New to pipe smoking, seeking recommendations

[brandaves]

Hello gentlemen. I'm new to pipe smoking and I was hoping for some advice. I'm looking to get a pipe suitable for learning but also one that isn't junk. I'd like to keep it in the $50 and under range as I'm still unsure the hobby is for me. I have been looking around a bit but I just don't have any idea what I'm looking at. Any advice or recommendations welcomed. I'm also going to need some intro tobacco suggestions as well. I was thinking aromatic was a good jumping off place but don't really know. Thank you all in advance.

 

[moostashio]

I've been smoking a pipe for a long time, and I've just decided to stop. I'll send you a pipe or two (cleaned up, of course) and accessories if you'll PM your address.

I would recommend Lane Q1 tobacco (you can get it in bulk on Pipes & Cigars.com).

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Well besides free ones, corn cobs from Missouri meerschaum are hard to beat.

 

[Kentos]

Morgan Bones will set you back 39.00+shipping.

 

[Columbo]

Hello gentlemen. I'm new to pipe smoking and I was hoping for some advice. I'm looking to get a pipe suitable for learning but also one that isn't junk. I'd like to keep it in the $50 and under range as I'm still unsure the hobby is for me. I have been looking around a bit but I just don't have any idea what I'm looking at. Any advice or recommendations welcomed. I'm also going to need some intro tobacco suggestions as well. I was thinking aromatic was a good jumping off place but don't really know. Thank you all in advance.

Two things.

Start with a cob, or if you want to spend a little more, perhaps a Dr. Grabow (see my recent review of a $33 one in the ‘expensive v cheap pipe’ thread here). No need to invest any more than that to start.

Start with a pouch or two of a simple OTC burley. I prefer PA (Prince Albert), but Carter Hall and Sir Walter Raleigh are also good choices. These basic tobaccos will not only nicely break in your new pipe, they will light and burn easy, are cool and dry smoking, are very mild, and they will best teach you the basics of packing and ‘sipping’ on a pipe. It also will allow a fast bowl to a beginner, usually lasting under 30 minutes. Buy a pouch of two or three different burley brands. It is $5 or $10 well spent, and not much to invest.

Plenty of beginners grab the cheap, soggy, over-topped aromatics first, and that’s a mistake. Then they puff on them like a steam locomotive, run the bowl at nuclear temps, and then wonder why there is a pool of goo at the end of their hot, unpleasant smoke that was only enjoyable to bystanders.

Equally unrecommended is starting off with an over-the-top fancy canned blend, containing too strong and/or too spicy elements for a beginner, because some tobacco snob said it was the ‘best’. Best to learn on a simple, mild, easy OTC pouch like above.

If you stick with it, you’ll get to these fancy blends eventually.

Get a 40 bag of standard pipe cleaners, and a box of diamond kitchen matches.

Clean your pipe and let it dry between smokes, preferably at least 12-24 hours. A wet pipe smokes nasty.

Burley in particular as a starter leaf will teach you ‘sipping’ and the proper cadence and draw techniques for extracting maximum flavor and pleasure from any tobacco. It will also quickly punish bad technique. This will make your future climb into more sophisticated blends even more rewarding, as you will have well-honed piping skills by then.

Once you determine that you enjoy piping, and have mastered the basics, then you can invest in better pipes and tobaccos if you choose to.

Others will have different advice. But that is mine.

Smoking a pipe is one of God’s ways of showing how much he loves us and wants us to be happy. There are few pastimes more relaxing and enjoyable than firing up a bowl after a long day’s work in the comfort of your favorite chair. Good luck on your journey.

 

[FarmerTan]

I've been smoking a pipe for a long time, and I've just decided to stop. I'll send you a pipe or two (cleaned up, of course) and accessories if you'll PM your address.

I would recommend Lane Q1 tobacco (you can get it in bulk on Pipes & Cigars.com).

Very, VERY generous. Take this wonderful gentleman up on this offer.

Some of my absolute best pipes were ones that I got from estate sales. Pre broken in!

