As if the snuff wasn’t costing enough. I saw this gorgeous meerschaum pipe carved by E.Cevher… so $160.00 pipe…thats normal, right? I suppose I’ll end up buying it due to a limited amount of self control and the fact I can’t stop thinking about it. Hell, I even hear that pipe smoking actually prolongs life in some cases due to stress reduction (yes, I’d like to be stress free please). But after all is said and done, where on earth do I start? Considering I like sweet aromas and my absolute favorite snuffs are Toque Whisky and Honey as well as WoS Grand Cairo…is there anything in the pipe tobacco world that would be a close match in aroma to one of these snuffs?

And do you inhale, or not?

I’m not going to answer all that, since pipes are not my area of expertise, and the experts will chime in. But since I’m the first on the scene, my advice is buy a $4.00 corncob as your first pipe. Not a big investment if you don’t like it, and easy to learn on.

aristicob.com is a good place to get a good low priced pipe. MM cobs are good pipes for the price. Also, pipesandcigars.com have a good selection of affordable pipes. I wouldn’t spend too much on a pipe until you have tried pipesmoking, just my opinion.

True. And if you want to begin with a briar, I have bought many nice pipes in the $30-60 range. Meerschaum though, is a different animal- not just appearance wise. The meerschaums are fragile if tapped a little to hard, or if dropped on a surface harder than carpet. People usually use these indoors. Also they smoke drier, and if/when they absorb enough moisture they get even softer, one usually heats them with a flame to cook off the moisture and tar when they do get a little soggy. A meerschaum carver first soaks the material in water to make it softer. A briar will tend to be more durable. Also I would use a briar(or more than one) for a while, trying out different types of tobacco until one learns what different flavors are out there, and to get better at the art of pipe smoking. Then if you still want to try a meer you will see how the flavor changes etc, and will be more accustomed to regular cleaning before you are dealing with the more fragile material. There’s a lot more to learn about it, which is readibly available info. As far as tobaccos, you can find all sorts of “aromatics”, which I guess could be defined as rather flavored and scented. There are lots of whisky flavoreds, vanilla, rum, chocolate, maple, fruit, coffee, Irish cream etc. Also straight Virginias, burleys, cavendishes. “English” blends with the exotic flavors created by the blending of (typicaly) Latakia, Turkish, and Virginia. One could go on and on. The point here is that there are SO many different flavors, it might make your head spin- in a good way. And many find that, the hunt, the experimenting is just part of the fun! Have fun! These are only my personal views…

 Well thanks everyone for the input. I used to be a smoker…when I was a teenager, ofcourse I quit that because cigs have no flavor and they reek (in a bad way).  I just figured that since I need to cut back on snuff (nasal issues), maybe I could try another pleasure.

@ Mr.O,

Yes I think I agree with you on the meer pipes, gorgeous as they are I found 2 other briar types that I think I’d most likely rather get, both are still a little expensive, but I’m pretty sure I’ll like the habit so it will be worth it. And a beautiful pipe is half the fun as far as I can tell. 

I have briars, a block meerschaum, a clay and cobs… that said… Briars are awesome, LOVE my meerschaum and my clay, but my cobs get the most usage…
They smoke wonderfully dry, as they wick off moisture like no other, they don’t require long rests like briars, and they are cheap unlike meers… The whole reasoning behind the name Missouri Meerschaum was because the creator of the company back in the late 1800’s thought that cob pipes smoke about as cool and dry as a high end meerschaum. That said… I second the recommendation for aristocob.com great solid vendor. Also, almost ALL drug stores sell either MM Legends or Prides… and they make great starter pipes… A really great starting tobacco that is fairly cheap and readily available is Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic… And it really sings in a cob, and has a wonderful room not, kinda like roasted marshmellows… You can check out any number of good pipe forums on packing techniques as well as youtube. The SWRA is pretty available at local drug stores and discount tobacco places… as well as pipe and cigar stores…
Hope this helps!

I second (third or fourth) MM cobs. Nothing to beat them in any price range.  Meerschaum is not my line because they are like stainless steel pots; nice to look at but never takes the taste of what goes into them.

