Pipe Smoking

[Kid Mac]

DerMann,

Welcome to the brotherhood of the briar.

If you're interested in English mixtures, you might consider Esoterica tobaccos. Esosterica Margate is a superb English (though a bit strong for some). Esoterica Pembroke is Margate married with Cognac, resulting in a smoother smoke. Esoterica Penzance is, IMHO, the finest English flake. You might, if you haven't already, check out Tobacco Reviews http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/ and the professor's pipe page http://pipes.priss.org/.

Also, if you're interested in a pipe lighter, consider a zippo pipe lighter. It's just like the standard zippo except there is a hole in the wind screen enabling one to hold the lighter horizontal to the pipe and draw the flame downward. This helps you avoid scorching the pipe's rim.

Finally, when I first started on the road to briar bliss, Max Schulte, of Schulte's pipes, recommended using a bit of grenadine to coat the inside of a new pipe to accelerate cake build up and to sweeten the pipe. Similar to the honey but less viscous.

Cheers,

Mac

 

[newspapercowboy]

pipe

I've smoked a pipe since I was 15...I'm 52...I have about 125 pipes...its the best way to smoke imho

 

[Levallois]

I've started smoking a pipe again after several years off. I don't know why I stopped but I started again for the relaxing nature of the act of smoking a pipe. I've found a couple of tobaccos that I like, both from Pipeworks &Wilke - Vermont Maple and the Rumcake. Sweet smokes but not overwhelming and, more importantly, not "wet." I tried delving into the non-flavored tobaccos the first time around but I don't enjoy them as much. Good luck with your search and welcome to the pipe-smoking club.

John

 

[Geesie]

Don't discount the corncob pipe. You may find yourself on a camping trip or at someone's cabin by a lake and wish you had a "rustic" pipe with you.

Also for lighting, you can look for a Nimrod pipe lighter on eBay.

For tobacco, I recommend going to a tobacconist and looking through their jars of tobacco for something that looks, feels, and smells good to you. A good tobacco shop will have a good, helpful owner.

 

[quickerNu]

The corncob

I enjoyed a new 6 dollar corncob while camping before a SASS (cowboy action shooting) meet last weekend. No biggie if it gets lost or damaged, and period appropriate!

 

[Bustercat]

One of the nicest things you can do with a new pipe is rub the inside of the bowl with a good quality honey. Let it absorb the honey for about 2 weeks and then light her up.

It's an old trick my father picked up when he was in the RNZAF just after the war. And it works, I do it with any new pipe. Sweetens the bowl.

I'd be careful what you plan to smoke out of it. I've never had good luck with honey in a bowl for english blends, even to break it in. Just an unpleasant, not sweet flavor for me that takes weeks to leave.
I've had much better success swabbing pipe with scotch after cleaning it with my cleaning solution (90% isopropyl).
It tastes great.

 

[Nick D]

I've had much better success swabbing pipe with scotch after cleaning it with my cleaning solution (90% isopropyl).
It tastes great.

I've used a good blended (won't use the single malt) and sea salt to sweeten a couple pipes that have gone sour. Add to that I usually smoke Mac Baren's Scottish Mixture, and the first bowl after cleaning is very nice indeed.

 

[SmokeyWw]

From your list of tobaccos to try, Peterson's Irish Flake and Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake are a couple of my favorites. For someone new to pipe-smoking however, I would caution that smoking flake-style tobaccos is just a bit different.

I have about 50-60 pipes currently, but I've only recently acquired my first Peterson System pipe. I like it a lot. It takes just a bit more effort to clean after each smoke, but it really does deliver a cool dry smoke -- which is what the "system" was designed to do.

I absolutely love that BC calabash you posted. I have one gourd calabash (I'm smoking it now with a bowl of Gawith & Hoggarth Dark Flake Unscented) but it's nowhere near as nice as that Butz. Smoking a calabash is different than smoking your briar pipe. The well-seasoned briar pipe will add a certain something to the flavor of your tobacco that the meerschaum bowl of the calabash will not. The large, hollow body of the gourd on the 'bash will cool, dry, and mellow the smoke. Depending on the tobacco and your particular taste that may be a good or bad thing. I only smoke strong tobaccos like this Dark Flake or SG 1792 in the calabash. I don't want it taking away anything from the flavor of favorites like Full Virginia Flake. Irish Flake might make a good calabash smoke, but it tastes too good in a briar and costs too much for me to experiment. (If it ain't broke...)

