What did you learn from your last smoke?

[Benzadmiral]

We have such a thread over in the General Shaving Discussion; so why not here? I'll start:

I learned that you need to check your pipe's draw before you load it. I packed a half-bowl's worth of Half & Half into my Colossal billiard with the lightly-bent stem, and tried to light. The pipe did not draw. I thought, "Huh, I packed it too tightly." So I cleaned out the bowl and, just to be sure, drew on the stem again. Very little air movement and no sound.

When I disassembled the still-cool pipe and ran a pipe cleaner into the stem, a little clot of pipe cleaner fluff came out. No more blockage. From now on I'll check that draw before I put each pipe up, or before I load it!

 

[Columbo]

We have such a thread over in the General Shaving Discussion; so why not here? I'll start:

I learned that you need to check your pipe's draw before you load it. I packed a half-bowl's worth of Half & Half into my Colossal billiard with the lightly-bent stem, and tried to light. The pipe did not draw. I thought, "Huh, I packed it too tightly." So I cleaned out the bowl and, just to be sure, drew on the stem again. Very little air movement and no sound.

When I disassembled the still-cool pipe and ran a pipe cleaner into the stem, a little clot of pipe cleaner fluff came out. No more blockage. From now on I'll check that draw before I put each pipe up, or before I load it!

Can’t speak to the other brands. But even with the BJ Longs, running them through your fingers once beforehand helps a lot with de-linting them.

A loose speck of tobacco is a different story.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

We have such a thread over in the General Shaving Discussion; so why not here? I'll start:

I learned that you need to check your pipe's draw before you load it. I packed a half-bowl's worth of Half & Half into my Colossal billiard with the lightly-bent stem, and tried to light. The pipe did not draw. I thought, "Huh, I packed it too tightly." So I cleaned out the bowl and, just to be sure, drew on the stem again. Very little air movement and no sound.

When I disassembled the still-cool pipe and ran a pipe cleaner into the stem, a little clot of pipe cleaner fluff came out. No more blockage. From now on I'll check that draw before I put each pipe up, or before I load it!

My Dr Plumb Bermuda Bulldog and Falcon are particularly prone to that.



The Falcon isn't too bad, as I can pop the bowl off, and blow through. With the Bulldog, particularly if I dip a cleaner mid smoke, it can be game over. Or at least have to wait till the pipe cools, to remove the stem and fix it.

 

[DC_MPA]

I’ve learned I have too many tobaccos. Tons of 2-4 ounce blends in jars. So I’m taking the amazing weather change and 2 jars at a time and smoking them through multiple pipes. If I still don’t like them, then I’m making a note to never buy it again.

 

[Borderdog]

I learned that Penzance is better than I gave it credit for when I smoked it last.

It appears that separating the tobacco from the hype that surrounds it alleviates the disappointment I sometimes find in the unobtainium blends.

 

[Kentos]

I find I like the Danish conical style bowl chamber a lot.

 

[Benzadmiral]

That I begin to see why Sir Walter Raleigh has been a mainstay of pipe smokers for so many years.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I got reminded I need to pack my Falcon firmer than my other pipes, and learnt this applies just as much to the new Dublin bowl as it does to my original Bulldog bowl.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Just stuff that bullseye flake in and don't pack it firm. It'll be good for 45 minutes.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Not so much from my smoke, but from my work to de-oxidize 2 of my vulcanite stems and bring them back to satin-glossy life. I learned that from now on I will only purchase pipes with acrylic stems!

 

[Knightsrest]

I learned that an occasional aromatic is a great and sometimes needed change of pace.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Benzadmiral]

Smoked my first bowl of Carter Hall this morning. It's not necessary to spend vast amounts of money to have good smoking experiences. Excellent pipes can be had second-hand; the OTC blends, even Match Field & Stream, are about $2-2.50 an ounce. EGR was a little pricey by my (admittedly cheap) standards, and I'll save it for more special occasions. But Raleigh, Half, and Hall (which sounds like a law firm) are more than just good.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Trouble again with a blocked stem, this time the P-Lip stem of my No. 307 Peterson system pipe. I'd cleaned the pipe last night and let it air dry overnight. But when I loaded it with SWR this morning, I could not get a decent draw. It turned out to be a bit of pipe cleaner lint as I experienced before . . . though, oddly, the thin end of the tapered Peterson's brand of pipe cleaner would not go into the P-Lip opening, but the "fuzzy sticks" cleaner from Walmart did, and cleaned the obstruction out.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Mixing Sutliff's Match Field & Stream with Half & Half provides a good tongue bite-free smoke, something I have yet to master with H & H alone.

 

[Columbo]

Mixing Sutliff's Match Field & Stream with Half & Half provides a good tongue bite-free smoke, something I have yet to master with H & H alone.

I’ve been following your entries. Just something to contemplate when a blend you like is bucking a bit, or if you just can’t get consistent smokes. And I know the prevailing American pipe smoking model today is not to use them, and in fact many (even at a nice place like this) will deride and criticize them. And I for the most part don’t use them, so I don’t even take my own advice.

