So, you’ve picked out your first pipe, tobacco, and you even know a little bit about the stem material. Now…how the hell do you get the tobacco in there?

Like so many things, we sometimes like to make packing a pipe more complicated than it needs to be. After all, part of the fun of pipes is the ritual and the best rituals tend to be a little over the top.

Before talking about my four favorite methods, a couple of caveats:

1. These are not the only ways to pack a pipe.
2. These might not even be the best ways to pack a pipe. The best way is the way that works for you.
3. Keep experimenting. Some of these methods are relatively new, so never assume that there isn’t more to be discovered.

With that said, it is also important to keep one thing in mind that are widely agreed upon:Packing lighter is often packing better. When the pack is too tight, there isn’t enough oxygen for the flame to breathe and continue burning through the entirety of the bowl. Too light, however, means that the pipe might burn hot or there might not be enough tobacco touching for the flame to pass from one piece to the next. Springy, but not loose.

On to the methods! (All of these are intended for ribbon, shag, or rubbed out flakes)

Gravity Fill or Three Step Pack

1. Drizzle tobacco into your empty pipe until tobacco reaches the top of the bowl.
2. Push the tobacco down lightly using a tamper or your finger until it fills about 1/3 of the bowl. This tamp should be very light, some say like you would “shake a baby’s hand” as a way of remembering.
3. Repeat the drizzling until the tobacco reaches the top.
4. Again, tamp down the tobacco, this time until about 2/3 of the pipe is filled. This time, use a little more force, “like you should shake a lady’s hand”.
5. Drizzle more tobacco.
6. Tamp down the tobacco a little firmer still, like you were “shaking a man’s hand”. Keep in mind not to pack too tightly.

If this is done correctly, you should end up with a fully packed pipe. This is hands down the most common method of filling a pipe. That doesn’t mean it’s the best, it just means the most common.

There is a reason for the different pressures in packing. By having one layer packed more firmly than the previous, it actually continues to pack down the previous layer, meaning that, by the end, you should have three layers of tobacco that are fairly evenly packed. This means that if you packed the first layer too tight, you will end up with the bottom layer tighter than the other two, which will result in a tougher draw and a less pleasant smoke.

The Frank Method

This method, though I’m sure it had been used previously by someone, gained fame from Achim Frank, apparently for competitive use. It is, however, wonderful for everyday pipe smoking and, for me at least, requires fewer relights than the previously mentioned method.

The basic premise is this. You follow step one from about, drizzling tobacco into the bowl until it reaches the lip, but you don’t push it down. Instead, you then form a plug of tobacco that is gently, but firmly, packed into the top of the bowl using your thumbs. The tobacco is pressed in from the sides of the plug, not forced in from the top; it is massaged into the bowl.

While it might appear, at first, to make the draw impossibly tight, due to the large wad of tobacco loaded into the top, this is not the case. You have, in fact, created a loosely packed area at the bottom of the bowl, followed by a tightly packed layer. This is the same goal as in the Gravity Fill Method, just achieved differently.

While a picture might be worth a thousand words, this series of videos by Mr. Frank himself is even better. Below you will find a link to the first of three videos. They are lengthy, but thorough. I will say one thing, however: I cannot recommend strongly enough against using a torch lighter for your pipes. It makes the tobacco hotter and runs a very high risk of scorching the top of your pipe, which is not a fun experience at all.

Frank Method, Part I

The Air Pocket Method

Fred Hanna has many claims to fame: he’s an incredibly intelligent and well-spoken member of the pipe community, has written countless articles, and has advocated the value of moderation. Perhaps more than anything is his advocacy of the Air Pocket Method, which is extremely similar to the Frank Method with a few differences.

1. Create a plug of tobacco using your thumb, index, and middle finger.

2. Without filling the bottom of the bowl with any tobacco, place the plug on top of the bowl and hold in place with your other thumb.

