I abhor wasting tobacco.

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fishnbanjo

Broken Pipe
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I have a lb each of McClelland Burley #10 about 2 y/o and C&D Special Virginia about 5 y/o that has gotten a bit dry. I don't particularly care for either on their own, I'm pretty resilient to any bite a VA may produce but this has me reeling and the vitamin N is nothing like I've experienced in a VA before.

On a chance I decided the Burley #10 has enough moisture to probably make up for the dryness of the Special Virginia so I took 2 ozs of each and mixed them to make a test VA/Bur to play with. I have to say the first smoke in the MM Diplomat with plum Forever Stem pretty much made for a great smoke, I pick up the VA forward with the nuttiness of the Burley in the background, needless to say I now have 2 lbs of smokable summer tobacco, keep it smokey.
banjo
 
Good show. Sometimes getting creative works, and cobs tend to take the edge off rambunctious weed. I hate wasting tobacco too, but it dawned on me that attempting to save tobacco that you don't really like by smoking it takes away from the time you could spend smoking tobacco you do like. Tossing the bad stuff and chalking it up to experience also works. Works for pipes too, but those you can eBay.
 
Yeppers, over the years I've saved many a "not-so-liked" 'baccy by mixing with another blend. I recently had a Ginny weed that just didn't float my boat!!! Mixed it with some Commonwealth and a bit of extra Latweed; smokes like a dream!!! Did the same with OJK. OJK just doesn't cut it with me, but mixed with some Latweed and a bit of Ginny weed it mellows out just fine. :D :D :cheers: FTRPLT
 
This is the only way I can smoke what I refer to as flamethrower blends. Such as anything by WO Larson, or even a decent tobacco like PS LTF. I've tried them in church wardens, clays and gourd calabash pipes to no avail unless I mix them down 50/50 with blending burley. Nothing wrong with the tobaccos they taste fine and smell great.

Jim
 
Old Joe Krantz. I'd never smoked it, those who had gave it five stars, so I decided not to be left behind. Tried it first in a pipe with a generous bowl Aack! Then tried it in a pipe with a Virginia bowl, still rough, and the N factor kept me dizzy. Then I tried it in a Mark Twain cob and found it smooth and very cigar like. But still over the top in the N dept and not especially enjoyable.  So.  I'll try mixing it with some Burley and, if that doesn't work, some Prince Albert. I'm sure it's me, not the weed. When I have a good breathing rhythm going, my pipe is a great relaxation. Old Joe Krantz might be too in your face for my style. Any and all mixing suggestions are welcome.
 
Don't be afraid to try adding Va either as that might sweeten it up enough to smooth it out. As always though work in small quantities then scale up when you find something that works for you.

Jim
 
I like OJK, but at a very slow sip in a shallow wide bowl pipe. OJK is a bit of a double edge sword. It's fairly strong so you'd think a small narrow pipe or a small cob would be best. But it's also a fairly complex blend with some interesting flavors coming from the red VA's, perique and burley. In pipes that are smaller it tastes muddy or what I would categorize as concentrated. In a wider pipe it really starts to shine. Anyway, wide shallow bowl, give it a try, it works for me.
 
Many thanks for all your very helpful comments: re Old Joe Krantz. I tried OJK in a bull dog with a wide, shallow bowl, smoked very slowly, and found it more enjoyable, though still a bit too much for my mild to moderate taste. I then cut it about 50/50 with 14-year-old McC 5100, and put it in an MM Country Gentleman with a wide chamber. This was a tangy, earthy, sweet smoke that was very enjoyable. But I did lose most of that OJK cigar-like quality. The after taste was much better than the straight OJK. So a bit of fine tuning is needed, but I think I'm on to something well suited to a smoke on a crisp autumn day.  I'm looking forward to it.  Much obliged, friends.
 
huffelpuff":42xvpmfc said:
This is the only way I can smoke what I refer to as flamethrower blends. Such as anything by WO Larson, or even a decent tobacco like PS LTF. I've tried them in church wardens, clays and gourd calabash pipes to no avail unless I mix them down 50/50 with blending burley. Nothing wrong with the tobaccos they taste fine and smell great.

Jim
I like that "Flamethrower blends"!

I've got a pound or so of Exclusiv Royal and Flamethrower's the word that best describes it. The taste is amazing but the mouth scorch quality renders it useless. I have found that it makes for a great spice tobacco to wake up a boring blend.

It may take years to burn through this stash but I have no intention of tossing it.
 

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