| Author | Message | ||
     Brad Logan Member Username: Dudley Post Number: 6 Registered: 10-2005 |
Since I'm new to pipe smoking, the "How many pipes do you smoke" thread is confusing me a little. For those of you that smoke 2-10 bowls a day, do you use a different pipe for each bowl? I have been averaging about one bowl a day, and I would like to have a few more, but I'm a little afraid of smoking more than one bowl in a pipe in 24 hours. I have acquired two corn cobs and three briars (with a forth on the way.) in my two weeks. My question is "Is it ok to smoke two or three bowls in a pipe in one day then give it a few days rest? Or should the smoking be limited to one bowl per pipe per day with a day or so rest?" I only smoked aromatics up to this point...if that matters. Thanks in advance! "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."~Albert Einstein | ||
| Jasper May Member Username: Jasper_may Post Number: 22 Registered: 10-2005 |
Try it  . Most around here will tell you not to smoke more than 1 bowl per pipe a day, but you're apparently fairly well off (buying 6 pipes before even knowing if you're really going to like it), so you could 'sacrifice' one. And tell me the result!There is no more harm in a pipe than in a cup of tea. You may poison yourself by drinking too much green tea, and kill yourself by eating too many beefsteaks. - Thomas Henry Huxley | ||
| Jeff Stierman Member Username: Jeffstierman Post Number: 43 Registered: 09-2005 |
I routinely smoke several bowls a day in the same pipe, and it doesn't seem to have caused any problems for me. I'd say you need to rest the pipe for at least 4 or 5 days thereafter. Your briar pipes should stay sweet-smoking for years with that kind of care, especially if you use pipe cleaners liberally, and be sure to clean the pipe well before it's rested. You will get into trouble, though, if you smoke the same pipe day after day. I can tell you that from personal experience. A pipe smoked incessantly without proper rest will give your tobacco a flat, boring taste. My guess is that the porosity of the briar becomes blocked, but I'm open to other explanations. I have noticed that some pipes seem to be able to tolerate more refills in a day. I think it has to do with the manufacturer's curing process. To me, this seems to be especially true of pipes made by two Italian companies, Castello and Caminetto. They're both fairly expensive, but I'd personally rather have one of those than three medium-priced pipes. Jeff | ||
| The Man In Black Member Username: Tmib Post Number: 35 Registered: 06-2005 |
My personal rule of thumb is generally thus: The number of times I smoke a pipe on a given day should equal the number of days to let it rest before I smoke it again. I occasionally break my own rule however. I currently have 30+ pipes in my collection, each dedicated to one type of tobacco- so I can have the luxury of "down time" for each pipe. When I only had a few pipes in my collection I generally rested each one only a day, but I also only smoked the same pipe a couple times at most on a given day. --TMIB | ||
| Tom Bruce Member Username: Tom_bruce Post Number: 249 Registered: 03-2005 |
Here's the problem, as I understand it, and it makes sense to me. One of the by-products of burning a natural material, wood, tobacco, etc, is moisture. The moisture sinks and collects in the bottom of your pipe -- a little, a lot, depending on the tobacco. You let the pipe dry out, no problem. You smoke it before it's dried, you add further moisture. Each time you smoke it again before it has dried out, the condition worsens. The moisture contains contaminents from the tocacco which cook like in a stew when you smoke. The stew becomes rancid, acrid, sour. You throw up. Give the pipe a rest. | ||
| Christian-Heinrich Member Username: Tseha Post Number: 6 Registered: 10-2005 |
Brad, if circumstances allow to do so it's better to smoke only one bowl in a pipe a day. Clean it and allow it to rest for a day, or even better, some days. Your pipes will say "Thank you" by giving you enduring smoking pleasure. Well, a "good" pipe - you will surely find out soon, which of yours are "good" ones - shouldn't bother you if smoked several times a day once in a while. But make sure to clean it carefully after such a "torture" and put it away for a week or so. I started with a cheap Peterson and a even cheaper Chacom thirty years ago bouncing around from a green apple flavored Danish aromatic to some Latakia mixture and from some honey soaken flake to a non-aromatic Burley blend... Smokin' each pipe two or three times a day and paying little attention to propper cleaning (Uh, I just didn't know better) I succeeded to spoil them completely from November to April. May you enjoy happier puffing! | ||
| Brad Logan Member Username: Dudley Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2005 |
Thanks folks! I'll try the number of bowls=days of rest. If anything goes wrong, I guess I can try the salt and alcohol method!! I do have six pipes already, but I have purchased them at bargain prices. The two cobbs were $6 together, one briar (Grabow) for $12, two for $20 each (a Brog and a Baccara), and one from ebay for $11.50 (Big Ben). That's a total of $69.50. I know that there are better quality pipes out there for more than that; I just wanted to build a rotation because of the info I got here. I started with the Brog and loved the first bowl. Bought the cobbs the next day and acquired the others at various locations in my travels for work. So far I have only found one tobacco that I didn't like. Plus, it's a lot cheaper than the snuff I rub! "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."~Albert Einstein | ||
