Today I would like to write a little about amazing Forums that I am member of.
I have placed on my blog few links to that place I’m talking about a long time before, and now it’s the right time to write a bit more about that place.
Well, this place is one of the kind. I’m thinking and talking here about place called Smokers Forums - in my opinion a wonderful online community.
Smokers Forums
I have picked up smoking pipe in about October 2004. Just after that I have been looking for any informations about pipes, tobaccos which I love, and pipe smoking in general in many online places.
Well, I have found Smokers Forums and joined them in April 2005 for the first time. And since I have joined I was impressed with friendliness and great atmosphere of that place.
Then I have finished my studying and moved myself to London, thinking to start there something new there. I have been visiting Smokers Forums for quite a long time, but because of work and hard internet access, I’ve been quite rare visitor. That was a reason that my first account was deleted one day, but that’s not the point. When I left my work, and was back home because of some personal issues I have joined Smokers Forums again in March 2007.
Well, after all those years I’ve been there I must say this is very unusual place! one of the best places I ever been. Pipesters here are so friendly, generous and helpful. I made some wonderful friendships there with people all over the world. Some great friendships! Thank you for that.
Smokers Forums is one of those places where you can ask and get an answer! So you don’t need to be afraid asking. Members are so friendly as I said before. This is a place where you can learn so many things about pipe smoking, ie. slow puffing, packing a pipe, how to refurbish an estate pipe, and many, many more!
Well, as always thank you for stopping by. I hope this little praise might encourage you to visit us at http://www.smokersforums.co.uk/ and maybe you might decide to become a member?
After quite long break with writing I’m right back to you.
Well, what we have this time?
Here is a great place I would like to recommend to visit you all.
It’s running by Eric, a friend of mine. You can find here tons great tobacco reviews, videos about pipe smoking and many others.
Here is a short introduction taken form Smoking Pipe Tobacco website:
For me, it is all about the tobacco. Pipe tobacco is my passion. I love smoking it, I love buying it, I love exploring new blends, I love reading about it, writing about it, and especially comparing notes with other pipe smokers! At the end of the day, we all like pipe tobacco, whether that means the journey in search of the holy grail, desert island smoke, or finding daily comfort in that one blend or two that always satisfies us. This is why I’ve invited you here, from whatever other niche in the world of pipe smoking you find your own passion in – to celebrate the one part of the hobby we each have in common – smoking pipe tobacco.
Here you might see one of many videos that you can also find on Smoking Pipe Tobacco website:
Enrico Donati was a close friend of Marcel Duchamp, as well as a fellow surrealist painter.
Donati says that there is no story behind this pipe and that it was given to him by Duchamp as a token of their friendship.
Carved on the front of the bowl is “Marcel à Enrico.” The inscription of these few simple words is what really exposes the intimate side of Marcel Duchamp.
Illinois Smokers Rights – here is another great website, this time by our friends in Illinois.
You can read here about tobacco issues as well as topics related to smokers and smokers’ rights. Visit them here
In this post I would to introduce you to wonderful blog by Trever Talbert, where you can find priceless information about pipe making, pipe shapes, tobaccos.
Here you can find very interesting informations about tobacco types, their characteristics, and finally receipts on tobacco blending.
A really great source. Hope you enjoy
And here is one of receipts :
“Sailorman Jack’s cigar leaf blend
2 ounces red virginia,
2 ounces lemon virginia,
11.5 ounces latakia,
0.5 ounces perique,
4 ounces shredded cigar leaf.
After blending, LEAVE IT ALONE for 10 to 14 days to allow the various ingredients to “marry.”
from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit
The art of pipe smoking is a fully underestimated task of complete enjoyment for all! Here is how to smoke your pipe to enjoy it the most!
Steps
Find a pipe that fits you. There are many tobacconists around the world who would be more than happy to help you find the perfect pipe. Prices range from six dollars to several thousand.
Find the right tobacco for you. There are many varieties: aromatics, American blends, English blends, Virginias, Burleys, and many more. A tobacconist will be able to help there, as well. People completely new to smoking may enjoy an aromatic or lighter strength tobacco, while someone coming from cigarettes or cigars might prefer a heavier type of blend. Buy small amounts representing several different genres.
