Pipe tobacco

There are several ways to enjoy access to nicotine; in descending levels of harm, the most common ways of ingesting nicotine are cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and vapes. The main appeal of cigarettes is that they are commonly accessible, relatively affordable, and deliver a strong hit of nicotine. Cigars have a better flavor and generally do less harm, as they are generally not inhaled. Vaping nicotine seems to have the least amount of harm, and similar to cigarettes, are inhaled and are generally affordable; like cigars, they have more flavor and seem to do less harm than cigarettes. The focus of this article is the third of these four siblings: pipe tobacco.

Pipe tobacco can be as flavorful as the bold flavor a cigar offers, but also offer a lot more complexity. Like vapes, various flavors and nicotine levels can be mixed and matched. Also, like a vape, a pipe does not demand a period of time committed to its use – about 3-5 minutes for a cigarette, and 30 minutes to an hour for a cigar. This is because a pipe smoke can be paused and resumed later with little detrimental effect to the tobacco.

Whereas vapes and cigarettes are generally used to simply satisfy a desire for nicotine, cigars and pipes are generally more reflective, meditative: aficionados describe their consumption as meditative, calming, thought-provoking. A downside of pipe smoking is that it is generally a less social habit than the other forms of taking nicotine: a cigar is lit and then largely takes care of itself, like a cigarette; vapes deliver nicotine as-inhaled or as the button is pressed; pipes demand more attention to the state of the burning tobacco and the process of smoking to deliver a pleasant smoke. Frequent relights are detrimental to the flavor of tobacco.

• Burley : air-cured; mild, nutty, cool smoking
• Virginia : milder, grassy, sweet, faster burning
• Perique: pungent, spicy, high-nicotine, expensive
• Latakia: fire-cured; smokey, intense

Cuts:

• Ribbon-cut: standard pipe tobacco cut
• Shag: finely-cut, as with many cigarette tobaccos.
• Flake: tobacco is pressed into a block and then sliced into thin sheets.
• Cube: like flake, but rendered into small cubes.

I prefer burley-virginia blends in flake cuts.

• Briar – standard material for wood pipes. Heat resistant, beautiful grain, harvested from tree roots.
• Corncob – cheap, dry smokes. Very American.
• Meerschaum – more spendy; cooler and dryer smokes.

Sorted roughly by order of importance:

• Pipe cleaners
  • After every smoke or two, run a pipe cleaner through the pipe from the drawhole to the bowl. I first run my fingers down the cleaner to catch loose bits of cotton, then run the cleaner down, turn it around, and run again. After that, I fold the cleaner in half and rub the clean part of the cleaner in the bowl to get out residual tars and ash. Frequent cleaning of a pipe is necessary to ensure smooth and tasty smokes. Every so often, apply alcohol such as vodka, whisky, rum, moonshine, etc to the pipe cleaner to ensure a deeper clean.
  • You want to wait at least two or three hours after smoking the pipe to disassemble – the shank is where a lot of off-tastes can develop. Disassembling the pipe early, while it's still hot, can make the pipe suffer – things change size and shape as they heat and cool.
• Lighter
  • Any standard “Bic” lighter with a soft flame can serve fine. Specialty pipe lighters (generally refillable, with replaceable flints) have an angled, soft flame, which is better suited for pipe bowls. Matches are considered to give a superior burn (after giving them a few seconds to let the sulphur burn away) but are not well-suited for outdoor use.
• Tamper
  • The simplest tamper may be a wettened fingertip or stick; nails, golf tees, or any other round and fire-resistant tool may serve its purpose. A tamper is a vital tool for ensuring a good smoke. As the tobacco burns its way down, the material in the top part of the bowl becomes fluffy and the burn suffers. Occasional tamps with light pressure ensure a steady burn with a fairly tight draw.
• Pipe tool
  • Consisting of at least a tamper and generally includes a scoop and poker as well. The most popular pipe tool is known as a “Czech tool” (due to its place of origin) and fits well on a keychain. Some specialty pipe lighters include a pipe tool as well. The scoop is useful for emptying the bowl during/after a smoke, while a poker can help aerate an overly-tight pack of tobacco. This is also a useful tool for people who smoke marijuana from glass pipes.
• Pipe filters
  • A divisive item in the pipe community. Pipe filters ensure dryer and cooler smokes, but with proper technique, this is generally not necessary (unless you live in the tropics). Filters are disposable, use-once items, and using them adds additional cost to the pipe habit; consider also, that in exchange for helping temper the smoke, they also reduce the flavor, which goes against the purpose of using a pipe in the first place. Your mileage may vary.