New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[Curly Cut]

i've got some cleaners that i can't get into my pipes even with the most open of draw.
may just need to get skinnier cleaners.

thanks curly, i dont feel so dumb now

[Curly Cut]

there are a # of different kinds of cleaners. i have some that are really nice, almost like a fluffy "sham-wow", but they're so damn thick, can't get them into any pipes at all (and they leave a lot of fuzz).
i have some really skinny ones, those are good on more mass produced pipes with narrower draught holes (or pipes that it's tricky to get the cleaner to pass all the way through).
and then the in-between size, that tapers from thick to thin... i can only use those on my larger draught holed pipes.

the bristle bit cleaners are more for a "cleaning", IMO. i don't run them through until it's time to do a thorough cleaning. the fluffy ones are good enough to get all the bits and juices out of the stem and ash out of the bowl when i'm done. also, the thin ones are easier to get any gurgle/condensation building up in the stem while smoking.

[Mister Moo]

The (BJ Long, my usual) bags of pipe cleaners look the same but they're not. There are tapered ones, poofy ones, bristled and skinny ones. Look for the Longs 100-count for skinniest; the 60-count are much poofier.

[Ratters]

I'm about to give the pipe smoking a try after my last experience about 22 years ago. I know all the stuff to get but I'm concerned about the tobacco to try. I saw the reccommended Carters from the drug store and will give that a shot. But do different tobaccos have different "body" and "strength"? I'm probably gonna stay away from aromatics but what are some good one's to try for someone who likes relatively strong cigars? Or is pipe smoking just a completely different kind of thing? Thanks.

[Nick]

Different pipe tobacco do have different strengths and such. The most general classification is aromatic and non aromatic. This is one of the best sites I've found for explaining tobacco.
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze...e/tobacco.html

And this site is also a great rating site.
http://tobaccoreviews.com/

I was reading a bit from The Pipe Smoker's Ephemeris and wondered if any of you old timers could answer a question. The articles I have come across, from 20+ years ago all indicate that Orientals are Aromatic tobaccos and what we now call Aromatics were referred to as Flavored or Topped tobaccos. Anyone remember when this changed or why?

Originally Posted by Ratters

I'm about to give the pipe smoking a try after my last experience about 22 years ago. I know all the stuff to get but I'm concerned about the tobacco to try. I saw the reccommended Carters from the drug store and will give that a shot. But do different tobaccos have different "body" and "strength"? I'm probably gonna stay away from aromatics but what are some good one's to try for someone who likes relatively strong cigars? Or is pipe smoking just a completely different kind of thing? Thanks.

If your going to try some Carter Hall, you might as well try a little Prince albert, I Like it alot...

[Ratters]

Does he come in a can?






I actually went a bit overboard and bought about a pound of different tobaccos from Smokers Haven. Got some accessories as well. At least I have a bunch of smoke shop matches to burn through. Now I just need a pipe. Gonna try and get a corncob for Friday until I get a chance to see groogs.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by TheJ

I was reading a bit from The Pipe Smoker's Ephemeris and wondered if any of you old timers could answer a question. The articles I have come across, from 20+ years ago all indicate that Orientals are Aromatic tobaccos and what we now call Aromatics were referred to as Flavored or Topped tobaccos. Anyone remember when this changed or why?

The dictionary definition of "Aromatic"

1. 1 of, relating to, or having aroma: a. a fragrant b. b having a strong smell c. c having a distinctive quality
2. 2 of an organic compound characterized by increased chemical stability resulting from the delocalization of electrons in a ring system (as benzene) containing usually multiple conjugated double bonds compare alicyclic aliphatic - Synonym - see odorous

The term aromatic does not necessarily mean smells good it just means it smells or has an aroma. Any tobacco is aromatic no matter what is done to it. In the pipe world Aromatic seems to generally mean "smells sweet," or smells like it is flavored. It's oversimplification of the word but for our purposes it seems to work.

As for the root of your question I can't exactly explain why or when the use of the term changed but I would think that the above may have some thing to do with it.

Of course I could be completely wrong.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by TheJ

I was reading a bit from The Pipe Smoker's Ephemeris and wondered if any of you old timers could answer a question. The articles I have come across, from 20+ years ago all indicate that Orientals are Aromatic tobaccos and what we now call Aromatics were referred to as Flavored or Topped tobaccos. Anyone remember when this changed or why?