But they are far and away de rigueur outside of the States, and the best ones are actually pretty good. And that would be trying a filter. It’s not a crutch or a bandaid or a sign of weakness, and might actually make for an enhanced smoking experience in those situations. A cheaper Savinelli or even a little Grabow could be dedicated to it, and the balsa inserts will absolutely take the edge off while letting the flavor through. I recently tried a free 9mm carbon in a new Vauen, and it was not bad at all (surprisingly so). My son is a filter smoker, and it has given him the confidence to try all sorts of blends and really hone down his skills ... to the point where he now regularly pilfers my daily blends and my cheaper, less used pipes, and enjoys them all immensely ... including the unfiltered ones. They can be fantastic outdoors, or when a bowl is just moving along too fast. They can also tame an unwieldy aromatic, if you still fancy those.

... just something to consider. Certainly worth a try. The goal is to maximize your piping pleasure, not to prove pipe machismo. If they work for you in crossing that last bridge, that’s what matters.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I’ve been following your entries. Just something to contemplate when a blend you like is bucking a bit, or if you just can’t get consistent smokes. And I know the prevailing American pipe smoking model today is not to use them, and in fact many (even at a nice place like this) will deride and criticize them. And I for the most part don’t use them, so I don’t even take my own advice.

But they are far and away de rigueur outside of the States, and the best ones are actually pretty good. And that would be trying a filter. It’s not a crutch or a bandaid or a sign of weakness, and might actually make for an enhanced smoking experience in those situations. A cheaper Savinelli or even a little Grabow could be dedicated to it, and the balsa inserts will absolutely take the edge off while letting the flavor through. I recently tried a free 9mm carbon in a new Vauen, and it was not bad at all (surprisingly so). My son is a filter smoker, and it has given him the confidence to try all sorts of blends and really hone down his skills ... to the point where he now regularly pilfers my daily blends and my cheaper, less used pipes, and enjoys them all immensely ... including the unfiltered ones. They can be fantastic outdoors, or when a bowl is just moving along too fast. They can also tame an unwieldy aromatic, if you still fancy those.

... just something to consider. Certainly worth a try. The goal is to maximize your piping pleasure, not to prove pipe machismo. If they work for you in crossing that last bridge, that’s what matters.

A few of my pipes are filtered, and I really enjoy them. While I enjoy smoking my unfiltered pipes, I think I would always want to keep some filtered ones in the array, as some tobaccos (as you mention) seem to smoke better with them.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I’ve been following your entries. Just something to contemplate when a blend you like is bucking a bit, or if you just can’t get consistent smokes. And I know the prevailing American pipe smoking model today is not to use them, and in fact many (even at a nice place like this) will deride and criticize them. And I for the most part don’t use them, so I don’t even take my own advice.

But they are far and away de rigueur outside of the States, and the best ones are actually pretty good. And that would be trying a filter. It’s not a crutch or a bandaid or a sign of weakness, and might actually make for an enhanced smoking experience in those situations. A cheaper Savinelli or even a little Grabow could be dedicated to it, and the balsa inserts will absolutely take the edge off while letting the flavor through. I recently tried a free 9mm carbon in a new Vauen, and it was not bad at all (surprisingly so). My son is a filter smoker, and it has given him the confidence to try all sorts of blends and really hone down his skills ... to the point where he now regularly pilfers my daily blends and my cheaper, less used pipes, and enjoys them all immensely ... including the unfiltered ones. They can be fantastic outdoors, or when a bowl is just moving along too fast. They can also tame an unwieldy aromatic, if you still fancy those.

... just something to consider. Certainly worth a try. The goal is to maximize your piping pleasure, not to prove pipe machismo. If they work for you in crossing that last bridge, that’s what matters.

It's something to consider. I'm enjoying smoking the OTCs; this mixing was an experiment to see what would happen.

 

[Benzadmiral]

A pleasant 15-minute smoke of Carter Hall in the Stanwell billiard. I packed the pipe last night, an entire bowl, but only smoked half; I'll finish it perhaps later tonight.

I relit the remainder of the CH last night. It burned almost from the beginning, and after 2-3 minutes I gave up and knocked it out. Probably, as I smoked the first part outdoors with a little wind, the 15-minute smoke burned up more than half of the tobacco. What I lit and tried to smoke later was not much more than dottle. All part of the learning process, I guess.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I actually found time to smoke last night before bed: some Half & Half plus Match Field & Stream in my Colossal slightly-bent billiard. The 20-minute smoke itself went very well. But I felt a little wired afterward, you know, the physiological lift you get from even mild tobacco, and so it was hard to fall asleep. And while I rinsed my mouth afterward, this morning my tongue tasted like the bottom of a hamster cage. I don't think a pipe just before bed is a good idea for me!

 

[Columbo]

I actually found time to smoke last night before bed: some Half & Half plus Match Field & Stream in my Colossal slightly-bent billiard. The 20-minute smoke itself went very well. But I felt a little wired afterward, you know, the physiological lift you get from even mild tobacco, and so it was hard to fall asleep. And while I rinsed my mouth afterward, this morning my tongue tasted like the bottom of a hamster cage. I don't think a pipe just before bed is a good idea for me!

I find partnering the evening smoke with the right beverage often works wonders. Most evenings for me it’s a diet soda of one form or another, usually a diet coke. Cola is a natural fit with the usual burleys, analogous to the southern practice of dropping a peanut into a bottle of Royal Crown.

At the other end of the day, morning coffee and a mild burley has been an American institution since before anyone here was born.