New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Bigd7400

Thanks for the advice Moo! I am still trying to get my filling down and have tried just about every method. It seems I am getting better at it as I usually only have to relight about every 10-15 minutes or so. Are there any suggestions as to when to tamp (I seem to find myself tamping after its too late and the pipe goes out) and tamping technique. When I tamp I kind of go around the edge of the bowl on a circular route all the way around. Should I just tamp the center and not the edges? Thanks again for setting me on the path to pipe bliss.

Tamp as you wish but try not to scrape the sides of the chamber. Tamping was well described by EvanS not so much as a means of compressing tobacco but, rather, to collapse the ash column. Think of a perfect fill relating to a good, even burn; tamping has less to do with pipe smoking as your fill technique improves. You will see...