 

[FarmerTan]

Well besides free ones, corn cobs from Missouri meerschaum are hard to beat.

My Dad's favorite. Miss that ole fart. He could make smoking a pipe or a Pall Mall look like something Angels do in Heaven.

 

[brandaves]

I've been smoking a pipe for a long time, and I've just decided to stop. I'll send you a pipe or two (cleaned up, of course) and accessories if you'll PM your address.

I would recommend Lane Q1 tobacco (you can get it in bulk on Pipes & Cigars.com).

Thanks so much! I'll send a PM. Very generous of you.

 

[brandaves]

Two things.

Start with a cob, or if you want to spend a little more, perhaps a Dr. Grabow (see my recent review of a $33 one in the ‘expensive v cheap pipe’ thread here). No need to invest any more than that to start.

Start with a pouch or two of a simple OTC burley. I prefer PA (Prince Albert), but Carter Hall and Sir Walter Raleigh are also good choices. These basic tobaccos will not only nicely break in your new pipe, they will light and burn easy, are cool and dry smoking, are very mild, and they will best teach you the basics of packing and ‘sipping’ on a pipe. It also will allow a fast bowl to a beginner, usually lasting under 30 minutes. Buy a pouch of two or three different burley brands. It is $5 or $10 well spent, and not much to invest.

Plenty of beginners grab the cheap, soggy, over-topped aromatics first, and that’s a mistake. Then they puff on them like a steam locomotive, run the bowl at nuclear temps, and then wonder why there is a pool of goo at the end of their hot, unpleasant smoke that was only enjoyable to bystanders.

Equally unrecommended is starting off with an over-the-top fancy canned blend, containing too strong and/or too spicy elements for a beginner, because some tobacco snob said it was the ‘best’. Best to learn on a simple, mild, easy OTC pouch like above.

If you stick with it, you’ll get to these fancy blends eventually.

Get a 40 bag of standard pipe cleaners, and a box of diamond kitchen matches.

Clean your pipe and let it dry between smokes, preferably at least 12-24 hours. A wet pipe smokes nasty.

Burley in particular as a starter leaf will teach you ‘sipping’ and the proper cadence and draw techniques for extracting maximum flavor and pleasure from any tobacco. It will also quickly punish bad technique. This will make your future climb into more sophisticated blends even more rewarding, as you will have well-honed piping skills by then.

Once you determine that you enjoy piping, and have mastered the basics, then you can invest in better pipes and tobaccos if you choose to.

Others will have different advice. But that is mine.

Smoking a pipe is one of God’s ways of showing how much he loves us and wants us to be happy. There are few pastimes more relaxing and enjoyable than firing up a bowl after a long day’s work in the comfort of your favorite chair. Good luck on your journey.

Thank you for the reply. I will heed your advice as I don't have any experience or anyone to physically guide me I'll need the easiest tobacco to begin and learn with. I'll keep you all posted on my journey and I'm sure I'll be back with many more questions. One more to begin with. How best for a beginner to pack a pipe? I see the two pinch and three pinch method around...any advice there?

 

[FarmerTan]

Thank you for the reply. I will heed your advice as I don't have any experience or anyone to physically guide me I'll need the easiest tobacco to begin and learn with. I'll keep you all posted on my journey and I'm sure I'll be back with many more questions. One more to begin with. How best for a beginner to pack a pipe? I see the two pinch and three pinch method around...any advice there?

Man... This is sure making me wish I still smoked a pipe! It is as close to Nirvana as you can get. Just limit the inhalation.

I can STILL taste Borkum Riff 35 years later!

 

[brandaves]

Man... This is sure making me wish I still smoked a pipe! It is as close to Nirvana as you can get. Just limit the inhalation.

I can STILL taste Borkum Riff 35 years later!

I won't be inhaling, well only incidentally I suppose. I have enjoyed many cigars but the problem I have with them is the post smoke stink. I love the flavor of a good cigar just not the lingering scent. It seems a pipe has a lingering scent, but a pleasant one my wife doesn't mind. I like having a little zen time at the end of the day and it seems to me that a pipe is a good choice to sit and unwind at the end of a long day. I'm looking forward to learning it.

