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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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

---

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.

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.

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??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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??

---

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.

How do you sanitize/clean a used pipe before using?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bluenoser

How do you sanitize/clean a used pipe before using?

---

Usually salt/alcohol treatment to sanitize and draw out any old ghosts. And use an alcohol soaked bristle pipe cleaner in the shank and stem. Other than that I don't do anything else to the "inside" of the pipe. It's all buffing and cleaning the outside to make it pretty from there on out.

P.S.
ream out any EXCESSIVE cake IF necessary...a little is okay. At least to my standards.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bluenoser

How do you sanitize/clean a used pipe before using?

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LandonColby

Usually salt/alcohol treatment to sanitize and draw out any old ghosts. And use an alcohol soaked bristle pipe cleaner in the shank and stem. Other than that I don't do anything else to the "inside" of the pipe. It's all buffing and cleaning the outside to make it pretty from there on out.

P.S.
ream out any EXCESSIVE cake IF necessary...a little is okay. At least to my standards.

---

I only use the SA treatment on exceptionally ghosted and nasty estate pipes. Sanitizing the bowl isn't really important at all, drawing out the ghosts is what you are after there.

If there are no ghosts I would skip the salt and alcohol treatment and go straight into using bristle pipe cleaners/shank brushes full of 91 Iso alcohol to clean the stem as LandonColby suggested. Then run regular pipe cleaners through the stem until they come out clear and white. I also let the stem sit for about 2-4 hours after that to dry all the alcohol out.

If there are a lot of ghosts, don't skimp on cleaning out the mortise and shank well. Extremely well. In my experience, I have discovered that most of those nasty tastes actually live in the mortise and shank, not the bowl.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 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??

---

Tambolaka is an uncased tobacco that should be kept relatively dry. It has no preservatives added and if kept humid like a cigar will generally spoil. Like Nachman said, just keep it in a tight jar. That way it will maintain the tobacco at the humidity it arrived at, which is most suitable. Tambo can even be allowed to dry out more, and need only be softened up when you intend to smoke it. The way Tambolaka is cured is to be pressed into sticks and bound in rope, then left in the rafters of a grass hut on an island in Indonesia for 5 years. Besides the naturally occurring enzymes in the tobacco, some yeasts probably play a role in creating the unique flavor of the tobacco. But where there's yeast, there's bound to be mold spores too, so any unbalance in the delicate curing process can lead to an outbreak of the fuzzy stuff. Another reason to store Tambolaka in a jar is to isolate it, as the mold/yeast might potentially spread to your other tobaccos.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cpmcdill

Tambolaka is an uncased tobacco that should be kept relatively dry. It has no preservatives added and if kept humid like a cigar will generally spoil. Like Nachman said, just keep it in a tight jar. That way it will maintain the tobacco at the humidity it arrived at, which is most suitable. Tambo can even be allowed to dry out more, and need only be softened up when you intend to smoke it. The way Tambolaka is cured is to be pressed into sticks and bound in rope, then left in the rafters of a grass hut on an island in Indonesia for 5 years. Besides the naturally occurring enzymes in the tobacco, some yeasts probably play a role in creating the unique flavor of the tobacco. But where there's yeast, there's bound to be mold spores too, so any unbalance in the delicate curing process can lead to an outbreak of the fuzzy stuff. Another reason to store Tambolaka in a jar is to isolate it, as the mold/yeast might potentially spread to your other tobaccos.

---

I had appx a pound of the stuff and was not happy to see the white fuzzy stuff everywhere. The whole thing went into the trash it was too far gone when I noticed it. It was probably too moist when I got it and went downhill from there. From the smell I probably would not have liked it but I still wan not happy to toss it. I am thinking I need to get some more jars. When I get large amount of bulk tobacco I jar it. Its the little 2 oz bags that I have in a cooler along with opened tins. I did notice all the "opened" tins have now sealed shut and I could not just twist them open. Also no mold problems with anything else just the Indonesian stuff.

