Quote Originally Posted by bluenoser View Post
until recently I used a wooden golf tee as a tamp. Worked adequately until I received a proper tamp.
Hi Blake,

Good to see you around again.

I used golf tees when I smoked in the store because people 'borrowed' them and they're a lot cheaper than Sheffield Pipe Knives. The point's good for roughing the ash to spill out and it's an excellent tamper.

@Lostmason

Matt, very good discussion because pipe smoking is all about the pack and how you handle it while smoking.

Tight draw is caused by too tight a pack or obstruction of the airway. Either way, if you're not yet lit, try unloading the pipe, clearing the airway (if obstructed) or re-packing. Bad pack = bad smoke.

If the draw was fine and suddenly it's tight then something moved into the airway. Run pipe cleaners into the chamber, may take several passes. If the problem persists then you may want to gently push tobacco away from the draught hole (chamber) with the pick.

When packing, put whole strands or partial flakes at the bottom to avoid small particles from entering the airway, (use small pieces on top of the bottom layer). For very new smokers, you can run a pipe cleaner so that it's ~1/8" into the bowl before you pack but, eventually, learn to pack without it.