Fill your bowl. Fill loosely with tobacco and compress it lightly (using a “child’s touch”). Compressed halfway from the bottom of the bowl to the top. Fill again to the top and compress with a little more force (a “woman’s touch”). This time halfway from the top of the previous packing to the top. Now top it off and compress a bit harder (a “man’s touch”). Again half way from the last point to the top. Should leave roughly a 1/8th of an inch gap from the tobacco to the top of the bowl. You need to make sure it is not so tight that you cannot draw through it; you should be able to draw air though with little or no resistance. The tobacco should be springy to the touch. It’s best to have your tobacconist or an experienced pipe smoker show you. Correct packing takes a little practice, and has a lot of impact on how enjoyable your experience will be.
Light the pipe with a wooden match or a pipe lighter. Let the match burn off the sulfur a few seconds. Move the flame around the surface of the tobacco while drawing gently until evenly lit, then tamp gently with a tamper. Let it go out, then relight the same way.
Puff slowly and rhythmically. Patience is rewarded. Puffing too fast will result in tongue bite – a burning sensation on the tongue.
Tamp the tobacco gently periodically throughout the smoke to ensure the bowl remains correctly packed while smoking. Don’t worry if the pipe goes out from time to time – it will. Simply relight.
Make sure you smoke your pipe to the end to create a nice “cake” at the bottom and side of your pipe bowl.
Relax and enjoy. Pipe smoking is the quintessential art of smoking.
Tips
Above all, be patient, and take things slow. For most, the pipe smoking experience isn’t pleasant until skills in packing, lighting, tamping, and smoking cadence are mastered, and you’ve found some tobacco blends and a pipe that suit you. Tongue bite means you’re doing something wrong. If you don’t like it at first, keep experimenting, and discuss your new hobby with experienced smokers.
Keep a pipe cleaner handy. At the first sign of moisture coming through the stem of the pipe, stick the pipe cleaner into the stem and let it absorb any condensation.
If the pipe gets hot, let it go out and cool down. Smoking a pipe too hot won’t taste good, and it may damage your pipe and/or your tongue. A good guide as to whether your pipe is too hot is if you can’t hold the bowl against your cheek comfortably then let it cool down.
Allow briar pipes time to rest between smokes – the consensus is at least a day. Consider adding some corn cob pipes to your rotation while you build your collection of briar pipes. A meerschaum pipe is a great investment due to their smoking quality and the fact that they don’t need to rest between smokes.
Avoid buying the cheap “basket” or department store briar pipes. A corn cob pipe will smoke much better than a cheap briar, and cost much less if finances are a problem.
Never buy a metal (brass or silver) pipe. They look very unusual and striking but remember – metal conducts heat. These are for show. You will seriously burn yourself with these.
Allow a nice cake to grow in the bowl of the pipe. This protects the bowl from cracking. After a while, it will become necessary to scrape some of the cake off, but you may want to consult your tobacconist about that.
Whenever you are finished with a pipe, allow it to cool and then polish it using pipe polish and a clean, lint free cloth. This helps to preserve the shine and appearance, as well as protecting the bowl from heat, dirt, and corrosion.
Warnings
Smoking can cause cancer and has been linked to heart disease.
Don’t smoke if it is illegal to do so in your area.
Pipe smoking is only marginally safer than cigarette smoking.
Things You’ll Need
A good pipe
Pipe tamper/tool
Reamer (you won’t need this right away for cleaning)
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Smoke a Tobacco Pipe. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Here is Ol’ Judge Robbins in the “Horseless Carriage” Days (Popular Mechanics, Jul, 1936)
O’ Judge Robbins in the “Horseless Carriage” Days
GENTLEMEN, MEET THE PRINCE OF PIPE TOBACCOS-PRINCE ALBERT
Introduce yourself to Prince Albert at our risk. As a tobacco fancier, notice how P. A.’s “crimp cut” makes for a cooler smoke. Enjoy steady pipe-smoking that doesn’t bite the tongue. See how evenly Prince Albert cakes in yourpipe. How mellow, fragrant, and comforting it is! Below is our man-to-man offer. P. A.’s grand “makin’s” too.
