Tongue Burn, Tongue Afire, Raw-tongue... What is WRONG?!

[Mister Moo]

...The heel of every pipe I smoke is swampy looking, even smoking very slowly and starting with very dry tobacco. I'm starting to think 'smoking to ash' is just a myth I have a hard time believing I'm smoking too fast. Yesterday I got over 2 hours out of 2 coins of bullseye flake and there was still some left in the bottom of the pipe when I got back to the shop and had to abandon it to get some work done. I shook it out and it was starting to get pretty wet tho.

Your list of often-smoked tobaccos isn't a hit-parade of biters. I rule out tobacco brand/blends as a reason for tongue bite, especially with PS LBF.

Now, two hours from two coins and a swampy heel + wet dottle... this sounds like a lot of over-suckage against moist tobacco and/or a restricted bowl or partially plugged stem. It's hard for me to get 30-minutes+ of smoking through a clear pipe with one LBF coin. LBF, by the way, is something I always buy bulk, it is never too wet (at my local B&M anyhow) and nearly always smokes to the bottom of any pipe. I like to tear those coins apart, sort of the centers and bury them mid-bowl for a sort of cavendish parfait thing, by the way.

So, to brass tacks now...

Do you swab out a stem/heel with a fluffy pipecleaner mid-smoke (or thumb-over the chamber and flick the stem) if ever you hear a gurgle?

Do you fold/stuff coins or rub them out?

[Emperor Zurg]

So, to brass tacks now...

Do you swab out a stem/heel with a fluffy pipecleaner mid-smoke (or thumb-over the chamber and flick the stem) if ever you hear a gurgle?

Do you fold/stuff coins or rub them out?

These coins were folded into quarters and stuffed per this thread --> http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/showth...ll=1#post17200

I didn't get any gurgle on that go-round but usually I cover the bowl and flick the stem if I do. I usually reserve the use of a pipe cleaner for the event of a mid-smoke clog. The pipe btw was a straight Barling Canadian sent to me by Neverbend a while back at the old place. It hadn't been smoked for a week or more.

[freestoke]

[Chemical burns, allergic reactions, etc.]

I never experienced it and never knew anyone firthand who has.

I keep hearing about perique allergy (I'd rather have the brain disease than perique allrergy) and possible ph issues but, again, no firsthand information. Feel free to add what you know.

For what it's worth, I seem to be allergic to Luxury Twist Flake. It isn't tongue bite, because it also creates a pebbly surface on my cheeks. Many claim to have allergic reactions (sneezing, clogged sinuses, etc.) to scented Lakelands, like Ennerdale and Cannon Plug.

As to pH, the smoke stream is alkaline and, if permitted to do so, will cause a caustic burn. Drink something acidic while you smoke, like beer or other carbonated beverage (carbonated water is slightly acidic), acidic fruit juices, tea, or coffee to neutralize the chemically basic condensation from the smoke.

I'd also learn to direct the smoke stream around the mouth, not letting it play directly onto the same place on the tongue for any appreciable time. Clenching more directs smoke toward the back teeth for the time that you do it. Allow the smoke to dissipate and cool before it strikes sensitive surfaces, ie, into more open areas in the mouth. Spread the chemicals around and they do less damage.

[Mister Moo]

These coins were folded into quarters and stuffed per this thread --> http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/showth...ll=1#post17200

I can't argue with the @commonsenseman folding-and-stuff advice with flakes. I do it about half the time, however it took me almost a year of badly "smoking" Escudo to figure out how to smoke it enjoyably and, incidentally, finding nothing but ash at bowl's bottom - granted, I am very very slow.

Folding/stuffing flakes can be a real problem until you learn how to first prepare, fill, tamp and smoke the tobacco (of that flake) itself. All flakes are prone to expand (some a lot) when heated (sometimes very little). There is a lot of difference between the smoking characteristics of different brands of flakes, too. I suggest going back to MMoo Flake-Takes, square #1. Take a coin or two of LBF that is dry enough to fracture about 50% to 70% at the fold when you bend it in half; that indicates a fair moisture level for smoking LBF flake. Then shred the snot out of it - I mean tear it up until it is at least very stringy. Then take a wad worth about 1/2 to 2/3 of a bowl and gently stuff it in the pipe. Give it just enough compression to barely offer resistance to airflow, light it hard all over the top and, assuming it goes out pretty quickly, tamp very gently and refire.The difference between a good smoke and a terrible one with many flakes can be the difference of a gram or two of pressure with your tamper. Remember, until you really know the blend, a lighter tamp is always better than a firmer one. For those of us with years of experience it all seems like second nature but, the fact is, prepping and smoking flakes is a little like sliding down a razorblade.

Or, as @freestroke noted above, LBF might simply be poisonous to you. Jeepers, I hope not; LBF is a real pleasure to smoke once you know how to get it on.

Let me know how it goes, Zurgs.

[Emperor Zurg]

Or, as @freestroke noted above, LBF might simply be poisonous to you. Jeepers, I hope not; LBF is a real pleasure to smoke once you know how to get it on.

Let me know how it goes, Zurgs.

The LBF didn't bite me, but it did get swampy and I tossed a bit at the end. Heck, for +2 hrs of smoking time on 2 flakes I don't think it owed me anything after that so I didn't mind tossing it. However, if I'd have gotten belligerent and torched it to ash, my mouth would have been burning for days afterword. This isn't the case just with LBF, it's with pretty much any tobacco.

I'll give your shredding and light loading method a try next time and see if it smokes drier.

[Mister Moo]

The LBF didn't bite me, but it did get swampy and I tossed a bit at the end. Heck, for +2 hrs of smoking time on 2 flakes I don't think it owed me anything after that so I didn't mind tossing it. However, if I'd have gotten belligerent and torched it to ash, my mouth would have been burning for days afterword. This isn't the case just with LBF, it's with pretty much any tobacco.

I'll give your shredding and light loading method a try next time and see if it smokes drier.

I am very much a smoker of flake tobacco - probably 90%. It is often the case that any given flake (brand) has a learning curve which denies fold-and-stuff. I don't think you can lose with letting it dry a bit, rubbing it out a lot and always tamping lightly.

Now, for what it's worth, MacBarens Navy Flake is a smallish and very tasty product. Out the tin it is ready to smoke by folding one or two flakes in half (so they break at the fold) and gently mooshing them in a pipe with the frayed ends sticking up. Easy for the average flake-rookie to fill, light and enjoy. After my struggle with Escudo I found MacNavyFlake - it restored my faith in pipe smoking ad returned me to the land of the normal-tongue people.