New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by gijoey959

Thank you for the answer

I'll be ordering the Great Dane Egg after I get back from SC in december, and that will give me time to research some pipe tobacco and smoking technique

And I can get a golf tee

SC? That is the land of abundant pipes and tobacco.

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

SC? That is the land of abundant pipes and tobacco.

Haha, but my wife's family is full of cigar smokers, so that's where november's tobacco budget went. I'll definately be starting pipes asap though, the more I look, the more interested I get, its definitely looking like something I could really get into

[Emjaysmash]

Originally Posted by gijoey959

Thank you for the answer

I'll be ordering the Great Dane Egg after I get back from SC in december, and that will give me time to research some pipe tobacco and smoking technique

And I can get a golf tee

I have a great Dane Egg and I love it! MM cobs are awesome!

Originally Posted by Emjaysmash

I have a great Dane Egg and I love it! MM cobs are awesome!

Great to hear i'd hate to buy a bad pipe for the first impression

[BigFrank]

I want to remove that, well whatever it is from the inside bowl of my Peterson. Would I be ok with just sanding down the inside with some 100 grit sandpaper?

[Commander Quan]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

I want to remove that, well whatever it is from the inside bowl of my Peterson. Would I be ok with just sanding down the inside with some 100 grit sandpaper?

You can sand it out, but the consensus is that it is easier to just smoke a couple bowls in it than it is to sand out and risk scraping up the rim.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

I want to remove that, well whatever it is from the inside bowl of my Peterson. Would I be ok with just sanding down the inside with some 100 grit sandpaper?

If it's a new Pete, you are talking about nasty stain. If it's an old Pete you're talking about - nasty cake? Which it is?

[BigFrank]

Originally Posted by Commander Quan

You can sand it out, but the consensus is that it is easier to just smoke a couple bowls in it than it is to sand out and risk scraping up the rim.

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

If it's a new Pete, you are talking about nasty stain. If it's an old Pete you're talking about - nasty cake? Which it is?

New Pete with dipped stain and that pre carbon crap in the bowl. I swung into Home depot on my way home today and picked up 100-150-220 sandpaper. Did the trick nicely. Also used some 91% booze with q-tips to remove stain. Worked well.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

New Pete with dipped stain and that pre carbon crap in the bowl. I swung into Home depot on my way home today and picked up 100-150-220 sandpaper. Did the trick nicely. Also used some 91% booze with q-tips to remove stain. Worked well.

I'm one of those who hates the taste of stained bowls. I either avoid such pipes of soak it out before smoking. Others smoke through it out without complaint. Go figure.

[hotreds]

Anywhere I can buy Boswell's tobacco other than Boswell? They don't have online ordering.

[Commander Quan]

Originally Posted by hotreds

Anywhere I can buy Boswell's tobacco other than Boswell? They don't have online ordering.

No, you have to call them.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

I want to remove that, well whatever it is from the inside bowl of my Peterson. Would I be ok with just sanding down the inside with some 100 grit sandpaper?

Don't go near it with sandpaper, especially if you want to keep the rim in good shape. What that stuff is, is a carbon cake applied to the inside of the bowl to ease the break-in period. Not sure if it helps or not. But, it isn't a big deal to just leave it.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Well the Jeantet has had it's cake "adjusted". I tried w/ some 400 grit sand paper but I couldn't really get my sausage fingers in there and I was worried about miffin up the rim too much. The bowl also seems to kind of flare as it gets deeper, almost a slight oval cut not a straight chamber. I ended up w/ a smooth butter knife as BigFrank had suggested and it worked quite well. I shaved down a lot of the irregularities and smoked it the other day. Seems to smoke great though maybe a bit hot, could be me as well, or the Lane 1Q (seemed tempting at the time). The remaining crevices are already filling in nicely. Now it's on to cleaning the new Brebbia, Calabash, and Peretti sitter I picked up =D

Thank you guys very much
Chris

A few more questions

Since I've tracked down which pipe I'm going to start off with, and its a corn cob, anything I should know? There appear to be a ton of kinds of pipe tobacco, and from what I read, they can leave after tastes, is this a concern with a cob pipe? How often should I clean it, and how should it be cleaned?

I know it was recommended that I start with the drug store stuff, but I happen to be the kind of person who shoots straight for the good stuff just because I like to hit the ground running. Since I'm not new to smoking, just pipes, is it still a concern to start with something that generally has good reviews from more seasoned smokers? Or is it a don't waste good stuff when you don't know how to fill a pipe sort of thing? Reason being, there is a pipe store close that I normally buy cigars from and since I never looked at the pipes there, I didn't even remember they sold them there (its even called Pipe World ) I assume they have good tobacco, and might even have the cheap stuff, so I am going to be starting pipes before I leave more than likely (got someone to buy a few of the handout cigars I was going to take with me ) so I will probably buy the pipe, cleaners, and some tobacco (I already have a golf tee :P)

The short version:
What should I know about corn cob pipes?
What should I know about putting different types of tobacco in the same pipe?
Is it necessary to start with drug store tobacco? What if I buy more expensive stuff
Any last advice before I go buy a pipe, pipe cleaners, and tobacco? I.e. should I buy anything else?

[Commander Quan]

What should I know about corn cob pipes?
Take out the paper filter, and throw it away. I prefer the Straight stems over the Bent stems. The kink where the stem bends makes it difficult to pass a cleaner. The first couple smokes may taste like burning wood until you char the inside of the bowl and the stem in the bottom
What should I know about putting different types of tobacco in the same pipe?
Cobs don't have the tendency to ghost the same way that briar pipes do.
Is it necessary to start with drug store tobacco? What if I buy more expensive stuff
Go for it it's your money you can smoke whatever you want.
Any last advice before I go buy a pipe, pipe cleaners, and tobacco? I.e. should I buy anything else?
That will get you started

Thanks!

[hscmit]

So I have been cleaning and finished with the salt/alcohol mix and am about ready to start looking for a few pipe tobaccos to taste.

These were my grandfathers and hadnt been touched in at least 10-15 years. They have actually come along way to get to this point.

[BigFrank]

I'd recommend reaming the inside of the bowl back to bare wood and performing another booze + salt treatment.

[hscmit]

I have been trying to build up my nerve to stick a butter knife in there and scrape/cut the old cake out. I am worried about cutting the wood.
with the salt/ booze mix, does finer salt work better say kosher salt?

[Mister Moo]

Conventional widsom says kosher (no added iodine) salt. I never used anything but - no idea what happens with plain table salt. Anyone know firsthand?

Briar is plenty tough if head to head with the dull edge of a butterknife or pipetool scraper. As you drag an edge along that mess (over a wastebasket or outdoors - not over a white tablecloth) and the black chunks and fine black powder sift out you will have plenty of time to see bare wood grin through the carbonization. Work slowly, carefully, under a good light - no drama. You don't need to apply much force to scrape that stuff out, by the way.

In your "bowls eye view" photo the two on the left need work for sure, the two on the right look like they were reamed recently and the one in the middle could use some evening out. The middle one, in another photo, also looks like it is burned on the outside - possibly a defect in the briar or grandpa smoked that pipe hard and fast. If you scrape it out a bit you may find a bad spot inside the bowl, through from the black mark. Go careful with that one - if there is a defect (and you love the pipe) it might be patchable with some pipe mud. Or it might have a little smudge of black paint on the outside in which case, forget what I just wrote.