(My sister is a dentist )

welcome to the wonderful world of pipe smoking!! For your questions I have some answers. For tobaccoo try captain black in the white package or try Carter Hill. I was a devoted Captain Black fan but tried Carter Hill on a whim and am not going back to the captain. it is in a creamy yellow box and is very easy to light, stays lit, and tastes wonderful. I have tried both briar and cob and am a devoted cob man. they are cheap and to me taste better, burn longer, and are lighter which keeps mouth fatigue down. and if your like me you have a tendency to drop them while working. the paper in the stem is a medico filter and is basically just like a filter on a cigarette but are replacable. Dr.Grabow pipes use them as well as Missouri Meerschaum. I simply discard them the second i get a new pipe. I find it easier to smoke and better tasting with out one but its simply up to you. As far as your smoking problems go you are packing to tightly or loosly and are drawing too often which is whats giving you your bite. google the three step method of packing a pipe, Baby, mom, and dad. I smoke nothing but cob and simply pack the bowl in a sensable manner with enough to fill it but not enuff to pack it to the brim and i do fine. different tobaccos pack different and smoke different depending on the pipe. my suggestion is to pick one pipe and play with packing it and dry different tobaccos. corn cob pipes are great starter pipes cuz they dont need breaking in and are cheap. smoke amount depends on the time spent smoking. as you get farther down the bowl, the puffs will slowly dwindle and start to taste different. the taste will get harsher and a lil wetter. I only smoke two or three times a week so what I usually do is smoke til im ready to quit or til ive got bout 1/5-1/6 of a bowl left then i dump it out. Another tip is to never leave a pipe with leftover tobacco in it then come back a day or two later and try smoking it. it wil be hard to light, taste like u licked a used ashtray and will be a waste of flame. simply dump your bowl when your done and pack fresh next time. Make sure to clean out your pipe every third or fourth smoke at the most for best taste. Hope this helps!

Matt

So far, I prefer the Black honey, yet they both seem to be slightly harsh. Perhaps another tobacco is in due. I’m looking for something smooth, yet perhaps sweet. Something pleasant to the nose. What do you recommend?

Also, before I smoked it, I checked inside the Corn Cob pipe, and I lack a metal filter. Instead, it seemed to have a sort of cloth, wound into a conical shape, and wedged into the stem. Is this normal? Or do I need to acquire something else?

My first smoke didn’t go too well. I was getting tiny amounts of smoke, and I had to relight many times. Yet, this is my second smoke now, and it’s vastly better than my first. It hasn’t required for another relight yet, and I’ve been puffing for around 10 minutes now. When I relight it however, I get that “bite” feeling people talk about. Is there a better way to do it without getting that feeling?

Also, on an average, slow smoke, how much smoke should be coming out of your mouth each puff?

Thanks for the guide!