Just be careful with aromatics, they tend to be tongue biters and might put you off of pipe smoking all together. I prefer virginia tobaccos which are naturally sweet with no or little tongue bite.  Be careful about tobacco which contains perique, it’s no good for beginners.

You will certainly not be getting the same type of scents from smoking tobacco that you are getting from snuff. Snuff scents are very fresh in comparison. This is not to say that pipe tobacco has little to offer. Just different, you’ll see, I hope you can enjoy it.

Pieter makes a good point, I forgot that. I think the way that works is that if sugar is added it will burn hotter.

I think snuff is the only other tobacco than pipes that has such a wide variety of flavors, it’s nice that both offer a multitude!

One thing many people will tell you, and to me this is important, try some different styles of tobacco- not just a bunch of aromatics, or a bunch of englishes etc. I’d suggest both of those, and some matured virginias, maybe some burley based blends too. That way, developing a broader palate, you can get a better idea of what you might like. Also the lines become blurred between different styles, as an example you might find english/aromatic hybrids etc. With english blends it’s usually best to start with “lighter” blends- lighter in the sense of less latakia, which can really bite and burn the tongue in too high proportions, untill you get used to it- that is if you end up liking the english blends.

Also, keep a lot of cleaners on hand, most confirmed pipe smokers will use one after every smoke- or during if a clog occurrs, or if your pipe starts to gurgle.

Gawith and Hogarth Sweet Rum Flake might be one you would like, Vepr. Available here, for instance:

http://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/gawith-hoggarth/moreinfo.cfm?product\\_id=4002

as well as other etailers.It straddles the line between fine tobaccos and aromatic well. Regardless on which pipe you choose, start early perfecting your technique of smoking–sipping slowly, just enough to keep the pipe smoldering, delivers the sweetest and most flavorful smoke.There’s a ton of FAQs on the ASP web site here:

http://www.aspipes.com/Menu%20Pages/Pipe%20Smoking%20Basics.htm

@Xander your first post was the best advice anyone could give

another reason for this is if you do take to the pipe, your taste in shapes and makers is going to be very specific. Don’t start buying briars til you have a fair idea what you like. I got rid of almost as many pipes as I kept the first year. Now when I buy a pipe I know it will be for life, unless it’s a bad smoker.

I also say go for a cob, but let me offer a warning about Meerschaum pipes. Most of these are made by pipe carvers, not pipe smokers and therefore can tend to be a very poor smoking instrument. If you must try one, the only two vendors I can recommend in order of preference.

http://bestmeerschaums.homestead.com/coverpage.html (only the Baki pipes)

or

http://altinokpipe.com/

There are millions cheaper out there, but if you want one that you’ll actually end up smoking, get a Baki.
I know about no self control. I’m trying to channel it positively.

I have to chime in and contradict what I feel is a poor recommendation.  Don’t get G&H Rum Flake, or any Flake for that matter, if you are just getting into pipe smoking.  Flakes are great, they are mainly what I smoke these days, but they are tricky and finicky until you get the hang of them.  New smokers ought not burden themselves with flakes until they can master ribbon cut.  If you try to smoke a flake right out of the gate you will probably have an unpleasant experience and decide that pipe smoking is not for you; that would be a real shame.  Pipe smoking is an art that must be learned, and it is the process of learning that gives all the pleasure.

I agree with the rest of the recommendation Mouse gives, start off smoking slowly with the pipe barely smoldering to get the best flavor and most satisfaction. 

Sound advice here. I would recommend that you purchase a few pipes (need a rotation as if you smoke daily pipe needs a rest). One should be a cob, and two briars. No basket pipes but don’t break the bank with these either. Go to your local B&M and get suggestions. Maybe they have a starter kit. Basic burley and virginia blends to start. I would say get a pouch or two of Carter Hall to experiment with as it is quite friendly to light and burns well and the flavor is easy to like. 

