Questions You Thought Were Too Dumb to Ask (Pipes Edition)

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Originally Posted by JollyRogers

Is there any prep I need to do on a new corn cob? I noticed it's got a bit of a chemically smell too it brand new, should I just smoke anyway or clean it somehow?

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If it's an MM, I just smoke them. First bowl or two might taste a little like corn, and you might get a hint of charred pine at the very bottom. If you get the charred pine flavor, don't keep smoking it or try to relight. Once the wood gets a good char on it, that flavor will go away.

Nope, just fire away. If it has a filter, you may want to remove it.

Anybody use that Obsidian stem oil? Does it help prevent oxidation of vulcanite stems?

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Originally Posted by Haebar

Anybody use that Obsidian stem oil? Does it help prevent oxidation of vulcanite stems?

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Yep, it works very well in preventing oxidation.

Before I started waxing my stems, I used Obsidian oil and it worked very very well.

Just go for it. That smell will go away pretty quickly.

Oops...there was another page; never mind!

Why is it preferred to break in a pipe with something like Carter Hall or Prince Albert? Or is that just for us noobs?

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Originally Posted by bluenoser

Why is it preferred to break in a pipe with something like Carter Hall or Prince Albert? Or is that just for us noobs?

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I believe the main reasons are that they are very easy to smoke, they smoke fairly dry & they are mild enough that they don't ghost the pipe at all.

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Originally Posted by bluenoser

Why is it preferred to break in a pipe with something like Carter Hall or Prince Albert? Or is that just for us noobs?

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Originally Posted by commonsenseman

I believe the main reasons are that they are very easy to smoke, they smoke fairly dry & they are mild enough that they don't ghost the pipe at all.

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Everything that Jeff said PLUS Carter Hall and Prince Albert have this strange ability to smoke down to a fine and dry ash all the way to the very bottom of the bowl. Nothing builds a more consistent and firm cake all the way down in my opinion than PA or CH.

Here's a slew of dumb questions for everyone.

1.) How long does a "typical" bowl last? I realize this is going to depend on the size of the pipe and how fast you smoke. I know when I sit down for a Robusto it can take me anywhere from 50-80 minutes to get through it. If I don't have at lest 80 mins free I won't light it up.

2.) How do you know you're at the bottom of the bowl? I relight ash last night about 3 times before I gave up, only to dump out the ash and realize the tobacco had been smoked and I was done.

3.) How long can I keep tobacco in an opened tin?

4.) Can there be there too much (or too little) air in a jar of aging tobacco? I was looking at these jars http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20227984/ and they are 17oz. Say I buy a tin or two and throw it in the Jar. Is that too much space / air contacting the tobacco?

5.) It seems that there are far more pipers that smoke indoors than cigar smokers. Is pipe smoke less invasive than cigar smoke?

6.) Rootbeer was recommended as a beverage that pairs well with cigars. Any go to beverage that pairs well with pipe tobacco (of any kind)

7.) Are the pipe cleaners sold for pipe cleaning the same as pipe cleaners sold for crafting?

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Originally Posted by Horsefeathers

Here's a slew of dumb questions for everyone.

1.) How long does a "typical" bowl last? I realize this is going to depend on the size of the pipe and how fast you smoke. I know when I sit down for a Robusto it can take me anywhere from 50-80 minutes to get through it. If I don't have at lest 80 mins free I won't light it up. - A MM Legend usually lasts me about 30 mins, maybe up to 45, depending on the tobacco.

2.) How do you know you're at the bottom of the bowl? I relight ash last night about 3 times before I gave up, only to dump out the ash and realize the tobacco had been smoked and I was done. - Look in the bowl? :) I guess you can use your tamper to dig around a bit to see if any baccy is left. If it takes you 3 successive lights to try to get it going, chances are if there is anything in there, it's not worth smoking anyway.

3.) How long can I keep tobacco in an opened tin? - Depends on the ambient humidity and the type of tin. If it is dry, probably a week or less no matter what type of tin it is. If it is relatively humid, several weeks to a month, if it's a good tin. Here is how I rate the tins at holding humidity after opened, from best to worst. 1. round twist on tins (Dan Tobacco comes to mind) 2. round paint cans (Reiner) 3. Round cardboard tins with plastic lid (C&D) 4. round pop-off metal tins (Dunhill) 5. square tins

4.) Can there be there too much (or too little) air in a jar of aging tobacco? I was looking at these jars http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20227984/ and they are 17oz. Say I buy a tin or two and throw it in the Jar. Is that too much space / air contacting the tobacco? - 17 oz is a liquid measure and tobacco is by weight. A 17oz jar should hold about 4-5 oz of ribbon cut tobacco, and more of flake or cake. I'm not sure if air space will do any harm or not. I don't like air space because in my mind that's wasted space. Once you start stacking the mason jars deep, you regret all that wasted air space. I buy my tobacco based on how it fits in mason jars i.e. I now always buy 3 250g boxes of FVF at a time, because 3 boxes will fit in 2 32 oz mason jars. If I only buy 2 boxes, I still have to use 2 32 oz mason jars.

5.) It seems that there are far more pipers that smoke indoors than cigar smokers. Is pipe smoke less invasive than cigar smoke? - IMO, yes. The aroma is more pleasant and doesn't cling to stuff as long.

6.) Rootbeer was recommended as a beverage that pairs well with cigars. Any go to beverage that pairs well with pipe tobacco (of any kind) - I like coffee with burley, green or herbal tea with VA, and Chai with Latakia or Kentucky, but I am boring. I don't drink soda or alcohol, so my choices are quite limited

7.) Are the pipe cleaners sold for pipe cleaning the same as pipe cleaners sold for crafting? - They are different. The actual pipe cleaners seem stiffer and don't fall apart as easily.

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Mine in bold. Very good questions, by the way.