You're doing better than me.  I could never get the bowl packed just right and either couldn't light it or couldn't keep it lit.  I decided to stick with cigars.


You must really be nursing that shot to make it last for a full bowl of tobacco.

I think you're supposed to have ONE at night, in front of the fireplace.

ETH: If you've GOT to smoke that pipe, try Captain Black. Not only tastes good, but smells better than most incense does.
Whatever you do, DO NOT get into dipping (Skoal, Copenhagen, etc)
They're 10 times harder to quit than smoking. I know. I smoked for years (everything-pipes, cigars, cigarettes) and decided to get into dipping, because everywhere I hunt here in AZ is above 5000ft. Was huffing and puffing way too much. Quit the smokes and started dipping Skoal. Lungs got better, but in two years my body got so saturated with nicotine that I couldn't walk fast without getting dizzy, had to give up caffiene coffee because IT made me dizzy, and the first 10 or 15 minutes of driving made me feel queasy also. SOOOO...I decided to quit dipping. Cold turkey. Whoa. Got so bad-even after a month-that I started smoking again (for two months) because it's EASIER than quitting dipping. I quit smoking two weeks ago, feel great and the desire to smoke or have nicotine is about non existent.
Nicotine is hard shit to walk away from.

I used to, on occasion. I would have a pipe on the way to class, then on the way back tpo my car after class. Usually a bowl while mowing the lawn, or generally puttering about the house. I enjoyed it then, as it reminded me of when the old man smoked one. I quit pipes when my first baby was born, and abandoned tobacco all together last fall after a less-than-impressive trip to the doctor for my FAA physical.

I have been smoking an inherited Calabash pipe since about August & am really enjoying it. I sit in the back room of the bond office at night & puff away while I think about my life & where it's going & what I want from this life.
Every one at work loves the smell of my pipe tobacco, if I could remember what it's called I would tell you. I smoke about 8 to 12 bowls a week. Usually one to 2 bowls a night.

PS I can usually smoke for 1 hour on a bowl

Agree, [b]gamesniper[/b]. Anyone who claims that nicotine is not addictive has never smoked or dipped.

No, but I have a pipe made out of Pvc.  DOes that count?

Sgtar`15

Eric, you are smoking too much out of that pipe.  If you smoke that often you need to rotate your pipes.  A pipe needs time to dry out between uses so the bowl doesn't sour.  Most people who smoke pipes like you are have around 5-7 pipes minimum and a rack.  They smoke one pipe a day and rotate to allow the moisture to dry out between uses.  Trust me, a pipe will last longer and taste better if you do this.

ETH-
So you've discovered the joy of a good pipeful of tobacco.  So what brand of pipe did you buy?

I have set the pipe down recently because we have a newborn in the house, but it goes hunting with me on every trip.  A few of tips to make it even more enjoyable:

1) If you smoke an aromatic (cherry, vanilla, etc.) in a pipe, only smoke aromatics in that pipe.  If (when) you start with the english blends you will want a pipe only for them as well.  This will allow each tobacco retain the proper flavor.  Once you find a favorite flavor you may even devote a pipe to just that one.

2) I don't know how many pipes you have, but it is usually recommended to only smoke one bowl from a single pipe per day so you don't burn it out. That's the excuse I used for my seven pipes! ha  (You can probably smoke 2 bowls a day for a long time without it making a big diff, however.)

3) Try not to leave partially smoked tobacco in the pipe overnight as it can "sour" the pipe.  This can be repaired with a difficult cleaning, but my pipe still doesn't taste the same.  I learned the hard way.

I wish I had these tips when I first smoked a pipe.  

I go to the "Up in Smoke" at Stonebriar Mall.  A bowl of their black cherry in my Ser Jacopo and a good dark beer is the perfect end to the day.

Hope this was helpful.

Eric[TheHuff&Puff]Hun - I smoke a 4 dollar corn cob pipe. One bowl in the morning and maybe 2 to 3 more in the evening. I smoke it for maybe 5 to 6 weeks then toss it away and get another. I like the kind that have a slight bend in them. Anyway 5 bowls a day ain't bad. As advised earlier, get a couple more pipes. Rotate. Enjoy, your doing nothing wrong. I like mine with Grand Marnier. But now I'll have to try the WT.