I am much more of a fan of non-aromatic tobaccos or lightly cased ones (such as GH Rum Flake, my current favourite) but if you really want some sweet aromatic tobacco you could do a lot worse than sample some of Peterson’s range of aromatics. Some are hit-and-miss, but I’ve enjoyed Connoisseur’s Choice, Sweet Killarney and Nutty Cut which are all ribbon cut tobaccos, easy to stuff, light and keep lit, and will ease you in nicely. Having said that, give it six months and you’ll be noshing the likes of 1792 Flake and Black XX Twist and wondering why you ever wanted an Aro! Welcome to the wonderful universe of pipe smoking!

Mmmm… Black XX Twist…

Yeah, stay away from the ropes and twists for a while, they’ll knock you back if yer not carefull! You could do well with many mild to medium house blends from your local. Nat Sherman makes some tasty, easy smoking blends too. Also McClelland’s Red Cake (in bulk) could be good, it’s naturally mellow, without flavors.

Also, a good recommendation for tobaccos is some of Boswells bulks… they all get good ratings and are more often then not very forgiving on the tongue… and very tasty to boot. Think they are less then 3 bones an ounce too… good price… and great people.

http://www.milantobacco.com

I like the ‘looks’ of some of the pipe tobaccos on this site (honey smoke/midnight in particular), has anyone here tried any of these? If so, any good?

I’ve also found a pipe, a briar carved into a claw…suits me well, although in the future I may go ahead and carve my own.

I haven’t smoked a pipe in nearly twenty years, and not very often then, but I do remember enjoying Balkan Soranie. Does it still exist?

Germain’s just got the original recipe and has re-introduced the blend. I haven’t tried it yet but those who have say it is quite good.

It is very good. Good quality leaf and decent amount of latakia.

Vepr, a quick observation. If you seek to reduce your snuff intake due to (unspecified) nasal issues, aren’t you concerned about pipe smoke also being an irritant?  I agree with the notion that a corn cob pipe is a good way to start, especially since you might lean towards aromatics. May I further suggest that you try the Missouri Meerschaum “Missouri Pride” model; it’s unfinished (no varnish), breathes nicely, and smokes well right from the start.

By the way, to the question of “to inhale or not to inhale”; if you are not inhaling tobacco smoke now, don’t start!

@alcyon,

I have a hole in my septum, snuff is a bit difficult to take for me due to this fact. Ofcourse after peeking into my nose after snuffing I noticed that it doesn’t ever  go directly on the hole, so maybe the doctors are overreating (I talked about this in a previous thread).

But I’ve come to a point where I’m so tired of being ‘careful’ about everything I do. If my nose gets a bit upset by what I’m doing I can get over that, It’s the stress I can’t get over when I’m without snuff and other gentlemanly pleasures (gentlewoman I guess for me).

We can all try to be health-nuts and not smoke, drink etc. But I don’t really want to live a hundred years as some salad eating fruitcake, I want steak and cheese, wine and snuff…and a good pipe on a cool autumn afternoon!

I have a question, do you use those metal screens in pipes or not?

Did your pipe come with a screen?

I’ve only seen metal screens come in one type of pipe…and it’s not for tobacco…So I’d say no. Though some pipes are made to have little disposable paper filters put into the stem to help with moisture issues. But hey, it’s your pipe. Try it with it and without it. If you happen to like it, use it. You are taking it up to relax, right? So do it whatever way is most pleasing to you.

Since the passage in a cob is rather wide,  there is a higher incidence of tobacco bits etc getting sucked through. I personally use a screen (actually 2 wedged against each other- they stay put better that way). Btw, it seems common enough to smoke a few times with the filter, then to throw out the filter never to buy a replacement filter. Although this configuration requires more maintainance, scraping it out occasionally and whatnot- which you can figure out. I’d say that a cob needs more intensive, but less frequent, cleaning. But yeah, whatever calls to you… and it’s not too bad to throw out a $6 cob…

I would stay away from Dr. Grabow or anything else with a removable filter…

Pipes can be messy enough (dirty pipe cleaners,) but when you leave a filter in too long, they are absolutely filthy things to contend with. I was a pipe smoker about 30 years ago.

I would also STRONGLY suggest that you start out with a straight stem pipe. If you are not into corncobs, try a simple straight stem briar. I always liked “Yellow Bowl” pipes.

Aromatic tobaccos often leave a lot of excess gunk in the stem of your pipe. If you have a pipe shop near you, make sure that you check out their own “house blends.”

