Non-cased pipe tobacco

[Stogiegila]

I continually have issues with tongue bite and am finding that it varies depending on the type of tobacco I smoke.

Seems like Orientals and heavy english blends do more damage than VAPers but they all take their toll. I find it odd that i can literally smoke 4-6 cigars in a row with no ill effects, but 1-2 bowls of pipe tobacco will destroy my mouth for the rest of the day.

I have discovered that alcohol magnifies the problem exponentially, so at least now I know not to drink while smoking a pipe. This however is not the case with cigars.

since I don't smoke aros I can only assume that it might have something to do with the casing used.

Im wondering if there are any uncased pipe tobaccos which might alleviate this problem?

Im currently smoking:
H&H Virginia Spice and Peterson's Old Dublin

Thanks

 

[Ocelot55]

If you're not smoking aromatics as a comparison its hard to say if the casing is the issue.

It's more likely that your just smoking too fast. Your mouth is a lot closer to the fire on a pipe and that hot air hitting your tongue can do a lot more damage faster. In a cigar the smoke has to travel through all the tobacco which essentially acts as a filter and a smoke cooler.

If your having trouble slowing down (ie pipe going out constantly) change your packing method, let your tobacco dry out before packing, or both.

That's the thing about pipesmoking, it takes years to perfect a technique. I've been smoking a pipe for 8 years or so and I'm still learning.

 

[BigCasino]

+1

 

[Stogiegila]

I really don't think speed is the issue. While i'm always trying to perfect my technique, I typically take an hour to smoke a corn cobb and usually with 2-3 relites.

I use the two stage packing method and find the draw neither too light or too stiff. I literally feel the tongue bite on the first puff to the last.

PS. my cobbs also use a balsa filter so I'm not sure it's a temp thing vs a chemical one. I have smoked aros in the passed and have had the same problem. I just don't get the satisfaction from an aro that I do from the other blends

thanks

 

[Geoff]

If heat is there at the start, I suspect overfilling.

While the common suggestion is to smoke slower, I'd say draw slower means more. Just drift the tobacco in. Slow cycling with a fast intake is going to get hot.

 

[monbla256]

Basically ALL tobaccos are "cased" in some manner to facilitate staying lit and to have better smoking qualities than just raw unproccesed tobacco has. This goes for cigarette 'bac, cigar 'bac and pipe 'bac. It's done by the producers of the 'bac prior to selling and any further"casing" is done by the end producers for the particular product. So, unlessyou buy your tobacco directly from the grower in the field, 'fraid your "problem" is something in the method(s) you are using for the specific blends you are smoking. Some good advice has been given and you may have to give some different methods a further try. I don't load, pack and smoke all the varieties of blends i smoke the same way, rather I vary according to the pipe it's in, the specific blend and the surroundings I'm smoking in. :twisted:

 

[Stogiegila]

I pretty much smoke using the breathing method, but will continue to modify my technique to see if something chnges.

Monbla;
This is why I pretty much stick to ribbon cuts. I find flakes and cakes much more difficult to deal with. The only exception seems to be Escudo coins. They rub out easy but also smoke well folder.

I shall endeavor to persevere.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Well, if you're convinced it isn't the speed (regarding heat), the chemistry, the cut, and we may have ruled out it isn't "casing" (as it has been discussed frequently all pipe tobacco is cased to some degree, whether it's a scant amount for flavor or binding, or otherwise), you might have to simply toughen up your tongue a little.

I still think it's a chemistry thing if operator error and bad pipe design has been eliminated. Filters are primarily a moisture abatement, but simply due to their nature, capture any and all things passing through a stem, and will not eliminate simply "the stuff that bites." That's why I don't use them. I don't have moisture issues, and flavor is paramount.

Only time I get tongue-bite any more is smoking something that is off chemically with my system or I'm indulging in far too many pipes in an evening than I should. :lol: Perfect smoker I'm not, but I'm a quick study. Pain vs pleasure is a good motivator and gauge for gettin' it right.

<img class="emojione" alt="?" title=":shrug:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/emojione/assets/png/1f937.png?v=2.2.7"/>

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

IMHO a sore mouth can only mean one thing: problematic smoking technique. One's subjective judgment in the final analysis can be inconclusive but the verdict of the tissues in your mouth is final. Hot smoke can be managed within the window of slow smoking; but once you move outside of that window, your mouth complains.

Just for grins cut your rate by 1/2. If your mouth is still sore, cut it in 1/2 again. By nature we want the smoke and the flavor, and so wanting we puff along. We also want to suck. It took me 11 years to slow down, and I probably should slow down even more. My biggest problem now isn't controlling my rate but tasting flavor at a reduced amount of smoke. My automatic reflex is to puff faster.

