Moisture Content of homemade pipe tobacco

[dondford]

I am not a pipe guy but are making some pipe tobacco for a nephew. I have made some Black Cavendish that I believe has promise and it should be better when I blend some Latakia a gracious member of this board is sending. What I can't wrap my head around is the proper moisture content of the tobacco; I have three batch's and I have added bourbon vanilla, brandy vanilla and plain vanilla (he is just starting with a pipe and still likes favored tobacco) and this adds moisture, but I don't know if I should dry it out more or add moisture. I don't have a way to measure moisture content, but I could put a hydrometer in the bags and get a reading of the relative humidity.
What say you pipe guys.

D

 

[deluxestogie]

Unlike most commercial pipe tobacco, which has added humectants to allow it to feel squishy forever--but also inhibits mold growth, home-made pipe tobacco will promptly mold if left feeling moist. I would suggest drying it almost to the point of being crumbly, then mist it with just enough water to prevent crumbling.

You might want to also make a try at introducing your nephew to a mild English-style (no whiskey, no yogurt, no candy flavors) pipe tobacco, by making one of the blends in the pipe tobacco matrix, at about 25% Latakia. It will be a revelation.

Bob

EDIT: If you are using WLT tobacco, straight from their poly-nylon bags, the blend will start out at a perfect moisture, so long as you don't try to doctor it.

 

[Sid.Stavros]

I have three batch's and I have added bourbon vanilla, brandy vanilla and plain vanilla (he is just starting with a pipe and still likes favored tobacco) and this adds moisture, but I don't know if I should dry it out more or add moisture.

The new pipe smokers love the Aromatics,they will hear nice compliments from the bystanders. I have tried in the past to moist a tobacco using liquid,i had no success because after some days it became dry and useless.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

With small batches, I've let it dry out completely, weighed it, and add an appropriate weight of water. I don't do the algebra, so it's not all that accurate, but it works. For example, an ounce (28g'ish) tobacco + a tsp (5g' ish) of water equals 33g which is 15% water.

Works well for whole leaf too. I basically estimate the percent in my head, then weigh the amount I need to add. 1ml = 1g

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Don, If you smoke cigarettes and good starting point would be to aim for the approximate moisture content of your cigarette tobacco. Your friend should be able to help you adjust the moisture level as he smokes. Too much tongue bite probably means it is too wet and he's getting a lot of steam (and gurgling).

 

[Knucklehead]

Too much tongue bite probably means it is too wet and he's getting a lot of steam (and gurgling).

Conversely, too dry tobacco in a pipe hits me in the throat like a karate chop. I feel like I'm about to cough out my spleen. (or was it pancreas? I need to check my notes on body parts coughed out)

Semi-seriously though, if your tobacco will just spring back into shape when you squeeze it, you are pretty close. If it crunches it too dry, if it doesn't spring back, it's too wet. (I'm talking about a small, loose wad of shredded tobacco)

 

[Sid.Stavros]

Conversely, too dry tobacco in a pipe hits me in the throat like a karate chop. I feel like I'm about to cough out my spleen.

I feel almost the same,that time my throat asks for water and that's a "bad" sign.