Even 1 or 2oz quantities should be jarred. I recommend 1/2 pint wide-mouth jars for those. Anything not in a sealed tin ought to go in jars unless you intend to smoke it within the month. Plastic bags are not airtight. Over time they will breathe out moisture, and the plastic itself may affect the flavor.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cpmcdill

Even 1 or 2oz quantities should be jarred. I recommend 1/2 pint wide-mouth jars for those. Anything not in a sealed tin ought to go in jars unless you intend to smoke it within the month. Plastic bags are not airtight. Over time they will breathe out moisture, and the plastic itself may affect the flavor.

---

That is why the bagged stuff is in a cooler with a humi jar in there. That being said there are not that many of them in bags so looks like I need to get myself over to walmart and get some jars.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cpmcdill

Even 1 or 2oz quantities should be jarred. I recommend 1/2 pint wide-mouth jars for those. Anything not in a sealed tin ought to go in jars unless you intend to smoke it within the month. Plastic bags are not airtight. Over time they will breathe out moisture, and the plastic itself may affect the flavor.

---

Big time agree with this!

I make sure everything, even little samples that I have, is jarred up or in some kind of air tight container. Too much air is pipe tobacco's enemy!

i have about 4-5 samples in ziplocks. Can I just toss them (ziplock included) into 1 big jar? currently working my way through them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cbr310

i have about 4-5 samples in ziplocks. Can I just toss them (ziplock included) into 1 big jar? currently working my way through them.

---

Sure, I don't see why not. I keep multiple pouch tobaccos in jars together. As long as you intend to use them fairly soon, and they are in the same general family of pipe blends (ie. English/Balkan, Lakeland, VA/VaPer, Aromatic are examples of families), they probably will not mingle too much.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cbr310

i have about 4-5 samples in ziplocks. Can I just toss them (ziplock included) into 1 big jar? currently working my way through them.

---

One of my "catch-all" jars. As @cpmcdill stated, as long as you keep them separated by blend family, no problem at all.

http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/...psfgnbwiey.jpg

The difference? Prestige
Does it smoke better? No. Nothing smokes better than a $10.00 Missouri Meerschaum.
Should you buy it anyway? Absolutely.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NWSmoke

OK I'll go. Seriously, what's the difference between a $25 Grabow or Brog and a $100 savinelli? I'm referring to smokemanship not so much craftsmanship (although at some point those two must cross paths). I have 4 inexpensive pipes (2 baskets, a MM, & a Mr Brog) and every time I think of getting something in the 100+ range I get scared and back out. Is it really worth it?

---

I could get by fine with just one Missouri Meerschaum cob.

Do I want to? Of course not.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bluenoser

I see alot of people on here have a large amount of pipes, I'm sure alot of it is collection but is there a need for multiple pipes or could a guy get away with just 1?

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gigmaster

The difference? Prestige
Does it smoke better? No. Nothing smokes better than a $10.00 Missouri Meerschaum.
Should you buy it anyway? Absolutely.....

---

I appreciate your candor lol. FWIW, I just received delivery of a new MM and Mr Brog. Taking Brog for a test ran now and so far so good.

How do you slow down? Im a turbo smoker and I smoke mainly with tall and stubby pokers, I like my toungue and want to keep it. So what do you do to slow down?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LivingDeadGuy

How do you slow down? Im a turbo smoker and I smoke mainly with tall and stubby pokers, I like my toungue and want to keep it. So what do you do to slow down?

---

Sometimes it's a challenge, especially for ex-cigarette smokers and cigar smokers accustomed to a firm draw. Outside of developing a very mindful and conscientious discipline of paying attention to your puffing tempo, another way to reduce the suction and cool the smoke is to keep your mouth slightly open when drawing on the pipe. Then some of the suction power is given to pulling cooler air through your lips and reducing the hot blast from the pipe stem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LivingDeadGuy

How do you slow down? Im a turbo smoker and I smoke mainly with tall and stubby pokers, I like my toungue and want to keep it. So what do you do to slow down?

---

Generally I slow down by adding more time between puffs.... [emoji14]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Branzig

Generally I slow down by adding more time between puffs.... [emoji14]

---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcYppAs6ZdI

Seriously, to slow down your puffing rate will take practice. If you feel your bowl getting a bit too warm, you know to slow down. If it gets HOT, put it down and let it go out. Once cooled, re-lite. If you get it HOT again, put it down again. It is not a race to see who can finish first.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LivingDeadGuy

How do you slow down? Im a turbo smoker and I smoke mainly with tall and stubby pokers, I like my toungue and want to keep it. So what do you do to slow down?

