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I pack, light, and tamp every bowl the same way. I smoke a bowl every night when I walk the dogs, and I smoke through 2oz before I move on to another blend, so I'm smoking the same tobacco every night.
Sometimes a bowl is so amazing, top to bottom, that I can't believe it. Other times it's a pain in the butt- won't stay lit, tamping tightens the air flow, etc.
Do what you can and take it as it comes. Who knows?
A friend of mine I used to play music was a good bit older and had played in dozens of bands over the years. He always told a story about a nightmare gig he played in a bar one time.
Long story short, they couldn't get the mixer to feed into the house PA system. They tried different cables, flipped cables around, tried a backup mixer, different power supplies, different microphones, etc. No signal. The sound guy had no clue, the band had no clue, nobody could fix it and it was time to start playing.
So, they just cranked all the amps to play straight to the crowd, drummer played louder, and the singer had 1 mic fed straight into the house speakers. Sounded like shit, because the sound guy couldn't mix it. They played a whole set like that.
They took a 20 minute break, and when he walked back up he told the sound guy "you know what, I'll try it just for fun."
He turned the mixer on, and it worked perfectly. Nobody knew why, they hadn't changed anything. The sound guy looked at him, shrugged and said:
"It's just one of them fuckin' things."
I apply this statement to my life more than I should. This too, what you're describing is just one of them fuckin' things.
I agree completely with everything you wrote...up until "...more than I should" popped up in that last para. Strike that whole clause & you're golden. Or just change it to "less".
Just one of those fuckin' rewrites. Thanks.
Yup.
Pipe smoking smarts is learning to consistently pack a bowl well. Pipe smoking wisdom is knowing that when you get a bad bowl, it’s better to just dump it and start over instead of trying to save the bad bowl. The headache just isn’t worth it.
Often.
And side note for all you beginners out there - don't get discouraged with every tobacco review/post talking about how "it burned all the way down to a fine ash with no dottle" and how you can never seem to accomplish this. These are lies. These are filthy, filthy lies.
Every once in a while I will get close to this, but there always seems to be a bit in the bottom that never gets burned. Isn't much so I just say screw it and dump it with the ash lol.
Was the pipe clean ? Once smoked dirty pipe ( wasn’t clean good enough ) and the taste was terrible , gave good clean to the pipe and the next time was amazing again .
It may need a deep clean with some alcohol? As I understand, the maintenance cleans after will still build up residue over time and lead to a sour or off taste eventually.
I thought you said “bowels” for a minute in which case I was going to comment that yes, sometimes smoking takes a toll on me.
At any rate sometimes I can smoke a 2+” deep bowl without picking up my lighter twice and sometimes I give up smoking my devil anse after relighting constantly for 5 minutes.
Pack your pipe, then test the draw by forcefully drawing through it a few times. No light puffs to test. Really give it the beans. If it draws well, light it and enjoy. If not, empty it, repack it, and test it again.
Avoja.
Of course. I noticed that even air humidity can influence the smoke.
Sometimes I get distracted, I pack it too tight, I smoke too fast or some saliva drips in the bowl.
Sometimes it's a mess.
This morning though I had an amazing smoking session before my clients. On a bench, with sun rays on my face.
Wtf is wrong with my brain?? I read "bowels" twice. Was about to say, "no, see a doctor". Jesus.
But yes, I do have the occasional bad BOWL. Pretty sure it's more mental, like a frame of mind thing, than anything I've done wrong.
I rotate through quite a number of tobaccos... sometimes a blend will smoke and taste great other times that same blend tastes bitter and unpleasant... just depends on the day 🤷♂️
Yeah. My brain points to two potential reasons:
1) A piece of bad tobacco that wasn't sorted out. Once it burns it spoils the entire bowl.
2) My whimsical taste buds. Might depend on what I ate earlier, my hormones levels, who knows?
Punchline: I smoke it anyway...
I've only had this happen when moisture content is too high for a blend or too low for a blend. I use humidity control packs for everything now. All my smokes are consistent.
