to start out with? I'm a newby when it comes to pipe smoking.
Yeah the 1Q seems to be a popluar one. Thats definitely something I'll be picking up.
Just remember to give it some drying time. It's usually pretty moist when you get it. The Captain Black Royal is similar, but slightly more complex, if you find you like the 1-Q.
Yeah the 1Q seems to be a popluar one. Thats definitely something I'll be picking up.
Just remember to give it some drying time. It's usually pretty moist when you get it. The Captain Black Royal is similar, but slightly more complex, if you find you like the 1-Q.
I've had some issues with the 1Q, I've tried taking out enough for a bowl and leaving it out overnight and it still doesn't burn well, I left the lid off the jar for a week still no go, I even put an oz in the oven on warm for an hour, I've tried several different pipes/packing methods etc. it still wont burn worth a crap, granted I'm not a experienced pipe smoker but damn, I am done with the 1Q it's not worth the effort for me.
So onestrangeone crushed me today with a variety of tobaccos to try. However I am trying to figure out the best way to keep all these samples fresh and stored propertly. Right now they are all in small ziplocks. Would it be acceptable to put a couple baggies in each mason jar or will I run into an issue with flavors crossing between bags?
Hey Brad, Glad it made safe USPS is on a roll. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. I think that as long as the blends are similar it wouldn't hurt to put a few baggies in one jar, it might change the aroma a bit, I'm not sure but I don't think it would change the taste. Burley's & Virginia Non-Aro would probably be okay together, same with the Eng blends.
I stopped and grabbed the glass gars I could find at wally word last night. They only had 2 in stock so I grabbed them. I split the aromatics into 1 and everything else into the other for now. I have some mason jars I'm going to pull out of storage and use those to split out further.
Comments
It could also be that a piece of tobacco is blocking the draw hole too.
I would not give up on multiple bowls, I too have blends that I can only smoke once a day but there are others that I can smoke all day sometimes it really is the blend or the type of tobacco used that does not work with your body chemistry that causes bite.
How can I tell if the inside is getting way too hot? Because the outside didnt. Or could it have been a structural error?
Either way, time for a new one. Lol
1) You're almost certainly smoking too fast.
2) Nothing against cobs, the "No break in time" thing is good, but they're not very forgiving, as you've found. For just a little more, you can get a reasonable briar. $40 - $65 to Baracini, Bjarne, LaRocca, Stanwell, heck even Dr. Grabow or Medico will get you a good utilitarian pipe that you can learn on, and will still last you for years.
3) We all know "Where there's smoke there's fire". But, there can be fire without smoke. You see it whenever you use your lighter. So, one of the most common mistakes aspiring pipers make is to assume that if they're puffing, and there's no smoke, they must re-light. This is rarely the case. More often than not a few puffs with your tamper resting atop the tobacco, lightly, will produce the products of incomplete combustion, and the associated flavors that come as a result, known as smoke. It will also slow down the burn, and cool the entire process somewhat, thus enhancing your experience. The importance of tamping CANNOT be overemphasized.
4) The tamper is NOT for packing your pipe.
5) Once you've acquired your briar, and you're in the middle of a bowl and it's getting clogged, DO NOT take the stem apart and use the poker on your pipe tool to push into the pipe from the stem port to clear it. You'll soon have a useless pipe, because the stem will loosen up too much. Instead, slide the poker down the inside of the bowl, closest to the stem, and gently sweep the opening at the bottom of the pipe. Another trick is once you're about 5 - 10 puffs in, and just starting to tamp, use the poker and make a shallow hole in the fired tobacco near the top. This sometimes produces amazing results.
6) Go to You-Tube and look up The Frank Method for packing and lighting your pipe, if you haven't already done that. Great advice there.
Try these things, and see if you don't get a lot more out of your next pipe. Good luck.
I also think that I was smoking too fast. But the outside of the pipe didnt get hot. Thats why it might be structural. Now the outside has a small hole with a burn mark around it.
Thanks for the info though Amos.
Pace setting is difficult at first. Not just because everyone is different but because different tobaccos require a different pace at times. I have found that as long as I only make 1 or 2 draws (never, ever 3) at a time I can puff along fairly frequently. Some blends you will find you will need to pack tighter, others looser then normal, some almost a continuous slow puff will be fine others long slow puffs with time between, even planning on relighting before of the spacing to keep it from biting. Don't be afraid to relight, it does not hurt and you really want the tobacco to smolder more then burn. It will take longer to finish the bowl and you will get a lot of cool smoke.