Ask Mr. B. Johnson if fire is hot and he will undoubtably agree that it is. Mr. B. Johnson recently discovered this fact while firing his bowl during the Euro 2012 Ireland v. Spain football match. I give Mr. B. Johnson a smoking thumbs up as his personal discovery in pain ignited the idea for the space filler below. However, I would add, that first and foremost one should mind the pipe and not the TV during the ignition sequence. (Ireland lost 4-0...bugger!)Here are a couple of easy steps to ensure a nicely lit pipe.
(1) First comes the 'charring' light (also called the 'false' light), the purpose of which is to expel extra moisture from the tobacco and prepare a nice even bed for the 'true' light. To achieve this, light your match of lighter and apply it to the tobacco, moving it in a circular motion around the entire surface of the tobacco. While doing this, take a series of shallow puffs on the pipe. It may be that the tobacco swells up in a spot or two and seems to unravel.
That is the purpose of the charring light, to balance out the tobacco moisture and density.
(2) Allow this light to go out and tamp the tobacco back down even with the top of the bowl. You may find it useful to twist or spin your tamp in a circular motion while doing this. This is the point where many pipe smokers ruin a good packing job by tamping too hard. You should use a very light touch, wanting only to return the tobacco to the level it was before the charring light.
(3) Relight your match of lighter and apply it to the tobacco, moving it in a circular motion around the entire surface of the tobacco. While doing this, take a series of shallow puffs on the pipe. This time the tobacco should not unravel and puff up as it did before. Extinguish your source of fire, sit back, relax and enjoy your pipe.
Hopefully, by following these instructions, you have successfully lit your pipe and not your thumb.
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