My humble array of pipes

[AimlessWanderer]

Yesterday, my pipe array looked like this

I only buy new pipes (I find the idea of estate pipes rather icky), and nothing there cost more than £25. Today, a couple of new ones arrived, and will replace a couple in the pic. Two out, two in.

I thought I'd start a thread detailing this humble array, and how I use them.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Some of you have already seen the first one in a separate thread.

Parker of London Cherrywood
(Dunhill 4120 reject)
Bowl Dia. 19mm x 34mm deep

This is the pipe I smoke my English blends in. Squadron Leader and Skiff Mixture are the main two that have been through it. I've never bought a premium pipe, but can't imagine then smoking any better than this. It's a fantastic pipe. With property dried Squadron Leader and Skiff Mixture, it smokes right to the very end, and the pipe cleaner tends to come out almost as clean as when it went in.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My second Parker is my aromatic pipe.

Parker of London Square Panel
(Dunhill 4123 reject)
Bowl Dia. 19mm x 36mm deep

I chose a straight bore for my aromatics, as I'm more likely to need to dip a pipe cleaner in to soak up moisture. Having said that, much like the cherrywood sibling above, that doesn't happen often.

I smoked a tin of Sam Gawith Christmas 2013 through it, and it stayed as my aro pipe. Palace Gate and assorted flavoured shag tobaccos have also gone through it. Both these two Parkers were bought for £25 each, and were worth every penny.

 

[emwolf]

I miss my collection. I dispersed when I quit smoking. I had some estates, I even had a crude cherry-wood pipe that was made for me. I should have kept that.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

A cob has also been dedicated to specific tobaccos.

Missouri Meerschaum Washington
Bowl Dia. 18mm x 37mm deep

This is my Lakeland pipe. I initially put Lakelands in this, because I'd read that cobs don't ghost. Seems that someone forgot to tell Ennerdale that! There was definitely some ghosting there when I smoked some plainer tobacco through it afterwards, so this has remained my Lakeland pipe ever since. Condor Long Cut works great in it too.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Is it just me, or have some of my pics disappeared?

 

[steveclarkus]

Yesterday, my pipe array looked like this

View attachment 1106030

I only buy new pipes (I find the idea of estate pipes rather icky), and nothing there cost more than £25. Today, a couple of new ones arrived, and will replace a couple in the pic. Two out, two in.

I thought I'd start a thread detailing this humble array, and how I use them.

Looks like an adequate collection to me. I do buy estate pipes without a second thought though and have acquired some fine one’s that way. A great benefit of estate pipes is that they are already broken in. Clean and polish and ready to go. I am stuck on that Parker though. I enjoy buying and trying different tobaccos more than pipes though and I really miss being allowed to smoke in the house . By the way, what is your go to tea Al?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Looks like an adequate collection to me. I do buy estate pipes without a second thought though and have acquired some fine one’s that way. A great benefit of estate pipes is that they are already broken in. Clean and polish and ready to go. I am stuck on that Parker though. I enjoy buying and trying different tobaccos more than pipes though and I really miss being allowed to smoke in the house . By the way, what is your go to tea Al?

My go to tea is Yorkshire Tea. I'm currently using loose, but I do use bags for convenience too. Occasionally I'll get an Earl Grey or English Breakfast, but don't explore the connoisseur teas. I have tried them, but tire of them too quick.

 

[steveclarkus]

My wife and I have been drinking Typhoo for years. Just curious. I suppose I tend to get stuck on basic stuff. On the patio having a bowl of Prince Albert - lovely smoke and as basic as they come. Have you tried it?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My pics seem to have reappeared, so I'll continue...

Missouri Meerschaum Country Gentleman
Bowl Dia. 19mm x 38mm deep

The Country Gentleman was my go to "long smoke" pipe. This is the pipe I first mastered the long smoke in, and has been used for various tobaccos along the way. It's also had some abuse along the way too, specifically with me trying to keep pipes alight when I was learning, and subsequently smoking too hot.

The bowl has now gone rather misshapen, with a very oval mouth, and undulations all down the walls.

Unfortunately, this pic doesn't really show how mangled this pipe is, but it doesn't really smoke properly any more. It leaves a lot of unsmoked tobacco lurking in the voids in the wall on the way down. As such, I decided an upgrade was in order.

This pipe arrived today to replace it.

Parker of London Poker
(Dunhill 4122 reject)
Bowl Dia. 20mm x 40mm deep

This is the first of the three unsmoked pipes that I'll be showing in this thread. Two of them (including this one) will be reserved for Virginias and Virginia Perique blends. I am provisionally reserving this one for pure Virginias, as I'm led to believe they work well in a taller pipe UNLESS specifically advised otherwise by my Badger and Blade smoking buddies

If you think this is the wrong pipe for Virginias, please let me know

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My wife and I have been drinking Typhoo for years. Just curious. I suppose I tend to get stuck on basic stuff. On the patio having a bowl of Prince Albert - lovely smoke and as basic as they come. Have you tried it?

