How do you dedicate your pipes?

[Cool Breeze]

I know you guys probably designate certain pipes for English or Balkan blends only, and those who smoke aromatics probably have pipes dedicated to aros. But do you even care about separating Virginias, Vapers and Navy blends?

I am mostly a smoker of cobbs, but am about to add another briar or two to the collection and am thinking of how to designate them.
My only nice pipe is reserved for Virginias, but lately I've smoked a few Vapers out of it too. I have not noticed any adverse flavors coming through, but I figure they're close enough in flavor profile to not really need to be separated.

I learned there are actually some who don't care what they smoke in what pipe. For instance a well liked and well thought of Youtube pipe guy (I like him as well) with Stuffandthings will smoke any blend in any pipe (with the exception of aros). It works for him.

Was just wondering how you guys did it.

[commonsenseman]

I separate mine. I find that if I'm smoking something strong, it doesn't matter much (with the exception of Latakia), but it's when I try to smoke something light that I can still taste the last tobacco I smoked.

I dedicate my pipes as follows:

-Virginia
-Virginia/Perique
-Dark Virginia (like 1792, or Irish Flake)
-Latakia
-Cobs for anything & everything

YMMV

[c.ortiz108]

So far I have a cob dedicated to aros, but smoke anything in my briars. This post has given me food for thought though.

[tmoran]

I have two VA pipes, one VaPer pipe, one for ODF and Irish Flake, and three lat pipes. The rest is just a free for all. Some pipes just work better with certain blends, and you really don't know until you try all combinations. I usually start a pipe out on burley or VA's, then I'll try some VaPers, then stronger blends. If nothing really sings in it, I'll try some Latakia. If that doesn't work out, it goes into general use and I just throw whatever I feel like in there.

[El Whedo]

I have one briar and one cob dedicated to anything Latakia. The rest of my cobs are for anything.

I have two briars and one meerschaum dedicated to VA's or VaPers. I have one briar dedicated to Royal Yacht specifically. And one meerschaum dedicated to any Aro (I smoke aro's rarely, so it doesn't get much use).

Most of my pipes aren't dedicated yet.

[Haebar]

I have a cob (MM General) and two briars dedicated to finishing off cigars. I have a meerschaum that I only smoke cherry aromatics in. The other pipes are a free-for-all.

[Chris0673]

I take them to church and have the pastor dedicate them! :biglaugh:

[Lostmason]

I've dedicated mine to burning the crops of any all countries who grow tobacco.
In truth,I use my cob for any new unusual blends and other than that I haven't
put any thought in it,( thinking requires being awake ,,,Ewwwww! )

[Cool Breeze]

Seems like there's folks in both camps. I'll have to see for myself.

I think I'll take one of my cheap flea market finds and smoke a strong English blend like Nightcap, let it rest the next day then smoke something milder like some Orlik Golden Sliced or something like that. Going from one extreme to the other like that should give me an idea of whether or not I should worry about it.

I'm mainly worried about English blends and Virginia/Vapers.

When I smoke aromatics (probably 15%-20% of the time) I will likely stick to cobs for those. I'm a cob lover anyway.

[tmoran]

I never really intended to dedicate my pipes in any real way, except for keeping separate latakia pipes. I don't see it as something to put too much thought into. Some pipes and blends were just made for each other. All you gotta do is find what works for you.

[MrMotoyoshi]

I used to be much more diligent about dedicating my pipes. Strict only VA pipes, only VaPer pipes, only Latakia blend pipes and only Aromatic pipes. Burley went in whatever. But then I realized that I didn't need to worry about it.

If you have a pipe for VaPers and smoke a latakia blend in it once, after two or three more bowls of VaPer in that pipe you're not going to taste too much latakia. But if you're smoking only VaPers or VAs and then go 20 bowls of latakia, it's going to be much harder to expel the ghost. So I may sneak in a bowl of English/balkan in a VaPer pipe every once in a while and it doesn't hurt it too much. Now there are some pipes that smoke VAs fantastically and they will only see straight VAs or uncased/untopped VaBurs.

I do have some pipes that can't smoke Va or VaPer for nothing, so they get the dark leaf usually. I'm not the biggest english/balkan fan anyway so it really isn't an issue.

[Trroutman22]

VA's, VAPER's, VABUR's and VAOR's in briars (as long as they are VA forward). All the rest in Meers. Cobs get used very rarely.

[fastnbulbous]

As a newbie, I still do not dedicate pipes, although I am sure that I will at some point. Currently only have 4 and I am still deep in the learning curve. Dedicating my pipes is too much for my brain at the moment.

Hopefully there will not be any long lasting negative effects.

