Soft flame or torch?

[jrfoxx]

There's an old saying," too many cooks in the kitchen". If you ask 25 people you're likely to get 15 different answers.
I wouldn't get hung up on "whats the best way etc" answers. Some folks are stuck in their ways and that's the only way
it can be.
This isn't rocket science, we're smoking dried tobacco in a dried cob or a piece of wood.
Get a general idea and adapt what works for you. You may even figure out a better way than what people are suggesting.

Nobody's really saying what's "best", it's more of " torch? Go for it" vs "torch can ruin the wood of the bowl".

That's where my concern lies. Mostly I take others suggestions and tweak them to fit me, but I don't want to damage even my $20 MM cob, let alone the really nice Stanwell you sent.

And very true about people set in their ways, especially the long time smokers. They have that tendency the most. Sometimes it's hard for me to discern if it's good advice learn from decades of trial, error and experience, or just an old fart stuck in their way being the right way. Learned this from my 15+ years in the Cigar world.

I try to take all advice with a grain of salt, but at the same time, usually try out the advice I'm given to see if it works for me and as advertised.

I friggin love tobacco!