Cigar Geeks

Non-Cigar Related => Pipe Geeks => Topic started by: cocon on 01/02/2013 07:36 PM

Title: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: cocon on 01/02/2013 07:36 PM
Picked up one of those beginner pipe samplers over Christmas....once I learn the knack to packing the tobacco....I could be in trouble... :-)
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: toby2 on 01/02/2013 08:10 PM
smoking slow is the key!!! i stopped and started many times over the years untill i could smoke a bowl w/o roasting my mouth. i find i like it more dry than it comes in the tin. alomost dry to the touch. just my two cents.
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: 87North on 01/02/2013 11:29 PM
Good luck navigating that road...  :biggrin:
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: tvolball on 01/03/2013 05:46 AM
Tried it and its not for me. Good luck
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: nwb on 01/03/2013 06:46 AM
Quotetvolball - 1/3/2013  6:46 AM

Tried it and its not for me. Good luck

Same here.
Title: Re: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: lubrix on 01/03/2013 07:13 AM
I started not too long ago and enjoy it also.
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: dwig on 01/03/2013 07:43 AM
Quotenwb - 1/3/2013  6:46 AM

Quotetvolball - 1/3/2013  6:46 AM

Tried it and its not for me. Good luck

Same here.

Ditto............but what do we know!
 :biggrin:

Title: Re: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: Herfin' Chef on 01/03/2013 08:16 AM
Haven't smoked a "bowl" in years.....just sayin'
Title: Re: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: cocon on 01/03/2013 09:14 AM
Had to give pipe smoking a try, will see if it works out.
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: sam a on 01/03/2013 09:32 AM

Quotedwig - 1/3/2013  5:43 AM  
Quotenwb - 1/3/2013  6:46 AM  
Quotetvolball - 1/3/2013  6:46 AM  Tried it and its not for me. Good luck
Same here.
Ditto............but what do we know!  :biggrin:  

 

me too... then i tried it again, and it still wasn't for me, and again and again. then i gave up and sold all my pipe stuff, a while later i had a pipe with my brother who had recently picked up the habit, and it clicked for me big time and i've been in love ever since. pipes and pipe tobacco seem to be way more fickle than cigars.

Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: nwb on 01/03/2013 10:03 AM
Quotesam a - 1/3/2013  10:32 AM

Quotedwig - 1/3/2013  5:43 AM  
Quotenwb - 1/3/2013  6:46 AM  
Quotetvolball - 1/3/2013  6:46 AM  Tried it and its not for me. Good luck
Same here.
Ditto............but what do we know!  :biggrin:  

 

me too... then i tried it again, and it still wasn't for me, and again and again. then i gave up and sold all my pipe stuff, a while later i had a pipe with my brother who had recently picked up the habit, and it clicked for me big time and i've been in love ever since. pipes and pipe tobacco seem to be way more fickle than cigars.


I've tried three times with no success.  However, I could see trying again sometime down the road.
Title: Re: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: Smurf on 01/03/2013 11:25 AM
Ya i'm the same I can't do pipe.. love the idea but i just cant handle it..
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: Ken Kelley on 01/03/2013 01:43 PM
I've got a corn cob pipe I picked up from CI and a couple different kinds of pipe tobacco. I give it a whirl now and then but it usually leaves me wishing I'd tried a cigar instead. I don't think I will ever be a pipe smoker...which is probably not necessarily a bad thing.
Title: RE: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: 87North on 01/04/2013 02:02 AM
I tried it several times and never really got it until I found the right tobacco... and then I had an Ah Ha moment and here I am with another thing to hoard...  :rolleyes:
Title: Re: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: Rebecca Silverwolf on 01/04/2013 02:17 AM
Been interested in trying, but have never gotten around to getting a pipe and actually making a go of it. Someday I might get to it.

Let us know how it goes for you.
Title: Re: Another start on the slippery slope......
Post by: Bogglor on 01/04/2013 09:27 AM
I spent about 3 weeks fiddling with various corncob pipes and tobaccos before it finally 'clicked' with me.  When I first tried piping, the guy at the store hooked me up with a bowl of GL Pease Odyssey as my first.  Obviously, NOT a good choice for a new smoker (but I love it now).  It really takes a good month or so to even learn how to smoke, let alone pack a pipe.  It really is something you have to get good at.  If you just wanna light something up and enjoy it immediately, pipe smoking isn't going to be your bag.  If you're persistent though, it has many rewards.  

The variety and subtlety of taste in pipe tobaccos far exceeds that of cigars - that's what I like most about it.  I am a latakia FIEND now and you just can't get that taste in any other smoking format, as it's pretty much exclusively the domain of pipe tobacco.  The big key in pipe smoking is to go SLOW, as others have said.

This is what worked for me when learning to smoke:

When packing, just pinch fill the bowl to the top.  Don't apply any pressure - just pack it nice and loose until the tobacco is spilling out the top.  Then lightly tamp it all back down to a level surface in the bowl.

1.  Even when doing the charring light, 2-3 slow deep puffs and then tamp.
2.  False light, same thing - 2-3 slow deep puffs, tamp again.
3.  True light - 1-2 slow puffs.  Then wait 20 seconds or so and begin smoking with a slow and shallow puffing cadence.

Everyone extols the virtues of corncobs but to be quite honest, they can be kind of unforgiving to beginners.  They smoke well once you understand how to smoke, but I fragged my tongue plenty learning to smoke on them.  Buy an inexpensive estate pipe with some miles on it for under $50.  The pre-built cake and already broken in pipe will help a ton in your journey.