Pipe smoking isn’t something you see around everyday. It’s something that was very common just two generations ago. My grandad smoked a pipe for a long time. Of course he smoked cigarettes as well. I guess I’m kind of like him in the sense that I love all things tobacco. Except for cigars, you can keep them.
I remember the first few times I tried to smoke a pipe. It was a compete disaster. I didn’t know what kind of tobacco to use so I picked up some Half&Half Pipe tobacco. It was horrible. Even used filters in the pipe. But I got “tongue bite” so bad that I was miserable. Of course the way I was packing the bowl and smoking it wasn’t the proper way.
Turns out, I was all wrong. So this time when I started smoking a pipe, I read a few tutorials, watched a few videos and I’m on my way. I followed the instructions that I was given, and now I know how this process works. No longer do I suffer from “tongue bite”. I “learned” how to smoke the pipe.
At first I was smoking the pipe like I was smoking a cigarette. It was like I tried to smoke a bowl of tobacco in the same amount of time it took me to smoke a cigarette. I got bit so bad it wasn’t funny. It caused me to quit. Cut to 20 years later and I’m trying it again.
I have tried many different tobaccos and my favorite is from a local Tobacconist and is a black Cavendish aromatic called “Midnight”. I now know that pipe smoking is a ritual that I have taken on fully. I puff on my pipe most days. I find it helps me to relax and write. I’ve learned to take my time, not only in preparing the pipe, but the smoking of it as well. You have to go slow. It’s okay if it goes out You can re-light the bowl.
So the lesson in the end is to take your time, be thoughtful, contemplative and puff slowly. Take the time. In the end, it’s worth it.
Wil's Pipe Blog 