Yay, another slope.

[Emjaysmash]

Originally Posted by TheRuckus13

Well my stuff came in today, and I had my first pipe smoking experience. Unfortunately I was really underwhelmed by it all. I think I made a mistake getting two Latakia blends. I guess because I'm a cigar smoker and have never dealt with the stuff it's absolutely all I could taste out of the pipe, burning leafs and wood. Keeping the pipe lit was also frustrating and nerve wrecking. I know that I will get better with a pipe but I don't know what I'm going to do with these blends.

Keep on keeping on! Pipes can be frustrating when you first start, but trust me- you WILL be rewarded!!
Smoke some more, vary your technique of puffing, trade out the tobaccos you don't like for others. Its very similiar to starting with cigars. We all had to learn how to toast, puff enough to keep it lit but not too much to hotbox the thing! You'll get it in no time!

Originally Posted by Emjaysmash

Keep on keeping on! Pipes can be frustrating when you first start, but trust me- you WILL be rewarded!!
Smoke some more, vary your technique of puffing, trade out the tobaccos you don't like for others. Its very similiar to starting with cigars. We all had to learn how to toast, puff enough to keep it lit but not too much to hotbox the thing! You'll get it in no time!

Well, I was so displeased with my first bowl. I almost immediately grabbed up my second pipe (Washington) and packed a bowl of Frog Morton instead. This time I ignored the videos warning you over and over not to pack the bowl too tight which was making me paranoid and just packed it the way I felt it should be packed. I got probably 4x the tobacco in than I did the Diplomat which is almost twice as big and the draw was still loose, so I don't know how people over pack a pipe. I did have to relight the pipe about every 5-10 minutes but other than that it smoked pretty well. The Frog Morton has way way more Latakia in it which is what I don't like but the FM blend imo is way sweeter, so it just worked out better. Hopefully some day I can get my hands on some money and get a blend that has no Latakia.

Well, what can I say... in less than a week the pipe has totally won me over. I look back at my first post amazed at my first impression of pipe smoking. That "burning wood" flavor I got makes no sense to me now. Frog Morton now tastes like sweet smokey BBQ to me, maybe a little ketchup. It sounds strange but I love it. The Billy Budd is a love hate type relationship. It truly is fun to smoke, some times you'll get a thick draw of Latakia which gives off whispy smoke, and a classic Latakia taste, then you'll hit a batch of cigar leaf and get that thick creamy Connecticut nutty taste. However, it burns hot, and comes with a lot of stems which is a hassle.

I know I promised pictures, but when I got the package I realized I had nothing really worth showing. However, pipe smoking has been so great that I just purchased a Savenelli Baronet Pot, and a box (250G) of Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader. So I -will- have something to show you folks. The only thing disappointing about pipe smoking is tonight I lit up a Montecristo and was thinking of smoking my pipe the entire time...

[WyoBob]

Originally Posted by TheRuckus13

That "burning wood" flavor I got makes no sense to me now.

The "burning wood" flavor was the exposed part of the stem in your bowl charring. After 6-10 smokes, it goes away as the stem chars more each time the pipe is smoked.

WyoBob