New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Slavac

1. What humidity should I store my pipe tobacco in?

2. Is the tobacco okay with various blends in their own individual plastic baggies yet intermingled with other blends in their own plastic baggies? For example I've 3 small bags of tobacco, each a different blend, in the same humidor.

3. Lastly, is there any issue keeping a tin of tobacco in my humidor with my other non-tinned tobacco?

Thanks in advance!

Store, once opened, at a good smoking moisture* in a glass jar with a sealing type lid (Mason, Kerr, etc.). They work but sooner or later tobak always dries out in baggies. Baggies are good for a week or two but ultimately let you down. Check out 4-8 ounce canning jar at WallyWorld, Target, etc. You don't want to stink up your humidor with pipe tobak, by the way; either that or you don't want to stink up your pipe tobak with cigar humidor smell.

Some folks sterilize jars/lids to prevent mold from developing before storing tobak.

*guidelines: squeeze a wad of tobak betwixt the thumb and index; it should compress and spring back lightly. If it cracks, too dry; if it doesn't spring back at least a bit, too moist.

[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Store, once opened, at a good smoking moisture* in a glass jar with a sealing type lid (Mason, Kerr, etc.). ..... Check out 4-8 ounce canning jar at WallyWorld, Target, etc.

I'd like to add my two cents ... I made the mistake of getting large, quart sized jars and that's a lot of wasted space unless you have a LOT of each blend to store. I'd definitely go with something smaller like MisterMoo said - in the 4 to 8 ounce range. I've seen short, wide-mouth jars that look like they'll stack beautifully and I'm going to pick some of those up soon.

wow...=D. I'm sure they're easy to clean out to remove tobacco scents as well, too?

Thanks for the info though!

Say wise men, how do y'all tell the difference between tobacco?

You know, is it English, Latkia, VaPer, etc.?

I ask specifically because all I have is six baggies from Boswell's. My thanks again go out to GAW for the advice on the containers. Got them all filled and labeled. Should've put the damn labels on the side of the containers, not the lids, but whatever.

Anyway, I've got Apple Strudel, Bear Blend, Peaches and Cream, Majestic 586, Maple Leaf, and Sweet Dreams (yep, alphabetized ). They're all ribbon cut, all brown or a little darker brown, and I want to try to avoid ghosting in my solitary tobak pipe.

How do I tell the difference, now and in the future?

I was looking here http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze...e/tobacco.html, but I'm far too n00b to know.

Thanks in advance!

[Commander Quan]

Any tips for smoking a pipe with a deep bowl? I have a pipe that is 2" deep and I can never smoke the last bit without relighting every 3 puffs, I've tried everything, left the ash in, dumped it out, dumped it out and mixed it up and retamped. Is it just too wet from the rest of the smoke?

[Curly Cut]

Originally Posted by kzm007

Say wise men, how do y'all tell the difference between tobacco?
You know, is it English, Latkia, VaPer, etc.?

Anyway, I've got Apple Strudel, Bear Blend, Peaches and Cream, Majestic 586, Maple Leaf, and Sweet Dreams (yep, alphabetized ). They're all ribbon cut, all brown or a little darker brown, and I want to try to avoid ghosting in my solitary tobak pipe.

How do I tell the difference, now and in the future?

I was looking here http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze...e/tobacco.html, but I'm far too n00b to know.

well, most of the time people know what they are when they purchase them. hard to know when they're given to you unless you have had experience and heard of them before.
with names like: maple leaf; peaches and cream; apple strudel; sweet dreams, they sound a lot like Aromatics.

www.tobaccoreviews.com has blend descriptions as well.
here's a link to Boswells tobaccos.

Apple Strudel = or is it apple cobbler? either way, it's not flavored with banana.
Bear Blend = Virginia w/ Cherry Carmel flavoring
majestic 586 = burley, virginia, toasted cavendish... doesn't say it's sweetened and nobody has reviewed it yet
maple leaf = maple and vanilla added to cavendish
peaches and cream = peach flavoring added to black cavendish
sweet dreams = virginia and cavendish flavored with "food flavorings that J.M. likes to experiment with."

Originally Posted by Commander Quan

Any tips for smoking a pipe with a deep bowl? I have a pipe that is 2" deep and I can never smoke the last bit without relighting every 3 puffs, I've tried everything, left the ash in, dumped it out, dumped it out and mixed it up and retamped. Is it just too wet from the rest of the smoke?

to smoke right away?? if it's moistened from the steam that drains down from the smoked tobacco above it, it would have to dry out before you could re-light it.
it happens... "dottle" is a favorite word of mine.

Thanks Curly! Just gonna go with the flow and enjoy it. I've got a feeling they're all similar enough that it doesn't matter.

And FWIW, Bear Blend has a nice little nic kick for a newbie. Had a couple shakes after smoking a pinch of it, but I feel alert, and some of my back pain actually eased up...interesting, really.

[RightAJ]

Alright, true NOOB here...

SO I have a Dr. Gabrow Duke bent pipe (I took out the filter) that I smoke occationally. I enjoy the aromatic tobacco that I got at my local B&M, but have yet to get down the 'technique' to true pipe smoking.

Tonight I lit up a bowl, and it tasted odd, had a super loose draw (tobacco flakes were getting in my mouth, yuk!), and something made a crackling sound while I was smoking... I realize I probably need to learn the proper way of smoking, but what caused this bad smoke tonight?? Is it the pipe or me?

