What‘s the best way to pack a pipe?

This question probably has as many answers as there are pipe smokers. Every smoker has to find the best method for them, but there are some good basic guidelines. The bowl should be packed gently in stages. The ideal fill is even and consistently dense from top to bottom. That‘s the idea behind the old saw, "Tamp the first pinch with the hand of a child, the second with the hand of a woman, and the final pinch with a manly touch." When done properly, a consistent fill is assured. But, do exercise restraint with that "manly touch." An overly dense pack is difficult to light, and as the bowl progresses, accumulated moisture will exacerbate the problem, resulting in a hot, steamy smoke. It‘s better to start out a with too little pressure, and adjust as you go.
When tamping, the weight of the tamper is generally enough to settle the layer of ash, and provide a good surface for re-lighting. A common mistake is pressing down too much during the smoke. If necessary in the last half of the bowl, you can gently tap out some of the ash to fascilitate easier re-lighting.
Also, it‘s much better to re-light a pipe than to try to "puff up" an ember that has faded beyond usefulness. Sometimes, you‘ll go through a lot of matches, sometimes only a few. While it‘s a wonderful goal to finish a bowl on one light, few ever attain this level of mastery.

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