How Many of You Smoke a Pipe? (Tobacco...)

[M.D. Holloway]

Just wondering, and if so, what flav smoke and what kind of pipe?

[legion]

On occasion.

I have a few Pharmacy-grade rosewood and briar pipes, nothing special.

The blend I smoke is the "Smoker's Choice Blend"--named after the shop I buy it at.

[pwd72s]

I used to...hand carved Danish pipe by viggo nielson and Murray's erinmore flake were my favorites. Still have my old pipe rack full of pipes, and tins of sealed flake tobacco...wonder if the tobacco is still good? Haven't smoked a pipe for quite some time...decades. If you're thinking of taking it up, good briar is the way to go.

Edit: Bought many of my pipes mail order...a firm called Iwan Reis in Chicago. I wonder if they're still there?

2nd edit: Still there! http://www.iwanries.com/

[pwd72s]

from the Iwan Reis website

[Rot 911]

Funny you would bring up this topic. I've never smoked, but love the smell of a pipe. Even my wife does.

[Dottore]

Seldom, but when I do it's one of four or five Irish Petersons that I have had for ever.

And of course some Erinmore rub.

BTW: a valuable tip from my grandfather (RIP): when the pipe gets bitter, bury it in the yard for six months, and it will come out sweet as can be. He used to have little sticks with dates on them all over his yard in order to keep track of his pipe rotation.

Whenever his dachshound peed on one he'd grin and say, "That one will be really sweet".

[livi]

Nah, I will take that up, together with golf, when I am an old man..

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by livi

Nah, I will take that up, together with golf, when I am an old man..

Markus, that may happen sooner than you think. I had my "welcome to medicare"
visit with an M.D. yesterday...really an indoctrination into socialized medicine for we elderly types. I'm sure nanny government would not approve of smoking in any form.

[futuresoptions]

Pipes are the gateway drugs to cigars and cigarettes... dont ask me how I know...

[livi]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Markus, that may happen sooner than you think. I had my "welcome to medicare"
visit with an M.D. yesterday...really an indoctrination into socialized medicine for we elderly types. I'm sure nanny government would not approve of smoking in any form.

Just as long as the M.D. was 'smoking hot'!

[Tishabet]

Sure do! I have probably a dozen pipes, of which I prefer 2 or 3. My "nice" pipe is a Dunhill, my daily driver (in my case more like a 2-3 times/month driver) is a Peterson. I've also got an old meerschaum that gets some use and this past spring picked up a clay pipe in the Netherlands.
As for tobaccos, I stick to stoved Virginias and English blends... no aromatics for me. I probably smoke more Dunhill 965 than anything else, but I'm also a fan of Macbaren navy flake and and Macbaren Virginia No. 1

[scottmandue]

I did about a decades ago but as futuresoptions warned I have moved on to cigars... and even those are a once a month treat... usually Sunday afternoon with several good beers while watching a football game.

[alf]

I enjoy pipes quite a bit. Just walked my dog smoking Maclland Blackwood Flakes out of my Kirsten pipe.

www.KirstenPipe.com

[rammstein]

I used to, but kind of fell out of the habit when I got out of college. I used to really enjoy black cavendish.

[kmhemi]

this is one of those things you read that makes you pause a second and say to yourself...uhmm...what the hell for ?

[fredmeister]

basic question for a possible newby:
never smoked anything before but what is the proper way to smoke a pipe? i assume you dont inhale like with a cigar correct?
What is a mild tobacco for a beginner to try?

[M.D. Holloway]

Fredmeister - if you inhale a cigar or pipe you will quickly turn green my friend. Taste the smoke. Draw in a drag but do not fill your lungs. If you do, you will quickly regret it.

Inhale dope or cigs...

[Tishabet]

Yep, no inhale... same goes for cigars. Think about it like a straw going into a glass of liquid; you want to draw it into your mouth and swish it around a little to "taste" then spit it out.

With pipes it's important to learn to pace yourself as well. Too fast and the tobacco will burn hot/wet and taste acrid, too slow and the pipe will go out.

If you do not own a pipe or tobacco, I'd actually recommend a corn cob pipe (keep in mind that I own many pipes, some in the $100+ range). A cob pipe is easy to find (most drug stores will sell them), they're cheap and they don't need much breaking-in before they smoke well.

For tobacco, most non-pipe smokers associate pipe smoke with the smell of "cased" tobaccos, meaning tobacco with flavors added (e.g. cherry cavendish). I personally don't smoke many of these, but they are the easiest to find and the tobacco itself will stay in good condition longer without you having to store it in a humidor or airtight container. The classic drugstore varieties are things like prince albert or captain black. I would recommend keeping an eye out for "half and half" which is also carried in many drug stores, but is less heavily cased so you can taste a bit more of the tobacco. If you decide you're getting into the pipe thing, even very high quality tobaccos are fairly cheap... usually no more than $10-$12 per package. Check out jrcigars.com for their selection... I am personally a fan of McClelland, MacBaren, Rattray and especially Dunhill.

When I pack and smoke a pipe, my procedure is to take the pipe and sprinkle in some tobacco until the bowl is mostly full, then lightly tamp down with a finger. Then I do this two more times, with the pressure of the tamping down increasing so that the last tamp is fairly firm. Then I light the bowl and take two or three good draws. At this point the tobacco often wants to be tamped again... this time I use a pipe tool (or even a steel nail will work fine) to tamp down the smoldering tobacco. Then I relight and smoke at a steady pace until either I am done or the tobacco goes out. I don't recommend relighting after this because the relight will taste bitter.