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Pipe smokers? Post it.


james

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yes......

depending on how dried out it is...... add a few drops of distilled h2O at a time to your tried out tobacco in a mason jar. Set the jar in full sun and let it condensate......... take the jar back into a cool environment for 24 hrs and recheck the hydration of the tobacco by feel or with a digital or well tuned analog hygrometer.

dont get overly concerned about if your tobacco is to dry or not.... unless its brittle. Some folks even recommending "acclimation" so that the tobacco will dry out a bit upon opening a tin..... or even a batches that have been stored in your tobacconists cigar humidor.

My personal preferences have lended toward the drier side of tobacco in the pipe... keeps my rate from "weeping"

I like to think of pipe smoking like fingerprints....... everyones mastery and preference is different.
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I tend to rehydrate using a liquor like rum or jack daniels for the flavor. The water just doesn't do it to reinvigorate the missing oils gone from the tobacco. If you want it to stay moist try getting the little black plastic humidifier tabs. You soak them in water for a second or two for the sponge inside to soak up water then just stick them in with your tobacco, it generally works like a charm.

As for a first tobacco I generally recommend starting on the milder aromatics. Not everyone is keen on the black cavendish flavor and are often more comfortable starting with a vanilla blend. It is often the smell most associated with pipe tobacco and carries a sort of nostalgia for those with relatives who used to smoke. A nice aged virginia is also easy on the tongue if youre not into flavored tobaccos.

I'm with lakemonster on the wetness of the tobacco, I keep mine just moist enough where the smell is vibrant and the leaf is just moist enough where it doesnt stick to your fingers but isnt to brittle to bend the leaf.
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Kudos Dizzyguy let us know what you end up trying!
Thanks Lakemonster gotta have love for the pipe smoke laugh.gif
Have any of yall ever tried Blue Note? Its made by Dan Tobacco in germany. Its my personal favorite aromatic of all time.
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  • 3 weeks later...
I took a notion to pull out a pipe the other day (usually it hits after the weather turns cold), and I went for my old $4 Williamsburg Pottery clay pipe with some Rattray's Hal O' The Wind. The clay gives a good dry earthy smoke, and HOTW is the best tobacco I've had in it probably because it isn't as sweet as some other Virginias I like. I prefer other Virginias like McClellands' varieties in briar and meerschaum pipes.
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  • 2 weeks later...
got my altadis sample pack in today.
1.5 oz each of fox and hound, irish cream, almondine, and rum and maple
they each smell like they sound. fox and hound smells like a really peaty single malt scotch. like a lagavulin or such. i might have to try that with a glass of it.

ima take them home over xmas break and give them a good try. Edited by SanguineSolitude
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Mine came yesterday too. One is Dutch Masters, and the other three look like extremely generic flavors of cherry, vanilla, and something called "night cap".

They smell good. I've been too busy with car problems to smoke them yet, but I'll get around to it.
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QUOTE (james @ Dec 13 2006, 10:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Mine came yesterday too. One is Dutch Masters, and the other three look like extremely generic flavors of cherry, vanilla, and something called "night cap".

They smell good. I've been too busy with car problems to smoke them yet, but I'll get around to it.



You got the same thing as I did smile.gif
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http://www.aspipes.org/faq/faq/official.html


You will find that a pipe will not stay lit without agitation. You have to gently stoke it back up from time to time to keep it lit well. Thats the trick to pipe smoking. keeping it lit.... but not overheating it. Its a balancing act. You'll learn how.... several factors contribute to performance.... the pack, the tobacco, and timing.

Something that helps is a 3 step light.

1. The char light: THe first round of lighting causes the tobacco to bloom upward and chars it.... just let it go out and tamp it down gently.

2. The Conditioning light: This middle step further chars the tobacco evenly along the top of the pack. Let it go out.

3. The finishing light.: This is the one where you want to get the thing lit up and start smoking. Work the flame over the top of the pack while stoking it. You want to have a nice even light across the top.

It really does take a while to get to the point where you can keep one lit for a whole smoke...... re-lighting is a part of pipe smoking... at some point, we all got to do it.
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QUOTE (frontmanpb101 @ Dec 15 2006, 01:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
alright, did that and it worked better. the conditioning lights, and then i puffed more when i was getting it lit the third time. can you attempt to describe what black cavendish is supposed to taste like so i know if i'm tasting the right thing? thanks for your help!


Generally a vanilla fore note.... and each different brand uses a little bit of something else in there to make it interesting. like a liquor flav or citrus. Sometimes you get some that has a mild cedar back note to it.
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  • 1 year later...
I hate to bring up dead threads but I love pipe smoking so much I thought we could bring the discussion back. One question for you pipe smokers out there: how often do you smoke the pipe vs. the hookah? Ever since getting my hookah I've pretty much smoked nothing but hookah for the past 3 weeks, although last night I lit up the briar and fell in love with it again. When you guys solo smoke, do you reach for the briar or the glass?
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Nice thread revival!

All I have is a Dr. Grabow pipe that my bestest bud bought me for my birthday a few years ago. I mostly smoke hookah but I still have a large place in my heart for the ol briar and a nice cigar to boot. Those were my first loves afterall, and I think smoking them more seldom actually makes it more special when I do.

Dying to try a chocolate cavendish house blend from a local upscale tobbaconist but it's kinda pricey. 250 of shisha or pipe baccy? Decisions decisions...
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  • 4 weeks later...
QUOTE (ahadden @ Sep 17 2008, 10:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I hate to bring up dead threads but I love pipe smoking so much I thought we could bring the discussion back. One question for you pipe smokers out there: how often do you smoke the pipe vs. the hookah? Ever since getting my hookah I've pretty much smoked nothing but hookah for the past 3 weeks, although last night I lit up the briar and fell in love with it again. When you guys solo smoke, do you reach for the briar or the glass?


I used to smoke each night, but it has slowed down a lot. There is a lot to pipe smoking. Most tobacco is very wet so you have to let it air out otherwise it won't smoke right.

As for briar or glass, it just depends on what I'm feeling like.

Something about briar is that it must be broken in otherwise the smoke is very harsh and not very pleasant. Just smoke a few half bowls for a while and you'll get it.

Also, everclear makes a wonderful cleaner.
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Got a pipe the day after I turned 18 two years ago and I love it. No big brand name, just a hand-carved briar from a smoke-shop in Tampa, FL called Edwards.

I used to smoke it daily but I haven't smoked it in a long while...maybe I should pick it up again. I love to smoke Stanwell Vanilla. Great flavor, great aroma...one of the few non-hookah items people ask you to smoke INSIDE. haha
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