No matter what people tell you, if you smoke a pipe long enough you will eventually start inhaling. (I was inhaling within a month.)

As far as cancer is concerned, pipes are worse for you than non-filtered cigarettes. Lots of mouth cancer is associated with pipe smoking.

I’ve been pipe smoking for years and I never inhale, and the pipe is what I used to quit a heavy cig habit and I still didn’t inhale.

I never really have felt the urge to inhale a pipe after 15+ years.

Also I’ve heard contrary about the cancer issue. I’ve had the chance to talk with a cancer researcher, he said (paraphrasing here) cigarrettes are definitely bad for you, oral smokeless (I believe referring to American “moist snuff”) is even worse, pipes- not so bad, cigars- they don’t know yet. Also made a statement that cigarettes are more likely to cause mouth cancer than pipes, saying that it may have something to do with the heat. Also a friend was at the dentist, a seasoned professional, who said you don’t get mouth cancer from a pipe.

Indeed… statistically, pipe smokers that do not inhale live longer then NON_SMOKERS… Pipe smokers that inhale live just as long (again statistically) as non-smokers, according to the very Surgeon Generals report that most anti-cigarette documentation is based on in the U.S.  That said, you have to balance what is risk vs. pleasure… to each their own.
Concerning screens… none of my pipes (not counting hookahs) ever came with a screen. So, I don’t use them. I don’t even use the filter that MM Corncobs come with. lol…
And yes… I’m an inhaler… I honor and respect those that don’t but I do enjoy it… so I do it… *shrugs*

It seems a little difficult to quantify inhalation in regards to pipe smoking. On one end of the scale you have a dokha type inhale with a hold and on the other you have the unintentional inhalation of second hand smoke. It does not seem practical for a pipe smoker to smoke a regular sized pipe like it was a cigarette. Nor would it be practical to eliminate completely the inhalation of all second hand smoke while smoking a pipe. It seems true that after becoming comfortable with pipe smoking there would be less resistance to inhaling progressively more smoke limited only by smoking cadence. Also true that an intentional mouth full of smoke could be inhaled. I cannot imagine smoking so carefully that I could really say I don’t inhale nor can I imagine inhaling enough to be able to call myself an inhaler. Ultimately I look at snuffing in the same manor. If you think that you are not inhaling then you are fooling yourself and if you are intentionally inhaling all the time then you are crazy. Tell me @darkly are you smoking your bowls full as if smoking a cigarette?

You make a point with the unintentional inhaling. Although in my case, I only smoke a pipe very carefully, consciously, deliberately, often in relative solitude and outdoors. I think I wouldn’t enjoy it as much if I was smoking on “automatic pilot”. However I still smoke some ciggies, which may make it easier to seperate the two if you get what I’m trying to say.

I would like to discuss this a bit further if the thread bearer dose not mind. I have never smoked cigarettes but I unlike President Clinton have inhaled the unmentionable. I would think that there is a threshold for smoke that once having been broken becomes easier to pass. More so while being an active smoker I would think the habit of having smoke beyond that threshold would make it difficult to keep inviolate. Also to discuss the case of smoking carefully, consciously, and deliberately. This seems to me a slight contradiction of the purpose of smoking. As relaxing as smoking can be this attitude may prevent such pleasure. As I smoke more myself I find that becoming enveloped within the smoke even to the point of getting a little smoke in my lungs has been very fulfilling. Not to say that there is any careful, conscious, or deliberate inhaling going on but for me neither effort is being made. Although there is a natural gag reflex that is becoming increasingly lenient towards smoke in the lungs. Which is why I would think that cigarette smokers would automatically inhale more smoke perhaps without even knowing it.

@ all non-inhalers: I take it that, when you are “drinking” an alcoholic drink, you just swirl  around  every sip in your mouth and then spit it out?