 

[Ponycarman]

Nice! Seems like your all set now haha. For inexpensive pipes like the others have said Missouri meerschaum cobs are great. The morgan bones and dr grabows are great smokers too. Estate pipes can be a good source as well if you know what to look for. Like another said a good burly is a great starter tobacco. I really enjoy carter hall but like prince albert as well. A lighter Virginia blend might be nice as well. Orlick golden sliced and Peter stockabye luxury navy flake are good.

For packing I really don't use a "method" anymore. Just fill the bowl and leave the tobacco springy feeling. For flake and ready rub leave it loosely packed to allow for expansion. Sometimes I leave ribbon cut stuff loose as well. It is much easier to tighten up by tamping. Was more difficult loosening up the draw after packing something way too tight.

Have fun!

 

[blstrge]

Just start with a corn cob and maybe try the pipe tobacco called "Mississippi River". You can just keep smoking with the corn cob instead of waiting or having to rotate pipes. Pipe tobacco tastes really good after you get used to it. It all tasted the same to me at first, then I started being able to detect the wonderful flavors.

 

[Columbo]

Thank you for the reply. I will heed your advice as I don't have any experience or anyone to physically guide me I'll need the easiest tobacco to begin and learn with. I'll keep you all posted on my journey and I'm sure I'll be back with many more questions. One more to begin with. How best for a beginner to pack a pipe? I see the two pinch and three pinch method around...any advice there?

(I apologize to the experienced and mods if this is already in some FAQ here)

About packing. It is not rocket science or some precise lab process. You are not loading a Banbury mixer, and 10 experienced pipers will all do it slightly differently. Beware the 200 youtube videos of young bearded men showing you how over 30 minutes, using all sorts of tools and steps. It’s more a personal art than anything else. And it’s not that hard.

The trick is to not have too dense a pack at the bottom, while maintaining enough density at the top to allow a good burn down and not require excessive re-tamps along the way. And there are only two factors you need to consider for every fill: the depth of your chamber, and the cut of your blend.

Some pipers like to finger mill down their leaf until it is nearly sawdust. For that, and more for compact cuts such as cube or cross cuts (SWR comes to mind), you really only need to gravity fill them to start. On the other hand, if you are pitchforking in a bale of some Virginias, you may need to finger them in a little, especially on some of the smaller diameter chambers.

I normally, depending on the blend, fill almost to the top, give it a light finger press, then top it a second time, and finger press it a little harder (but gently). That’s all there is to it. You don’t need any tools once you figure it out. Others may be more progressive about it. But this is what has worked for me for many years. Eventually, with trial and error, you will figure out what works best for you.

Resist the urge to pack it down like you used a hydraulic press. On a more granular cut, don’t press any harder than you might on your eyeball. If you notice the draw on your loaded pipe is significantly harder than when empty, you likely over tamped it.

The beauty of some of those OTC pouches I recommended is that you can just scoop your pipe in, quick and easy. Push it in with your finger, light it up, and away you go.

Now once you light it up, it may go out right away. And that’s ok. It’s called a false light, and most of the time, it actually leads to a better smoke anyway (somewhat like the way cigar smokers will toast ‘em first) All you need to do is give it a very light re-tamp and re-light.

Unfortunately, unless you like dirty fingers and/or pain, you’re going to need a tool for tamping once the bowl is lit. For a budget tool, all you need to do is go to your garage and grab a clean framing nail. Lots of tightwad cobbers just use that. Just don’t put it in your back pants pocket, or you might get a surprise.

If you want something that is a little more versatile (because you need to empty the bowl at the end, and whacking it on a porch rail like in the movies is not good for hot pipes), consider the trusty ‘Czech tool’ that has been around forever, and lasts forever. I still use my first one and I think I paid 49 cents for it. Maybe they are a couple dollars now. It tamps, and it has a handy spoon to empty out your ash. When you want to make a fashion statement or impress the visitors, you can buy the $25 one with imported rosewood accents. But the little Czech tool works just as well.

