Concerning the smoking of pipes

[Jumpshot]

A friend asked me a question about pipes yesterday. I guess that knowing I shoot muzzleloaders, he assumed I would know about pipes!

He said he heard that when you smoke a pipe, you don't inhale the smoke, but just 'taste' it and then blow it out. He asked me if this is true. Being a non-smoker myself, I don't know diddly squat about pipes, so I didn't know what to tell him.

So what's the deal with smoking a pipe? Do you do a 'Bill Clinton' and not inhale? Or do you inhale just the same as a cigarette?

 

[Many Klatch]

My Dad smoked a pipe for 60 years. His doctor considered him to be a non-smoker because he didn't inhale. Pipe smokers seem to enjoy the entire ritual of cleaning the pipe, adding tobacco, tamping the tobacco, lighting the pipe, smoking, relighting if necessary and then knocking out the ashes. My grandmother smoked a pipe as a treatment for her Asthma, seemed to work for her.

I have tried it, and never found a need to inhale the smoke. I don't smoke, this was just a temporary aberration.

Many Klatch

 

[grizzly adam]

So what's the deal with smoking a pipe? Do you do a 'Bill Clinton' and not inhale? Or do you inhale just the same as a cigarette?

The fact of the matter, Jumpshot, is this: pipe smokers don't inhale ... and pipe smokers do inhale!

It might be safe to say that most don't, but I've known many who do, especially those smoking non-aromatic, Virginia type tobaccos.

I imagine that in days of yore (such as the celebrated fur-trade era), when pipes were simply nicotine delivery devices instead of a fashion statement, that more smokers did inhale.

During the time that I smoked a pipe, I did inhale, but not as heavily as when smoking cigarettes ... because you simply can't. The volume and heat of the smoke is just too great for deep inhaling.

Our friend is right; many pipe smokers seem so fond of the ritual and maintenance of pipe smoking that the effect of the tobacco isn't the point anyway! :wink:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I smoked a pipe for more than 25 years and generally did not inhale. Some smoke does get into your lungs, and bronchi, however. And, up through your nose into your sinuses. When you suck the air and smoke through a pip stem, you hold it in your mouth, and then exhale it. Its the taste and the smell of the tobacco which is the "joy " of smoking pipes, and not the nicotene high you could get if you inhaled.

I smoked a tobacco that was a combination of Golden, or " Virginia" Canvendish, Black Cavendish, and a touch of burley, with the two Cavendish tobaccos soaked in a vanilla solution and dried before cutting and mixing. It is called Sable Blend, because it is such a smooth tasting smoke, and even non-smokers like the smell of the vanilla flavoring. I liked it because, unlike most all aromatic blends, Sable did not burn the tongue.

If you are going to smoke pipes, you need plenty of them. Once smoke, the pipe needs to be cleaned, and then allowed to dry out for a day before it can be smoked again. If you don't rotate pipes, you get a mouthful of nicotine, and TARS, which taste very bitter. This is also the " juice " that some smokers end up sucking up through the pipe stem, and then spitting out!

This is why many pipe smokers reserve this pastime for their homes, where they maintain a pipe rack, full of pipes, the tobacco of choice, and pipe cleaners and tools needed to keep their pipes in top condition. Don't hestitate to smoke a " Kentucky Meershaum", or a corncob pipe. They don't last very long before drying out, but they are a good smoke, and they are very cheap to buy, and even cheaper to make. Briar pipes come in all price ranges, and a good bet is to find a pipe shop that sells used pipes. These are cleaned, and reconditioned, and typically will have new stems put in them. ( Don't buy someone's old stem!) The Briar, and the name of the maker is what puts the value to the pipe, not the stem. I have a Briar Pipe I bought back in 1972 for the then princely sum of $35.00. Today, its worth 20 times that, and its still my favoite pipe to smoke. I also have a Calabash/meershaum Pipe, and that is also a good smoke, but heavy, clumbsy, and poorly balanced. You have to be sitting down to smoke it.

Tamping tobacco into a pipe is almost an artform. Done properly, the tobacco will stay lit and burn from the top to the bottom, outdoors, without going out. Done wrong, and the smoker is constantly re-lighting his pipe, and has the bottom third of his tobaccco turn into a gooey mess, that is thrown away. If he is interested, I can instruct your friend on the proper method to pack and "tamp" tobacco in a pipe. Send me a PT.

 

[Jumpshot]

Hmm, interesting. Now I'm tempted to try it myself, just to see what it's like.

This is also the " juice " that some smokers end up sucking up through the pipe stem, and then spitting out!

Blechh! :barf:

 

[dlpowell]

I also smoked a pipe for a number of years. There are a lot of exotic and semi-exotic woods out there that react differently with tobacco. You'll need to try different blends to see what your pipe likes. Once you get a char base in the bowl use a reamer to keep it cleared. Buying pipes is as addictive as this sport is.

 

[Trench]

I bought every groomsmen in a wedding a pipe that we all enjoyed one evening before a wedding. None of us had smoked a pipe before and there was a deffinite novelty to it. The cigarette smoker in the bunch couldn't handle it due to his habit of inhaling. It was just fun to try once and I recommend doing it. You only live once! Oh, and the tobacco might "bite" your tongue. I felt like I had a sore in the middle of my tongue the next day.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Yea, the material makes a difference in pipes. I make pipes out of horn and you have to "char" the pipe bowl well before trying to smoke the pipe or else you get a mouth full of burning horn. Which is not good.