No, I tend to swallow me alc! To me pipe smoking is just like smoking a good strong cigar, it’s (imo) just not meant to be inhaled, and with a strong cigar there can be consequences to inhaling: coughing, possibly puking, getting to heavy of deposits (tar or whatever) settling in your lungs. To me there’s a line, some people cross it casually, I very rarely do. Kind of like snuff, which goes in my nose and then gets blown or spit out, which has certain flavorings and such added to it I can accept being in my nose, but I try not to get it and those substances deeper in my body. Pipe tobacco also (maybe not always, but often) has certain substances added to it for flavor, regulate moisture, perhaps something as preservative etc, that I don’t want in my lungs- so I don’t inhale it. It’s ok if such things don’t bother you, but they bother me. Typically I won’t inhale any tobacco (even cigs), that have anything but water added (with the very rare exception- twice in several years shisha). This is just how I personally feel about it- part of my philosophy, if you will. Also I get a lot of flavor from my tongue without inhaling. Is it really hard to believe that some are actually carefull not to inhale and simply get used to smoking that way.

Please don’t take this as an attack or anything, I’m just trying to state my case to the non-believers. I don’t hate them for not believing some of us…

@ Mr.O, it’s clear that you don’t know me yet!!  I love to stir things a bit.

I would actually like to be able to smoke my pipe without inhaling but find it difficult. I do not inhale every puff but I have to take one or two deep draws, especially just after I’ve lit my pipe.  Funny thing is when I smoke a cigar, I don’t inhale.

You are quite right, the taste of the tobacco on the tip of my tongue is what I really enjoy. And, of course, letting the smoke escape via my nose. So, for a “fresh” pipesmoker my advise will be to not inhale at all. Once you’ve taken to the habit, it’s very difficult to come off it again.

It wasn’t just you Pieter, but yeah, I was a little unsure how serious you were being. I know that when I’ve accidentally inhaled a puff off of a cigar I’m definitely aware of it, cough, cough. I realized that I forgot to mention that some times I’ll smoke ryo tobacco in a dedicated cob, stone, or brass, an in that case I inhale. And I’m contemplating getting hooked up with a medwakh and dokha, which I plan to inhale if I get started. Also I’ve only rolled up pipe tobacco a few times, mostly as a teenager. I had a friend who started smoking cigars to give up cigarettes, then found himself inhaling those, and switching to a pipe, which evidently worked for him in the end. Maybe I’m lucky not to have the pipe inhaling compulsion. But when I finish a pipe or cigar I usually need to chase it with a cig, so I kind of understand.

Strong, stout blends like Irish Flake and Old Joe Krantz are pretty strong. I wouldn’t think you’d want to inhale those in a pipe. OTOH, mild stuff like Prince Albert and Carter Hall are pretty inhalable. My older relatives used PA as RYO. Just a theory.

But it’s all mind over matter, no?

I have been smoking a pipe for twenty years and do not consciously inhale. Yes, a little slipstream or incidental inhalation may occur, but it not of sufficient quantity to affect me. When I do accidently inhale a drag, usually because of indigestion or something like that, I cough like the dickens. It is reassuring to note the findings of the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report with regard to life expectancy of pipe smokers vs. cigarette smokers vs. the general population. I think what most people today would consider heavy pipe smoking (>5 bowls per day) has a negligible effect on overall health and that the benefits to one’s psyche far outweigh the negatives.

Well, I quit cigarettes about 2 years ago… Back then I was smoking 2+ packs a day…  When I smoke Dokha, I definitely inhale and hold… But with a pipe… I would venture to guess that most of the puffs taken are not inhaled at all…  But at the same time, a few time per bowl, I will draw the smoke in my mouth for a second and then shallowly inhale it. I don’t know… I don’t do a whole bowl that way… Just a few puffs per bowl… and it’s not really something I do with any intention, as it’s just how the course of my pipe sessions work out… also, usually, a couple times a bowl I intentionally snork, so I can get a grasp of the highnote of the tobacco I’m smoking.
I’ve actually smoked some Irish Flake and did inhale, and it was intensely harsh… and moment’s later I was setting down my pipe cause it kicked me in the kiester…Lol…

@darkly Yikes! That stuff kicks me in the kiester just by tasting on it.

Gentlemen of this congregation, if you deem Irish Flake strong I would like to hear what you have to say about Samuel Gawith’s Bracken flakes.

