pipemakersforum.com

Hi!

I just had my first smoke in my first pipe - a 1967 Brigham Canadian (estate, obviously).

It has the absolute best draw you could imagine, only mild whistling (when there was only ash left in the pipe) and fairly comfortable to clench.

However, there were a couple of things - it seemed as though the finish on the left hand side of the bowl (looking at it with stem in mouth) was boiling. I use a Zippo to light tobacco (it's easier to get lighter fluid up here than decent matches!), but I think there's something wrong with the pipe itself.

Lastly, the smoke was rediculously hot - is there a decent way to cool it down, or is there a cool-burning 'baccy that will help things along?

I also determined that the tobacco I've been smoking is no where near bold enough in flavour. *Sigh*

So, thoughts anyone?

Do mean the finish on the rim, or on the entire side of bowl? If it was just on the rim, that might be attributable to the way you light your pipe. However, it could also be linked to your experiences with a hot smoke. If you puff too hard, and get the pipe really smoking, you can make it hot to smoke, and hot to hold.

Since you describe the pipe as having a smooth, open draw, I'd guess that the culprit in this particular problem is your tobacco. What tobacco were you smoking? I've found that moist (read as 'treated with PG') tobaccos require a lot of puffing to keep them lit, which results in a lot of heat in the pipe and a lot of heat on your tongue. The drier the tobacco (again, in my experience) the cooler and more flavorful the smoke.

Now, that doesn't mean that you can take a pouch of captain black, spread it out on the table to let it dry, and end up with a cool-smoking tobacco with excellent flavor. No sireee. Tobaccos that are cured and processed with an eye on maximizing flavor and smokability will come from the maker fairly dry. Take tobaccos from Cornell and Diehl and Greg Pease - these tobaccos contain just the right moisture content (for me, anyway) to provide a cool, pleasant, long-lasting smoke. Since you don't have to puff as hard to get flavor or to keep the pipe from self-extinguishing, there's less heat. There's also tons of satisfying flavor - though in the case of Cross Eyed Cricket, that flavor may not exactly be satisfying.

Cross eyed cricket! EEEEWW!

on the rim.
when I have some cash (snicker snicker) I'll go pick up some more 'baccy. Ran out last week. *sigh* and I'll try that drying procedure.

Should have realised it m'self. I'm a smith, and water helps coal burn better. sheesh. I'm embarrassed.