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First time smoking a pipe.

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Junker

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Hi all,

so so I have gotten my first pipe and bit of tobacco (until i can make my own) and here's as close to a review/step by step so I can learn more and possibly enhance the experience.

Pipe - Missouri Meerschaum corncob
tobacco - mclellands red oak

being my first time ever i decided to get a bit of a grasp as to how the hell to pack and break in a new pipe. My first thoughts when seeing the pipe itself was "two cigarettes worth" of tobacco when compressed, I'll admit I did not expect it to last long (my only experience being tailors cigarettes).

So to the pack; given I have never packed before and after watching a few vids I decided to go with one pinch, top up, then lightly tap down with my finger. The smell of the tobacco was amazing - like actual quality cologne type amazing where you forget its tobacco.

First light; I tried using matches to ensure I didn't get any gas fumes interfering with the flavour but a lighter was much easier to get an even light with a standard BIC lighter, nonetheless I had a few quality puffs then had to re light, repeated that a few times as well as tamping gently on the top every now and then.

After about 20-30 mins I think I've gotten to the end, the smoke is getting "peppery" and my tongue feels numb/dull. The only reason I persisted was because the vid I watched recommended getting to the end (he even stated it was not enjoyable by that time) to work the breaking in part. I honestly don't know if I should have taken 30 mins but I was making sure not to burn the bowl or tobacco, but I seriously enjoyed myself - the relaxation and suave was huge and by the end - the smell was still strangely fragrant. Again another point I was shocked by compared to regular cigarettes.

Definitely a 1-a-day thing at most, it's not something to be rushed that's for sure.
 

Charly

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Hi Junker,
I think you begun with the right mood and tobacco :)
McClelland has some seriously good stuff (I don't know "Red oak", did you mean "Three oaks" ? or "Red Cake" ?), but it's often very moist and needs to be dried some to burn properly.
The right mood : smoke slooooowly and relaxed : that's the key to enjoy a good pipe.

For the duration, I think you can smoke even slower : when I smoke a small corn cob it can often last 45 minutes to an hour.
And the corn cobs do not really need a cake, only a couple smoke and they are good to go.

If it gets peppery and you fell your tongue numb/dull it may be that you smoke to hot or to juicy.
It takes time to master how to smoke correctly the pipe, just listen to your sensations and your pleasure ;) And don't hurry !
 

Junker

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Hi Charly,

thanks for that!!! I knew I was going to do it a little bit wrong but I was still really happy with the experience :)

youre right it was red cake. Like I said I was going a lot off the video with the lighting, and I just kept re lighting and smoking gently.

I honestly believe if I packed it three times (pack then tamp then pack then tamp then pack again) I would have taken an hour or more I really didn't want to rush. But as my tobacco came in a resealable pouch I can see why tins are better - flake doesn't hold together the way stringy tobacco does and I nearly lost a pinch just trying to take it out of the bag so a tin would have been better.

I actually liked the corncob (yet to try others) but it didn't heat up much but I had no idea it didn't need curing. Really looking forward to restoring an antique GMB billiard(?) that I have.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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The tobacconist I frequent does a long smoke competition every year on international pipe smoking day. We get a Missouri meerschaum and 3 grams of tobacco. One minute to light it. Two matches. No relight allowed. 30 minutes is respectable. The record is somewhere around 1:15 ish, but the guy was smoking corncob at that point. I'd say you did pretty good for your first smoke.
 

Junker

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@chinavoodoo - thanks :). I am a little unsure as to what to look for in packing and lighting. In your case you mentioned two matches, but I had to re-light mine many more times (I wasn't really counting, but it was more than 6). What would you say is a good lighting source? I'm guessing matches but they aren't always practical.
 

Charly

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My advice : don't count the number of times you have to light your pipe ;)
If I had to count I would quit smoking :D

Two matches is for the contests, in which you have to smoke for the longest possible duration :) with no relight.

I don't care if I have to relight several times, I am searching for flavors and pleasure ! In my case, I found that the slower the burn, the more flavors I get :) (and this way, you won't burn your tongue too much)

When you pack your pipe, you have to feel a little bit of resistance, just a little. There are plenty of methods for packing a pipe, you will have to experiment to find what works best for you.
The key is the pleasure : if you get good flavors then you are smoking right ;)

One important thing when you pack your pipe is the cut and the humidity of the tobacco, if it is loose and dry it will burn fast (and will burn your tongue), if it is compact (in flakes for examples) and humid it will not burn at all => you will suck hard on the pipe and it will burn your tongue. You have to find to good consistence (just springy, but not sticky) and not pack too hard.

If your smoke begins to give you bad taste, or hurt your tongue, just stop. No need to finish all the tobacco in the pipe (I very often let some tobacco in the bottom of my pipe when I stop my pipe).
To smoke all the tobacco to the bottom is an advice if you want to build a good cake (carbon layer) to protect your pipe, but it's more recommanded for briar pipes.

