I had the preconceived notion that pipes would afford you big, voluminous clouds of smoke being I was a regular cigar smoker. They don't. Sure, you can get the big clouds of smoke from a pipe but you'll burn the inside of your mouth and the hand that's holding the pipe in the process.

What took me the longest to learn is that a pipe does not smoke like a cigar. Not even close to it. It requires more finesse and some practice to get smoking correctly. It has to do with how dry the tobacco is, how well you've packed the bowl, how often you're puffing...basically all the stuff Tony outlines above. His advice is sage.

It just takes some practice. Dry your tobacco a little bit and get the packing method down and you'll enjoy your pipe much, much more.