Frorum Smokers! (Of legal things)

Need smokables!
Love cigars, and I need some good cigars to smoke.
Perhaps a pipe and some good tobacco?

I'm only 18 though, so I don't want to look
like some tool bag with a pipe...

Any suggestions would be awesome

I'm 18 and there's nothing like a pipe while on the golf course.

I've been known to light up a cigar after every pigskin win.

Wrong kind of pipe.

JohnnyHopper wrote: Benjichang wrote: Wrong kind of pipe. So the fact that it was glass and not a corn cob did that?

Well, where I come from, things other than tobacco are smoked from glass pipes, so yeah.

There are so many types of pipes it's hard to recommend one. You can spend a few bucks or hundreds of dollars, and Dunhill makes a specialty pipe for about $1500. I spent about $40 and carved my own. You can make them most easily out of briar and even a cursory search on-line will steer you to all you need. Pre-drilled blocks are available. You just carve away. You can also make them from other materials, but that can be a much harder task.

I liked the one I made as well as anything I'd seen for sale and gave it to a friend for his birthday. Find one that you like the look and feel of, not forgetting that you can change the stem to suit.

As far as pipe tobacco, I'd go and find a shop that sells it and try various types. It's pretty cheap for run-of-the-mill stuff, and you can get them in 1oz or 2oz bags most places so you can get a variety. Hell, you can make your own blend very easily, such as combining vanilla and bourbon.

Pipe tobacco is more moist than cigarette tobacco and cavendish types are generally going to be more aromatic, but you can also find various "plain" types in a variety not disimmilar to coffee. (Dark, plain, light, and of various nationalities.) I know people who buy pouches of pipe tobacco to leave in their cars, never intending to smoke it. I generally steer clear of the packaged tobacco you'll find at a convenience store or grocery store.

Packing can be tricky until you get the hang of it, and pipes do have a tendency to go out if you're not puffing away, but "stoking" the pipe can lead to burning holes in your pipe, which is very bad for it. You'll build up a carbon layer as the pipe is used (it will taste kind of nasty/funky until that buildup is there), and that will help protect it, but otherwise you want the pipe to remain clear of debris.

I have heard great reviews of J.M. Boswells "Berry Cobbler" and "Spice and Nice" pipe tobacco.
http://www.boswellpipes.com/tobaccoblends.html


Edited by fractus.scud - 24 September 2008 at 10:05am

http://www.pipesandcigars.com/peirseapib10.html

Ooo, I want it.

A pipe won't make you look like a tool bag. I've been smoking one since I was 23 and was never accused of being a tool, a bag, or any combination there of. The thing to remember about pipes is that you need to make sure you enjoy smoking one before you commit to a high-end pipe. With that said, I highly suggest grabbing a corn-cob pipe from the local tobacconist or pharmacy as your first pipe purchase as you don't want to spend the requisite $20 for a decent machine-turned pipe (let alone $80+ for a peterson, dunhill, or other hand-made) if you wind up not liking it.

Go to a tobacco shop to get the tobacco. Don't smoke the stuff they have at Rite-Aid or CVS. All you're going to do is decide that it tastes like ass and give up what can be a really enjoyable experience without giving it the attention it deserves. Try various types of tobacco. Your aromatics are going to be different from your English blends. Your "tinned" tobaccos (dunhill, peterson, macbaren, etc) aren't what you want to start out on. You'll shell out $14 for a tin and might not like it. Start out with the loose stuff that they keep in the jars on the counter. Smell each one and see which ones seem like they'd taste good. Most tobacco shops will let you try a pinch in your pipe before committing to buying some. Make sure to take your time with this, it's all about what you like, not what some clerk thinks is best. If you like some off-the-wall berry blend that smells like nyquil and dimeatap had a love child, then that's what you like and pay no heed to what anyone else says.