Whatever you do, if it’s a decent pipe, don’t whack the pipe like a hammer at the end to empty it out. It looks good in the old movies, but it is bad for the pipe. The stem is not a handle, and the shank joint is most vulnerable when heated. If you pound away on a hot pipe, you could wind up with a loose joint, or worse, a cracked one. It is also going to mar up the bowl lip. Just spoon it out.

Then, take a fresh cleaner, rub the loose cotton off, and then swab one end, then the other, down the stem hole until it exits in the bowl bottom. Then fold the cleaner into a U and swab out the bowl. Then set it aside to rest and dry. This time of year in much of the country, the RH is pretty low. So the pipe drytime will be a little shorter than during the humid summer months. And with a faster recovery time, you can get by with a smaller rotation — perfect for beginners.

If you do a basic clean after every smoke, then depending on what you smoke, you won’t need to do a more heavy cleaning for a while.

And that’s about all there is to it.

Many years ago, I recall B&W putting out some how-to booklets for new pipers. They may also be somewhere on the internet at this point. But I think I covered the essentials.

Most of all, just relax and enjoy the experience. If a bowl doesn’t work out, don’t fight through it. Just dump it and start over. An expensive OTC blend makes that real easy.

I noticed that someone has offered you their own pipes in an exceptional act of kindness. That is a wonderful gesture. I’ll give you a second posting later on how to do a heavier cleaning, and how to deal with what I call ‘haunted’ pipes: pipes that now are ghosted and/or no longer smoke as sweetly or as neutrally due to their past exploits.

 

[Enemygod]

You have already recieved some good suggestions. Cob and Bones are both great and highly recommended. The one thing I would add is to NOT just get a standard burly as suggested. I would get 1 standard tobacco from each of the main categories. 1 or 2 oz of an Aromatic, English, burly and Virginia tobacco.

If I started off with nothing but Burly I probably would have quit soon after, as I don't care for Carter Hall, etc. Trying one of each will give you a sense of what you like and don't like.

Here are some suggestions for beginner cheap bulk versions of each type to start off with:
Virginia: Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bulls Eye Flake
English: Peter Stokkebye 17 English Luxury or Peter Stokkebye 52 Proper English
Burly: There have already been some good suggestions - Carter Hall, SWR
Aromatic: Lane 1-Q or something from The Country Squire.

1 to 2 oz of this stuff wont set you back much and it will at least give you an idea of blends that you will like, so you have some kind of direction moving forward.

 

[Kentos]

Great advice has been given. I think the greatest thing you need is patience and perseverance.

 

[brandaves]

I am very appreciative of all of you gentlemen offering me some advice. I've been watching YouTube videos as well, taking all in with a grain of salt. I don't have the implements required to actually get a smoke yet but hopefully with all of this under my belt my first go won't be as painstaking a process. On YouTube I'm heeding the comments section as much as the video. For instance, if a person recommends something and half the comments below him disagree on the same principle then I take note. In addition to the items @moostashio is generously sending me I will add a few inexpensive tobacco offerings to try a variety and perhaps a corncob pipe since I'm finding them available in the $10 range and most of you have suggested trying one. I'm very excited to get started on this journey and very thankful for your collectected wisdom and experience.

 

[Columbo]

About estates, deeper cleanings, exercising haunted pipes, and some other miscellaneous tips.

Someone offering you their own pipes is about the kindest act there is among pipers. This gentleman has likely done all the work of breaking it in for you. Well cared for estates are some of the best pipes out there. But just a couple suggestions.

See if the donor is kind enough to let you know what he smoked in each. If so, try to stick with that blend family. Otherwise, you can wind up with some ghosting, and/or whatever you are smoking in it can create some interesting off-flavors.

A considerate piper or a dealer is likely going to hand you a cleaned and sterilized estate, ready to go.