I appreciate any help!

aj

Are there any issues (aside from nose ice cycles, and that funny teeth chattering noise) from smoking a pipe in sub-freezing temperatures?

I'll be heading up to north Idaho to visit my inlaws soon, and my FIL and I usually smoke cigars year round despite the cold winters. Should I stick to cigars while wearing 3 layers of clothes and huddling around the patio heater, or will the pipes work just as well?

[Nick]

Originally Posted by -MG-

Are there any issues (aside from nose ice cycles, and that funny teeth chattering noise) from smoking a pipe in sub-freezing temperatures?

I'll be heading up to north Idaho to visit my inlaws soon, and my FIL and I usually smoke cigars year round despite the cold winters. Should I stick to cigars while wearing 3 layers of clothes and huddling around the patio heater, or will the pipes work just as well?

Temperature will effect the pipe smoke for sure but most likely because you are puffing like a demon due to the cold. However I don't believe it should damage your pipe in any way, you just may end up with a pretty wet smoke and a bit of tongue bite.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by RightAJ

Alright, true NOOB here...

SO I have a Dr. Gabrow Duke bent pipe (I took out the filter) that I smoke occationally. I enjoy the aromatic tobacco that I got at my local B&M, but have yet to get down the 'technique' to true pipe smoking.

Tonight I lit up a bowl, and it tasted odd, had a super loose draw (tobacco flakes were getting in my mouth, yuk!), and something made a crackling sound while I was smoking... I realize I probably need to learn the proper way of smoking, but what caused this bad smoke tonight?? Is it the pipe or me?

I appreciate any help!

aj

It sounds like you packed just a tad too loose. However it is always better to pack your pipe on the loose side because all you have to do is tamp it down a bit to tighten it up to where you like the draw.

To answer your more general question of is it the pipe or me I can bet that your inexperience is not helping much. I would say its more you than the pipe. Pipe smoking is a finicky activity and it takes years to master, that being said grabows aren't exactly at the higher end of quality but never the less once you start to learn the intricacies of pipe smoking it will become more enjoyable.

My ring fell off the Briar part of my pipe. See pic. Can I use crazy glue?

[JaKaacH]

Originally Posted by yellowgoat

My ring fell off the Briar part of my pipe. See pic. Can I use crazy glue?

I don't see what it would hurt. I would just make sure to use it sparingly, maybe two very small drops on the inside of the ring. Then slide it on and then rotate it a quarter turn to spread out the glue.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by yellowgoat

My ring fell off the Briar part of my pipe. See pic. Can I use crazy glue?

Besides a slight-slight possible outgassing of toxics from heated cyanoacrylates I don't have best results with them when mating gapped surfaces. Constant heating/cooling and expansion/contraction would send me to something non-toxic that handles expansion better, like a drop or two of Elmers wood glue.

The expert on this, however, is not me. This is only an educated guess. Is there a pipemaker in the house?

[JaKaacH]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Besides a slight-slight possible outgassing of toxics from heated cyanoacrylates I don't have best results with them when mating gapped surfaces. Constant heating/cooling and expansion/contraction would send me to something non-toxic that handles expansion better, like a drop or two of Elmers wood glue.

The expert on this, however, is not me. This is only an educated guess. Is there a pipemaker in the house?

That is true, the "superglues" are not very flexible. I don't know how well the wood glue would bond to the metal ring though.
Maybe the Elmers Ultimate glue would be better. Claims to "bond anything to anything." (Elmers version of Gorilla Glue)
http://www.elmers.com/homerepair/ultimate/
Again use a very tiny amount of glue.

[elderboy02]

Can someone post a pic of how you store your tobacco?

Thanks.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by elderboy02

Can someone post a pic of how you store your tobacco?

Thanks.

[elderboy02]

Thanks. I am looking for more of a setup with baggies in tupperware. I don't haven enough to put into a jar. I assume you need to keep the tobacco humidified correct?

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by elderboy02

Thanks. I am looking for more of a setup with baggies in tupperware. I don't haven enough to put into a jar. I assume you need to keep the tobacco humidified correct?

Actually, it doesn't matter if you have enough or not. The extra space isn't going to hurt. It is the seal that is important to keep whatever moisture is in, in there. I have tobaccos in jars that have no humidificaion devices - the moisture that is already in there stays... And they're cheap. (Although, if you drop them on the cement floor of your basement tobacco cellar, they will break into tiny little pieces.

I personally like my tobaccos a little drier than how they come from the tobacconist. Moist tobaccos cause tongue-bite. So, I even dry them out a bit before putting them into jars.

If I'd suggest anything, it would be not to mix you scented (aromatics and/or blends with Latakia) tobaccos with unscented tobaccos. So, a couple jars might be a good idea.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

Actually, it doesn't matter if you have enough or not. The extra space isn't going to hurt. It is the seal that is important to keep whatever moisture is in, in there. I have tobaccos in jars that have no humidificaion devices - the moisture that is already in there stays... And they're cheap. (Although, if you drop them on the cement floor of your basement tobacco cellar, they will break into tiny little pieces.

I personally like my tobaccos a little drier than how they come from the tobacconist. Moist tobaccos cause tongue-bite. So, I even dry them out a bit before putting them into jars.

If I'd suggest anything, it would be not to mix you scented (aromatics and/or blends with Latakia) tobaccos with unscented tobaccos. So, a couple jars might be a good idea.

What he said.

You can also find 4-ounce jam jars at places like WalMart and Target, etc., if you don't need the big ones. The are cheap and they are 1000x more reliable than baggies and tupperware.