The Tobacco Journey

To smoke you need a pipe and tobacco (and a lighting source.)  I had a corn cob pipe. Overwhelmingly I was advised to get Carter Hall.  Carter Hall, in the smoking community, is called an OTC, which stands for "over-the-counter" and are tobacco blends that have been available in drugstores for decades.  Other OTCs are Prince Albert, Half and Half, Captain Black, Paladin, Velvet, etc. Drugstores dont' carry much tobacco any more, so smokers have to go to tobacco specialty stores or order it online.  In my area there is a chain of stores called Smoker Friendly.  Their offerings are limited, basically just carry the OTCs.  So, I picked up a few pouches of what was available.

Except for the Paladin, I liked all of them very well.  They burned well and had very good aroma.  As far as starter tobaccos, I think they are excellent.

Starting out I was told over and over again, don't smoke aromatics.  An aromatic is (extremely simplified explanation) a specialty flavoring, such as cherry or vanilla, added to the natural tobaccos.  Typically to get aromatics the flavorings make the tobacco moist and gummy, which can be challenging to light, get it to stay lit, and to burn completely.  This is why many experienced pipe smokers recommend that newbie's stick to non-aromatics starting out.  Carter Hall, Half and Half, Prince Albert, Sir Walter Raleigh are all non-aromatics (Prince Albert and Sir Walter Raleigh also come in aromatics, so read the label carefully!)  While Captain Black tobaccos are "aromatic" they are not high maintenance ones and I found rather easy to smoke, as well as extremely pleasant.  The Cherry is my favorite.

So next I stepped things up, I ordered somethings online -- a couple new cobs, some tobacco and accessories.  I had been using matches up to this point, and I could go through quite a few, so I decided to get a 45 angle lighter and some pipe tampers.  The leopard print bag was my first pipe kit -- I could pack it with tobacco, a pipe, lighter and tamper, everything you need to smoke a bowl.  I was well on my way.

A Woman Pipe Smoker

In October of 2016 I took the notion that I wanted to smoke a pipe.  Why? Not an easy question to answer.  I had inherited a portrait of a distant grandmother because I was named after her. That portrait is infamous in our family because it as known as "The Lady with the Pipe."  Yes, Granny is holding a clay pipe up to her mouth.  It must have been very characteristic of her.  This is her legacy.  Being named after her, it did put the thought in my head, maybe I should smoke a pipe too.  Another contributing factor is that I'm now an empty-nester and maybe it's a touch of "mid-life crisis."  I've never really been "normal" or blended in, but never really stood out either.  I guess this is my act of daring, of proving myself to be the eccentric I was labelled as.  It is a way to stand out as an individual.

Other than a co-worker of my father's thirty years ago, I haven't known anyone who smokes a pipe.  I had to muddle through on my own.  Pipes can be expensive, and when you are starting out, it's best to start out with something you consider a "trainer."  Expect to ruin it.  I picked up a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe (Legend) at a drug store. $7.  Then I got online and looked for a pipe smoking group.  They were extremely helpful.  On their advice I picked up Carter Hall pipe tobacco.  My first pipe smoke was very successful, but I think that was largely due to the fact that I read a lot, I asked a lot of questions, and I took it slowly.

 

 

I used just a few matches, and that was all the ash that was left in my pipe.  My next pipe was not quite so successful.  Everyone has hits and misses.

 

Since that time, though, I've been hooked.  The journey is just beginning.