Here read ye the words of JohnnyFlake (as yet an unofficial Old Fart):

"I do recall conversations, about this topic, many years ago. I still have about 20 issues of the Pipe Smoker's Ephemeris and I was skimming through them this morning to see if I could find anything on this topic. I could not!

I do recall that, many years ago, the Oriental tobacco from the Eastern Mediterranean Countries, especially Turkey and Greece, were called Natural Aromatics. Many use to call the Syrian and Cyprian Latakia Tobaccos "Natural Aromatics". I believe the Key Word here is "Natural". The aromatic blends, of today, were always referred to as cased tobaccos years ago. They were never called aromatics back then.

I don't really know when the transition of Cased Tobaccos being called Aromatics actually occurred, but I suspect that is was a slow process of evolution, that probably stared in the 1960's.

I hope this helps a little."

That's a lot good information. Thanks.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by TheJ

That's a lot good information. Thanks.

I believe IHT also has some thoughts on African leaf with natural (aromatic) flavors or qualities that some might characterize as "soapy". Perhaps he will add more on this.

[Mugen910]

Are the pipe stems universal? Say I wanted to change a straight pipe stem to something different..is that possible?

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Mugen910

Are the pipe stems universal? Say I wanted to change a straight pipe stem to something different..is that possible?

Maybe with corncob pipes and amongst some lines of production pipes (don't know for sure about that).

Custom vulcanite, ebonite and lucite stems are offered by many pipemakes and pipe repair guys. They're mostly under $20. Some specialize in making perfect reproductions of "brand identification" stamps, dots, imprints, etc. There are more people than Dunhill who can stick a white dot on a black stem.

[Mugen910]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Maybe with corncob pipes and amongst some lines of production pipes (don't know for sure about that).

Custom vulcanite, ebonite and lucite stems are offered by many pipemakes and pipe repair guys. They're mostly under $20. Some specialize in making perfect reproductions of "brand identification" stamps, dots, imprints, etc. There are more people than Dunhill who can stick a white dot on a black stem.

thx..

OK, I just finished a NST with Slow Triathlete (thanks again!) and now I have a couple of questions...

1) Storage - can I store different pipe tobacco together? I don't have any fancy jars so I was going to use an old herf-a-dor and just leave them in their bags...will that mess up the flavors?

2) Humidity - I have seen posts regarding re-humidifying dry tobacco, but should I keep some humidity control in the container with them, like cigars?

3) Aging - does pipe tobacco age (get better, change profile, etc.) like a cigar?

I bow to your wisdom and thank the mighty fog's of the pipe in advance

[Nick]

1) IF they are in baggies right next to or on top of each other the flavor profiles may change a bit depending on how long they are in such proximity. If you have a say a straight virginia lying under an english or balkan the Virginia may carry some undertones of that blend. If they are fairly well separted I think you should be fine.

2) You do not need to and shouldn't keep a humidity control (like a humidity disk, I am assuming) with them. Pipe tobacco should be kept at much much lower humidity levels than a cigar. If you forget about a bag or tin for a few months and find that it has dried to a crisp then there are ways to re-hydrate it and bring it back close to normal.

3) Pipe tobacco does age very well in fact. There are slightly contrasting opinions on this matter however. Some distinguished tobacco blenders feel that a little air is necessary to facilitate aging. However there are many who believe that the oxygen could cause mold to grow rendering the tobacco un-smokeable. My opinion is that when I will age tobacco that is already out of the tin I will store in a mason jar that is air sealed but leave a gap from the lid to the tobacco that way there is a bit of air but when the tobacco eats up that oxygen it will start the aging process. (this last part is my own opinion I follow from reading articles on the matter)

this is a very good website that may help your understanding.
http://agingfaq.nocturne.org/

Cheers and happy puffing on that new tobacco.

Nick, thanks for the info! Time to find some storage devices for my baccy, looks like

[Nick]

You may want to PM Big D KC. I know he just got done storing away about 10lbs. of baccy with mason jars and a food saver. He did a lot of research and should be able to give you some pointers.

However those samples may not be worth it to jar up, they should stay fresh in the bag for quite some time.