[c.ortiz108]

Inspired by this thread, I'm going to reserve my cob for trying new aros, and dedicate separate briars to aros I know I like, one to English/Balkans, and one to VAs. Those I'm going to keep 100% burley-free because I'm not sure I like burley at all.

[BryGuySC]

I dedicate my pipes to those brave pipers who have gone before me!

[sweaterman]

I have a cob (MM General) and two briars dedicated to finishing off cigars. I have a meerschaum that I only smoke cherry aromatics in. The other pipes are a free-for-all.

I had never thought of saving the end of my cigars for use in a pipe, but am certainly going to start doing it now! Thanks Haebar.

[fastnbulbous]

I am fairly sure that after having reread this thread and done some searching, that I have no idea what a Virginia tastes like. Heh

[Rocket Scientologist]

As a newbie, I still do not dedicate pipes, although I am sure that I will at some point. Currently only have 4 and I am still deep in the learning curve. Dedicating my pipes is too much for my brain at the moment. Hopefully there will not be any long lasting negative effects.

I'm with you on this one. I only have 3 pipes - I don't have the luxury of dedicating them.

[Basment_Shaman]

I smoke burley in cobs they seen to taste better, I have a dozen or so Peterson 999 and about the same with s80, system pipes,specialty pipes, meers and clays. Sunday I clean them. Once a year I trim the kake. Yes I suffer from PAD and all the other affliction of tobacco consumption.
When I had money I didn't think twice about buying a new Peterson every month. Had been a former cigarette smoker Justified spending $150 or more on a pipe along with $100 or more for tobacco. I am glad I did. I have a nice assortment of both. My cellar will last me another decade if I live that long. I have one pipe I only smoke straight virginias in.

[fastnbulbous]

I'm with you on this one. I only have 3 pipes - I don't have the luxury of dedicating them.

A few days after this comment I am going to give the pipe for a tobacco type thing a try.
I have 4 pipes and plan to get some more cobs, maybe another briar or two in the next few months.
Sounds like 4 is the magic number for a lot of people. Aro, English, VA, VaPer.
Ahhh the slope....

I am pretty sure that the Virginia that I tried followed an English and I really had no idea what the VA tasted like. (See above).

[LandonColby]

I don't dedicate anything. I pretty much know what I like so if there's a little ghost in my pipe after smoking a stronger blend I don't really care (most of the blends I smoke are Va forward blends anyway, I don't care if it's Va/VaPer/VaBur/VaPerBur or whatever the hell the condiment tobaccos are. Maybe 20-30% are english). Kinda like eating a nice juicy burger and some of the drippings fall on your fries..I certainly wont fuss about that!

As Paul said originally, I'm one of the people who wont smoke an aro in any of my pipes though. If it's an aro I'll bust out a cob for that.

[mooster]

I would have agreed with that as recently as last fall, but I'm starting to rethink my ideas on 'dedication', most likely as a reaction to my current approach of smoking just one tin at a time. I have a rotation of about ten pipes right now, as I smoke about ten bowls a week. When I switch from, say, Hal o' the Wynd to Hamborger Veermaster, that first bowl of the lighter HV doesn't taste anything like it's supposed to because of the HOTW. By the second bowl, it tastes fine; Virginia ghosts aren't noted for their strength! However, with ten pipes, hell, I've just wasted half the tin of HV to get the pipes ready for the second half. It just doesn't seem to make much sense anymore.

[Aguineapig]

I just designate approximately. For example, yesterday I smoked a cob that I normally smoke Virginias and VaPers in, but with C&D Pegasus. I burn burleys like that occasionally in that pipe, just because they smoke so well in it. I've never noticed any crossover or anything. A little dark Burley flavor from one of those C&D burleys, though, wouldn't exactly bother me if they came through in a Virginia or something. I do have some pipes that I'm more stringent about, but for the most part, if it seems like a good idea (blend+pipe combo), I just go for it.

[NeverBend]

I do and don't dedicate.

I smoke Virginia (flake) >90% of the time and once I'm familiar with and like a tobacco I tend to rotate them in my venerated smooth smokers without too much internal debate, so they're basically dedicated to these types of tobaccos.

Virginia with higher acid levels or non-Virginias (latakia) I smoke in sandblasts or rusticated and I do differentiate based on how the pipe smokes.

Pipes that I'm auditioning tend to get a wider variety of tobacco based on their shape, finish and size. I have made the mistake of trying some poor tobaccos in some of my front line pipes and neither of us appreciated it.

I know that some folks like to smoke specific tobaccos in specific pipes. I've found that not to be necessary as long as the mixture is of the same type, meaning that a VA/Lat flake isn't the same as a 100% VA flake. I smoke any Gawith (Sam or Hoggarth) in the same pipes but never Lancer's Slices.