Packing
"Put that in your pipe and smoke it…" Unfortunately it's not always that easy, packing a pipe wrong can lead to overheating, over frequent relights, and overall just a terrible smoke. There are two main methods for packing a pipe and I recommend trying both to see which works best with your pipe / tobacco.
The Tamp
The most common and easiest method for packing tobacco is tamping. Fill the bowl to the brim and use a tamper to tamp the pile down to the 1/3 mark on the bowl. Fill the bowl once again and tamp the second batch down to 1/2-2/3 mark. Cap off the bowl with a final load of tobacco and tamp the final fill down to 1/8 an inch below the rim. The top layer should be springy to the touch and the draw on the pipe should be slightly restricted but not overly so. If the draw is heavily restricted you will need to use your pipe tool to remove the clogged bowl and try again with a little less elbow grease. This method will create a reasonable pack but may smoke hot with some tobaccos or cuts of tobacco.
The Frank Method
The Frank method is about creating a tight pipe cork of tobacco at the top of the bowl and creating a loose under layer of tobacco beneath. This is accomplished by gravity filling the entire bowl of the chamber by scooping the pipe into the tobacco and thumping the side, DO NOT PACK the first layer. Next you will want to take one hand and grab an oversized amount of tobacco that will be more than enough to fill the bowl and then some. Take this wad of tobacco, place it right on top of the bowl, take your free thumb, and gently hold in there. With your now free thumb, begin pushing the free pieces of tobacco towards the center of the pile. Once the column of tobacco is neatly pressed towards the center begin massaging the tobacco using the pads of both thumbs more and more towards the center. You should notice that gradually the tobacco is being forced down into the bowl. The key to this method is ensuring that you are not pressing the tobacco down into the pipe but rather towards the center of the pile. The Frank packing method, while more complicated, creates an even smoke that goes out less and creates a cooler smoke. If you are having a hard time visualizing this, look for a video of the method on the internet as it will help you get the method down tact. There will be no need for a tamper for this method save for pressing down the ashes during the smoke occasionally.