Typhoo is one I fall back on when I can't get Yorkshire tea i.e. run out of tea, and have to get some from the corner shop till I can get back into town.

I haven't tried Prince Albert. I don't think your basic tobaccos are available over here, much like our Condor etc isn't freely available over there.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

There's another two pipes that I freely smoke anything in.

Missouri Meerschaum Mizzou
Bowl Dia. 15mm x 35mm deep.

This is a brilliant pipe for shorter smokes. I smoke anything and everything in it. The mouthpiece is almost chomped through, so I need to pick up a couple of spares at some point. Despite having some (what I consider) nice briars, this remains one of my main go to pipes for general smoking.

Here's the other...

Missouri Meerschaum Ozark Cherrywood
Bowl Dia. 18mm x 34mm deep

This cheap crappy thing is undoubtedly my favourite pipe. It smokes everything well, and is a great size too. It rests in between my short smoke Mizzou, and all my other larger bowl pipes, and takes the 6mm filters too, which I like. This cost me a fiver, and if I lost all my pipes to a freak accident, would be the first one that got replaced. Brilliant pipe. Ugly, but brilliant.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Here's another ugly one

Molina Hobby
Bowl Dia. 20mm x 37mm deep

I know these are meant to be used for DIY carving, but I enjoy using it as it is too much "Big Ugly" is another pipe I'll smoke anything in, and its purposes now are two-fold. I was using it with the 9mm filters it takes, for toning down overwhelming and obnoxious tobaccos. If it wasn't for this pipe, I'd have had to consign a tin of 1792 flake to the rubbish bin. Blended with something else to dilute it down a bit, and smoked with one of the charcoal (?) filters, it became at least a tolerable smoke.

Now that the Country Gentleman won't be around as my go to long smoke pipe for smoking anything in, this pipe will be doing double duty for that too. I've got myself some of the Savinelli 9mm balsa filters to use, and also the 9mm converters that just make it a regular straight bore pipe. That way I can use it as a general long smoke pipe with OR without muting flavours.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Nearly done, only a few more to go.

Unnamed Baby Wellbent
Bowl Dia. 16mm tapering to 12mm x 25mm deep

This Baby Wellbent was a cheap basket pipe, and was the one I threw in my pocket for use out and about, without fear of losing it or breaking it. It was the pipe that started me using a woodscrew as a pipe tool, as my 3-in-1 Czech tool jammed up before reaching towards the bottom of this tapered bowl. It was also the pipe that taught me how much I hate pipes that don't sit!

You'll have probably noticed that all my other pipes remain upright on their own, albeit with the mouthpiece rested on matches or lighter, and I don't want a pipe that can't do that. This also is prone to gurgling, and having a tightly bent stem, is a swine for getting a pipe cleaner through. Being the faux army type, I can pop the stem off to get a pipe cleaner dipped in, but it's still hassle that's greater than the reward.

Time to replace it.

I was initially going to replace it with another short smoke pipe, but realised the Mizzou already does that. What I actually needed was a pipe for Virginia Perique blends - but I don't know if I like those tobaccos yet. I decided to keep things both cheap and simple.

Missouri Meerschaum Legend
Bowl Dia. 18mm x 32mm deep

I reckoned this would be as good a pipe as any for dabbling with the Perique blends. If I discover that I don't like them, and can't get the ghosts out, it's no great loss to chuck a cob away. On the flip side, if I discover I like them more than plain Virginias, I can potentially use the Parker Poker which will have only had plain Virginias through it.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Last one!

Missouri Meerschaum Ozark Maple Hardwood

This pipe is also unsmoked, but serves a very important function. It remains unsmoked as a reminder that I already have enough pipes I'm fairly certain that these are all the pipes I'll ever need, but if any more pipes are acquired further down the line, they will be one in, and one out. It would be silly to add more, when I already have one that's unsmoked because it's surplus to requirements.

So that's the lot! That's my humble array of pipe, and the new line up is...

Four briars

Three cobs

And a couple of hardwoods

 

[AimlessWanderer]

So, do you guys think the Poker will work for Virginias, and the Legend for Periques, or have I made a booboo?

 

[brandaves]

A cob has also been dedicated to specific tobaccos.

View attachment 1106088

Missouri Meerschaum Washington
Bowl Dia. 18mm x 37mm deep

This is my Lakeland pipe. I initially put Lakelands in this, because I'd read that cobs don't ghost. Seems that someone forgot to tell Ennerdale that! There was definitely some ghosting there when I smoked some plainer tobacco through it afterwards, so this has remained my Lakeland pipe ever since. Condor Long Cut works great in it too.

Lakeland will ghost just about anything!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I miss my collection. I dispersed when I quit smoking. I had some estates, I even had a crude cherry-wood pipe that was made for me. I should have kept that.

Do you still have a pic of it?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Lakeland will ghost just about anything!

Still very nice tobacco though

 

[emwolf]

Do you still have a pic of it?

No, quit tobacco altogether 18 years ago. I still miss it, but my Doc says it's better I don't pick it up again.