If you’ve read any of our detailed cigar resources, then you’ll know that we’re quite fond of torch lighters for their simplicity and ease of use. However, torch lighters aren’t recommended here as the intense omni-directional flame is not only inconvenient but can damage your pipe. As you char the surface, you’ll notice that bulb may expand while some tobacco unravels out of it. Not only is this normal but desired as it will actually improve the draw and combustion.

If you use your fingers for tamping, you may have to wait longer so not to burn them. In our loading guide, we recommended purchasing a pipe tool rather than your fingers partly because of this.

Sometimes you feel that you’ve exposed enough flame to the bowl that it could have incinerated the whole pipe. However, the charred tobacco only releases a light smoke. This may be caused by very moist pipe tobacco. Some tobacco blends can be too moist for smoking straight away. In this case, we recommend taking a bowl-full of tobacco out of the tin or pouch a short while before you smoke. There are many ways for lighting a tobacco pipe just as there are for loading one. This guide to lighting a tobacco pipe follows on from our loading method and consists of two to three steps:

As the tobacco begins to ignite, slowly increase the depth of your puffs to draw the flame towards the base of the bulb. When you get a comfortable amount of smoke, you can remove the flame and your pipe is lit. While lighting a pipe seems like a relatively simple task, it can take a while to perfect the technique or even develop one that works for you. Even if you follow our guide to the letter, you may experience a few issues when lighting until it becomes a natural process. The Tobacco Just Won’t Light Simply leave it on a clean surface for a few minutes and see if it improves the lighting process. If it’s still too moist afterwards, leave it out a little longer until you find the right humidity. However, avoid tamping too hard as you only want to bring down the bowl’s height to its original level. By breaking in your pipe, the cake will insulate the wood and prevent it from burning out. This is achieved by only smoking quarter-full bowls at first and increasing the amount of tobacco over time while allowing the pipe to cool between each session.While most soft flame, including disposable, lighters will function perfectly well, the right one can drastically change your lighting and smoking experiences. When ready, reapply the flame to the tobacco with the same circular motion. You can bring the flame a little closer if you prefer while taking shallow puffs on the pipe.