Quote:
Originally Posted by RJpuffs
You may also want to buy a cheapo pipe to learn on, or a cob. I'm assuming the heirlooms are very old and probably priceless - you don't want to mangle those while learning the art of pipe smoking.
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Definitely buy some cobs if you didn't inherit any. They're really useful for pipe smokers at any stage of the game, and when you're just learning you don't want to mess up and mar an heirloom for good.
Otherwise, I'd reccomend starting out on something dryer, like a burley blend. Avoid aromatics since they are gummy as hell, so that presents another problem, and when you're trying to learn there are enough obstacles already. Also I'd pack fairly lightly at first, since you can always tamp a light bowl down to firm it up, but its much harder to loosen an overpacked bowl.
Also don't be afraid to relight. When I introduce a lot of people to the pipe it goes out all the time, but they don't ever want to relight. My first bowl I went through well over 40 matches (partially since it was a windy night, but the large majority of those were to to incompetence on my part). There is absolutely no downside to relighting, so there is no reason not to.
Oh, and obviously read the stickies, as they can be amazingly helpful.