Mixing Flavors

[suicidesamurai]

This is sort of two things.

First, I got a very cheap pipe and got a very cheap introduction into pipe smoking. It is one of those little Ozark Mountain pipes made by Missouri Meerschaum and most of what I can taste is the little chips of wood in the bowl. I really couldn't taste the tobacco. I decided to keep smoking bowls and build up some cake to see if it would get better. It has to some extent, but it still doesn't have much flavor and I think smoking a pipe could be so much better, and I'm determined to find out. So I'm getting a nicer pipe for a Christmas gift.

But I have read that you probably shouldn't mix English and aromatic blends in the same pipe because of the flavors they impart onto the bowl. I like nice tasting things, cigars or wine or what have you. But I'm not one to worry about every little flavor nuance. If it tastes good, it tastes good.

Would it be such a bad idea to smoke both types in my new, nicer pipe?

And if this topic has been covered, perhaps I could be directed to the proper thread. I didn't see anything on it.

[IHT]

if it's a cob, you should be able to smoke different blends in it.

what type of tobacco are you smoking that you can't taste it, only pieces of wood?

how is the draw on the pipe? if it's not very easy, then take the filter out of the stem, then check to see if there's not a bunch of sawdust plugging up the draught hole (i've had a couple corn cobs like that) - it just takes a pipe cleaner to poke through and pull it all out if that's the case..

[suicidesamurai]

Originally Posted by IHT

if it's a cob, you should be able to smoke different blends in it.

what type of tobacco are you smoking that you can't taste it, only pieces of wood?

how is the draw on the pipe? if it's not very easy, then take the filter out of the stem, then check to see if there's not a bunch of sawdust plugging up the draught hole (i've had a couple corn cobs like that) - it just takes a pipe cleaner to poke through and pull it all out if that's the case..

Here is the pipe

http://www.marscigars.com/browseprod...tain-Pipe.html

I perhaps overdid it because I'm not upgrading to a cob, but a Savinelli Tundra series.


The draw seems fine. I took the filter out of it and have cleaned it and it didn't smoke much different. But at the bottom of the bowl, there are little pieces of wood. It's not all smoothed out like a normal pipe, this thing only cost a few bucks. The shank actually extends into the bowl, and around this are flakes of wood. So I think that is where the flavor is coming from. Since 10-12 bowls, I can taste the tobacco more because cake is forming and the pieces of wood are being charred and covered in cake.

The tobaccos I have smoked in it are Star of the East, Autumn Evening, Da Vinci (CAO, not C&D), and Haunted Bookshop. Two English blends and two aromatics.

[NCatron]

Originally Posted by suicidesamurai

Here is the pipe

http://www.marscigars.com/browseprod...tain-Pipe.html

Hardwood pipe? Well, there's your problem. That's neither a cob, NOR a briar. Probably why it tastes like wood, I don't think I've ever seen anyone recommend a pipe that wasn't either cob, briar, meershaum, or clay.

Buy a cob for the aromatics, and use the briar for non-aromatics. Two pipes should do you if you aren't too picky like you say. And toss that other pipe.

[JacksonCognac]

The flakes of wood you are describing sound like little splinters around the draft hole (hole in the bottom of the pipe), correct? Well I doubt those are what you are tasting because they would need to be burned to produce smoke and after you burned them off once there wouldn't be anything left.

With that said, a lot of people take a pen knife and smooth out the draft hole on a new ozark or corn cob pipe. Be sure to blow the splinters out before lighting up however.

I would also recommend picking up a couple actual corn cob pipes, they smoke well and will beef up your rotation. I don't have any experience with the hardwood pipes but I'm guessing they aren't the best.

[suicidesamurai]

Originally Posted by NCatron

Hardwood pipe? Well, there's your problem. That's neither a cob, NOR a briar. Probably why it tastes like wood, I don't think I've ever seen anyone recommend a pipe that wasn't either cob, briar, meershaum, or clay.

Buy a cob for the aromatics, and use the briar for non-aromatics. Two pipes should do you if you aren't too picky like you say. And toss that other pipe.

Yeah I figured it would work similar to a cob but apparently not.

[suicidesamurai]

Originally Posted by JacksonCognac

The flakes of wood you are describing sound like little splinters around the draft hole (hole in the bottom of the pipe), correct? Well I doubt those are what you are tasting because they would need to be burned to produce smoke and after you burned them off once there wouldn't be anything left.

With that said, a lot of people take a pen knife and smooth out the draft hole on a new ozark or corn cob pipe. Be sure to blow the splinters out before lighting up however.

I would also recommend picking up a couple actual corn cob pipes, they smoke well and will beef up your rotation. I don't have any experience with the hardwood pipes but I'm guessing they aren't the best.

Granted, I have no pipe experience, but I don't know what else it would be. It tastes woody. I will just get a cob pipe for the aromatics as NCarton suggested and if I want to stick with it, eventually get something nicer for the aromatics as well.