The Pipe smokers thread. Everything & anything!

[khomeinist]

Firstly, nice pipe mate it looks strikingly similar to mine but with a straighter bowl. It wouldn't happened to be of the Medico brand would it? In regards to the relighting, I think it is a combination of getting everything right including the packing, initial flaming, the tamping, the lighting and the rhythm you smoke in.. I have noticed after a few months that I am relighting my pipe less and less now but there is the odd time where I feel I have produced bad packing and had to relight several times throughout the bowl. I find that I have found the sweet spot in my rhythm where I puff enough for it not to go out, yet not enough to make it burn too hot and produce tongue bite which I think is the key to a good bowl.

Perhaps you may be drawing too frequent/strong which is causing the bowl to overheat and go out or the pipe is packed too tight causing the 'suffocate' effect? I am sure a few of the more experienced smokers will be able to help you further but I think with pipe smoking that practice does indeed make perfect as it is an art of sorts.

Very well-put. I will add a few thoughts. Experience is key. The packing is probably the key step. I use the three-stage approach. You need a firm pack that has just enough porosity to allow oxygen to keep a gentle burn going. It is important to consider the variety, cut, and moisture content for the tobacco you want to smoke. Aromatic and Virginia flake tobaccos can be a bit too moist to burn consistently straight from a fresh tin or pouch. Consider placing your tobacco on a flat surface to dry out a bit before loading your pipe. I tend to smoke 'English' or 'Balkan' mixtures that contain a variety of different tobaccos, each with different burning properties. I like my tobacco drier than some, which is one trick I use to get a proper burn. A fresh tin of tobacco gets left out with the lid ajar for a day or two.

So... pack in three stages. Loose on bottom. Progressively tighter with the second and third pinch. Lighting is two stages. Char the surface. Light again in a circular motion. You will come to know the proper pack from inhaling prior to lighting (similar drawing a cigar prior to lighting to see if you have a plug-job or wind tunnel). Too tight? Remove the tobacco and relight. Yeah this is annoying but always worth it. Too loose? Tamp down until you get the proper resistance. Carry a tamper everywhere. The Czech tools are cheap and very practical. You can lose them to airport security without losing too much (I have lost much to security thanks to my smoking habit).

Ok. I am rambling. Hopefully some useful nuggets in there. Smoke on.

[khomeinist]

Ive been after a brick of partagas pipe baccy for a while, any leads?

A buddy of mine has a brick of this that he got some years back in Europe. I have tried it and would like to find some myself. Anybody seen it at a LCDH? I couldn't locate an online vendor. I know some people that break up plugged cigars and pack a pipe with the tobacco. I usually try to break down my plugs and smoke the cigars as such. I don't break down my Cuban cigars for blending but I know some folk do just that. There are several tobaccos on the market that contain cigar leaf. McClelland has a Dominican Glory in both natural and maduro forms. Greg Pease has a blend called Robusto if I am not mistaken. There is another 'bankers blend' that contains cigar leaf. PipesandTobacco (vendor) have in-house blends with cigar leaf. I think Max Engels in Canada also does a cigar blend or two. Those come to mind at the moment.

Anyway. I too am curious about the Partagas availability. I have been known to throw the nub of a soon-to-expire cigar into a pipe to get a few more minutes of pleasure. Smoking a full bowl of Partagas or using it in a home-made blend would be fun.

[Thomas]

A buddy of mine has a brick of this that he got some years back in Europe. I have tried it and would like to find some myself. Anybody seen it at a LCDH? I couldn't locate an online vendor. I know some people that break up plugged cigars and pack a pipe with the tobacco. I usually try to break down my plugs and smoke the cigars as such. I don't break down my Cuban cigars for blending but I know some folk do just that. There are several tobaccos on the market that contain cigar leaf. McClelland has a Dominican Glory in both natural and maduro forms. Greg Pease has a blend called Robusto if I am not mistaken. There is another 'bankers blend' that contains cigar leaf. PipesandTobacco (vendor) have in-house blends with cigar leaf. I think Max Engels in Canada also does a cigar blend or two. Those come to mind at the moment.

Anyway. I too am curious about the Partagas availability. I have been known to throw the nub of a soon-to-expire cigar into a pipe to get a few more minutes of pleasure. Smoking a full bowl of Partagas or using it in a home-made blend would be fun.