3. Firmly push the tobacco into the bowl, making sure not to put put pressure on the center of it.

4. Once a decent amount of the plug is into the bowl, start “screwing” the plug into the bowl as you push it down. This serves to entangle the tobacco further, purportedly making it easier for the burning embers to ignate more tobacco strands.

To make this a true air pocket method, you need to make sure not to have tobacco in the bottom half of the bowl. This empty half is the “air pocket” from which it gets its name.

The Palm Pack

This one is pretty new to me, but I am falling more and more in love with it. It follows a similar principle to The Frank Method and The Air Pocket Method, but the actual means of packing the pipe is unique, bizarre, and strangely effective.

1. (Optional) Drizzle in a small layer of tobacco into the bowl. This can be skipped to simulated the effect of the Air Pocket Method. I choose to do it for no other reason than I am used to it.
2. Loosen a fair amount of tobacco (enough to fill the rest of your pipe and a little bit more for safety’s sake) and rest it in the palm of your non-dominant hand.
3. Take your pipe in your other hand and turn it, bowl-side down, on top of the tobacco.
4. Now move your pipe around on your hand in a circular motion whenever there is tobacco. No need to do this quickly; take your time. If done while applying a slight amount of pressure, you will notice less and less tobacco in your hand as it is being loaded into the pipe. Do this long enough until you see that enough tobacco is missing from your hand. Return the remainder to the tin/bag/jar (waste not, want not).
5. Now gently push down on the tobacco in the bowl. This is not to actually pack down the tobacco more, but just to make sure it is not overflowing.
6. Take a test draw. If done correctly, you might be amazed to find that it is packed damn near perfectly.

This method has delivered fantastic results for me. I’ve shown it to a few of my friends and witnessed nothing but utter shock on their faces when they take a test draw to find the perfect resistance.

Beware: This method is not good for people with sweaty hands. The reason should be obvious.

For all of these methods, and every method, in fact, it is important to remember a few keys:

• The draw prior to lighting the pipe should have only a slight resistance. If there is too much difficulty drawing, dump out and start again. There’s no shame in that.
• Some people like to add a little bit more loose tobacco on top after the final step to encourage an easy lighting.
• Experiment. Experiment. Experiment. There is a missing element to all of these methods and that is you. You have to learn what is right for you or it won’t be right at all. Theory is great, but if it doesn’t work in practice, who cares?

So, what’s your favorite method? What have you found works best for you?

All right, class. I will be your substitute teacher today, as your regular teacher is out with what we call the “Monday Blues”. Someone needs to call the CDC, because that seems to be an epidemic. Anyway, my name is Ethan and I will be leading class today.

Now, I know that you have recently been discussing the particle theory of light, but we are going to discuss something far more interesting, and certainly more relevant: pipes!

I am sure you are all wondering the same thing right now: But, Ethan, how would I choose my first pipe? Well, class, I am going to help you make that all important decision.

The first choice you really have to make is what type of pipe you will purchase, and you have three primary choices: briar, meerschaum, or a corncob.

First let me state that you cannot make a wrong choice in this department. There are those who insist that a new pipe smoker should always get a briar or always get a corncob, and most of those same people will say that a meerschaum should never be one’s first pipe. I disagree on all of these counts and let me tell you why.

You are picking up a pipe for pleasure, to make yourself happy. All three of these mediums for pipes create cool, quality, delicious smokes and each one can lead to a successful first experience with pipes. For this reason, you should choose whatever style pipe makes you happy.

Now, let’s go through your choices one by one. You’ve just walked into your local tobacconist, after managing to find one, and you spy a pearly white dragon claw holding an egg; the thought of seeing smoke drifting out of that egg, as if a newly hatched dragon had recently crawled off, is simply too much for you to resist. And who could blame you?

There is one all important thing to remember when selecting a meerschaum pipe: make sure is it block meerschaum. What this means is that the pipe was carved from a solid piece of meerschaum and not from scraps, known as pressed meerschaum.

