Pipe Smoking Newb Thoughts

[Dukeuni]

I just started pipe smoking a few weeks ago. I started becoming interested in pipe smoking after finding my grandfathers old Pioneer Meerschaum pipe around a year ago. I waited to smoke it because I really had NO idea what I was doing- how to fill a bowl, how to smoke it, taping the tobacco, etc.

I jumped back on the wagon after deciding to purchase one of the "Cigar Asylum Club Pipes". Some of the brothers here have been very gracious to me and sent over some samples of tobacco to try out.

What has surprised me so far with pipe smoking is the following:

1. Just how relaxing it is- It is much easier to hold a pipe (either in my hand or in my mouth) compared to cigars. I can just sit outside, talk with friends, and smoke a pipe easily.

2. Ritual- I like the ritual and process of smoking a pipe- from picking the tobacco, smelling it, breaking-up the flakes, to packing the bowl and lighting the pipe.

3. Smell- At least with the tobacco I have tried so far, people love the smell. Many of my friends find it easier to be around me when I smoke a pipe compared to a cigar.

4. Taste- I really enjoy the taste of the pipe tobacco. The only downfall is that all of the tobacco I have tried so far seems to be far more mild compared to cigars I normally smoke. I am not sure why that would be- seems like tobacco would be the same.

Thank you guys so much for pushing me down this slope- I am having a blast and hope to do a free-fall!

[JohnnyKay5]

Cant wait to start down this road!

[Emjaysmash]

Pipes are a great hobby to have, along with cigars. It brought me a little change of pace then I was normally used to with cigars. I'm glad your enjoying the pipe brother!

[Nick]

I started with a pipe four years ago when I was 18. I smoked cigars a little after that but I just couldn't find the same enjoyment as I do with a pipe. Cigars seem to easy to me and once you smoke them they are gone forever, you can smoke a pipe your whole life if you take care of it. The flexibility in pipe tobacco, packing, and smoking methods is great. Flexibility in tobacco is the best not just in taste but in presentation also; there is flakes, ropes, ribbons, cakes, plug. The selection of style, taste, and presentation is fantastic.

[Mister Moo]

... and the photo of your Pioneer is... where?

What tobak(s) have you smoked in this meer so far? Maybe you need to take it up a notch for the strength level you'd find satisfying. I like my Pioneer but don't smoke it too often. It certainly will smooth out many tobaccos that otherwise have more presence in briar or conventional meers. It is the master of smooooooooth and does well with a punchy english or oriental blend, for example.

[Curly Cut]

Originally Posted by Dukeuni

4. Taste- I really enjoy the taste of the pipe tobacco. The only downfall is that all of the tobacco I have tried so far seems to be far more mild compared to cigars I normally smoke. I am not sure why that would be- seems like tobacco would be the same.

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

... Maybe you need to take it up a notch for the strength level you'd find satisfying..

to add what moo said....
there are plenty of pipe tobaccos out there that are very strong. some i would say are stronger in "Nic" content than cigars, and some of them are pretty potent in flavor strength, reminding me of some younger cuban cigars.

i started on aromatics in the mid 90s, then found my way to cigars around 2000 or so, and then went back to pipes in early 2005.
what i found back in '05 was the same as you, with the lack of flavor/strength. it took me a few months before my taste buds recovered from smoking cigars.... i could not pick up the little hints of flavors for a long while.
finally, it took me a while to sample/find some of the stronger tobaccos out there, but they're out there.

i think the biggest factor in enjoying a pipe (other than the tobacco taste) is enjoying the rituals of it. if you can't handle that, then no matter what the flavor is, you're not going to enjoy it.

[Commander Quan]

What are some of those stronger blends? As a newb I am mostly going by what smells the best in the jars at the B&M. Are these mostly tinned tobaccos or are any of them bulk that I could pick up? The B&M has stopped carrying tins but does have a large selection of bulk in jars.

[Curly Cut]

well, you can get some of the strongest if they carry them, as they are sold in bulk.

Samuel Gawith has a few that are pretty strong, namely: 1792; Bracken Flake; Brown Rope #4.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co has some of the strongest: Sliced Brown Twist (or Brown Twist Sliced); Dark Flake unscented.

there's a site that has their own "strength meter"... gives good descriptions as well.
http://www.synjeco.com/pipesandtobac...tobaccoall.htm

[Azpostal]

there's a site that has their own "strength meter"... gives good descriptions as well.
http://www.synjeco.com/pipesandtobac...tobaccoall.htm

Thanks for the link!

[Curly Cut]

no prob

[alley00p]

I used to smoke pipes all the time in the '70s, but working as a telephone installer/repairman, it was a pain to try and go through the ritual of lighting a pipe and climbing poles. After a while, I only smoked them occasionally in the evening and smoked cigarettes, which were much more convenient.

I need to find my old pipes (I know they're stored somewhere in the house) but I haven't seen them in over 20 years. I have been looking in the Pipe WTS/WTT section, but I don't have a large enough budget right now to start spending on another new hobby. I will get started soon, though - I'd like to have a change of pace from cigars once in a while.

[Slow Triathlete]

Originally Posted by Curly Cut

well, you can get some of the strongest if they carry them, as they are sold in bulk.

Samuel Gawith has a few that are pretty strong, namely: 1792; Bracken Flake; Brown Rope #4.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co has some of the strongest: Sliced Brown Twist (or Brown Twist Sliced); Dark Flake unscented.

there's a site that has their own "strength meter"... gives good descriptions as well.
http://www.synjeco.com/pipesandtobac...tobaccoall.htm

Gawith and Hoggarth also make Dark Birdseye which another stronger blend.