First Pipe

[Hawnted]

Almost forgot, the B&M started me off with D40 Vanilla, and Blue Note. Anyone ever heard of these aromatics? How did you like them? These OK to smoke out of the same pipe?

[indigosmoke]

Blue Note is a well known blend. Overall a 3 star rating on tr.com with many reviews. Like most aromatics the range of opinions is great with regards to this blend. There are lots of reviews here: Dan Tobacco - Blue Note pipe tobacco reviews.

D40 Vanilla is less well known and less well reviewed. Rates only 1 star with a handful of reviews. Check them out here: http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_...LPHA=D&TID=243

I don't have personal experience with either, but I'm sure someone (or two or three) will chime in with a mini review or two.

[vegascigarman]

Just like everyone else has stated, I also love the Savinelli pipes, I have two of them and they are two of my favorites.

Real important: it's a good idea to let your pipe rest for at least a day after a day of use, this is so that it can dry out, otherwise it could crack.

Lots of veteran pipe smokers have several pipes, that way you can rotate through a few pipes and you will have many choices of what you want to use on a particular day.

When you start using your Savinelli, you need to "season" it. This is the breaking-in period wich will take a few uses. Many newer pipes have a dark greyish colored coating inside the bowl, one of the purposes of this coating is to reduce the formation of hot spots and it makes the seasoning process much more forgiving.

If you can hang out at a local lounge and find an experienced and friendly pipe smoker, you can probably be walked through the process pretty nicely and you can ask questions while smoking. The way you pack the bowl and light the pipe are both very important and doing it right from the beginning will greatly help you enjoy smoking your pipes through the years.

The corn cob is a great idea for leaning, it's cheap and easy to use.

Another good source of pipes is estate pipes. Sometimes people sell off all or part of a collection for next to nothing. If you only pay $20 for an older pipe that cost significantly more new, you won't feel too bad if you damage it while you're learning.

Congratulations on your new found source of relaxment.

David.

[Hawnted]

Alright, so I had my first pipe tonight. Very enjoyable. Extremely relaxing. Adds a new dimension to my downtime. I now have the choice of having a fine cigar, or a pipe by my fire pit while I relax. Kind of a silly question I guess, but my father, and my wife's father both smoked a pipe. Both of them smoked the pipe when we were younger so we only have faint memories of it, but we both remember the smell of pipe smoke being very nice. Well, as I said tonight I smoked the pipe and both of us thought the pipe smoke did not smell very good. It really just smelled smokey and not aromatic I guess you would say. Is this something I was doing wrong? I was smoking the D40-Vanilla blend.

[juni]

So I went to pick up some Squadron Leader and Hal o' the Wynd. Naturally I ended up with with a new pipe also (a Savinelli)) .

They were out of Hal o' the Wynd and I was recommended Marlin Flake instead. Now I have to figure out how to smoke flakes. I guess time to go see what Youtube has to offer in how-to videos.

[vegascigarman]

Originally Posted by Hawnted

Well, as I said tonight I smoked the pipe and both of us thought the pipe smoke did not smell very good. It really just smelled smokey and not aromatic I guess you would say. Is this something I was doing wrong? I was smoking the D40-Vanilla blend.

Some tobaccos are just more aromatic than others. I wouldn't know the numbers of the blends, but when I used to smoke pipes more often I usually smoked a blend of Wembley and Nottingham, Wembley is a little dryer and mild whereas Nottingham has much more moisture to it along with flavor and aroma. This really smelled great.

As you try more tobaccos you will find some that you like more than others. The great thing about smoking pipes is that after you purchase the pipes, you hardly spend anything on the tobacco. Lately I've been averaging about 3 premium cigars per day and it's not inexpensive like pipe tobacco.

Enjoy your pipe.

David.

[Hawnted]

Originally Posted by vegascigarman

As you try more tobaccos you will find some that you like more than others. The great thing about smoking pipes is that after you purchase the pipes, you hardly spend anything on the tobacco. Lately I've been averaging about 3 premium cigars per day and it's not inexpensive like pipe tobacco.

Enjoy your pipe.

David.

Yeah. Someone above linked a review of the 2. The one I tried last night got pretty poor reviews. I am sure a lot of it is subjective, but consistent bad reviews would indicate something.

[indigosmoke]

Originally Posted by juni

I was recommended Marlin Flake instead. Now I have to figure out how to smoke flakes. I guess time to go see what Youtube has to offer in how-to videos.

Check out Dubinthedam's videos here:

YouTube - dubinthedam's Channel

The video Flakes will get you started on flake tobaccos the right way and I also recommend Maintaining a Bowl of Tobacco. Dub posts here frequently and has lots of good videos on his youtube page.

[Requiem]

This is another great youtube channel, full of great information.

YouTube - Laughter1099's Channel

[juni]

Thank you, I actually got it to work. I didn't know about the tipping and stirring - great channel.

I'm unsure about Squadron Leader, first it was like "Wow, this tastes like cr*p!" and then "Hmmm.. this is not so bad" to "I just might try it again". Very different from anything I've tried before.

[Vrbas]

taste like campfire

[Arizona]

Savinelli's are great pipes, congrats on your new pipe. But a cob is as said above a must for all pipers. It's just a great knock-about pipe for riding in the car, working in the yard, sampling other tobaccos, etc. I love my cobs and enjoy them alot - despite having over a dozen good to expensive briars it's arguable if they're any better smoke than a cob sometimes!