Excessively moist tobacco

Most tobacco is too moist when sold; pipe tobacco fresh from the packet often has the texture of wet leaves. The effect of fire on wet foliage is well known: it produces fumes and the fire soon extinguishes. Tobacco like this is difficult or impossible to smoke, even for the most experienced pipe smoker. Regrettably, the fact that pipe smokers let their tobacco dry out before smoking is rarely mentioned.

We have advised thousands of new pipe smokers. Repeatedly attempting to light excessively moist tobacco with a lighter or matches is a factor behind most problems. Anyone who went camping as a child will recall how hard it is to light damp wood.
Damage to pipes is nearly always caused by applying flame to the wood for too long. At some point, the pipe really will smoke as the wood of the pipe starts to burn. Needless to say, this has nothing to do with pipe smoking and has no place in the proper usage of a pipe.

Applying forensic fire investigation methods to the wood of the pipe will quickly determine the causes of damage or excessive temperatures. Having advised many clients, we can say that in the vast majority of pipe damage cases, temperatures that cannot be brought about by smouldering tobacco played a part. Therefore, you should not be concerned about smoking a pipe. However, please take care to avoid applying excessive ignition sources to the pipe.

What should I do if damage occurs despite this? Nobody is perfect and people make mistakes. Simply contact us and we will find an answer for you. :)