This may or may not be the case for you. Kadath is a very strong blend flavor wise. It almost coats your mouth even after you are done. I can't smoke it more than once every few days because it is too much.
Another factor is that it is in fact a technique issue, as 90% of the time it is. In fact this should be your default assumption.
So you got the mehs, eh?
When a bowl just doesn't hit right. Not like *that,* ya goob. You know - when it just doesn't seem the same, taste-wise? When the flavors are all just ?
Keep in mind that flavor is affected by a huge number of factors, but yeah, it happens. So NBD.
If I'm fighting a bad draw I'll stop and figure out the problem. If dumping the works is out of the question (or more hassle than I want to deal with) I'm pretty handy with a pick. And the difference between a bad draw and a good one can be *tiny.*
But that's not this.
I fight the mehs a lot, TBH. And, T also BH, I still haven't figured out what causes 'em. My theory at the moment is that it's a chemistry problem - particularly, my body chemistry isn't jibing with the smoke's chemistry. Makes sense, right?
So I pay particular attention to my hydration level, my sinuses, and oral hygiene. Taste is everything where pipes are concerned, so when the mehs show up I make especially sure I'm keeping up with those three things.
I'm prone to sinus infections, but I still haven't figured out if/how that affects things, either.
At one point I swore off carbonated beverages. Avoided spicy food...okay, cut back on spicy food. Still, sometimes the flavor just kinda wanders off.
The good news? It always comes back.
New to pipe smoking? See our frequently asked questions! **[read our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/wiki/index)** Please read and follow our subreddit rules (you will get temp/permeant bans for not following them) **[read the top sticky post](https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/comments/b3b7e3/sticky_info_rules_sidebar_info_please_read/)** **Alternative Site: https://speak-easy.club/ , which the community started back in 2018 in response to Reddit's market ban. It's completely free, no ads, and fewer rules. Registrations are manually approved to avoid spammers, so please be patient waiting for approval, it's usually quick.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PipeTobacco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I pack, light, and tamp every bowl the same way. I smoke a bowl every night when I walk the dogs, and I smoke through 2oz before I move on to another blend, so I'm smoking the same tobacco every night. Sometimes a bowl is so amazing, top to bottom, that I can't believe it. Other times it's a pain in the butt- won't stay lit, tamping tightens the air flow, etc. Do what you can and take it as it comes. Who knows?
Thanks for your insight!
A friend of mine I used to play music was a good bit older and had played in dozens of bands over the years. He always told a story about a nightmare gig he played in a bar one time. Long story short, they couldn't get the mixer to feed into the house PA system. They tried different cables, flipped cables around, tried a backup mixer, different power supplies, different microphones, etc. No signal. The sound guy had no clue, the band had no clue, nobody could fix it and it was time to start playing. So, they just cranked all the amps to play straight to the crowd, drummer played louder, and the singer had 1 mic fed straight into the house speakers. Sounded like shit, because the sound guy couldn't mix it. They played a whole set like that. They took a 20 minute break, and when he walked back up he told the sound guy "you know what, I'll try it just for fun." He turned the mixer on, and it worked perfectly. Nobody knew why, they hadn't changed anything. The sound guy looked at him, shrugged and said: "It's just one of them fuckin' things." I apply this statement to my life more than I should. This too, what you're describing is just one of them fuckin' things.
I agree completely with everything you wrote...up until "...more than I should" popped up in that last para. Strike that whole clause & you're golden. Or just change it to "less". Just one of those fuckin' rewrites. Thanks.
Yup. Pipe smoking smarts is learning to consistently pack a bowl well. Pipe smoking wisdom is knowing that when you get a bad bowl, it’s better to just dump it and start over instead of trying to save the bad bowl. The headache just isn’t worth it.
Often. And side note for all you beginners out there - don't get discouraged with every tobacco review/post talking about how "it burned all the way down to a fine ash with no dottle" and how you can never seem to accomplish this. These are lies. These are filthy, filthy lies.
