My husband did this

Welcome to the forum.
One piece of basic, but valuable advice: Enjoy the process.
Don't stress over how well you pack the tobacco, how many times you have to light up, or how come you don't like a popular blend.
Just relax.

Welcome! When I first smoked a pipe, I thought I would like an aromatic, although I didn’t know that’s what it was called. I tried Paladin Black Cherry. That was a mistake. I found it syrupy and not agreeable at all, although I gave it a good try. That was 35 years ago and it nearly turned me against the pipe. Now I know there are better aromatics out there, but I still avoid them. After a 30 year hiatus from the pipe, I’m back into it. You will get lots of suggestions I’m sure. I would suggest Carter Hall or Chatham Manor.

Good luck with your adventure!

Welcome from Maryland!

Welcome from Ohio!

One piece of advice is when you are starting don't go to the tobacconist and pick something that smells great. It will never taste that way and you will be disappointed. It takes skill and experience to coax the flavor out of an aromatic.

Get a pouch of Carter Hall, it smells good and tastes great. it is easy to smoke and you can't pack it wrong. It will also stay lit no matter what.

Welcome, from Mexico City.

Try something simple like Carter Hall or Prince Albert to start. Once you have the hang of things try a few in each category (Virgina, Aromatic, whatever). Personally I like burleys such as Haunted Bookshop or PS Cube Cut, but some people think they taste like cigarettes.

Welcome from the Mile High City! Glad to have you with us. What blend and pipe does your husband smoke?

Welcome from Ireland. Your husband has been here a short time but is one of the family.

Lots of stuff has already been said. The two that came to mind when I read your post was...

1. Don't inhale
2. Don't expect the smoke to taste like what it smells (and also, don't expect the smoke to smell the same as your husbands does when you're smoking it. For some reason it doesn't. It's not far off, but I've noticed a difference).

cubish can advise you on a cob to use so that you get a good smoke from the get-go. As for WHAT tobacco to choose. I would agree to go for a mild one. The aromatics smell nice for everyone else, but some don't get much from the taste of the smoke, which is why they go for English blends etc.

I would also agree to try Carter Hall and see how that goes. If you really want to taste a flavour of something that you're smelling then try some Cult, Blood Red Moon (but that can get sickly after a while), but that's the closest thing to tasting what you're smelling.

When I first started pipe smoking I didn't care for the blend I bought from a local shop. A friend gave me some Presbyterian mixture to try and I got a much better flavour from that than aromatics etc. So, as an alternative, if aromatics don't work for you, maybe try something with a mild latakia presence (like Presbyterian mixture).

You'll get lots of advice and help here, and if you hang around there are other topics that we discuss that you can chime in on.

Enjoy your journey.

Paddy.

Hello hannahmoe710, and Welcome to the Forum!!!

When I picked up the pipe, I had no one to advise me. My first post on a pipe forum was asking for a definition of Inhale. I understand breath in and breath out, but how do you draw the flame down on the tobacco if you are not drawing in?

Inhaling really means, suck the smoke into your lungs. That is the goal of cigarette smokers. That is how they get their nic fix. But pipe smokers, usually, don't want the smoke in their lungs, only in the mouth to taste it.

welcome from Charleston, WV! I remember embarking on my pipe journey. I had no one in person who could teach me, and I found a lot of help on forums. These guys are a great bunch of enablers, lol. I agree that you have to expect starting out that it's just going to taste like smoke at first, so don't get discouraged. Also, don't fret the relights and don't expect it to burn down to complete ash. I thought I was doing it wrong for quite awhile until I realized tobacco is almost like a living entity. Some blends are finicky, some are just contrary. If you have to relight 50 times, no problem (though I admit that is kind of annoying) it is part of the process. Relax and enjoy the journey, don't stress and fixate on the "destination" lol.

Welcome! Since you asked-

It’s good to learn with a cob. Missouri Meerschaum is reliable. Get a couple of the medium size bowls. Don’t forget to pull out the filter, if it comes with one (a paper tube that you see if you pull the stem out) - after one or two uses it’s just a gross bit of soggy paper that hangs on to weird smells.

As others said, Carter Hall is a good first blend. It’s got nice flavor, pretty mild and burns well.

Watch a couple of how-to Youtube videos. But what you don’t get from those is how hard to pack and how much to puff. Those are things you pick up by feel and experience.

Kind of hard to tops this advice.

i would add that you feel free to ask questions here, even ones you KNOW will result in a giggle or an eye roll by the reader.  This is the MOST welcoming forum of which I have ever been a member.

I am originally from WV myself! Nice to "meet" you. Lol. I did work in a Vape shop for a while, and used to have a vape pen....so I do get the "don't inhale" deal. And I love to read, so probably most of my pipe smoking will be while reading. That is, if I can get my infant to play by himself long enough to let me! Lol. Thanks everyone. I do indeed feel welcome here.