| G. Limon Member Username: Limon Post Number: 12 Registered: 09-2005 |
Hi. I have the "Weber's Guide to Pipe and Pipe Smoking", where you ca read that "the modern pipe smoker will smoke one pipe several times during the day, then give it a well-deserved rest." I usually smoke only three to four pipes A WEEK, but sometimes, saturday nights with friends, I may smoke more than one bowl in the same pipe. Some of the old persons that I know - I'm 47 - have only two or three pipes, so those pipes are really used. Saludos. Limón. | ||
| Michael Schulz Member Username: Bond815 Post Number: 240 Registered: 01-2005 |
What I do is have three or four pipes with me and smoke one or two bowls in each, rotating pipes between smokes. " Happy mortal he who knows the pleasure that a pipe bestows. " | ||
| jeff armstrong Member Username: Cigarnomo Post Number: 146 Registered: 03-2005 |
Brad, You will find that some of your briars can stand to be smoked two, three or four times a day without altering your tastes or experience. Others will only permit maybe two, experiment and note what works and what does not and go from there. I have several thin walled billiards (English) that can go all day, 4 to five bowls easy with no negative effects, I believe it is because they can dry themselves quicker due to less overall mass and density, just my opinion. Often I will take one pipe to work and smoke three bowls and then go home and smoke another pipe for a bowl or two and then go back to the first one for a nightcap and then clean them both and set them down for a week. I am up to about 30 pipes now and can get away with that and I also got most of them at bargain prices! Good smoking! JA | ||
| Bill Kavanaugh Member Username: Kavendish Post Number: 66 Registered: 07-2005 |
This question seems to come up quite a bit and as you can plainly see, opinions can differ. Here's some information that you may find helpful in determining how many pipes you should have in your rotation and how long they should be rested for. http://vegassmokes.com/pipe-smoking-tips.htm#rotation I believe this info only pertains to briar pipes though and cobs and meers are different. Having started off with a very small herd of pipes myself, I quickly took the advice of others here and got a few cobs to fill in my rotation. Cobs have quickly become my favorite smokers as they are cheap, durable, portable without worry, etc and I have smoked several pipes in the same (cob) pipe w/o any ill effects. | ||
| Ryan Newhouse Member Username: Troutguy Post Number: 23 Registered: 01-2005 |
I follow Mark Tinsky's personal advice: "one bowl, one pipe." Of course Mark Tinsky has more pipes than I do, and smokes more than I do, but I know my pipes will be in good condition for much longer if I try to stick to his advice. One point here, do the math! (Method A)Smoking 3 bowls/day in one pipe and letting it rest 3 full days between smokes requires a minimum of 4 pipes in your rotation. (Method B) Smoking 3 bowls in 3 different pipes per day, and still equalling days of rest to number of bowls smoked 1:1, only requires a minimum of 6 pipes in your rotation. With Method A, you're smoking an average of six bowls per pipe in a six day period. With Method B, you're smoking an average of 3 bowls per pipe in a six day period. How's this for an equation: more bowls = more moisture = shorter life of pipe; therefore fewer bowls = less moisture = longer life of pipe. In the end, it's cheaper to have six pipes for a longer period of time than to replace one of four pipes every few years due to overuse. (I just came up with all this math stuff as I was drinking a cup of coffee. I didn't really write anything down on paper, so if my math is wrong, somebody let me know). -TroutGuy | ||
| Brad Logan Member Username: Dudley Post Number: 12 Registered: 10-2005 |
Ryan, Your math makes sense to me. Throw in a few cheap cobs and you can rest the briars even more. Day 1--Briar 1, Cob 1, Cob 2; Day 2--Briar 2, Cob 3, Cob 4; Day 3-- Briar 3, Cob 1, Cob 2; Day 4-- Briar 1, Cob 3, Cob 4.... it could go on for ever! I'm going to try this method after I pick up a few more cobs (the local Tobacco shop has them for $4) It'll give me a piece of mind... and allow my pipe fund to grow so I can get a Boswell "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."~Albert Einstein | ||
| Scott Stambaugh Member Username: Banker Post Number: 25 Registered: 11-2005 |
I have about 15 pipes but over time I've narrowed it down to 9 favorites. I smoke 3 one day, 3 others the next, and the final 3 the third day. I clean each one thoroughly with Bee Sweetener and a pipe cleaner after each smoke. This way each pipe has 3 days rest to completely dry out before smoking again. If I ever smoke a pipe twice the same day I usally notice the difference in taste because the bowl has not completely dried. This method seems to work best for me. Scott S. |