Yes, I would recommend having separate pipes for different types of tobaccos. Some people dedicate a pipe to a particular tobacco. (I do have one Lasse Skovgaard that is dedicated strictly to Full Virginia Flake.) Some dedicate to different tobacco families (one for burley, one for Virginia, etc.). I do it a little more simply than that (with few exceptions). Aromatics in some pipes, stuff with latakia in others, and none of the above in most of them. I don't have a problem with smoking Virginias, Virginia/Perique blends, and burley blends in the same pipes. I just don't want to smoke a latakia bomb or cherries jubilee in that pipe.

I wish you the best in your undertaking of this most enjoyable and relaxing hobby. If you have any questions, you can feel free to ask.

Above all, pipe-smoking isn't easy. There's a learning curve. Packing and tamping and the cadence of puffing and cleaning and resting and rotating and on and on takes a little time to get right. Pipe-smoking is best learned unter the eye of an experienced pipe guy. Lacking a personal pipe mentor, your best bet would be to join a friendly and helpful online pipe group full of people with lots of information to share.

Almost since I started smoking my pipes, I've been a member of Smokers Forums, and I can heartily recommend it for a place to learn, make friends, and discuss various pipe and tobacco issues. There may be other good info sites as well, but I'm most familiar with SF.

Happy puffing!

 

[Green Miller]

Try Spilman Mixture at www.iwanries.com of Chicago. A good solid english mixture. It's a revival of one of their old brands and even comes in a cool repro vintage can and is a good value.

They have a great mail order business so give them a try.

 

[Bustercat]

Recently put one of those thunderbird butane inserts into my zippo (the one on the right, but the pipe version with a hole on the side), like night and day over the new "odorless" zippo fluid.

Review:
[YOUTUBE]NTGGIGUY-H4[/YOUTUBE]

It's fantastic, reliable (thought not as resistant to wind).

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Recently put one of those thunderbird butane inserts into my zippo (the one on the right, but the pipe version with a hole on the side), like night and day over the new "odorless" zippo fluid.

It's fantastic, reliable (thought not as resistant to wind).

That's a neat little video, thanks for sharing.
I've got a similar Zippo and you're right it is very useful. Matches are a particular problem in the UK now with the smoking ban and I wouldn't use a regular lighter.

 

[Skred]

Sobranie Cigarettes

Which Sobranie's are the white unfiltered type?

I had some many years ago and like them.

 

[Nick D]

That's a neat little video, thanks for sharing.
I've got a similar Zippo and you're right it is very useful. Matches are a particular problem in the UK now with the smoking ban and I wouldn't use a regular lighter.

I haven't noticed a problem, other than regular boxes of matches being difficult to find (I did find them at Wilkos).

 

[GWD]

Curiosity

Hi, I've got a few question about smoking a pipe.

First an observation; I can't stand the smell and taste of Cigarette and Cigar smoke. I LOVE the smell of pipe smoke but have never tried it.

Does pipe smoke taste as good as it smells or does it taste the same as cigars and cigarettes?

I've smoked some Orange tobacco through a hookah about a year ago and actually found it quite nice. Is it similar to that?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Does pipe smoke taste as good as it smells ...?

Sad irony: the "nicest"-smelling pipe tobaccoes (called 'aromatics') are the worst-tasting, while the harsher-smelling ones can be the best-tasting.


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[GWD]

No. Even so, it still tastes pretty good.


Sad irony: the "nicest"-smelling pipe tobaccoes (called 'aromatics') are the worst-tasting.


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Thanks Marc,

After spending a brief time doing some quick research, it seems like quite an investment to even give it a try.

 

[Yeps]

Thanks Marc,

After spending a brief time doing some quick research, it seems like quite an investment to even give it a try.

It is not really that much of an investment. If you have a tobacconist near by, just stop by and pick up a corncob for a couple bucks, and a couple ounces of one of their house blends. Total cost: <$10.
Cobs actually smoke rather well, and the tobacconist can point to towards a good baccy to get started.

 

[Nick D]

Sad irony: the "nicest"-smelling pipe tobaccoes (called 'aromatics') are the worst-tasting, while the harsher-smelling ones can be the best-tasting.


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A lot of aromatics don't so much give you tongue bite as chew your tongue and spit it out.

I find a straight cavendish is pleasant for both taste and smell.

Initial outlay can be lessened by buying a cob as Yeps said, and even when you move on to a more expensive pipe, you only need to buy it once. And a pouch of tobacco can last a while if you smoke moderately.

 

[GWD]

I see a lot of pipes in antique shops, are they trash or worth the effort?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I see a lot of pipes in antique shops, are they trash or worth the effort?

They can definitely be worth the effort, depending on their condition, quality, rarity, and restoration prospects.


Unless completely disposable and/or of really junky quality, vintage specimens tend to be called 'estate pipes' by sellers. A bit of jargon for you.


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