But after you have smoked any pipe for a while, depending on what you smoke, it usually is a good idea to give it a slightly deeper cleaning. If you smoke filtered pipes, you will be pulling it apart more regularly, and the level of residue buildup will be more concentrated towards the bowl. What you may encounter on very well used filter pipes eventually is a loose joint. There are some tricks for that, but I’ll save that for another time. I don’t use filters, and that means they are pulled open very infrequently. If you find a joint to be a very tight pull, just wipe a small pencil on the stem. The soft graphite dust will lubricate the joint, and not harm the pipe or its taste in the least. FWIW, I don’t even pull apart my pipes for deeper cleanings, and I may not open them up for 5+ years. And they all taste great. One thing also: never pull apart a hot or warm pipe. Let it cool first, or you risk loosening the joint.

Some blends smoke cleaner and/or drier than others, and that will dictate how fast residues may build up. Eventually, a basic daily cleaning will not catch all of it, and it starts to build up. Unless you are like Stalin, who never cleaned his pipes and just tossed them when they went sour, you will want to eventually clean yours.

For a deeper periodic cleaning, use pipe sweetener. It is really just one form or another of alcohol. The commercial ones are not unlike mouthwash (and some probably ARE mouthwash). You can use them, but some complain that they can leave behind an unwanted mint flavor. They’re also expensive for what you get.

What most older pipers use is just a higher proof spirit. Anything over 125 proof will do a good job. Everything can leave its own taste behind for a short while, and some take advantage of that by using spirits they like. Some use bourbon or rum. Others of us think that a waste of good booze, and will use a cheaper clear spirit, such as vodka or a straight grain. I use everclear 151, which I then put into an airline bottle for cleaning (because I don’t like lint in my cocktails).

Dip a cleaner into your sweetener, swab it down the stem to the bowl, and then dry it off with a fresh cleaner. If you want to do it multiple times, then have at it.

If you want to clean the bowl, just dampen the U of a bent cleaner. I don’t deep clean my bowls unless they are not smoking well, but many pipers do.

Whatever you do, be sure to let all the cleaner dry off. Otherwise, you might get a flamethrower or burn the bowl if you run right to smoking it.

Depending on what has been smoked in it, a pipe can take on the flavoring of the bacco. It’s called ghosting. That is why I tell beginners to stick with one pipe for certain baccos, and why I recommend a mild OTC to start with: they will not ghost the pipe. I don’t necessarily agree with the other gentleman that you round robin a string of dissimilar blends in any one pipe. You’re not going to get a fair taste sample on many of them, and by the time you get to the end, it might taste like you are smoking the whole store.

Nothing is worse from a flavor perspective than trying to sample a delicate English in a bowl that has been long-pirated by Captain Black and his black cavendish marauders. That results in what I call a haunted pipe.

In any event, sometimes you will encounter a pipe that starts tasting less sweet, or is haunted as above. For the latter, unless you want to continue on with the Captain or whatever has possessed it, here is how you can try to neutralize it over for something else.

First off, if it has more than about 1/8” of cake on it, it is probably best to ream it. That is often best left to a pipe technician or a very experienced piper who knows how to handle the tool. If you do a bad job of it, you will create hot spots, and/or wind up smoking briar peaks (which is the very last thing you want).

Once you determine the cake condition or ream it away, deep clean the pipe chamber as above, and let it dry out thoroughly. Then take the bacco you intend to smoke in it, and very tightly pack the bowl full of it, and set it in your rack, fully packed, for at least 4-5 days. The casings and toppings will gently start to re-sweeten the bowl towards that blend. Then empty the pipe, re-fill normally it with the exact same blend, and give it a smoke. Clean the pipe, let it dry, and then repeat that 4-5 day rest packed full of bacco. You may need to repeat the process multiple times, and some badly haunted pipes may never recover enough to go from a cough syrup aromatic to a delicate blend. But you can get rid of most of it (if not all of it) on most pipes.

