ge ting frustraded

[El Whedo]

Matt, don't worry about ammonia, ash, blah-blah-blah.

I don't even know why he's placing these worries in yer head.

Pipe smoking is easy... keep "it's easy" in yer head.

When I smoke my pipe and it goes out, I relight it. If I'm done with my pipe I stick it in my shirt pocket. When I want some more I pull it outta my pocket and relight it. Easy Peasy!

[NeverBend]

When I smoke my pipe and it goes out, I relight it. If I'm done with my pipe I stick it in my shirt pocket. When I want some more I pull it outta my pocket and relight it. Easy Peasy!

You're teaching them to set their shirts on fire.

[Alligator Gar]

I read your post, sympathized, went away and thought about it and decided to tell you what works for me, an admitted pipe noob.

If the tobacco is soggy or clumpy I rub it and air it out for a few minutes. I drop loose tobacco in the pipe until it's full. I tamp to 50%. I drop tobacco to the top again and tamp to 66%. I fill again over the top and use the Frank finger curl to tuck the strays away until it's 100% full. I tamp gently and grab the incendiary device.

Like toasting a cigar, you must toast or char the tobacco. It desiccates the tobacco and lowers its ignition point. While the char is still smoldering I tamp lightly, even the top and hit it with fire.

Now I have a nice cherry on top, so to speak. I puff away happily, no longer feeling guilty about the puffs per minute being much higher than cigar smoking. At some point the smoke starts thinning and I know it's time to use the one weird trick that keeps my smoke going. I drop the tamper from the height of the rim one time. I may or may not turn the pipe over and dump the dusty ash this drop produces. Five minute later it's time for another drop and, er, dump.

This technique produces a two match smoke 80% of the time for me. I wish you much success and don't set your shirt on fire.