 

[MSW]

well, i smoked a pipe all through college and quit when i got into riding around in tanks for a living. all that hydraulic oil and diesel fuel and bits of gunpowder and God- knows- what on the turret floor just waiting for me to drop the fool thing and blow me and my crew to kingdom come just didn't seem very sporting.

no, i didn't inhale, but then again, when i signed the contract to serve, i went ahead and held up my end of the bargian, and i must confess a certian animosity to those who 'welshed.'

 

[hawk]

jumpshot I started to use a pipe after my Grampy past a way ... I missed the smell .

never understood the ritual of smoking before... thought you mite aswell burn money...but found that the taste is sweet and complements a swig of dark rum or good wiskey ...your results may vary.

he said "there's nothing wrong with a pipe, just don't make it a habbit!"

 

[howdydoit]

Ive recently started to smoke a pipe aswell, and I find that I enjoy it more then the occasional cigar I used to smoke.

Now just need to lear the art of filling the pipe, lol. Its a ritual that I believe I can get used to.

Howdy

 

[Pigman]

As a dedicated Brother of the Briar I am a confirmed Pipe smoker.

If you read any of the surgeon general’s reports you will find they could find no statistical or clinical link connected with pipe smoking. However it is considered bad for you but they don’t know why.

Even the surgeon general could not explain why pipe smokers lived longer than nonsmokers. I liked Clinton surgeon generals (Elders) explanation the best. She stated that “Pipe smokers are genetically predisposed to live longer.” Koop may have put it best when he explained the paradox by stating “Pipe smokers are not usually the type of people who engage in risky behaviors. You don’t see many jumping out of airplanes.”

As far as inhaling or not. Pipes are designed to deliver nicotine through the membranes of the mouth not the lungs. You still get nicotine high but not very intense or long lasting.

Thanks,
Foster From Flint

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

I smoked pipes for many years. Certainly didn't inhale. The "aromatic" blends like cherry, vanilla, etc., tasted worse than they smelled and would probably have an effect like MACE if sucked into the lungs. My favorites were heavy on the latakia and perique, smelled like burning gym socks and tasted like ambrosia. Sometimes I think that one of the reasons I landed the part of Sherlock Holmes on stage was because the director knew I was a heavy pipe-smoker.

 

[Jumpshot]

Thanks for all the input everyone. Interesting stuff.

 

[davemcg]

ARRRRGH! :cursing:

I shoulda never started reading this thread :cursing:

I used tobacco for years in one form or another, it's been 8 years since I gave it all up but now taking up a pipe again seems very alluring, particularly now being Winter and the warmth and comfort tied in with the smoke.

I'm thinking too it would add to the ambiance at rondys or when out in the field, but I sure don't want to end up a pack a day smoker again, so here's my question; are there any tobacco-free substitutes that would be worth trying? I've heard of drying Kinnikinick (sic?)leaves, and inner bark of red willows. Any other thoughts or ideas?

Thanks

 

[shooyer_250]

reckon it depends on what's in the pipe that determines whether you inhale or don't, let's ask Clinton...Lee

 

[laney1566]

I have a considerable investment in pipes. Which is what they are if you buy the good ones. (Castello, Dunhill, Etc....)I can ebay all my pipes and expect them to sell for at least what I paid. I don't smoke as often as I used to because my wife being a smoker for years finds herself with emphysema. I have to go outside to smoke so mostly I do so in the summer months. As far as method.....The majority of pipe smokers don't inhale. I don't any more. When I did, I used Half & Half. A domestic blend that smoked similar to cigarette tobacco but smelled 1000% better. The reason that cigarette tobacco stinks and pipe tobacco tends to smell good is that cigarette tobacco has MANY added ingrediants. Most pipe tobaccos are 100% Natural. The sweeter smelling tobaccos having some type of sugar soaked in. Those are cavendish type tobaccos and make inhaling a very harsh proposition. I smoke for the aroma and taste these says as I am no longer addicted to nicotine in the inhaled form. The virginia tobaccos tend to be hotter on the tongue than the burleys. I smoke a home made blend of Dunhill (Early Morning Pipe 2/3) and a aromatic (Black Walnut 1/3). I seal the mix in a vacuume sealer and let it age for at least a year. MMMMM Good!!! A more natural taste with a great aroma to please those around me.

 

[Arrowstorm]

You will find that pipe tobacco comes in a variety of flavors. This is because most pipe smokers will NEVER inhale the smoke, but only take it in for the taste and the aroma.

Same goes for cigars. This type of long fill tobacco burns slower and produces a far too thick smoke for anyone to inhale.

 

[Cutfingers]

I've been a pipe smoker for about 40 years and enjoy it to the fullest. Old timers did inhale but as someone else mentioned in this thread they used the pipe simply as a means of taking in tobacco.
If you start, remember the flavored tobaccos smoke wet and the English types smoke dry. A wet tobacco is much harder to keep lit and you will spend a great deal of time lighting it. A dryer tobacco will stay lit better, but if smoked heavy will have a tendency to cause tongue bite.
One of the great pleasures of the pipe is finding the tobacco right for you.
One final note: don't go cheap investing in pipes as they do make a great deal of difference.

 

[Jumpshot]

I hear a lot about the quality of pipes affecting the flavor. What about pipe tomahawks? How would they taste? Do a lot of reenactors actually smoke them (those that are smokers, of course), or is it just an item to have in order to be PC?