How to Smoke a Briar Pipe Correctly

WHY HAVE MORE THAN ONE PIPE?
While it is usually advisable for a new smoker to start with a smaller pipe, since he is not used to a long smoke, most smokers find that the bigger the pipe is a better smoke. A large pipe smokes cooler and holds fire better. -When you are busy use a smaller pipe. When you are relaxing in the evening - smoke a large pipe. One point of interest: some people believe that a sand- blasted pipe will smoke cooler than a polished pipe, due to its much larger surface area. In large pipes this is not especially important since they will always smoke cool, but it may be a consideration in choosing a smaller pipe.How much should you pay for a pipe? Over the years, the price of pipes has almost exactly equaled the price of shoes. The reason is that both are made of natural material with much hand work. A reasonable price for anyone to pay for a pipe is what he pays for shoes. There is one important difference: shoes wear out and pipes do not. We often see pipes more than thirty years old.
CHOOSING THE TOBACCO
As far as we know, tongue bite is always a matter of tobacco. Most cheap tobaccos will bite. Your tobacconist will have several blends which he knows will not bite. It does pay to start smoking a pipe with high quality tobacco. After you have been smoking a pipe for some time you may experiment with the cheaper tobaccos if you like, but at the start it might be disastrous.
FILLING AND MAINTAINING YOUR PIPES
In filling a pipe, the object is to pack the pipe as tightly as possible while still having it draw freely. This is accomplished by packing the first pinch lightly, the second pinch, a little more firmly and so forth until when the pipe is filled and is pressed down very firmly. The reason for this is that when you tamp the second pinch, you are re-tamping the first one. The object is to have the pipe uniformly and firmly packed from top to bottom. Most tobaccos, and particularly the longer cuts, uncurl and loosen when the pipe is first lit. It is therefore necessary to light the pipe, then tamp it and re-light, As the pipe is smoked down, pour out any loose ash and re-tamp if required. When you are ready to put a pipe aside, knock it out and put it down to cool; removing the stem or bit from a hot pipe will crack the shank. This is one of the major points in caring for a pipe. Once the pipe has cooled down completely, run a pipe cleaner through it, and stand it stem up in a pipe rack. Do not leave the pipe cleaner in it. This interferes with, rather than helps the drying process. Incidentally, when removing the stem from a pipe, always pretend that it has a fine thread and unscrew it; then screw it back in. Wiggling or tugging the bit out will result in a loose stem.
As you smoke your pipe, carbon will develop. When the carbon exceeds I mm (about the thickness of a dime), ream it to leave 1 mm. Carbon is not something that “if a little bit is good, more is better”. Excessive carbon will crack a pipe, make it smoke hotter and make it hard to knock out. Remove it with a proper tool, a reamer, to avoid damaging the pipe. If you break a pipe which you like, it is always worth repairing. New stems are inexpensive and even a cracked or broken shank can be repaired. Pipe smoking, like all the finer things in life such as Scotch, Champagne, Caviar and Classical music, is an acquired taste. It must be learned, but like all finer things it is
rewarding and well worth learning. Good luck, and happy and successful pipe smoking.

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