How much effort you make to recover a pipe will depend on how important that pipe is to you. Again, sometimes with a cheaper pipe of little sentimental value, it is best to just let the Captain (or whatever) keep living in it.

If what you intend to smoke in it is a $10/oz designer blend that you don’t want to waste, then do the exact same thing using one of the OTC burleys I recommended above. To perform pipe exorcisms or for a bad tasting pipe, I like SWR regular the best, as it has the lightest casing of all, no real topping to speak of, and should leave behind a very neutral, very mild tobacco sweetness. Then you can burn through a couple bowls of your intended blend, and the pipe should soon sway in that direction.

This is all a rough analogy on the old chemical maxim surrounding detergents, in that all leave behind a unique deposit signature, and none is capable of cleaning its own deposits away. Whatever the analogy, the method above was taught me many decades ago by a kind old piper, and I am passing it along to you. It works, most of the time.

As above, whether to filter or not will depend on the pipe and the piper. I don’t like filters (I like flavor more), but many do.

The only other thing I can add is whether you are a pipe biter or not, and the use of rubber pipe bits or bites. On a vulcanite in particular, if you’re a biter, be prepared to eventually have teeth marks develop. You may frequently encounter this on estates. Many don’t care about this, others do. Also, some think the newer acrylic stems are less comfortable than the vulcanite ones.

I’m a biter, and appreciate the added softness and bigger purchase of a bite (especially with older teeth). So I’ve used them the past 20 or so years. If you want to try one, you can usually pick up singles at any decent pipe or tobacco shop for about 50 cents, or bags up to 100 for considerably less each. If you do buy one, make sure it is a US made rubber one (BJ Long, etc), as there are a lot of Chinese ones now floating around made out of God-knows-what.

If you have vulcanite stems (and most older estates do), they will eventually oxidize if you don’t give them a little care. Some folks will occasionally rub a little oil on them, either some form of cooking oil (yuck), mineral oil, or obsidian oil (made just for pipe stems). I have an ancient jar of paragon pipe wax, and once a year I just slap a dab of that on them. If they do get oxidized, there are some light compounding cremes available to polish them back up. But on a very cheap pipe, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Well that’s about as much as I can type in one day. So I’m going to check in with Mrs. Columbo over our Friday dinner menu, and call it a day here at B&B.

Enjoy your weekend, and happy puffs!

 

[brandaves]

About estates, deeper cleanings, exercising haunted pipes, and some other miscellaneous tips.

Someone offering you their own pipes is about the kindest act there is among pipers. This gentleman has likely done all the work of breaking it in for you. Well cared for estates are some of the best pipes out there. But just a couple suggestions.

See if the donor is kind enough to let you know what he smoked in each. If so, try to stick with that blend family. Otherwise, you can wind up with some ghosting, and/or whatever you are smoking in it can create some interesting off-flavors.

A considerate piper or a dealer is likely going to hand you a cleaned and sterilized estate, ready to go.

But after you have smoked any pipe for a while, depending on what you smoke, it usually is a good idea to give it a slightly deeper cleaning. If you smoke filtered pipes, you will be pulling it apart more regularly, and the level of residue buildup will be more concentrated towards the bowl. What you may encounter on very well used filter pipes eventually is a loose joint. There are some tricks for that, but I’ll save that for another time. I don’t use filters, and that means they are pulled open very infrequently. If you find a joint to be a very tight pull, just wipe a small pencil on the stem. The soft graphite dust will lubricate the joint, and not harm the pipe or its taste in the least. FWIW, I don’t even pull apart my pipes for deeper cleanings, and I may not open them up for 5+ years. And they all taste great. One thing also: never pull apart a hot or warm pipe. Let it cool first, or you risk loosening the joint.

Some blends smoke cleaner and/or drier than others, and that will dictate how fast residues may build up. Eventually, a basic daily cleaning will not catch all of it, and it starts to build up. Unless you are like Stalin, who never cleaned his pipes and just tossed them when they went sour, you will want to eventually clean yours.