---

I find the easiest and most satisfying way to slow down is to smoke stronger tobacco. If I smoke a low nicotine smoke, I puff like a freight train trying to get more from the smoke. That is why I smoke mostly Royal Yacht and fill in with other high octane tobaccos like Irish Flake, sliced Brown Twist and University Flake.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by OnePyroTec

It is not a race to see who can finish first.

---

If I had a nickle for every time I heard that ;)

I do agree that slowing down take practice, and patience. Burning your tongue up is the best motivation, IMO

Never smoked a Brog, but I have been thinking about it. How are they?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NWSmoke

I appreciate your candor lol. FWIW, I just received delivery of a new MM and Mr Brog. Taking Brog for a test ran now and so far so good.

---

This first thing is to quit looking at the clock. Forget about time. True pipe smoking is leaving the material world for a bit, to unplug and reset. The world was here for a long time before you arrived, and it will be here a long time after we leave it. Enjoy your smoke. The world will be there when you get back. Businesses, governments, and other institutions functioned fine before you got involved. I assure you, they will not collapse during the 30 mins to 1 hour you spend enjoying a pipe.

Next, quit thinking about how you are smoking your pipe. Instead, ponder the Human Condition, solve the worlds problems, explore the limits of your mind, and expand them. Read, play chess, or best of all, engage in deep conversation with another pipe smoker. This is what pipe smoking is all about.

Do that, and you find yourself smoking slower automatically, and you will also be more relaxed, and your IQ, may not increase, but you will learn to use what you have much better.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LivingDeadGuy

How do you slow down? Im a turbo smoker and I smoke mainly with tall and stubby pokers, I like my toungue and want to keep it. So what do you do to slow down?

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gigmaster

The difference? Prestige
Does it smoke better? No. Nothing smokes better than a $10.00 Missouri Meerschaum.
Should you buy it anyway? Absolutely.....

---

Its funny, as a new piper I started off with a MM and it provided a very good smoke with little effort on my end. Once my interest in pipes was piqued I started looking at briars and thats where all my problems started. A MM is cheap and does the job well. Not much to look at but great smokers. I think I need to light one up today.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by OnePyroTec

Seriously, to slow down your puffing rate will take practice. If you feel your bowl getting a bit too warm, you know to slow down. If it gets HOT, put it down and let it go out. Once cooled, re-lite. If you get it HOT again, put it down again. It is not a race to see who can finish first.

---

Having started with cigars the hardest thing to is slow down. I have cigars figured out but I continually get tongue bite. Working on slowing down but takes practice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gigmaster

Never smoked a Brog, but I have been thinking about it. How are they?

---

I realize you weren't specifically asking me but I can tell you I have a #67 briar and it smokes wonderfully. The bowl is a little thin but it handles all my English blends (that's the only ting I smoke in it) like a champ. It doesn't gurgle. The stem is a little plasticky feeling but it's solid enough that I don't feel like it'll shatter if I drop it or something.

I dropped a whopping $25 on it and it's probably one of my better smokers. I'd grab one.

I also have the churchwarden #14. It's pearwood and it's kind of cheap feeling. Smallish bowl with a really plasticky feeling stem. I hardly smoke the churchwarden. It cost about the same ~$25.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nachman

I find the easiest and most satisfying way to slow down is to smoke stronger tobacco. If I smoke a low nicotine smoke, I puff like a freight train trying to get more from the smoke. That is why I smoke mostly Royal Yacht and fill in with other high octane tobaccos like Irish Flake, sliced Brown Twist and University Flake.

---

Ive noticed that too, i got some flake and just got some black cherry twist, you smoke that stuff too fast you risk blowing chunks lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gigmaster

This first thing is to quit looking at the clock. Forget about time. True pipe smoking is leaving the material world for a bit, to unplug and reset. The world was here for a long time before you arrived, and it will be here a long time after we leave it. Enjoy your smoke. The world will be there when you get back. Businesses, governments, and other institutions functioned fine before you got involved. I assure you, they will not collapse during the 30 mins to 1 hour you spend enjoying a pipe.

