Re Kent: Some good beginner tobaccos

Hi there, my name is Kent and I live in the USA. I enjoyed your blog posts on pipes. I have recently begun smoking.

Could you recommend some good beginner tobaccos? The key word for me is definitely "calm".

My dad used to smoke drugstore black and mild and I enjoyed the smell greatly not sure if the same tobaccos you recommend would be available to me, but it's worth a shot.


I'll echo those recommending that you avoid the "drugstore tobacco" route. There's no reason why you have to start there. And if you do, the odds are good that your first pipe experience won't be a pleasant one.

A sampler of small 1 or 2 oz. bags/tins would be a good way to go, giving you the chance to see just what interests you in a blend. Most new pipesmokers seem to start with aromatics - tobaccos flavored to smell (and usually taste) like something other than real tobacco.

But there's no rule that says you have to start there; in fact, some aromatics - especially drugstore aromatics - will smoke so hot and wet that they'd likely put you off the pipe for good.

If you don't want to try a sampler, I'd suggest starting with a high-quality aromatic that won't smoke hot or cause tongue bite: Cornell & Diehl's Autumn Evening. It's a maple flavored tobacco that smells a lot like maple but tastes a lot like real tobacco.

And I'll also suggest trying a light English blend. It's been a long time since I've smoked a light English (I favor heavier English/Balkan/Virginia blends), but if you just want to buy a tin, I don't think you would go wrong with Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe.

If you're calling Pipeworks & Wilke or Cornell & Diehl to place an order (you might also try www.smokingpipes.com), just tell them your situation and ask for their recommendations.

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Why Do Guys Buy Expensive Pipes?

Good question. Will a $500 pipe smoke 10 times better than a $50 pipe? Probably not. Does this mean the $500 pipe is a "poor value"? Not necessarily.

Like most things in life, you generally get what you pay for when you buy a pipe. A number of factors contribute to the price of a pipe, not the least of which is the amount of time and energy expended in its production.

A machine can crank out a pipe in less than a minute, but a craftsman may spend a day or more carving a single pipe, and such a pipe is as much a work of art as it is a smoking instrument. Smoking these sculptures in briar can provide tremendous pleasure, and many people are willing to pay for the privilege.

On the other hand, many people are perfectly content to smoke so-called "cheap" pipes. These people think that spending a large sum of money on a hunk of wood that serves only to hold burning tobacco is irresponsible, foolish, or both. These people do have a point, as it is certainly possible to buy an inexpensive, machine-made pipe that smokes perfectly well.

Like so many other aspects in this hobby, it all boils down to personal preference. The important thing is to smoke what you like, and don't get your nose out of joint if someone else's tastes differ from yours.

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How Should I Care For My Meerschaum Pipes?

First, and most importantly, don't drop it. Meerschaum is fragile, and it is very unlikely that your pipe will survive a dive to the kitchen floor.

Second, do not allow a cake to build in the bowl (firmly swabbing out all the ash residue with a bent pipe cleaner after each smoke should do the trick). If your pipe does start to build a cake, then ream it out very carefully.

Third, if your pipe has a screw-in shank fitting (as most meerschaums do), twist the stem clockwise while removing it; twisting counter-clockwise could unscrew the fitting, and doing so repeatedly can strip the shank threads.

Finally, meerschaum is a very absorbent, inorganic material, and does not require the same "rest period" that briars do. Still, I would at least allow the pipe to cool and dry completely before loading up and smoking it again.

Many meerschaum aficionados claim that to insure proper "coloring" of the bowl you should never hold the bowl with your bare hands while smoking. This may be true, but I would much rather have a meerschaum with an unevenly colored bowl than to have to go through the hassle of holding my pipe by the stem or (horrors!) wearing kid gloves to smoke.

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