New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[BigFrank]

I tend to keep blends separate. I've found that extremely strong tobaccos, usually aromatics tend to bleed into others. I'm still pretty newb at this, but I would just keep em separate. Main thing is plastic allows things to bleed out. Glass or tins not so much.

[Neuromancer]

Originally Posted by billyrayvalentin

I just landed a sampler in the Newbie Pipe Tobacco Trade with English blends, Aromatics, and Vapers. I remember reading something about certain pipe tobacco's soaking up the aromas in the air around them.

Is it okay to keep several different blends in close proximity to each other as long as they are all in their tins or zip locked?

Would there be any reason to separate certain blends from the rest?

Could several different blends be kept together in a mason jar or other sealed container as long as they are all individually zip locked?

Thanks in advance.

I have to agree...for a short time the baggies will be fine...I wouldn't put them altogether in a mason jar or humidor or anything like that...I got the C&D Sampler (1 oz. or so of about 10 different blends) and stuck them in a small empty humidor to keep for a few days and totally forgot about them for ages...when I opened it up again I had a pipe tobacco smell in the humi that I still am working at to get out, and all the blends smelled the same and tasted the same...here an idea...go back to the Newbie Pipe Tobacco Trade thread and you'll see a few links and pics I posted for you showing little humidifiers for pipe tobacco...they use pg solution or distilled water...the best buy and best for your purposes would be the little round button ones...buy two packs of those...10-12 or so...then go to the grocery store or wherever they have canning supplies, and get yourself a box (12) of the smallest mason jars they have...I found half-pint ones that hold what I'd guess to be 2-4 ounces of tobacco in each...use those to dump the contents of the baggies into, drop in a humidifier button and you're good to go...I think it was only a few dollars for the canning jars, and they may even have ones that are half the size of the half-pint ones but I'm not sure as I'm not a maven on canning jars...just looked at what would fit my use for some bulk tobacco I was blending and storing...

PS - or you could just buy the smallest size canning jars and stuff one baggie into each individual jar...the baggie should help keep it moist enough in the jar for a short while and the flavors wouldn't blend...

[Gary]

ok, here's a question:

had my first pipe experience recently, a MacArthur Corncob, tried Westminster, and Billy Budd, and Frog Morton Across the Pond. Tried all 3, and all had a very similar taste, the taste of a mixture of burning plastic and a BBQ pit. Weird. I did see a YouTube review saying the Westminster tasted like burning tires. The wife said it smelled like burning wood.

Wondering if I should try another tobacco, or stick with the 3 that I have?? Quite different than the cigars I've been smoking.

[Curly Cut]

if i recall, all 3 of those are "latakia" blends. i'm guessing on the "billy budd", never heard of it. but i do know that Frog and Westminster are heavy on the latakia and have some oriental as well.

they will be very, very similar in taste due to the amount of latakia in there.
if one were a light english, or a light oriental blend, where there were more Virginias present, you could then taste a little bit of difference between the light ones and the 3 you currently have.

there are other genres of pipe tobacco as well, that don't taste anything remotely close to the 3 you have (amen to that).
right now, i'd say you're smoking full english blends, heavy in latakia, generous helping of orientals, and not as much VAs.
you may want to try different blends in different genres. the problem is, if you're still smoking cigars regularly, and those heavy latakia blends, then a light VA based blend might only taste like hot air to you.

[Jack Straw]

I think a full flavor VA or VAPer stands up to the amount of flavor in a cigar, sometimes more.

[BigFrank]

Originally Posted by Curly Cut

if i recall, all 3 of those are "latakia" blends. i'm guessing on the "billy budd", never heard of it. but i do know that Frog and Westminster are heavy on the latakia and have some oriental as well.

Billy Budd:
A heavy Latakia blend with rough-cut burly and bright Virginia flake and a good amount of rough-cut Connecticut and Wisconsin maduro cigar leaf.

[Aron]

I dare say this has become my favorite thread on CA. Congrats, Mr Moo, you have left me thoroughly entertained =D

I'll ask a question as soon as I van get to a proper computer.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Aron

I dare say this has become my favorite thread on CA. Congrats, Mr Moo, you have left me thoroughly entertained =D

Nice to know folks can still get service with a smile these days. And by the way, if you have read all 388 posts there is no way you have a question that isn't answered already. Go back. Read them ALL you lazy slacker.

