English blends tend to have latakia, and that is what was probably giving you the bite. A Virginia or Virginia / perique blend won't have that bite. Try some Orlik Golden Sliced, Escudo, or Bullseye Flake for a non aro without bite, and take it from there. Just my 2 cents.
If it was an English blend, it most likely, although not necessarily, contained latakia, a very distinctive tobacco. Any tobacco can burn hot if not properly packed, tamped along the way, and sipped. If you puff hard, any tobacco can essentially burn your tongue, resulting in "leather tongue." I posted very recently about packing, tamping, and sipping your pipe, and Lo'Gosh also mentioned packing recently. Go back and read those posts, and they will help you no matter what type tobacco you decide on. Also, proper storage of tobacco to preserve the proper humidity is essential. A dried out tobacco will burn hot. If it's too damp, you'll puff on it too hard to keep it lit and have the same effect.
Beautiful pipe! Is that a regular Zippo, or a pipe Zippo? The pipe lighters will have a large hole in either side of the chimney. You lay the lighter sideways over the tobacco, and when you draw on the pipe it will pull the flame straight down. If it's a regular and you only want it for pipes, you can send it to Zippo and they will swap out the insert for free. Or at least they used to.
Thank you. It is a regular zippo so have to turn the pipe a bit to get the first light. I don't have a pipe zippo yet, do t smoke a pipe that often so never saw the need for one. A good Bic or match works just as good. Assuming you let the sulfur burn off before you light the pipe
I used to use only wooden matches, then switched to butane pipe lighters, and now use almost exclusively my Zippo pipe lighter. A lighter that projects the flame straight up (like a Bic) is fine for cigarettes and cigars, but a pipe lighter works much better for pipes. A butane pipe lighter will shoot the flame out at a side angle, while the Zippos made for pipes have large holes in either side of the chimney to make it easy to draw the flame straight down.
A good route for matches without sulfur is to grab some Swan Vestas. For that reason they were originally known as "The Smokers Match". Now due to a "need" to be PC, they are simply "The Original". Still great matches. You can get them on ebay; and I'm speaking to the manufacturer to see if they'll try to make a deal with some place like Wal Mart to carry them here in the US.
Love my Zippo pipe lighter. It has even replaced my vintage Nimrod pipe lighter, it just works much better.
Another bowl of St. James Woods. I'm finding this tobacco opens up as it dries a bit, and is a much better smoke today after a few days in a pouch.
I gave up using a zippo because the naptha can, and tends to "taint" the tobacco in my experience; even if it's only subtle.
I use a Xikar Scribe and a Comoy. Both are butane. Strangely, I enjoyed the taste of Zippo when I smoked Pall Mall cigs, but prefer butane for the pipe.
Sadly, while trying to get you a link, I discovered that they no longer seem to be on there. I used to get 24 boxes, of 85 matches for like $20-30. Now the only listings are for their longer matches (which come fewer in a box), and the seller wants $55 for a 12 pack, plus shipping. =( I will be looking for a new supplier and more vigorously plying the manufacturer. I'll keep you updated.
While I've found that to be true with cigars, I haven't with pipes. Be sure to use the low odor black Zippo fluid.
Sadly I don't believe so. All I can find online is matchbox labels from them for sale. I actually believe they went under before Swan left the US market. When people started carrying lighters instead of Vesta safes (which everyone carried, even non smokers), most safety match companies either went under, were bought up by survivors, or in the case of Swan, began only really selling in their regions of origin. I would really like to see Swan make a comeback though; as well as some of the other old school manufacturers. They are just such better products, with much nicer and more artful packaging that those we have today in my opinion.
I had never even heard of Swann until this thread. I'm not a hard core prepper, but I will admit to keeping a fair supply of certain items, one of them matches. However those are for emergency purposes such as lighting grills, fireplace, etc. I would love to acquire some of the Swann matches for the "pipe apocalypse."
They're the oldest match company in the world actually. The Swedish Match Co.; though they are in the UK now and owned by STG-Lane. They do have an appontment from HM the Queen though. lol
Perhaps this is a YMMV type of thing. I have never picked up on a tainting of tobacco from naptha in my Zippo. The initial light of a pipe or cigar always tastes a little off, regardless of whether I use a butane lighter, Zippo, or match (I did discover a long time ago to let the match burn for a few seconds to try to let the sulfer burn off). And in my Zippo, I can detect no difference between Zippo fuel, Ronsonol, or naptha. In spite of manufacturer claims, I don't believe they're anything other than naptha.