Next, quit thinking about how you are smoking your pipe. Instead, ponder the Human Condition, solve the worlds problems, explore the limits of your mind, and expand them. Read, play chess, or best of all, engage in deep conversation with another pipe smoker. This is what pipe smoking is all about.

Do that, and you find yourself smoking slower automatically, and you will also be more relaxed, and your IQ, may not increase, but you will learn to use what you have much better.

---

Wish I could just slow down, but I only smoke while busy, woking on a car, plowing snow, mowing the lawn ect, but ill give that "thinking" stuff a try, though it sound like it might hurt haha

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LivingDeadGuy

Wish I could just slow down, but I only smoke while busy, woking on a car, plowing snow, mowing the lawn ect, but ill give that "thinking" stuff a try, though it sound like it might hurt haha

---

I actually find I smoke more slowly when I'm doing NOTHING else, just concentrating on the pipe. YMMV

A good exercise to try every now and then: starting out with properly dry tobacco, try just barely keeping the pipe going. Don't puff hard, just take very gentle "sips". Almost always, tobacco tastes much better when it's burning cool & slow. Make sure you're not filling the pipe too tightly, this will make you puff harder to keep it going.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by commonsenseman

I actually find I smoke more slowly when I'm doing NOTHING else, just concentrating on the pipe. YMMV

A good exercise to try every now and then: starting out with properly dry tobacco, try just barely keeping the pipe going. Don't puff hard, just take very gentle "sips". Almost always, tobacco tastes much better when it's burning cool & slow. Make sure you're not filling the pipe too tightly, this will make you puff harder to keep it going.

---

I think it was @mooster who once posted on the old site a good exercise. Get your tobacco properly dried, packed and lit, and instead of puffing, just breathe through your nose with the pipe clenched in your mouth. You will be surprised how well a pipe stays lit with just a slow, steady flow of air. You don't necessarily have to smoke this way all the time, but it at least gives you a good idea how little you need to puff to keep it lit.

OK, I was inaccurate when I said I never smoked a Brog. I was going through my pipes, and my one and only Churchwarden is a Brog. I got it at some little local tobacco store that sold inexpensive pipes that I thought were Chinese-made. I guess I'll have to remember where it was, and go check out their stock again. I think I paid $11.00 or so for it. Like you said, it has a smallish bowl, but I think all Churchwardens have smaller bowls, maybe because of the length of the stem (balance?). It's actually a good smoker, but I have to be careful turning my head. I have banged it into the wall several times, the dogs, one of the cats, and my wife. It's sort of like the old Benson and Hedges Cigarette commercials (remember when they could advertise on TV?). Oops, I guess I let my age show. Oh well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by izkeh

I realize you weren't specifically asking me but I can tell you I have a #67 briar and it smokes wonderfully. The bowl is a little thin but it handles all my English blends (that's the only ting I smoke in it) like a champ. It doesn't gurgle. The stem is a little plasticky feeling but it's solid enough that I don't feel like it'll shatter if I drop it or something.

I dropped a whopping $25 on it and it's probably one of my better smokers. I'd grab one.

I also have the churchwarden #14. It's pearwood and it's kind of cheap feeling. Smallish bowl with a really plasticky feeling stem. I hardly smoke the churchwarden. It cost about the same ~$25.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tmoran

I think it was @mooster who once posted on the old site a good exercise. Get your tobacco properly dried, packed and lit, and instead of puffing, just breathe through your nose with the pipe clenched in your mouth. You will be surprised how well a pipe stays lit with just a slow, steady flow of air. You don't necessarily have to smoke this way all the time, but it at least gives you a good idea how little you need to puff to keep it lit.

---

I don't think it was me, but I wholeheartedly endorse this. It's an eye-opening exercise.

A good exercise is to mimic the pipe smoking contests where you try to keep your pipe going as long as you can. You only puff enough to keep it going.

Behold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxPgdpIupz8

I'm not sure if this is a speed-smoking contest or a large ears competition :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bruck

Behold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxPgdpIupz8

I'm not sure if this is a speed-smoking contest or a large ears competition :)

---

I would be so good at that! Not the big ears part though

Is there any prep I need to do on a new corn cob? I noticed it's got a bit of a chemically smell too it brand new, should I just smoke anyway or clean it somehow?