Concerning Pipe-Weed

[Dailir]

Haha All in all I think we agree its bad. So don't start. But if you have, well oh well. Enjoy life while you can.

[dwayne davis]

You know i wander if any one anywhere sells organicly grown pipe tobacco? devoid of all chemicals used today. i do have a pip and do occasionaly enjoy a smoke.

[Rhys ap Ieuan]

Ringulf, you sculpted those? Amazing. They're all really amazing - almost makes me wish I still smoked.

Dwayne, there are a number of companies who claim to sell organic or additive-free tobacco. How true they are, or what the end-state effect on health is, I can't say.

[Willrett]

grow some in your garden

[Aaron]

While organic tobacco will be "healthier" by comparison to the processed stuff commercially available, tobacco itself is highly unhealthy and even if you grew it yourself you would still want to be aware of the health risks that smoking it would cause. The occasional smoke probably would not have a noticeable impact on your health.

[Steve b]

A couple of years ago, I spent an afternoon rolling organic, heritage seed tobacco at a historic site. By the time the afternoon was done, the 4 of us doing it had quite the buzz on, just from contact absorbtion. Commercial tobacco is highly proceesed and the plant is a hybrid to take out much of the buzz causing material.

Hawk

[appalachianranger]

I agree with Chris.
All vices are dangerous, but as the old saying goes:
"Everything is good taken in moderation."
Personally I smoke about six cigars per year (mostly limited to special occassions such as births, new jobs, weddings, etc.) and enjoy them very much.
I recently invested in the Macqueen Ranger Pipe as well and plan to use it at my annual rennaissance faire visits.
Incidently, my "casual smoke" picture from last year's photo contest? I actually was just posing using a beautiful sandalwood pipe I had bought off a vendor at Eastern Market in Washington DC. I have never actually smoked that pipe in the 5 years since I bought it! I like its natural sandalwood smell, and don't want to ruin the marble in the bowl.

[herbcraft]

tobacco smoking is definitely not considered inherently unhealthy in the cultures it originated in. Throughout south and north america, tobacco was universally regarded as a "prayer medicine"... this didn't mean that only ceremonial use was ok, but that the reason you smoke tobacco was to ponder a situation or consider a course of action (not to self medicate you anxiety). Interestingly, this "smoke and ponder a course of action" practice seems to be exactly what gandalf and aragorn frequently do (whereas the hobbits smoke more for pleasure... but then, a hobbit can withstand the One Ring, so tobacco shouldn't be so bad).

Of course, tobacco needn't - and usually wasn't - smoked on its own. Numerous admixtures were and are used to make smoking blends that taste excellent and cut the quantity of tobacco being smoked. This can be as simple as cutting you tobacco with cornsilk or staghorn sumach leaves (traditionally gathered when red in the fall), or by blending in a number of other herbs.

A tip: don't blend in lots of aromatics; they'll make the smoke heady and unpleasant. Mix astringent barks and leaves in for body, tobacco is you'd like, and just one or two aromatics. An example of this might be to blend tobacco with apple leaves and bark (astringents), chamomile (aromatic) and perhaps a subtle dusting of finely crushed clove. That's a real pleasant smoke.

My personal blend is molasses cured tobacco, raspberry leaf, yerba santa, red willow and bearberry. Better than any other of any kind of smoke I've ever pondered with.


(alas for the non-period zipper...)

[Aethelfirth]

I hope I'm not committing a great faux pas by reviving a thread that died quite some time ago, but as a pipe smoker here's a suggestion to others who are. Check out the Frog Morton line by McClelland tobacco. From the website:
"The name Frog Morton comes to us from the works of JRR Tolkien. Frogmorton: A village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It stood on the East Road, between the Three-farthing Stone (fourteen miles to the west) and the Brandywine Bridge (twenty-two miles to the east). Immediately to the north of the village, the stream known as the Water broke into two, creating a wide watery region - this feature seems to have given Frogmorton its name, which means "frog marsh"."

