Howdy all! I'm not well-traveled in these parts, but a recent gift has led me here in search of answers. To make a long story short, my younger brother recently returned from a 1-week tour of Xi'an, China with his musical ensemble. Ever-thoughtful, he brought back souvenirs for all. For me, he got a bottle-opener from the crypt of the first Qin Emperor (the one with the terracotta soldiers), and a rather unusual smoking pipe.
Now, I occasionally smoke a pipe with him and my father, though we all like different mixtures (I like Borkum Riff Bourbon, Dad likes Captain Black Cherry, and Luke likes... well... other vegetable matter). I've never been much of a pipe smoker by myself though, more of a vaper. My only pipe until this one was a Dr Grabow Filtered Poker, which never impressed me. First off, here's a picture of a very similar pipe.
Now, the brass insert comes out, and inside is a deeper brass chamber with five holes in it. The insert has a very small diameter, as does the main chamber (1/4" diameter and about the same depth, about half what the Grabow holds, good for a quick smoke). With the main bowl filled, it's good for about 15 minutes of sipping. It smokes very cool and very smooth, though I'm at a loss what the material is. Could be honey horn, though my suspicion is that it's resin. It's solid though, and I've found myself smoking it several times since it was given to me. I'm actually enjoying an evening pipe now; I feel a new AD coming on! One question remains, however; What the heck is this thing intended for?!
At first, I was concerned my thoughtful (though sometimes naïve) brother had brought me back an opium pipe, but a little research quickly dispelled that notion. Even with the insert, the hole is far too large for a chandu pellet. He told me it was used, and a few cursory sniffs confirmed that it had been used to smoke pipe tobacco. A little further research yielded this picture (not my pipe, but easily it's twin from the same production line), and the words "Porcelain Cigarette Pipe". I can tell right off the bat that it is not porcelain (it doesn't heat up from the light, but warms nicely from my hand). There was little other information, since the site was poorly translated from Chinese. Can any of you more experienced Bown-Leafers help a neophyte out in identifying this crazy thing? Thank you in advance.
Now, I occasionally smoke a pipe with him and my father, though we all like different mixtures (I like Borkum Riff Bourbon, Dad likes Captain Black Cherry, and Luke likes... well... other vegetable matter). I've never been much of a pipe smoker by myself though, more of a vaper. My only pipe until this one was a Dr Grabow Filtered Poker, which never impressed me. First off, here's a picture of a very similar pipe.
Now, the brass insert comes out, and inside is a deeper brass chamber with five holes in it. The insert has a very small diameter, as does the main chamber (1/4" diameter and about the same depth, about half what the Grabow holds, good for a quick smoke). With the main bowl filled, it's good for about 15 minutes of sipping. It smokes very cool and very smooth, though I'm at a loss what the material is. Could be honey horn, though my suspicion is that it's resin. It's solid though, and I've found myself smoking it several times since it was given to me. I'm actually enjoying an evening pipe now; I feel a new AD coming on! One question remains, however; What the heck is this thing intended for?!
At first, I was concerned my thoughtful (though sometimes naïve) brother had brought me back an opium pipe, but a little research quickly dispelled that notion. Even with the insert, the hole is far too large for a chandu pellet. He told me it was used, and a few cursory sniffs confirmed that it had been used to smoke pipe tobacco. A little further research yielded this picture (not my pipe, but easily it's twin from the same production line), and the words "Porcelain Cigarette Pipe". I can tell right off the bat that it is not porcelain (it doesn't heat up from the light, but warms nicely from my hand). There was little other information, since the site was poorly translated from Chinese. Can any of you more experienced Bown-Leafers help a neophyte out in identifying this crazy thing? Thank you in advance.
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. I will defer to your judgment, however. I am truly a novice among sages. Kind of a nifty feeling. Heh.
