I've been an avid cigar smoker now for 3 years and had it not been for an article in the most recent Cigar Mag. on vintage pipe tobacco blends, I doubt my interest in pipes would have ever been stirred. Nonetheless, they have and here I am... with many questions.

While, I have what seems like a million questions, I'll limit it to a couple here.

I have a pipe (a used estate pipe I got off of Ebay cheap)... I'm not sure if this was a wise move or not, but it's where I'm at.

I have a Czech tool, pipe cleaners and even a bit of tobacco the B&M gave me to try.

Q1: Which is preferred for lighting, matches or lighter and am I correct that my cigar torch lighter should not be used?

Q2:I know pipes tend to go out much more than cigars, what's the general rule for smoking... how often should you puff?

Q3: Does it matter how far down you smoke the tobacco? I know when a cigar begins to turn bitter or hot it's reached its end. Does a pipe offer similar end indications?

Thanks for whatever advice you can give me. Already, I'm learning tons about pipes and am excited to begin this next chapter in my smoking adventures.
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I'm not an expert but I can give my :-)

Q1: I use matches but you can go through alot depending how often the pipe goes out. There are pipe lighters that have a traditional flame but use butane so it burns clean. Torch lighters should not be used.

Q2: pipe smoking should be a relaxing hobby you don't puff the crap out of it but puff often, slowly and delicately to get the flavor of the tobacco and let it burn slowly and consistently. when you first light the pipe the tobacco will expand so you will need to tamp it down lightly to keep it even and allow the flame to burn downward.

Q3: you typically want to break in a new pipe by smoking only half bowl fulls of pipe tobacco the first 10-18 times or so and you must burn it all the way to the bottom to get an even caking of carbon on the inside to protect the bowl. never use a pointed object to clean out the bowl either, use the scraper. Pipe tobacco may burn extremely hot if you have some really sweet aromatics since the caking on the tobacco and sugars cause it to burn hotter thus resulting in tongue bite sometimes(burning the tongue basically). An estate pipe is more than likely already broken in, but should be professionally cleaned and sweetened which some B&Ms may do for a very small fee.

Good luck, I am on my second winter smoking pipe tobacco and started with aromatics, now I am trying Virginians, English and Oriental blends.
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Great start! Great questions! Welcome.

Save yourself some aggravation about break-in and cake and reaming and all that jazz and get you a couple of full-sized Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipes and a pouch of Carter Hall or Prince Albert pipe tobacco - American classic combinations. Learn how to fill the pipe and light it evenly with anything except a torch - puff until it feels hot then stop puffing until it cools down. Do a little snorking. Get a grip on that and then start thinking about that briar. Or smoke cobs forevermore... many do because they are excellent smoking pipes and cheap/easy to learn with.

Something about a pipe that's way different from a stogie. You can smoke half a pipe, put it down for an hour or until the next day, then fire it back up again. Most of the time they taste the same or better - rarely worse.
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Really? About how long would you give the unfinished bowl before tossing it and starting fresh?

Also, am I correct in assuming that much like a cigar, unattended pipe tobacco will burn out on it's own, leaving the unattended pipe safe and thus not risking catching anything on fire?
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Me? A day or two but I rarely leave an unfinished bowl. Each time I find one unfinished (usually in the truck) a day later it always blows my mind how good it tastes.

Pipes mostly go out in 5-10 minutes on their own. I make no claims and bear no liability on whether or not a pipe can catch anything on fire except your tongue. :-)

Seriously, to the point, cobs are very good smoking pipes for novice and expert but, for beginners, they provide fewer problems than briar and in case of disaster you're only out $4.00.
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Listen to the Moo Master..............I was dead set against cobs. But after many questions in many posts I had to admit defeat. I have 5 Cobs coming and I am anxious for them to arrive so I can try various tobaccos relatively risk free.
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For me it was the issue of price... figuring that something that is running a couple of bucks can't be worth a lick. But much like cigars, price isn't everything. Where did you order your cobs from?
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Sorry for all the questions... I ran out to the local drug store (can you tell I'm excited), picked up a cob and will be starting off later tonight. One question though, the cob has a filter in it. Can that be removed or should it stay in and I imagine if it says in at some point it will need replaced. Thoughts, advice?
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its your choice to leave the filter in or takes it out. I like having a filter on mine so I keep them in. A lot of people dislike the filter because it can collect the tars and make the pipe burn a lil bit hotter. the great thing about pipes is learning. You can smoke for years and still learn. There really is no wrong way to smoke a pipe. Torch lighter are not a good idea because they burn way to hot for the tobacco and can cause damage on any pipe. I love pipes because I may want a quick smoke and can fill a pipe and finish it later unlike a cigar some times. I can help with any questions you may have too about pipes I have been smoking and collecting for a few years now.
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4noggins.com

Richard is a great guy to deal, knowledgeable and friendly

I like his site layout too.............although not a big deal to some
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Thanks for the advice on the filter. I imagine for now I'll leave it in (since it came with it and all). Also thanks for the help, as I'm sure we'll be in further contact as I will most certainly have many more questions.

Thanks SF, I'll check it out.
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