For a deeper periodic cleaning, use pipe sweetener. It is really just one form or another of alcohol. The commercial ones are not unlike mouthwash (and some probably ARE mouthwash). You can use them, but some complain that they can leave behind an unwanted mint flavor. They’re also expensive for what you get.

What most older pipers use is just a higher proof spirit. Anything over 125 proof will do a good job. Everything can leave its own taste behind for a short while, and some take advantage of that by using spirits they like. Some use bourbon or rum. Others of us think that a waste of good booze, and will use a cheaper clear spirit, such as vodka or a straight grain. I use everclear 151, which I then put into an airline bottle for cleaning (because I don’t like lint in my cocktails).

Dip a cleaner into your sweetener, swab it down the stem to the bowl, and then dry it off with a fresh cleaner. If you want to do it multiple times, then have at it.

If you want to clean the bowl, just dampen the U of a bent cleaner. I don’t deep clean my bowls unless they are not smoking well, but many pipers do.

Whatever you do, be sure to let all the cleaner dry off. Otherwise, you might get a flamethrower or burn the bowl if you run right to smoking it.

Depending on what has been smoked in it, a pipe can take on the flavoring of the bacco. It’s called ghosting. That is why I tell beginners to stick with one pipe for certain baccos, and why I recommend a mild OTC to start with: they will not ghost the pipe. I don’t necessarily agree with the other gentleman that you round robin a string of dissimilar blends in any one pipe. You’re not going to get a fair taste sample on many of them, and by the time you get to the end, it might taste like you are smoking the whole store.

Nothing is worse from a flavor perspective than trying to sample a delicate English in a bowl that has been long-pirated by Captain Black and his black cavendish marauders. That results in what I call a haunted pipe.

In any event, sometimes you will encounter a pipe that starts tasting less sweet, or is haunted as above. For the latter, unless you want to continue on with the Captain or whatever has possessed it, here is how you can try to neutralize it over for something else.

First off, if it has more than about 1/8” of cake on it, it is probably best to ream it. That is often best left to a pipe technician or a very experienced piper who knows how to handle the tool. If you do a bad job of it, you will create hot spots, and/or wind up smoking briar peaks (which is the very last thing you want).

Once you determine the cake condition or ream it away, deep clean the pipe chamber as above, and let it dry out thoroughly. Then take the bacco you intend to smoke in it, and very tightly pack the bowl full of it, and set it in your rack, fully packed, for at least 4-5 days. The casings and toppings will gently start to re-sweeten the bowl towards that blend. Then empty the pipe, re-fill normally it with the exact same blend, and give it a smoke. Clean the pipe, let it dry, and then repeat that 4-5 day rest packed full of bacco. You may need to repeat the process multiple times, and some badly haunted pipes may never recover enough to go from a cough syrup aromatic to a delicate blend. But you can get rid of most of it (if not all of it) on most pipes.

How much effort you make to recover a pipe will depend on how important that pipe is to you. Again, sometimes with a cheaper pipe of little sentimental value, it is best to just let the Captain (or whatever) keep living in it.

If what you intend to smoke in it is a $10/oz designer blend that you don’t want to waste, then do the exact same thing using one of the OTC burleys I recommended above. To perform pipe exorcisms or for a bad tasting pipe, I like SWR regular the best, as it has the lightest casing of all, no real topping to speak of, and should leave behind a very neutral, very mild tobacco sweetness. Then you can burn through a couple bowls of your intended blend, and the pipe should soon sway in that direction.

This is all a rough analogy on the old chemical maxim surrounding detergents, in that all leave behind a unique deposit signature, and none is capable of cleaning its own deposits away. Whatever the analogy, the method above was taught me many decades ago by a kind old piper, and I am passing it along to you. It works, most of the time.

As above, whether to filter or not will depend on the pipe and the piper. I don’t like filters (I like flavor more), but many do.

The only other thing I can add is whether you are a pipe biter or not, and the use of rubber pipe bits or bites. On a vulcanite in particular, if you’re a biter, be prepared to eventually have teeth marks develop. You may frequently encounter this on estates. Many don’t care about this, others do. Also, some think the newer acrylic stems are less comfortable than the vulcanite ones.