They are a deeply rich and complex pipe tobacco blends. I've never tasted anything like them in the some 15 odd years I've been smoking pipes. My personal favorites are the Frog Morton Cellar and the Frog Morton On the Bayou. Seriously wonderful stuff.

As for what Professor Tolkien himself smoked, tins of Navy Flake were found in his study. For me I'm not much of a fan of Navy Flake, bit too grassy in it's taste and a pretty heavy smoke.

Now for those of you looking for a "period correct" smoke for this, I'd suggest the tobacco twists. They are also a really strong smoke but they are handy and how they were often sold in the 17th and 18th centuries. They can be cut into rings and packed in a pipe or if you are so inclined chewed or ground into snuff.
http://www.gggodwin.com/prod-326.htm

[Straelbora]

Hey I think this is a great thread, I love to puff on a pipe outdoors and I have a few of my own. I got a book on handcarving pipes and am in the process (along with a hundred other projects) of starting to add this to my carving repertior (spelling?) I came across a nice blend of pipeweed that I have been using, it is a Rum/maple mix and I find it very pleasant.

This is a spread of my aquired pipes, I will post others as I make them.



And this is what I would have envisioned to be what a Beorning would keep his pipeweed in. When I saw it I knew just what it should be for.

Is that a brass WWI trench lighter I spy in the upper right hand corner? Maybe not 'period' to Middle-earth, but something Tolkien would have recognized.

[Ringulf]

That it is my friend and I love the little sucker. It looks so ancient and if you did not know it was fashioned from modern amunition you could almost feel as it would belong in a dwarf's Tinderbox.
I got a very cool little Hunter's pipe the other day that needed a bit of repair and I am now using that quite often.

[man_of_tanith]

Nice bavarian huntsmans pipe ringulf
ive my eye out for one of those.
Frog Morton is a swine to aquire here in the UK but i got a sampler recently. Its a good smoke.

Tolkein used to smoke erinmore flake as well as navy flake. Sampled both erinmore is more to my liking than the navy flake.

all the tobacco references i recall from both hobbit and LoTR seem to imply a ready rubbed tobacco over the twist/flake options

[Greg]

I hope I'm not committing a great faux pas by reviving a thread that died quite some time ago, but as a pipe smoker here's a suggestion to others who are. Check out the Frog Morton line by McClelland tobacco. From the website:
"The name Frog Morton comes to us from the works of JRR Tolkien. Frogmorton: A village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It stood on the East Road, between the Three-farthing Stone (fourteen miles to the west) and the Brandywine Bridge (twenty-two miles to the east). Immediately to the north of the village, the stream known as the Water broke into two, creating a wide watery region - this feature seems to have given Frogmorton its name, which means "frog marsh"."

They are a deeply rich and complex pipe tobacco blends. I've never tasted anything like them in the some 15 odd years I've been smoking pipes. My personal favorites are the Frog Morton Cellar and the Frog Morton On the Bayou. Seriously wonderful stuff.

As for what Professor Tolkien himself smoked, tins of Navy Flake were found in his study. For me I'm not much of a fan of Navy Flake, bit too grassy in it's taste and a pretty heavy smoke.

Now for those of you looking for a "period correct" smoke for this, I'd suggest the tobacco twists. They are also a really strong smoke but they are handy and how they were often sold in the 17th and 18th centuries. They can be cut into rings and packed in a pipe or if you are so inclined chewed or ground into snuff.
http://www.gggodwin.com/prod-326.htm

Good information there.

Glad to see you on here! Good to see we got those account issues sorted out. Hop on over to the Prancing Pony section and tell us a bit about yourself!

[Aethelfirth]

Good information there.

Glad to see you on here! Good to see we got those account issues sorted out. Hop on over to the Prancing Pony section and tell us a bit about yourself!

Thank you again for your help Greg, apologies for my mistakes. I was under the impression that the Prancing Pony was for Birthday congratulations though it's title says otherwise? I'll return to lurking.

[Ursus]

Just my two cents but Peterson Irish Flake is my pipe weed of choice. Beware though, its quite strong. On the upside you can pitch the empty tins into a fire to burn off the paint and then use them as handy storage containers for your pack.