[spectrrr]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Nice to know folks can still get service with a smile these days. And by the way, if you have read all 388 posts there is no way you have a question that isn't answered already. Go back. Read them ALL you lazy slacker.

based on the picture that kid texted me a few days ago, I wouldnt count on it

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by spectrrr

based on the picture that kid texted me a few days ago, I wouldnt count on it

I suppose a few things haven't been well covered yet.

Pipe with a prickly pear cactus growing out the bowl? (How did this happen?)

Pipe dangling from the empennage of a B-52 in flight? (How do I safely reach my pipe? Will 15 hours exposure to -50* damage my pipe?)

Pipe on the deck of the Titanic? (Will great-grandpaws pipe still smoke OK when Ballard brings it up?)

[Aron]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

I suppose a few things haven't been well covered yet.

Pipe with a prickly pear cactus growing out the bowl? (How did this happen?)

Pipe dangling from the empennage of a B-52 in flight? (How do I safely reach my pipe? Will 15 hours exposure to -50* damage my pipe?)

Pipe on the deck of the Titanic? (Will great-grandpaws pipe still smoke OK when Ballard brings it up?)

Mr. Moo, you have NO idea what you've just gotten yourself into.

Prepare to laugh at me, because this is a good one:

From my very first pipe, ever.



Let's just say the match flame got a little too close to the bowl for a little too long. And it was so hot there was no safe way to extinguish the smoldering pipe with my fingers.

Needless to say, I smoked roughly an eighth of my new pipe along with the rest of the tobacco.

I've been doing much better since then

[wrench turner 85]

crap happens

[spectrrr]

Did the smoke have delicate notes of corn and missouri heartland?

[Aron]

Amazingly, I didn't really taste any of the corn. And sadly, it was a generic corncob, not a Missouri Meerschaum. I do, however, have these on the way, which I just won from eBay!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

[OLS]

Originally Posted by spectrrr

pipe oil or anything for that matter.

I cannot say this is great, cause I am a newbie, but all this talk about beeswax made me go
and get an old beeswax candle kit and make a chunk out of it. I rubbed some onto the wood
and polished it with a cotton cloth. The more friction the cloth made, the easier it took to the
bowl and the more lustrous the bowl became. As the bowl would warm, the beeswax chunk applied
now and again applied much easier and smoother. Looks and feels nice.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Attention new pipe smokers!

All pipe and tobacco questions answered.
All pipe and tobacco problems solved.

Terms of Service: to ask you have to have a serious question; to reply you must have a minimum two years pipe smoking experience. (No snob zone.) There are no stupid questions. Nobody can beat someone with a "Use the search funtion" lead pipe. There will be no rude replies no matter how many times your question has been asked - nosir, not in THIS thread. Maybe a little tiny bit of sarcasm though, just to keep it interesting.

Bring it on.

Top post review.

[GreekGodX]

How do you guys store your open tins of baccy? I use mason jars but it's kind of annoying having a new mason jar for every new tin I open. Maybe a cooler-dor for pipe tobacco? My other means of storage is a tupperware with baccy in zip loc bags and a humidification device. I don't really like this as it isn't very organized.

Any suggestions?

[rhmalone]

I keep the tobacco in the ziplock pouch the store puts it in (they label what it is), then I keep those pouches in an old cigar box (an AF 858 box -- I only keep about 6oz or so on hand, about 2-3 different blends).

For what it's worth...

[Mister Moo]

I try to keep no more tins open than what I'll smoke in a month or so - that way it may dry out a bit but, mostly, only enough to make it improve. Beyond that the plastic-bag thingie works for a few weeks but, in my experience, I leave stuff in a baggie longer than I plan to and it turns to dust. Hard to beat those little glass jam-jars with rubber seals on the lid.

If you try to keep small amounts of tobacco moist with a water-soaked clay button or a (thin-thin) slice of apple you need to be careful not to over-moisten - it's easy to generate mold if you don't sweat the H2O details.

[MarkinAZ]

In addition to what Dan has mentioned, I use the Libby type glass jars for storage. The lids generally have a soft plastic seal and snug real tight when placed on the jar. You can see an example here:

http://www.nextag.com/Libbey--2700000/glass-jar-with-lid/brand-html

Look for Libby 70995 15oz at the bottom of the page.

You can find these at a very cheap price at your local thrift shop or 99 cent store (hey, they're actually 99 cents too!). Mine will hold around 3 oz each, and the one I recently purchased at the Salvation Army store cost $2.95 and easily holds 8oz+.

Hope this helps you...