Am I just a miniature "Hun" or what?  [:D]

[img]http://www.olin.wustl.edu/faculty/langfred/sjovt.jpg[/img]

Actually, I don't smoke my pipes very often - but Denmark is paradise if you're a pipesmoker.  There's a store in Copenhagen that's pipe heaven!!  They have the coveted "purveyor to the royal court" distinction (have had it for hundreds of years) and they have these awesome blends that they handmix for you when you order them.  I still have a sealed tin of fine virginia tobacco, flavored with port and cherry blossom - mmmmmmm.

My dad used to smoke a pipe, but quit when he was 40 - but he kept this one pipe (an old royal copenhagen porcelain pipe) and gave it to me or christmas last year.  How cool was that?  I thought he had thrown it away 25 years ago with all the others, but he held onto it and then gave it to me.

Hun, a fraternity brother of mine owns a large pipe and cigar store.  Let me know if you are looking for anything special...  BTW, where is my cowboy hat you were going to get me?

"Smoke a bowl"

Words not uttered for eons.

4 weeks - I'm still not smoking.
I'm having a nic fit and you guys are killin' me with the pipe tobacco thoughts.
Mmmmmm.  Sounds good, though!
ENJOY![:D]

I was gonna get you a pipe... it has gone from being a Peter's to a Dr. Grabow... keep it up and we'll be talking corncob paly boy... it will go well with your Tonka AR!

Corn cob is TOO good for him!

First get a paper towel tube, and burn a little hole about 2" from one end.
Then, take some tin foil and wrap it around the tube over the hole, carefully pushing part of the foil into the hole to form a 'bowl'...
Use rubber bands to hold the foil on the tube.
Pierce some fine holes through the foil.
Place some fine tobacco into the 'bowl' and enjoy a great pipe.

Right.
Where'd I see one of THOSE before? [shock]
More like 'how long ago'.

Oh, BTW Eric, I hope you use nothing but stick matches to light that pipe. [strike anywhere kind]. Please don't tell me you use butane.

That's what my dad thought.  He only smoked a pipe - never cigarettes.  At 72 yrs old, he got tired of the chronic hacking cough that had built up gradually over the years, and he started to notice symptoms that reminded him of his cigarette-smoking father's emphasyma.  He quit completely, and a few years later, his overall health is much better.

...just the view from where I'm sitting.

God Bless...

DrMark

I use a Saudi Arabian hookah to smoke my tobbacco.  I just stuff some sweet/sticky apple-flavored tobbaccy (from Egypt) in there, drop a red-hot glowing coal on top of the mess and puff away at my leisure.  Veeeeery smooth and tasty as heck.
No one who sees it believes it's used for tabbacco.  Simpletons.

I used to for a little while (approx 2-3 months), but I had to quit because i was tired of coughing up my lungs every morning. But that's just me, many people don't develop symptoms like that for years.
Mine was an unfiltered pipe, so it was hell on my throat...

It's actually a Bushy, but I put the cav arms furniture (with the A1 stock) on it.  

I don't have a cool DeWalt sticker though, like you - but I'm thinking of maybe getting a smileyface or pokemon sticker [:D]


If you're ever in St. Louis, we'll have to grab a beer AND smoke a bowl.

I started smoking a pipe too, I like the Cavendish tobacco blends. Besides a good cigar I think the pipe is the best way to taste tobacco.

I read somewhere that 3 to 4 pipes a day is normal.  As soon as your throat or sinuses start feeling irritated you should cut back.

I smoked a pipe tonight for the first time in about a year...  Never smoked much more than a couple bowls a week.  I never enhale tobacco so respiratory issues have never been an issue... of course mouth cancer still could be.  I am however down to maybe a half dozen cigars a year and I might resume pipe smoking once or twice a week... yeah there is a risk, but its not a couple packs a day.

Years ago I did, before I met phasz (my wife)... I really enjoyed it, and it is an activity best enjoyed with a good adult beverage, neet or on ice.

More recently, I've laid in a small supply of cigars - so far, I have only ejoyed about one a month.

Hmmm, I may have to take up a pipe now and again - it certainly reminds me of my grandfather.

Something else to spend the money I don't have on [:)]

I do and am at the moment.


Call me simple minded, but a cheap Dr.Grabow and a bowl of Borkum Riff ultralight (grey pack, vanilla aroma) works just fine for me. and a 7 oz. tin will last me 6 months. $18/24 weeks= 75 cents a week. I can live with that!