For lighting, I use often BIC lighters (gas).
 

deluxestogie

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BIC! Absolutely. Matches contain phosphorus, sulfur, and near the head, wax. That's not to mention wood.

Smoking a pipe should not be a competition. If you relax, and re-light a bunch of times, it doesn't matter.

I like to have the tobacco fairly dry, then pack the pipe as tightly as I can to still have a nice, steady draw. I smoke a pipe slowly, so it tends to go out if I don't think about it. But that's the point. Just enjoy.

A fresh corncob tastes like roasted corn, if you think, "corn."

Bob

EDIT: My cigar went out while I typed this post.
 

Junker

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Haha I think I might have worded it wrong. I guess my idea as getting the most out of my pipe and tobacco. But really good to know these things especially when I get my briar ready for use.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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@chinavoodoo - thanks :). I am a little unsure as to what to look for in packing and lighting. In your case you mentioned two matches, but I had to re-light mine many more times (I wasn't really counting, but it was more than 6). What would you say is a good lighting source? I'm guessing matches but they aren't always practical.

I totally agree with Bob. Bic has a good, clean burning, flavorless flame. If all I'm doing is smoking, the original lighting is usually good enough. One thing I tell people is to suck on the pipe while you tamp, and move the tamper to different spots in the pipe. Pulling on it prevents, essentially, tamping it out, and it pushes the coals down into the unlit tobacco. Also, the tamper reduces the space in the bowl, and speeds up the airflow (venturi effect), helping you get it warmed up again if it's going out in spots.
 

Jitterbugdude

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Cobs do not need a break in period. Smoke as little or as much as you want. For packing I like to loosely fill the bowl then tamp down to about half the volume. Fill the bowl again and very lightly tamp until the tobacco is even or slightly below the rim. It takes practice.. you'll eventually figure out what works best for you.

As for a lighter I like the Zippo with a pipe insert. The only downside is you need to refill it quite often.

What kind of MM cob did you buy? Some have filters, some do not.
 

DistillingJim

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I dont have that much to add other than to reinforce that if you're getting tongue bite, you're probably smoking too fast or too wet.

Also, youtube if your friend.
 

CowboyTed

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Junker, it sounds like you're doing fine already. Try another bowl of the same tobacco, after letting the tobacco sit out on the table for half an hour to dry before you light it. After four or five bowls, you'll probably arrive at a cadence of drying, lighting, drawing and tamping that keeps it burning longer between relights. After you smoke the same tobacco for a number of bowls, you'll be able to keep it lit longer. Remember that you should tamp lightly, mostly just to flatten the dry ash at the top. You don't want to compress the tobacco into the bowl much, which will make it hard to draw through the pipe.

Then, when you try a different tobacco blend, you'll have to start learning a different cadence to get the most out of the new blend, as they are all different. That's part of the adventure.
 

greenmonster714

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Some great advice cowboy. It is kinda difficult to figure out a pipe. Such a simple device but yet so much to learn. Tongue bite builds character..lol. I must be an odd one. I enjoy a little bite.
 

Junker

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Hi, I got a straight corncob (photo attached). I checked the MM website, just realised there's a HUGE range, here I am thinking just two and two only.
 

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Junker

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Just to clarify - I only got the bite at the end, during it was very smooth. I was also watching YouTube during as well, learning that the tamping during a smoke is more to keep the embers on the tobacco rather than compression. Thanks for the advice all, I'll be putting a review on the next tobacco and pipes I get, hopefully that GMB briar I'm looking at restoring.
 

SmokesAhoy

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When you find yourself refilling the zippo often consider buying the naphtha in the hardware store, essentially the same thing as the zippo fluid and is sold by the quart or gallon for very little money. In the paint thinner section.

I still have to get that mm seconds bag.
 

Junker

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Thanks smokesahoy - just curious is there anything wrong (smoke wise) with the seconds?
 

SmokesAhoy

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There is a thread somewhere here where everyone got a bag and there were no complaints.
 

deluxestogie

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The MM seconds are fully smoke-worthy. They tend to have cosmetic defects at the rim of the bowl, or a slightly off-center smoke hole. Also, a dutiful employee has marked an 'X' on the bottom label of each pipe. The only drawback of the "bag" is that you can't pick which pipe styles you will get. If you have your heart set on a specific model, then it's guaranteed not to be in the bag that you receive.

Here's the thread: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/6973-Corn-Cob-Pipes-Bargain

Bob
 

Silverone858

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Welcome! It's a vast hobby with all kinds of side hobbies hahaha! each tobacco packs and smokes differently and each pipe smokes different too. Have fun and you'll love it!
BTW check ebay you'll find great estate pipes for good prices there! Just be careful not to let the wife know how many you bought (but they were so cheap!) mines on the lookout now! Hahaha
 
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