50 pipefuls of fragrant tobacco in every 2-oz. tin of Prince Albert
OUR OFFER TO PIPE SMOKERS
“You must be pleased”
Smoke 20 fragrant pipefuls of Prince Albert. If you don’t find it the mellowest, tastiest pipe tobacco you ever smoked, return the pocket tin with the rest of the tobacco in it to us at any time within a month from this date, and we will refund full purchase price, plus postage. (Signed) R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N. C.
Here is another post, related to Art and pipe smoking.
Treachery of Images (La trahison des images ) great painting by René Magritte, which shows us that the painting is not a pipe, it is an image of a pipe. Great piece of classic. And great prepared slideshow with more Magritte’s works.
Recently I have become Swedish Snus fan. is a moist powder tobacco product that is consumed by placing it under the upper lip for extended periods of time. Swedish snus is made from air dried tobacco from various parts of the world. Swedish snus is a ground tobacco product dating from the late 1700s and is used orally. It is moist for easy use and contains four main ingredients. Selected tobaccos, water, salt, food approved humectants to preserve moisture and flavour additives which give each brand its unique character.
As you may see, here we have another funny tobacco ad.
You may differ with the traffic officer about the speed you were going . . . but you’re both likely to agree that MODEL is the best tobacco you ever bought for 10 cents. In pouch packages for men who like to dip in to fill their pipes, or in tins for men who like to carry tobacco that way. MODEL has everything—for 10 cents!
Ryszard Kulpinski, one of best known Polish pipe makers. He started as an apprentice in the workshop of the Walat brothers in 1956. Ryszard Kulpinski introduced his work on numerous fairs and shows in Poland and foreign countries. He was one of the first to attract attention among pipe smokers outside eastern Europe. He’s pipes are true work of Art. Here are selected works by Ryszard Kulpinski.
Here is and old Prince Albert ad, titled “Women love the looks of a pipe in a man’s mouth.”
Just look at that reaction— to the attraction of P.A.
P.A. means Pipe Appeal
Women love the looks of a pipe in a man’s mouth. They call it “impressive”.. .”smooth.” Like crisp linen, fine leather, good tweeds, a pipe is smart, manly, and…so comfortable!
P.A. means Prince Albert
Insure your PIPE APPEAL by loading that pipe with PRINCE ALBERT. Its fine fragrance makes your pipe smell as good to her as it looks. And your tongue will say “thanks!” for P.A.’s wonderful mildness. The real flavor of fine tobacco—and so gentle to your tongue.
P. A. is swell for roll-your-owns too. Crimp cut clings to the paper…rolls quick, easy, and firm.
THE NATIONAL JOY SMOKE
Here is classic article by Martin Farrent about so called “soapy” or Lakeland tobaccos. Following Martin’s instructions and doing a bit of home blending we can enjoy some interesting tobaccos.
Though innocent enough in outward appearance, a novel type of firearm disguised as a smoking pipe serves as a formidable weapon when it is needed. The gun fires a .25 caliber cartridge. Its stem unscrews for loading, while the bowl of the pipe serves as a magazine for five extra rounds of ammunition. A knurled screw near the center serves as a trigger, and fires the pipe pistol when it is pulled back as illustrated in the photograph above, the user sighting meanwhile along the length of the stem. A German inventor is responsible for the unusual weapon.
Okay, so here it is a little story. That was about December, when I have had a bit of spare time, so I have been visiting my friends workshop. He’s an artist and got some handful tools. I was planing to make my first pipe! So I decided to have an relaxing day. Could you believe how hard work is to make a pipe. I have received briar and stem from Ryszard Kulpinski, Polish pipe maker.
And here is a “final” result
I know, that is nothing special that pipe I made, but I have had a great fun and spend some relaxing and wonderful time doing it.
Now I know how hard is to make a pipe and got my full respect to all pipe makers for their efforts.
