The Pipe for Noobs: There is No Pipe Technique

[standardtoaster]

I had the hardest time for about a month trying to keep a pipe lit throughout the entire bowl. Relighting over, and over, and over. First I thought it was a moisture issue, I needed to dry out the tobacco more. Wrong. Then I thought it was a packing issue, I was packing the bowl too tight. Wrong again.

Finally, I stumbled on the one technique that made moisture and packing seemingly unimportant, and that technique is draw speed. To keep a pipe lit means drawing air slowly through the pipe. The slower the better.

My first instinct when smoking a pipe was to take a quick, short draw, pulling air through the pipe at a relatively fast speed to fan the flame. In reality, this just extinguishes the burning tobacco. The slow draw will pull heat down through the underlying tobacco, warming it up for burning and drying out.



And here is a photo of my current pipe tool:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

There's a lot of obsession with keeping the bowl lit throughout the entire smoking session. I'm not sure why this is.

Slowly and steadily drawing through the pipe does make for a better smoke, though, if you ask me.

I'm also not sure I'd personally use a deck screw or anything with that sharp of edges/points in my pipes, but to each his own. 8) That is a handy tool if you manage to break the stem at the shank to remove the tenon bit from the mortise...

 

[standardtoaster]

For me, relighting is an annoyance both in taste and time. It takes away the consistency of the smoke. Who likes to relight a cigar? Nobody, that's who. Why would pipes be any different?

 

[the macdonald]

I hit my Zen (pipe, tobacco, fire, and smoker singularity) over martinis (Churchill Martini only here). At a certain point all the practice and study comes together, but like all enlightenment pursuits the moment can be fleeting. One of the big keys is realizing a relights don't matter.

As for pipe tools, I had a friend in the Navy trying to get me a nail from Old Ironside. My tried and true pipe tool is a stick I have had for 10 years now. It is about as thick as a pinky and has a sharp-ish end where it was broken from the tree that makes a good pick with no risk of gouging.

 

[mark]

Good for you Standardtoaster,,,now you can concentrate on enjoying the tobacco, rather than fussing over technique.

 

[calipuffer]

I struggled as well before I had a good pipe lighter. There is a YouTube video of a guy having a bad day and having trouble getting the pipe lit. He lights a match and it immediately goes out, and he throws the spent match towards the ashtray and misses. But that sentiment of match frustration was my experience until I purchased a pipe lighter. I now have a pipeline and a zippo with pipe insert and relighting isn't an issue anymore. In fact, I think I can get a better overall tobacco burn with more directed fire placement using the pipeline than I'd ever be able to get with a match (after it burned past the head).

On a side note, if you want to really "taste" the tobacco you need to sip the pipe and that will most likely lead to relights. I have found wonderful bursts of flavor if you let the pipe go out, wait a few min and then relight (more like you have to step away from your pipe for a few). Not sure why it is so, but when the tobacco comes back to temp it can really provide a burst of flavor (not referring to aromatic blends).

 

[MisterE]

I had a one-light bowl out of necessity yeaterday afternoon. I got ta local cafe, orderded a coffee, got my pipe out, packed it, and.... no lighter. :evil:

I bummed a light and just kept it going to the bottom tamping with my finger as I went. :cat:

 

[s.ireland]

I had a one-light bowl out of necessity yeaterday afternoon. I got ta local cafe, orderded a coffee, got my pipe out, packed it, and.... no lighter. :evil:

I bummed a light and just kept it going to the bottom tamping with my finger as I went. :cat:

Funny you should mention that because lately I've been having the best and most effortless smokes while engaged in some activity that doesn't allow me to fuss and fidget with my pipe. Walking the dog, doing yardwork, long drives, and cooking dinner are a few examples. I'll load my pipe, false light, tamp and light again and have a wonderful smoke all the way to just ash. But when I'm reading or watching a movie or sitting around talking etc. I always have a relight or two. I'm starting to think the best technique is no technique at all... Or at least as little fussing as possible. YMMV

 

[Lestrade]

...I'm starting to think the best technique is no technique at all... Or at least as little fussing as possible. YMMV

I have found the same. Don't make a fuss, just smoke and enjoy.

 

[MisterE]

:cheers: :cheers:

 

[riff raff]

Get a Castello, my Sea Rock almost smokes itself!
Light and easy tamping is also my ticket to a long smoke. I can hold my $1 Brebbia pipe nail in the pipe hand, so that is handy and unnoticable.

 

[standardtoaster]

Hmm, curious all of this anti-technique advice in :suspect: the Pipe Techniques forum.

 

[mark]

SHHHHH,,,,we tell how hard it is to smoke a pipe to scare away the posers,,,,if they knew it was actually stuff & puff they'd be coming outta the woodwork.

 

[Boxerbuddy]

I'm doing pretty well with my relights...usually only have to relight once or twice although sometimes I have trouble keeping the bottom of the bowl lit. I'm taking the advice of the people on here and not caring about relights too much...they don't really lessen the enjoyment for me at all.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

SHHHHH,,,,we tell how hard it is to smoke a pipe to scare away the posers,,,,if they knew it was actually stuff & puff they'd be coming outta the woodwork.

:lol: :lol:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

The truth of the matter is, if you don't do it the right way, or have to light a pipe more than once, you're less of a man, and might as well go bake us a cake.

Kidding.

When the rubber meets the road (or the vulcanite stem meets the lips), one man's technique and path to enjoyment just might be a little different than another.

Good pipe smokers are happy pipe smokers. So goes the BoB. 8)

 

[MisterE]

Well put Kyle. 8)

 

[Lesath]

I reflect back, and I can remember the learning process... Then again, it continues. As I've grown older, I have became a patient friend with the ever patient pipe. Most of my smoking time is contemplative and solitary. Relights often occur, but it doesn't matter to me. The pipe is a good friend and it pauses with me if I become focused on something other than keeping it lit. If I'm entertaining, particularly a good card game, oddly the pipe tends to unconsciously be a one light bowl. I wonder if it's not so much technique as it is mood. How you load your pipe, what you load it with, and how you light it, all play a role. Every smoke in the same pipe is a little different. Just try to be patient and enjoy the ride.

 

[Harlock999]

I reflect back, and I can remember the learning process... Then again, it continues. As I've grown older, I have became a patient friend with the ever patient pipe. Most of my smoking time is contemplative and solitary. Relights often occur, but it doesn't matter to me. The pipe is a good friend and it pauses with me if I become focused on something other than keeping it lit. If I'm entertaining, particularly a good card game, oddly the pipe tends to unconsciously be a one light bowl. I wonder if it's not so much technique as it is mood. How you load your pipe, what you load it with, and how you light it, all play a role. Every smoke in the same pipe is a little different. Just try to be patient and enjoy the ride.

Gold!
This is it, in a nutshell.
Thanks.

 

[standardtoaster]

Well, I did manage to smoke a pipe while hand-watering the new grass on my lawn this morning. It was my first multi-task pipe. I feel like I've reached a new level. Still not as good as the solitary contemplative pipe though. English blend.