Hey!  Not like butane will ruin your smoke!(Believe me, I've tried damn near everything to light a pipe).  Stick matches or butane will work well, steer clear of zippos though.  Look cool, taste like ass.  My preferred smoke is called Penzance(it's an English blend)...tobacco that is.  Although my pipe rarely gets the Penzance, it's some tasty stuff(around 10 bucks for 2 ounces, smells like dung but it's delicious.  And bourbon goes well with it, as does scotch and dark beer.)

Penzance is great, anybody remember Quintessence?  Damn shame they stopped making it...

Oh, and as my GrandDad would say "No, but I [b]do[/b] smoke tobacco in a pipe"...

Ha!

Good ol' GrandDad... I still see him standing on the pier in the evening after a great day of fishing, hands in his back pockets, pipe twixt his teeth, the smoke curling up out of the bowl, watching the sun go down while discussing German grammer with my dad or one of my uncles.  Now there was a relaxed soul.  I still remember that smell.

I started smoking a pipe several years ago. I remember the way my grandfather's pipe smelled (very good).
I smoked only on and off for  the first 3 or 4 years, but now  its almost every evening. 3 or 4 bowls a night if I'm on the couch watching a DVD or something. It's definately a relaxing pastime, and not an all-consuming addiction like cigarettes.
I've got several pipes, all in the $45-$65 range (Urbinos, GDC's etc). I usualy smoke Capt. Black (English blends are too strong and make me ill). And wood matched are a  must. Long fireplace matches, with the head snapped off, lit from a  candle is my prefered source of flame. When on the road I use a zippo pipe lighter.
Iwan Reis Three-Star Blue is my other tobaco. (http://www.iwanries.com/) It tastes great, but you get a shorter, hotter smoke beccause it's a  finer -cut tobacco. I work only 15 miutes fom their store, which has been there forever. If I   can't get over there,a  smoke shop near my place in the burbs keeps me supplied.

CKMorley

The whole ritual of pipe smoking is very relaxing... from the moment you open the bag or tin and the aroma of the tobacco melts your nostrils...  As you place the pipe in the bag and gently pack the pipe with your thumb and feel the moist tobacco compress gently under your skin.  I have a gorgeous laquered pewter tamper which I use to evenly pack the tobacco in the bowl so I get a uniform light.  As the Prometheus lighter ignites that aromatic belnd and the first whisps of blue smoke rise from the bowl and are slowly drawn into your mouth.  Inside of a minute the tobacco begins to melt away the tension, both the effects of the nicotine as well as the aromatherapy of the briar.  As the tobacco smolders you gently scrape away the ashes with a pipe pick, retamp the tobacco, and begin anew...

OK, guess I'm heading to my friend's tobacco shop at lunch time to enjoy a smoke and some great conversation.

On a side note, would there be enough interest here to start a tobacco of the month or pipe of the month club?  I would imagine if we got enough folks involved, say a dozen or so, I could probably convince my buddy to select a particular midrange pipe each month and provide a few ounces of a particular tobacco for a reasonable cost.  This would be a relatively inexpensive way to build a decent collection of pipes at a great price.  It could be done for say six months, maybe around $50 a month.  For say $300ish you would have enough pipes to rotate properly and would have had the chance to try several premium pipe tobaccos.

I'll talk to Scott at lunch and if anybody is interested, please drop me an IM.

That's normal.

Pipe Smokers live 2 years longer than non-smokers.  The Surgeon General has a study out that demonstrates it.

I've been smoking pipes for a while now.  It is "optimal" to have a pipe for every time you smoke in a week.  That way the wood can dry out thoroughly before you start the next one.

That's optimal.  You use what ya got.

When you smoke, be sure to enjoy it.  Don't puff so hard that the bowl gets hard to hold.  It should be comfortably warm.

If it starts to gurgle, no sweat.  The moisture is a natural by-product of the combustion.  Just run a pipe cleaner down the stem to soak it up and resume enjoying your smoke.

To pack:
a pinch in the bottom, give the bowl a shake to settle it.
a second pinch on top of that.  press it down lightly.
a third pinch on top of that.  Press it down lightly, but a little more furmly than last time.  

Keep adding pinches and pressing it down with your thumb or finger untill the bowl is full.  Use big enough pinches so that it doesn't take 14 to fill the bowl.  Somewhere around 3-5 depending on bowl size.  You are striving for layers.  This will help the burn.

