How about some piper 101

I know that many here are all ready set in their ways,but we have quite a few new pipers joining us and
I thought we might share some pipers experience with them.The tamper can be your best friend with
your pipe, or your greatest frustration.You don't use it to pack your pipe,but I have.Especially those
mini-pipes. After you've packed and lit your pipe, you use the tamper to gently push the ember down onto
the tobacco. I've found with my briars that when I hear or feel a gurgelling, if I use the tamper to tighten
the bowl, push down a touch more firmly, that the tobacco soaks up the moisture and that annoying sound
stops. I have two tampers that I use, a czech 3 in 1 tool and a piece of Silver Maple that I carved for that
purpose. I've use a new pencil and a nail before.The nice thing about my SM tamper, I get a soft hit of wood
smoke from it,really adds to the tobacco.

until recently I used a wooden golf tee as a tamp. Worked adequately until I received a proper tamp.

I use a clothes peg as a tamper.

I have in the past used a tamper to pack the tobacco, much to my chagrin.If you over pack, to tight of a draw,then the other little tool comes in handy.
The spike or pick, use it to loosen up your tobacco and repack so you have a slight resistance, not as much as a cigar but more than sucking air.If you
have pack your pipe so tight as to be plugged, unpack completely on a plate and blow through your pipe to clear the draw opening on the bottom. Then
repack loosely at first and a bit firmer as you fill the bowl.There are a few different methods of packing that can be found on you-tube.Try all of them,
and try the with different tobacco cuts, you will find one that works for you.

I use one of three tampers - a pipe nail, a tamper that a BOTL turned on a lathe for me, and a deer antler with a .45ACP shell attached to one end.

Some links to help

These first two are on packing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCD5NPS2Zj4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XTMiR6GStg

Lighting a pipe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXOx7hXDRQw

This on forming a cake (breaking in a new pipe)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHkPEONQAR0

The spoon looking attachment is normally used to remove the dottle, unburnt swampy tobacco at the bottom after a good smoke.
Having dottle isn't a bad thing, leaving it in is. It will ruin the next bowl even if it's the same blend.Don't try to use the "spoon" as
a reamer, it is nowhere near straight enough to clean the sides and the point is all wrong to scrape the bottom. There are several
reamers on sale through Amazon and P&C for fairly cheap.You should only ream a pipe when the cake is so thick you can no longer
load a full bowl, or when cleaning one for sale (or gift), or if you recieve an estate pipe that hasn't been properly sanitized.There
is a good thread here on restoring estate pipes in the DIY area, also some good lessons on the Salt/alcohol cleaning methods.

http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/showth...e-Trade-Thread

http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/showth...-Retort-Method

http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/showth...n-Estate-Batch!!!!

These threads are written by Brothers here that are all willing to share their tips and tricks, The hobby is
more enjoyable when you have FAMILY to share it with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bluenoser

until recently I used a wooden golf tee as a tamp. Worked adequately until I received a proper tamp.

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Hi Blake,

Good to see you around again.

I used golf tees when I smoked in the store because people 'borrowed' them and they're a lot cheaper than Sheffield Pipe Knives. The point's good for roughing the ash to spill out and it's an excellent tamper.

@Lostmason

Matt, very good discussion because pipe smoking is all about the pack and how you handle it while smoking.

Tight draw is caused by too tight a pack or obstruction of the airway. Either way, if you're not yet lit, try unloading the pipe, clearing the airway (if obstructed) or re-packing. Bad pack = bad smoke.

If the draw was fine and suddenly it's tight then something moved into the airway. Run pipe cleaners into the chamber, may take several passes. If the problem persists then you may want to gently push tobacco away from the draught hole (chamber) with the pick.

When packing, put whole strands or partial flakes at the bottom to avoid small particles from entering the airway, (use small pieces on top of the bottom layer). For very new smokers, you can run a pipe cleaner so that it's ~1/8" into the bowl before you pack but, eventually, learn to pack without it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lostmason

I've found with my briars that when I hear or feel a gurgelling, if I use the tamper to tighten
the bowl, push down a touch more firmly, that the tobacco soaks up the moisture and that annoying sound
stops.

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Not the best idea IMO. I put my thumb over the bowl and shake that moisture out the stem. You can also slip a pipe cleaner down the stem to soak it up, but get rid of it. The last thing you want it to do is soak the tobacco at the bottom of the bowl. That makes your pipe go out constantly and bite toward the end of the smoke. Plus you'll never smoke to the bottom with the resultant swampy mess in there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg

Not the best idea IMO. I put my thumb over the bowl and shake that moisture out the stem. You can also slip a pipe cleaner down the stem to soak it up, but get rid of it. The last thing you want it to do is soak the tobacco at the bottom of the bowl. That makes your pipe go out constantly and bite toward the end of the smoke. Plus you'll never smoke to the bottom with the resultant swampy mess in there.

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Haven't had an issue, In fact other a relight after charring the top,I haven't had any problem smoking to the bottom other than time and work.