Quote Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg View Post
If I get persistent with damp tobacco and keep tamping and relighting the stuff that doesn't want to burn, all I end up with is an empty pipe and a mouthful of tongue bite. IMO that damp tobacco at the bottom is the filter... and it's good for a couple bowls at least
I think it's more a matter of damping than tamping toward the end. The problem is harder to deal with when you smoke a large pipe than a medium or small bowl pipe. If a dottle tastes really awful and I can't get it to burn, I dump it, and probably will avoid buying any more of that particular tobacco -- or maybe stop smoking that pipe if the problem is persistent. Sometimes, I will mix PA or something with a recalcitrant mixture, so that it doesn't create a nasty dottle to begin with.