Bracken Flake is about as strong as 1792 Flake (I think its the same baccy with different flavouring) but brown ropes are even stronger!

I think the depth of the inhalation needs to be accounted for. When smoking cigarettes, the inhaled smoke is smooth going down and can get right to the base of your lung. When i do unintentially inhale my pipe, its only to the top.

I’ve been smoking Irish Flake on an average of twice a week. C&D’s Old Joe Krantz packs a bigger punch to me. It’s all in the body chemistry, I guess

My taste came a long way since I first started. I started out liking Virginias, then came Latakia. I thumb my nose up at USA’s OTCs. After having my first bowl of Prince Albert, all that changed. I found out that my favorite blends are made right here at home with the burleys.

Regarding inhaling or not, one must consider the type of smoke in question to determine if inhaling has the desired effect.  Cigar smoke and most pipe smoke is an alkaline smoke while cigarette and dokha smoke are acidic.  Your lungs can only absorb nicotine from an acidic smoke.  To inhale cigar smoke will give you that deep lung burn sensation, which some people enjoy and seek out (more power to you), but you will not get any more nicotine.  You absorb all the nicotine from alkaline smoke across the mucus membranes in your mouth and sinuses.  The added “buzz” one gets from inhaling these types of smoke is due to oxygen deprivation not nicotine absorption. My personal opinion on inhaling alkaline smoke is that you do the damage to your lung tissue and get very little in compensation (unless of course you simply enjoy the sensation of hot smoke in your lungs).  Any pipe tobacco blend containing latakia or cavendish (which is 95% of all aromatic blends) will be alkaline, blends containing only straight virginias and burleys will be acidic.

Ultimately, to each his/her own.

That about sums it up Mr. Nose… right on all counts.

I would start with a corncob pipe and you don’t inhale pipe smoke or at least it’s not meant to be inhaled.

Actually trying to talk to this member on the thread now is rather pointless since she was banned…

Awwww… fail.

@ Harlequin, are you sure about this?  If true, may I ask why she was banned?

I’m sure. I asked cstokes4, actually. Apparently it was her rant on “ebonics” that did it because she was bugging the mods after it happened and the thread was closed. Oops, guess I might disappear now too.

I don’t inhale my pipe. I play with the smoke though. And say it’s best to focus a lot on what you’re doing with a pipe. When you are smoking one just right it is a sublime pleasure.

banned? oopsi!

I’m not interested in this one but maybe someone on the forum might be,

for reference anyway, as a pipe smoker, i started on an estate briar, cleaning it out first… not a bad cheap pipe from ebay, good cake too. now i can probably pass it on with whats left of my tobacco for some decent snuff, if anyone is interested.

I had my first real attempt with a pipe last night … (not counting adolescent experimentation all those years ago :-" ) well, kind of two attempts actually. I figured get something cheapo to play with, and appreciate that this will affect my experience, but as a “is this for me” tester it made sense. I used a mega cheap £2 mini corn cob, and a 6mm filtered cherry hardwood bent both from the same manufacturer. The tobacco was Dark Birdseye Shag. First impressions is that it was a monumental pain in the posterior getting the thing lit, and even when it did it would go out very quickly if I wasn’t continually drawing. No real surprises there as I’ll need practice packing the bowl efficiently. Aside from that the taste was extremely different from what I’m used to, but certainly worth trying again. The mini corn cob was a complete fail, and had better luck with the cherry as it had a larger bowl to work with and allowed me to tweak and poke and fiddle to try and get it to function. I did however feel like a Wookie had mistaken my mouth for a lavatory when I woke up this morning, and the tongue is a little tender, so I think I got a bit of tongue bite from battling with them a bit (more with the mini corn cob than the cherry I think). I probably need to try again in a couple of days, and play around with different compression of the tobacco until I figure out the sweet spot

^ practice makes perfect, the key to pipe smoking is to go SLOW or tongue bite is sure to follow

@50ft_trad try letting the tobacco dryout for 10 minutes then pack the bottom half of the bowl. Have a pipe tool handy if you need to tamp and possible stab an air hole into the packed tobacco if it too hard to draw

Try a different tobacco, too. Shags tend to burn quickly unless they are too wet. Something like MacBaren’s Club Blend or Symphony will burn slower once you get a second-lighting coal glowing, allowing you to just sip at the pipe to keep it lit. Relighting a pipe is a common practice and not a bad thing.

