New Pipe Smoker Intro

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Coz77

Well tomorrow is the day...

...Any info or a little help in the right direction would be appreciated.

Welcome.

"FILL" a pipe - don't "pack" a pipe. Using the 1-2-3* fill method works pretty well. When filled it should still draw with very slight resistance. Stiff resistance is a problem because, as you smoke, the tobak expands and will plug the bowl. When a bowl gets progessively harder to draw upon you gradually begin to suck your cheeks and tongue into blue, lifeless slabs of stinging tissue. Most experienced pipe smokers do not favor this condition. Tamp gently, as required, to keep an even burn going. Once you get the hang of a good fill and an even light/burn it's smooth sailing. IMHO.

*
1) gravity fill to the top and then compress to 1/2 bowl.
2) gently compress a small wad of tobak enough to fill almost 1/2 bowls-worth, plug it in and compress gently and evenly to about 2/3 bowlful.
3) mash a small wad tightly between your fingertips and almost top off the bowl - compress gently to 3/4 - 7/8 full, yielding a nearly filled pipe offering very slight resistance to a draw.

4) light the whole top evenly, slow sipping puffs.
5) when it's all charred and probably wanting to climb out of the pipe, tamp it gently and evenly to a smooth finish.
6) relight, evenly, and sip/puff slowly.
7) inhale DEEPLY and let the smoke trickle out around your eyeballs.
8) just kidding about #7

[DrDubzz]

trout stream and butternut burley are two of my favorites (I'm a noob too). I would definitely recommend them as good aromatic starting points. But don't be afraid to venture into natural tobaks like virginias, burleys and even latakias (the smell may be offputting at first though)

From one noob to another:

- Stick with it. My first two times I got tongue bite. Then it took a month to start developing a pallet for pipe tobaccos (at first I "couldn't taste anything" when smoking a pipe). Patience is key.

- Get a soft-flame pipe lighter. If you're smoking slow enough to have a cool dry smoke that doesn't bite your tongue, the pipe will seem to go out six jillion times. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of keeping it lit without getting too hot later.

- Dry out your tobak a little. I like to pull out enough for one bowl and let it sit out for an hour before packing, er, rather, loading my pipe.

Enjoy!

[DrDubzz]

Originally Posted by petewho

From one noob to another:

- Stick with it. My first two times I got tongue bite. Then it took a month to start developing a pallet for pipe tobaccos (at first I "couldn't taste anything" when smoking a pipe). Patience is key.

another reason butternut burley is so nice, there's about ZERO tongue bite, you can puff til you're blue in the face (I don't recommend this however) and you won't hurt your tongue