I’m a biter, and appreciate the added softness and bigger purchase of a bite (especially with older teeth). So I’ve used them the past 20 or so years. If you want to try one, you can usually pick up singles at any decent pipe or tobacco shop for about 50 cents, or bags up to 100 for considerably less each. If you do buy one, make sure it is a US made rubber one (BJ Long, etc), as there are a lot of Chinese ones now floating around made out of God-knows-what.

If you have vulcanite stems (and most older estates do), they will eventually oxidize if you don’t give them a little care. Some folks will occasionally rub a little oil on them, either some form of cooking oil (yuck), mineral oil, or obsidian oil (made just for pipe stems). I have an ancient jar of paragon pipe wax, and once a year I just slap a dab of that on them. If they do get oxidized, there are some light compounding cremes available to polish them back up. But on a very cheap pipe, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Well that’s about as much as I can type in one day. So I’m going to check in with Mrs. Columbo over our Friday dinner menu, and call it a day here at B&B.

Enjoy your weekend, and happy puffs!

Thank you sir for taking the time to educate me on all of this. Whether you like it or not, at this point you have become my smoking mentor. The advice you've offered will certainly save me a lot of time, money and headaches over the course of this journey and you've dispensed it in such an easy to understand methodical way that I think I'd have to try to screw it up.

I'll check with @moostashio to see what he's been smoking out of the pipes he's sending along so I can have an idea what (if any) ghosting may be present. He did mention that his offerings will have been deep cleaned so I doubt that my novice pallet would pick anything up even if it were present. I will however keep all of this advice in my back pocket for any future estate pipes I pick up. I have been eyeing many of the ones offered on Smokingpipes.com ...mostly just to look at pipes as I'm holding off on buying at the moment (which is becoming more and more difficult with the building anticipation). Before investing in anything too pricey I think I'll spend some time learning on the PIF'd pipes and perhaps a Missouri Meerschaum Cob (I found them on Amazon for $10 but haven't pulled the trigger yet).

I do have a tamper on the way as well as some pipe cleaners and a cork knocker for my ashtray at home. I'm fortunate to have a shop where I can enjoy smoking inside. As I've said, I'll post more once I get started.

I've also been watching a rather eccentric smoker on YouTube called Muttonchop Piper. At the suggestion of one of his subscribers he detailed a pipe smoking method he called the "Breathe" method. He described it as keeping the bit closed around your lips while breathing in and out through the nose several times followed by "massaging" the smoke in and out through the stem very lightly before exhaling out the mouth. He mentioned that this method offers exceptional flavor enjoyment of your chosen bacco, easy temperature control, keeps the pipe lit and prevents tongue bite. As I perused the comments section I found that every comment supported the method, and many were from smokers who said they had smoked a pipe for years and had never had such excellent and enjoyable smokes until they employed the method. Do any of you use this method or have any thoughts on it? Given the uproar this method caused on his channel (based on the number of positive commentors) I believe this method might warrants its own thread but I figure what the heck, I can hijack my own thread if I want. Please, let me know what you gentlemen think about it. Also, thank you all for the help you have already provided.

 

[moostashio]

Your pipes are on their way, along with a few other items. My first love (tobacco-wise) was Borkum Riff. Then, for years I smoked Balkan Sobranie (smelled like burnt rubber, but a delicious smoke), but it was discontinued. Lately, and somewhat shockingly, considering the aforementioned, I have enjoyed aromatics - Lane 1-Q has been my preferred blend. So that's what has been in these pipes.

I have reamed the bowls and buffed the bowls and stems. I have also cleaned them with Decatur Pipe-Fresh pipe cleaner. The stems are vulcanite, so there are some bite marks, c'est la vie. I really don't like acrylic stems - too hard.

I'll be selling some of my other pipes on Ebay under the same username - Moostashio. I bid farewell to the brotherhood of pipe smokers. It's been a good ride.