@50ft_trad try letting the tobacco dryout for 10 minutes then pack the bottom half of the bowl. Have a pipe tool handy if you need to tamp and possible stab an air hole into the packed tobacco if it too hard to draw

Thanks! I did wonder about the moisture content, I’ll give that a whirl

Try a different tobacco, too. Shags tend to burn quickly unless they are too wet. Something like MacBaren’s Club Blend or Symphony will burn slower once you get a second-lighting coal glowing, allowing you to just sip at the pipe to keep it lit. Relighting a pipe is a common practice and not a bad thing.

Again, thanks for the input! All I have at the moment for playing with is two shags (Dark Birdseye and Rumbh) and a bit of Bob’s Chocolat Flake which I understand also needs rubbing out and drying a bit before packing

I tried again this evening, and drying the tobacco first before firing up the Cherry Ozark made a huge difference. I am beginning to think that tobacco might be a little rich for this pipe though - not sure why as a novice like me should maybe not be coming to those assumptions yet - but I am wondering if a milder smoke would be better in this pipe. This has got me looking now at churchwardens which I like the idea of (specifically Macqueen Wizard in briar), but my wallet is frightened. As for the mini corn cob (about 3.1/2" overall) - it bit me again! This has again got me thinking that it might be partially that the smoke is too hot as the pipe is so short. The bowl cavity is so small the pipe tamper actually touches the sides and barely fits in the hole too - it’s almost like a pipe that’s used for other purposes :-" What did seem to work very well though (and I appreciate I may be sneered upon or chastised for this) was hand rolling tobacco. So more practice is required, but I’m thinking a long pipe for the dark tobaccos, the Cherry Missouri Ozark for the milder smokes, and the Mini Corn Cobs (I actually got two, they were so cheap) for flavoured RYO baccy. Feel free to slap some sense into me if I’m wildly off the mark

OK, after a couple (more) hours reading up, I’m starting to get a much better perspective on the nuances of all this. The thing what’s helped most is reading several different perspectives and writing styles. It’s almost like navigating by triangulation. I now … I think … I hope … have a better understanding of what I’m trying to achieve and what’s liable to be the issue if I don’t. It’s still going to take some time to put it into practice and develop the “feel” I reckon, but the penny is definitely starting to teeter even if it hasn’t actually dropped. Big thanks again to basement_shamen and Mouse - those suggestions were just what I needed to poke me looking into the right areas. Cheers guys!

As mentioned above, drawing hard or smoking fast is a guarantee for tongue bite, but I also find that if I smoke a lot of virginias, especially if they are flavored… they will bite as well, the effect compounded when I am working or excited… and start puffing too fast… But hang in there, pipe smoking can be and is a real pleasure if done right and with the right tools…

@50ft_trad I’ve been smoking a pipe since about august, and it really is about getting the ‘feel’ for it. I will say though that once I stopped ‘thinking’ about the pack or the draw and just smoked to relax(Which is how you should smoke a pipe), it became second nature. My 2 cents…whatever that is worth

@50ft_trad I’ve been smoking a pipe since about august, and it really is about getting the ‘feel’ for it. I will say though that once I stopped ‘thinking’ about the pack or the draw and just smoked to relax(Which is how you should smoke a pipe), it became second nature. My 2 cents…whatever that is worth

Yeah, I’m kind of tuning into that, but after smoking cigs for so long it’s not an easy adjustment. I do feel like I’m getting there, but there is still a way to go yet

Two mistakes that new pipe smokers are prone to making are: 1. packing the bowl too tightly. This makes it hard to get lit, and predisposes the pipe to go out frequently. It also means you have to puff much harder, thereby almost insuring bite. 2. not tamping frequently enough. As the pipe smokes down, you need to tamp it to keep the tobacco burning. Even once you master these things, the pipe WILL go out from time to time until you get the rhythm down. Don’t worry about it too much, it becomes second nature after a while.