That said, you'll need to learn how to pack your bowl properly. You want the bottom layer to be spongy and loose to allow you to draw well. Above that, you should have a dense, but not tight, wad of tobacco. When packed properly, the tobacco should be springy, not loose, not packed in solidly. It should give slightly when poking it with your finger. Now, using either a butane lighter or matches, you'll hold the flame above the bowl of the pipe and draw the air through the pipe into your mouth. This will draw the flame to the pipe tobacco. Make sure to evenly light the tobacco, not leaving "hot spots" and "cold spots". Once lit, you will need to tamp the coal down into the rest of the tobacco in the pipe to allow it to smolder. You can use a pipe tamper, nail head, golf pencil, whatever, to do this. Remember to draw on the pipe after tamping it so you don't smother the coal.

Now that it's lit and going well, you need to remember that this is a pipe, not a cigarette or cigar. It's alright if it goes out from time to time from not drawing on it enough. Unlike cigars, pipes don't build up ammonia through their burning, which means it will taste just fine if you have to re-light it. It is far worse to "hot smoke" a pipe. You don't want to constantly draw on it as the excess heat will cause the interior of the bowl to expand more rapidly than the exterior which can cause it to crack. A cracked pipe is a bad thing as there is no way to repair it.

That said, you chose the right time of the year to take up a pipe. Fall, Winter, and Spring are all "pipe season". There's nothing better than sitting out on the deck in the crisp fall air with the leaves changing color all around you while smoking a pipe full of your favorite blend. It's even better when there's a scotch sitting right next to you.

I hope this helps! Once you find out if you like it or not. I suggest saving up for a Peterson "System" pipe. It's the coolest, most moisture-free smoke you will ever find.

Oh, a few notes on choosing which style to buy and care and cleaning!

1. Always clean a pipe after use. Normal maintenance is simply tapping the ashes/spent coals out against the bottom of your shoe or on a cork "pipe knocker" in a pipe-specific ash-tray. They should sell the knockers for about a buck or two at any tobacco shop. They just self-stick to the bottom of a flat-bottomed ash-tray. You also need to use a pipe cleaner to clean out the stem of the pipe. Run pipe cleaners through the stem until it they come out relatively clean. Usually only takes 2 or 3 pipe cleaners at most.

2) Occasionally cut down the "cake" on the interior of the pipe. You will get carbon build up on the interior wall of your pipe bowl as you smoke it. This is a GOOD THING! It insulates the body of the pipe bowl from heating too rapidly. However, if you let the carbon cake build up too far, it can expand more rapidly than the wood and crack the bowl. Occasionally use a reamer or the little blade on a pipe nail or pipe tamper to scrape down the interior and knock it out in the ash tray. Make sure to use a paper towel to get any fine particulate out of the bowl so you don't suck it up next time you use your pipe. That carbon cake is important. Make sure you only smoke half-bowls in your pipe for the first few times to help it build up.

3. Occasionally take your pipe to the store where you bought it to have them touch up the stem and finish. Most higher-end pipe stems are waxed with carnuba wax to keep them from getting damaged. Occasionally this wax oxidizes and needs to be stripped, re-applied, and buffed. Most shops will do this for free.

4. When choosing a pipe, you will notice that most are either straight stem or curved stem. A curved stem will reduce the chances of getting the moisture that builds up from burning the tobacco from getting sucked up into your mouth as you smoke your pipe. It is an unpleasant taste that you wish to avoid if possible. Such features as the "Peterson System" will help you avoid this even better as they have a large chamber between the inlet hole for the smoke from the bowl and the pipe stem itself. This chamber will trap the moisture and cool the smoke before it gets to your mouth, making for a much more enjoyable experience.

5. Removing the stem can aid in cleaning the pipe or removing any "clinkers" which may block the inlet hole or the stem itself. Do not, under any circumstances, remove the stem while the pipe is hot. This can cause the stem and bowls to crack. Wait until the pipe has cooled to remove the stem.

That said. Enjoy your pipe! It's a great way to relax and non-addictive. You'll find that unlike cigarettes and cigars, you can put it down for months at a time if you wish. Also, chicks dig the smell of pipes, but usually dislike the smell of cigars.

Oh, and here's the Peterson website

Edited by tallen702 - 24 September 2008 at 6:04pm

tallen702 wrote: (let alone $80+ for a peterson, dunhill, or other hand-made)

I paid $30 for my Peterson Used, but the local tobbaconist sells great quality used pipes and good tobacco.