Robusto from pease is ok, there is another from Cuba called Esception, very heady stuff, so is the partagas

[bob25]

I'm smoking pipes for years.

My favorite is tobacco is Samuel Gawith FULL VIRGINIA FLAKE.

Here is my small and humble stash.

I need to restock soon because I'm almost finished with all my remaining tobacco.

Sorry for the quality,its from my phone.

Free Image Hosting by ImageBam.com

[dicko]

Great thread, bumped for new pipe tales, porn and info.

I'm looking to get into pipe smoking, my great uncle was smoking his pipe over christmas, looked like he was loving life and it looks bad ass.

Are there two types of pipe tobacco...with flavours added and unflavoured tobacco (like cigar tobacco) ??? I would have thought unflavoured would be more up my alley. I read that some guys cut up their cigar tobacco too...

Please PM me any online sites worth looking at for buying a pipe and accessories too, if you please.

Cheers guys,

Dicko.

[cigcars]

*Hmmm. Naive me. I didn't think there was a such thing as cigar smokers who were able to enjoy pipes too! I started out attempting to smoke a pipe. I loved the aroma of my uncle's pipe smoke when he would come over to visit us. I found a woman's style pipe with a delicate stem and little zirconia type ring around the end of it. Couldn't get into it. Only got tongue bite. And it did absolutely nothing for me as far as any real tobacco satisfaction. Cigars were the way for me.

Speaking of you all's collections: One of my cigar admiring/smoking friends had a wonderful pipe collection which he gave to me. I wish I had the means to send up a photo of them. He also educated me on the better and more quality-laden types of briar they were made of. Of course, out of curiosity, I did attempt a bit of pipe smoking again some years ago. I read up on and studied the various types of pipe tobaccos and the only adequate satisfaction I got was to smoke straight Turkish Latakia, which I know is only for mixing with other pipe tobacco. That was around 1998.

Back to only cigars, folks. And I consider the cigars outside of Cuba only cubic zirconia. The real diamonds of the cigar world are only Habana tobacco for me! cum si, cum sa!

[dicko]

*Hmmm. Naive me. I didn't think there was a such thing as cigar smokers who were able to enjoy pipes too! I started out attempting to smoke a pipe. I loved the aroma of my uncle's pipe smoke when he would come over to visit us. I found a woman's style pipe with a delicate stem and little zirconia type ring around the end of it. Couldn't get into it. Only got tongue bite. And it did absolutely nothing for me as far as any real tobacco satisfaction. Cigars were the way for me.

Speaking of you all's collections: One of my cigar admiring/smoking friends had a wonderful pipe collection which he gave to me. I wish I had the means to send up a photo of them. He also educated me on the better and more quality-laden types of briar they were made of. Of course, out of curiosity, I did attempt a bit of pipe smoking again some years ago. I read up on and studied the various types of pipe tobaccos and the only adequate satisfaction I got was to smoke straight Turkish Latakia, which I know is only for mixing with other pipe tobacco. That was around 1998.

Back to only cigars, folks. And I consider the cigars outside of Cuba only cubic zirconia. The real diamonds of the cigar world are only Habana tobacco for me! cum si, cum sa!

I hope I enjoy pipe smoking, but I agree, cigars are fantastic.

Please get some pics up of that pipe collection if you can Cigcars! pretty please

[El Capitan]

I enjoy my Peterson System 303 (pictured) for something different from time to time, but it never compares to the rich, opulent, and complex smoke I get from a Cuban. I read somewhere that smoking a pipe is like drinking tea and cigars are like drinking coffee.

[laficion]

Hi everyone,

I can't say that I've ever really enjoyed smoking a pipe but I do enjoy looking

at a beautifully made one and I must say that I've seen some great looking

pipes on this thread.

I just wanted to drop by and to thank you all for a very interesting and informative

disccusion on this other passion which is pipe smoking.

Thank you and hope this thread continues , lots of great info on the subject, Bravo !!!

Guy

[mkz]

I find the pipe an excellent smoking companion when time, place etcetera doesnt allow me to light up a cigar.

Turned 30 in december and got this lovely pipe from my wife...

Chacom Baccara. Its a heavy beauty and smokes really well. It will probably outlive me in the end.

[Ghabanos]

More pics please.

[marty922]

The beginner's end of the spectrum :-)