Questions You Thought Were Too Dumb to Ask (Pipes Edition)

[Cardinal]

I'm trying replace all the lost wealth of Pxxx here, and I have another question. I just tried to smoke some SG Best Brown Flake yesterday, and I think that was the 2nd or 3rd time trying, but as finely as I rubbed it out it still seemed moist and wouldn't burn at all.

Is it totally dependent, or should I be leaving flake out overnight to dry?

My problem is I typically smoke a pipe in the morning and don't have a lot of time to let things air out unless I set it out the night before.

[Branzig]

I'm trying replace all the lost wealth of Pxxx here, and I have another question. I just tried to smoke some SG Best Brown Flake yesterday, and I think that was the 2nd or 3rd time trying, but as finely as I rubbed it out it still seemed moist and wouldn't burn at all.

Is it totally dependent, or should I be leaving flake out overnight to dry?

My problem is I typically smoke a pipe in the morning and don't have a lot of time to let things air out unless I set it out the night before.

Leave it out over night.

I leave fresh SG flakes out for 24 hours sometimes before smoking them. If you rub the flake out completely, it will dry quicker, but I prefer to let them dry as flakes then rub them out.

[tmoran]

SG Flakes tend to have more moisture than pretty much anything besides goopers. If I don't dry it out, I cannot get it to burn properly. If you don't have time immediately beforehand to dry it out, you can take say a week's worth, dry it all out to your preferred moisture level, and then seal it back in a jar.

[Pugsley]

I just placed another tobacco order this morning. After doing so, thought I'd do an inventory of the unopened tins I have. I just finished and I have 93 tins, not counting the 2+ lbs. of bulk tobacco and tubs of Carter Hall. I also have another 9 tins and one tub open. That's a lot of tobacco. But, what I discovered while doing this, is that I already had all the tobaccos I just ordered, with multiple tins of some. Obviously, I have no system for keeping track of what I have. How do you keep track of a mess like this? I've heard of online cellars but never used one. Are they helpful? Can they be used easily by a computer illiterate like myself? Is there a better method or system?

[Branzig]

I just placed another tobacco order this morning. After doing so, thought I'd do an inventory of the unopened tins I have. I just finished and I have 93 tins, not counting the 2+ lbs. of bulk tobacco and tubs of Carter Hall. I also have another 9 tins and one tub open. That's a lot of tobacco. But, what I discovered while doing this, is that I already had all the tobaccos I just ordered, with multiple tins of some. Obviously, I have no system for keeping track of what I have. How do you keep track of a mess like this? I've heard of online cellars but never used one. Are they helpful? Can they be used easily by a computer illiterate like myself? Is there a better method or system?

I don't have an online cellar, but I kind of think I should. I bet it would help me and it sure sounds like it would definitely help you out! I can't imagine it is all that hard to set up, if you have ever filled out a spread sheet, I am sure it is very similar to that.

It is something I may have to look into shortly as well.

[AlanS]

On occasion I slip a small Boveda in jars of tobacco. Probably not necessary most of the time,but they feel like a little insurance.Any thoughts on this? Thanks

[Branzig]

On occasion I slip a small Boveda in jars of tobacco. Probably not necessary most of the time,but they feel like a little insurance.Any thoughts on this? Thanks

What RH are you using?

Pipe tobacco isn't like cigars, they don't like that 60 and above RH at all. They need a drier environment to thrive and age. Making them overly moist just risks mold and loss of flavor. IMO I would never put any kind of humidifying device or agent in any of my pipe tobaccos. If I need to rehydrate some tobacco that I foolishly neglected, then I use the large tupperware and wet paper towel method...

I have had jars with no humidifying agent in them sealed for 7+ years, and when I pop the lid off them everything is 100% happy and perfect. Pretty much found them in the same state that I jarred them away in.

[tmoran]

I agree that no additional humidification is needed, but I think the notion that pipe tobacco should be stored at lower humidity than cigar tobacco is incorrect. I'm not trying to pick on Brandon here, but I see this posted a lot. I think the reason people believe this is likely because a lot of time when people talk about pipe tobacco storage, they are talking about the moisture content of the tobacco, and when people talk about cigar storage, they are referring to the relative humidity of the air around the tobacco. I think that if we took the moisture content of a cigar and the moisture content of pipe tobacco, they would be within a couple percentage points of each other, and the pipe tobacco would probably be the slightly higher of the two. Greg Pease says 13 - 18% moisture content is ideal, depending on the blend. I think I remember Steve Saka saying with cigars, you are shooting for something like 12-14%. The Greg Pease statement I am sure of, I can't remember exactly what numbers Steve used, but it was somewhere in that ballpark.

[rx2man]

I am in AZ and the whole humidification thing is a PIA. I had a pound or so of the Indonesian Tambolaka get all moldy on me and I cant remember if I had a humi pack in the large cigar jar. The rest of my opened tins and bags are in a large cooler with a humi jar in it. So far I have not had anything else get moldy in 3 yrs. If I was not in the SW I probably would not worry about keeping the humidity up. But AZ can dry stuff out fast.......thoughts??

[Nachman]

I am in AZ and the whole humidification thing is a PIA. I had a pound or so of the Indonesian Tambolaka get all moldy on me and I cant remember if I had a humi pack in the large cigar jar. The rest of my opened tins and bags are in a large cooler with a humi jar in it. So far I have not had anything else get moldy in 3 yrs. If I was not in the SW I probably would not worry about keeping the humidity up. But AZ can dry stuff out fast.......thoughts??

Rather than trying to maintain humidity by adjusting the ambient relative humidity as you do with cigars, with pipe tobacco the preferred solution is to put the tobacco in canning jars, such as mason or ball or Kerr jars. The tobacco will loose very little humidity and form it's own seal as the aerobic bacteria consumes the oxygen in the jar. This allows anaerobic bacteria to continue the aging process amd keeps the tobacco fresh and smokable.
edit: An 8 oz canning jar is suitable for two to three ounces of tobacco, depending on the cut.