Sometimes this can be difficult to do when buy from a physical tobacconist. So, you have a couple of choices: buy online from a reliable retailer who tells you that it is block meerschaum or try to make this determination while at a tobacconist. You can do this by buying well-known brands, such as IMP, or simply looking at the price: if it is over $50, it is probably block meerschaum. Other than that rule, pick whatever design and size makes you happy.

Some people object to using meerschaum pipes for first pipes because they are ‘more difficult’. I disagree entirely. While it is true that meerschaum is a more fragile material, it is simpler in a number of ways: you don’t have to worry about correctly forming a cake, as you in fact don’t want to form any cake, and you can smoke as much out of it a day as you want. This is much simpler than briar, which has a number of rules that it is suggested one follow. Therefore, this complaint against meerschaum is invalid.

What about the corncob? Some people swear by the value of a corncob as a starter pipe, and it is easy to see why. They are cheap, durable, require next to no work on the part of the pipester, and provide delicious, cool smokes consistently. You can pick up a good Missouri Meerschaum for less that $10 and be off and running!

So, where’s the downside? The downside, as far as I can tell, is purely visual. While the point of the pipe is not always its appearance, it is important for someone who is starting off with a pipe to feel confident and enjoy his new-found hobby. Corncobs, though wonderful, give off the impression of a farmer or a country gentleman, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it might not be the image that a city-slicker or college student wants to have.

That being said, a pipe is designed to make you happy, not to appease those around you so that you can fit into a particular stereotype. If you are a corporate executive in New York City and you want to smoke a corncob for your first pipe, then you should smoke a corncob. It’s as simple as that.

Finally, we reach the briar. For as many advocates as there are for corncobs as a starter pipe, there are scores more for briar. After all, it is the predominant medium for pipes, the classic image of a pipe, so why not get comfortable with it early on? Of course, there are more rules to be followed with a briar than with a cob or a meerschaum, but that ritual is part of the beauty of pipes.

There are some important things to consider when choosing that fine wooden pipe, however. A number of older articles have been written about how to pick out a pipe shape that best compliments your facial structure and body shape, and that that is the pipe shape that you should buy. These rules included bigger pipes for bigger people, smaller pipes for smaller people, slender pipes for slender people, etc. While this may geometrically have some validity, it is the least important thing that one should be thinking about when picking out a pipe.

If you are a short, rotund person and you see a tall billiard that makes you drool, then that is the pipe you should snag. Don’t second guess yourself by being concerned about whether “this pipe will make me look fat”. Your trip the the tobacconist is not for a shirt or tie or pants, it is for a pipe, for something strictly for yourself. Find one that makes you happy — is this mantra sounding familiar yet, class?

While your happiness is key, there is one rule that I suggest in order to ensure that happiness: avoid the bargain bin or “basket pipes”. While these pipes can be good knock-around pipes, there are not what you want to start with. Go ahead and drop fifty to sixty on your first pipe.

What was that? Yes, you in the back row. Ah, good question. I don’t know if everyone heard him, but he asked why he should spend that much money on something he might not end up enjoying. Well, it’s kind of hedging your bets. If you only spend $15 on a briar pipe, the chances are you won’t enjoy it: it will probably burn hot, taste awful, gurgle, and be difficult to keep lit. While it is not impossible to find a basket pipe that smokes very well, you simply increase your chances of finding a pipe that smokes well by crossing the fifty dollar mark. That extra forty or fifty dollars will help to ensure you are quality smoke and enhance the probability that you will enjoy your pipe. Don’t bet against yourself by going cheap.

All right, now that we’ve picked out our first pipe, it’s time to move to tobacco –

BRIIIIIIIIIIING

Oh, that’s the end of class, everyone. If I get to teach you all again, we will pick up on the subject of pipe tobacco next time. In the mean time, go home and do your homework! And enjoy yourself!