When finished, NEVER [b]EVER[/b] strike the bowl on anything, even your hand!  You see old timers in the movies do that...it's a good way to break your old friend.  Instead, when finished, use a pipe tool to scrape the ash out.  This is a gentle task.  Do not scrape along the side of the bowl, just loosen the ash and dump it.  Then give a littel blow of air down the stem to remove any dust.

After that, set the pipe aside for a good hour at least.  After that you can take the stem out and clean it and the bore with a pipe cleaner or two.  Removing the stem while the pipe is warm will deform the mortise and your stem will eventually have fit problems.

Don't limit yourself to just one kind of tobacco either.  Try some of the English Blends.  Latakia is my favorite kind of tobacco and it can be found in many blends.  I highly recomend "Frog Morton."  Great stuff.

I also highly recommend this vendor:
[url]www.tobaccodirect.com[/url]  She's got it all, including excellent customer service.

And last, but certainly not least, alt.smoking.pipes newsgroup.  They have a GREAT webpage with all the info you need at [url]www.aspipes.org[/url]  Tons of good info there.

Enjoy your new hobby.  It's at least as bad as guns.  First you'll be aquiring pipes, then all the different tobaccos, then you'll start "cellaring" tobacco...  

Scott

[size=6] Do not use Aluminum Foil as ANY part of a homemade pipe. When heated, Aluminum Foil gives off a toxic gas form of alumina oxide and it can be bad juju for you. Low-level muttering from the medical field is indicating that most of the negatives associated with chronic use of the Marijuana Plant are less related to THC or other contaminates and more related to intake of alumina oxide. BTW, nuerologic researchers are closing in on the culprit for Alzheimer's....it is Aluminum![/size=6]

Oooo Hiram, how about a group tobac buy!  Sweet.

Butane is dangerous because it will scorch the rim of the bowl.  It's too hot.  Strike a match, let the sulfur burn off, then draw through the stem while moving the match in a circular motion.

The first match is called the "charring light."  It will likely go out.  Use your tamper to tamp the top back down (it expands when you light it), and light it again.

RE: Zippos, I have a zippo with a pipe insert.  It works very well.  As long as you light it and let it burn for a second or two, it will burn all the ass-flavor.  Then you just hold it over the bowl and puff.

The object, when lighting, is to draw the flame down into the bowl, not shoot the flame into the bowl.

Scott

oh yeah...when packing the bowl, it should never be so tight that the draw is not easy.  If you have to suck that mug like a McDonald's milkshake, it's too tight.  Unpack it and start over.

This is cool...A topic in which I completely agree with and support Eric.  [:D]

Scott

Years back I used to buy lots of pipes below a sign that read "for tobacco use only. If you call it by any other name we will refuse sale." You can use you imagination there.

What is a good "Starter Pipe"?  A good brand that would be easy to find in any part of the US and easy for a beginner to maintain.

In rifle terms, what is the Ruger 10/22 of the Pipe World?

Some would disagree, but  a  Dr. Grabow (sold at justabout every drug store in the Tobaccco/Misc aisle) is a  good starter. Beside being cheap(er), they are filtered, and thus a little easier on the mouth of a  newbie who might draw (inhale on) the pipe too hard and get a nasty case of "tongue bite" (irratation/minor burn from the hot smoke). The filter also absorbs moisture. The filters are disposable and hide inside the stem. The are also about $2 for a box of 20 or so.
You can also go filterless whe you get the hang of it. Grabow makes everything from small $15.00 cheapies to large bowled, nicely stained bent stemmed pipes.
Although much derided by "veteran" pipesmokers, Grabows have their place, just like a Ruger  10/22.

I started on a $15.00 Doc Grabow cheapy and still puff-it-up for old time sake.

CKMorley

PS. Start with an Aromatic like Capt. Black. An English   blend like Borkum Riff is MUCH HARSHER and might turn you off to the whole hobby  (I made that mistake, having bought a pack of Riff because it smelled good and strong, not realizing that  it smoked like a blowtorch for a newbie).

CKMorley

Howdy, Eric.

My pipe is more of a hobby than a habit.  I enjoy sitting out on the porch puffing at it.  It's so relaxing and a good stress reliever.  Kind of like an adult pacifier!

If you're puffing like a locomotive, calm down.  Savoring the smoke is the core of the experience.

BTW, acknowledging certain associated health risks to the mouth and throat, I do the oral hygeine thing afterward.  It can't hurt.