 

[flytyer]

I think if you can smoke 3 to 4 cigars in a row you're well conditioned to smoking and the tobacco is probably not the issue. I would suggest packing the bowl looser than you normally would and sipping the smoke and letting it flow into your mouth. Another thought is maybe changing blends, you may want to experiment with one that contains a good portion of cigar leaf.

 

[shootist51]

All pipe tobacco should be sipped, not puffed.

 

[the macdonald]

I continually have issues with tongue bite and am finding that it varies depending on the type of tobacco I smoke.

Seems like Orientals and heavy english blends do more damage than VAPers but they all take their toll.  I find it odd that i can literally smoke 4-6 cigars in a row with no ill effects, but 1-2 bowls of pipe tobacco will destroy my mouth for the rest of the day.

I have discovered that alcohol magnifies the problem exponentially, so at least now I know not to drink while smoking a pipe.  This however is not the case with cigars.

since I don't smoke aros I can only assume that it might have something to do with the casing used.

Im wondering if there are any uncased pipe tobaccos which might alleviate this problem?

Im currently smoking:
H&H Virginia Spice and Peterson's Old Dublin

Thanks

I fell your pain to some extent.  I've been smoking for 10+ years and anything with a more than a touch of VA's irritates my mouth a little.  I figure I am just sensitive to it and smoke mainly Balkan and some English. These treat me well and I like 'em.  I love Orientals but most of them are mainly VA with Orientals as a spice so I'll be cotton mouthed for the balance of the day.  

If it hurts when you do "this," a decent Dr will tell you not to do "this."

 

[Ocelot55]

I hear you on that. Some tobaccos just don't play nice. For me it's Burley. First time I had a Burley blend I couldn't feel my tongue for a few days.

 

[Brewdude]

FWIW I learned to mitigate tongue bite with -

Not smoking so fast.

Drying out moist blends (practice makes perfect).

Learning proper packing methods according to the cut/blend. (Still learning).

Fortunately, no particular toby has presented itself to be problematic. At least as far as the "chemistry" thing goes.

Haven't had the dreaded tongue bite since returning to pipes after a 8+ yr hiatus. Used to get it regularly. So much so, I gave it up in favor of cigars!

Now, palate fatigue after too many bowls is another subject.

:monkey: 


Cheers,

RR

 

[monbla256]

Some further thoughts: some blends just DON'T WORK for some folks, bottom line. Myself, I really can't handle a lot of Burley in a blend, so I don't smoke Burley heavy blends. It takes some time to figure all this out, but you've got the rest of your pipe smoking life to do this :twisted: Try something, if it works fine, if not move on and don't smoke it ! :twisted: 

 

[RDPipes]

I think everyone has covered all the bases here 8) 

 

[Richard Burley]

I think everyone has covered all the bases here 8) 

Yep. Slow down, looser pack maybe, less moisture maybe, etc. I have tried longer stems when I first started piping, but that didn't seem to work all that well. It does seem that a shorter stem will magnify your "sins," if any, but that may just be my experience. And cobs seem to smoke cooler than anything.

Enough "seems." Anyone smoke until your tongue splits or cracks? I have. Kind of scary in the mirror. Takes about four days to heal, with no smoking at all. But that was decades ago, and I'm here to tell about it. If you love how a pipe tastes, it is really hard to stop sucking like an infant at the tit, especially when doing something else like driving or reading or writing. That was my problem at the time. Sucking too hard--and tits, too, come to think of it.

I can distinguish no difference in tobacco types, as far as tongue bite goes.

 

[Stogiegila]

thanks for the info guys. I will try my best to slow down more and see if anything changes.

 

[Canicus61]

I used to think that Virginias were the enemy in the war on tongue bite, but after years of puffing it seems to me that I've met the enemy and it is me! Smoke slowly - no bite - in my experience it helps with all types......

FWIW

 

[Briar Spirit]

I continually have issues with tongue bite and am finding that it varies depending on the type of tobacco I smoke.

Seems like Orientals and heavy english blends do more damage than VAPers but they all take their toll.  I find it odd that i can literally smoke 4-6 cigars in a row with no ill effects, but 1-2 bowls of pipe tobacco will destroy my mouth for the rest of the day.

I have discovered that alcohol magnifies the problem exponentially, so at least now I know not to drink while smoking a pipe.  This however is not the case with cigars.

since I don't smoke aros I can only assume that it might have something to do with the casing used.

Im wondering if there are any uncased pipe tobaccos which might alleviate this problem?

Im currently smoking:
H&H Virginia Spice and Peterson's Old Dublin

Thanks

I feel your pain Buddy, wish I could tell you the magic answer and alleviate your strife for you but I got nothing, seems to me you know what you're doing and you're still getting bitten, that's a rotten shame, really feel for you there and hope you get it figured out soon.