Christmas plundge.

[Holyvision]

Hey there, I was given a pipe for Christmas (early present from a friend), and wanted to re-introduce myself to the pipe BOTL out there.







I honestly don't know much about this pipe. On the sides it says "Imported Briar" and "Grande Moren, Made in France", I am not familiar with this brand, it's written in cursive, it's pretty small font so it may say "moren" or "moreng", can't make out the last letter too well; it's either an "n" with a fancy loop or a "ng" or something....lol.

Also, the internals baffle me, it can only be described as a drill bit -- I guess this is some kinda filter..?


Anyway, I got this, and a couple teabags of what was called "24K Pipe Tobacco", which I tried one pack and it was quite good! I had issue keeping it lit, but that's a noob for 'ya! My main questions are 1) what kind of pipe do I know own and 2) what is a good "pipe cleaner" to use (distilled water?)

And feel free to shout out some good sittin' around chillin' tobacco to start on!

I'll be sure to brush up on the info posted around here, but just wanted to say hello to the pipe world!
--Holy

 

[Devil Doc]

I use 151 rum to clean my pipes. I would advise you to keep any kind of water away from them. There are so many different tobacco blends that I wouldn't know where to start. Look around the pipe forum and you may get some ideas. Blends from G.L. Pease and McLelands would be a good place to start.

Doc.

 

[LilBastage]

I use 91% isopropyl alcohol on my pipes. Do not get ANY kind of alcohol on the outside of the bowl or shank (the finished wooden areas). The alcohol will damage the finish. If the outside is very dirty, I'll wipe a pipe down with a damp cloth, but I stress DAMP, not wet.

The "drill bit" is a condenser. The moisture from the smoke will collect on it and make the smoke that gets to your mouth much drier. I've never seen a twisted one like that, but the ones I have seen and smoked do work. Many of them are removable, so if you don't like it you may be able to just pull it out of the stem.

Tobacco is a personal journey. Doc has given good advice. Also, there's a thread somewhere in here about Top 5 Desert Island Blends. Some mighty fine tobaccos listed in there.

Good luck!

 

[vortex]

Welcome and good luck!

Click here for a good place to start.