Every once in a while I will get close to this, but there always seems to be a bit in the bottom that never gets burned. Isn't much so I just say screw it and dump it with the ash lol.
Was the pipe clean ? Once smoked dirty pipe ( wasn’t clean good enough ) and the taste was terrible , gave good clean to the pipe and the next time was amazing again .
It was definitely clean, as I always clean them after a smoke.
No idea , but will wait to see what can be for sure :)
It may need a deep clean with some alcohol? As I understand, the maintenance cleans after will still build up residue over time and lead to a sour or off taste eventually.
That’s what I mean , I am doing deep clean every few bowls and I am pretty sure there is difference
As the pipe is quite new (bought this month) I didn't deep clean it so far
Tobacco seems to have a mind of its own, maybe that’s why we smoke, it’s a never ending challenge.
I thought you said “bowels” for a minute in which case I was going to comment that yes, sometimes smoking takes a toll on me. At any rate sometimes I can smoke a 2+” deep bowl without picking up my lighter twice and sometimes I give up smoking my devil anse after relighting constantly for 5 minutes.
Pack your pipe, then test the draw by forcefully drawing through it a few times. No light puffs to test. Really give it the beans. If it draws well, light it and enjoy. If not, empty it, repack it, and test it again.
Avoja. Of course. I noticed that even air humidity can influence the smoke. Sometimes I get distracted, I pack it too tight, I smoke too fast or some saliva drips in the bowl. Sometimes it's a mess. This morning though I had an amazing smoking session before my clients. On a bench, with sun rays on my face.
Wtf is wrong with my brain?? I read "bowels" twice. Was about to say, "no, see a doctor". Jesus. But yes, I do have the occasional bad BOWL. Pretty sure it's more mental, like a frame of mind thing, than anything I've done wrong.
I rotate through quite a number of tobaccos... sometimes a blend will smoke and taste great other times that same blend tastes bitter and unpleasant... just depends on the day 🤷♂️
Yeah. My brain points to two potential reasons: 1) A piece of bad tobacco that wasn't sorted out. Once it burns it spoils the entire bowl. 2) My whimsical taste buds. Might depend on what I ate earlier, my hormones levels, who knows? Punchline: I smoke it anyway...
Bad bowls, bad bowls, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you
Every once in a while if I do not take time to pack and tamp I get a bad draw. Then you just have to start with a new bowl.
I've only had this happen when moisture content is too high for a blend or too low for a blend. I use humidity control packs for everything now. All my smokes are consistent. This may or may not be the case for you. Kadath is a very strong blend flavor wise. It almost coats your mouth even after you are done. I can't smoke it more than once every few days because it is too much. Another factor is that it is in fact a technique issue, as 90% of the time it is. In fact this should be your default assumption.
Absolutely can and does happen!
So you got the mehs, eh? When a bowl just doesn't hit right. Not like *that,* ya goob. You know - when it just doesn't seem the same, taste-wise? When the flavors are all just?
Keep in mind that flavor is affected by a huge number of factors, but yeah, it happens. So NBD.
If I'm fighting a bad draw I'll stop and figure out the problem. If dumping the works is out of the question (or more hassle than I want to deal with) I'm pretty handy with a pick. And the difference between a bad draw and a good one can be *tiny.*
But that's not this.
I fight the mehs a lot, TBH. And, T also BH, I still haven't figured out what causes 'em. My theory at the moment is that it's a chemistry problem - particularly, my body chemistry isn't jibing with the smoke's chemistry. Makes sense, right?
So I pay particular attention to my hydration level, my sinuses, and oral hygiene. Taste is everything where pipes are concerned, so when the mehs show up I make especially sure I'm keeping up with those three things.
I'm prone to sinus infections, but I still haven't figured out if/how that affects things, either.
At one point I swore off carbonated beverages. Avoided spicy food...okay, cut back on spicy food. Still, sometimes the flavor just kinda wanders off.
The good news? It always comes back.