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Pipes: Bent vs Straight

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sullivanpm

I have both but in truth I like straights more.
They don't smoke as wet for me as bents do.
 
Straight. I find them more comfortable. I have a few bents and will smoke one occasionally. In my younger days I liked large pipes. Now I prefer smaller and lighter.
 
I've got a mix of both. Bents hang better, but straights smoke dryer. With bents everything drains down to one spot and you can get gurgling. With straights you can just flick them to clear them of any liquid - no pipe cleaner needed. If you smoke meerschaums then the moisture isn't an issue at all, so I prefer bent meers for the balance.
 
Don't smoke a pipe any more but when I did (about 5 years as a pipe smoker), I prefered light straights or slightly bent pipes (between 1/4 and 1/2 bent) for walking or quick smokes but went to a heavier straight.

For me, the big thing was whether I was going to be holding the pipe in my mouth for extended periods of time and I found a light, short straight or bent pipe better for those situations. When I could sit or relax, I liked a nice big Canadian or similar shape with a good long shank - very cool and dry, but too hard on the teeth/jaw to carry around in your mouth.

Full bents do hang well, but they always seemed to smoke wetter/gurgle for me, so I only ever had a few.
 
I started out with bents based on looks. Once I started trying a few straights here and there, I found those much more enjoyable. Definately smoke dryer and no need to run a cleaner down the stem every so often to keep the juice from building up.

My collection is a mix of both. I have a nice full bent Ferndown Reo that is an amazing smoker. Most of my higher grade ones are all straight though.
 
I've got a mix of both. Bents hang better, but straights smoke dryer. With bents everything drains down to one spot and you can get gurgling. With straights you can just flick them to clear them of any liquid - no pipe cleaner needed. If you smoke meerschaums then the moisture isn't an issue at all, so I prefer bent meers for the balance.


:lol: Some day when all you droolers grow up, you'll learn not to spit in your pipes!:em2300:
 
Bents are my favorite as they have less leverage on the dentition. An oompaul would likely return to be my favorite+ but for the fact that I laid it somewhere it would be safe and secure. It has proved so safe and secure that its niche has thwarted all attempts at location.

This CRS business is proving to be an unending joy, Bruce:mad3:
 
I prefer quarter bents, particularly in an Apple. However, I am just coming back to pipe smoking (another thing to blame on this site) and hadn't really thought about the connection between bent and gurgling. I though that was just bad form on my part - I'll have to experiment.
 
Over 70 pipes in the collection, straights are over 50%, but not a lot over. I like both; it just depends on what I'm in the mood to smoke and what I'm doing at the time.
 
As a relatively recent pipe-discoverer I find both types really enjoyable in their own ways. I actually found they both gurgle, so it may be my fault or something inherent to pipe smoking; it depends on the mood really: I use dense, slightly aromatic tobaccos with my bents, and lighter, drier ones with my straights.
 
I'm new to pipe-smoking, as well, and I have a 3/4 bent and a straight. I also have trouble keeping the bent from gurgling and juicing -- no such issue with the straight. I find the straight is also infinitely easier to clean.
 
Anyone every smoke a 'churchwarden'? was looking at that and wondered if it would be worth while- as I have smoked in my limited experience both straight and bent and can answer only- depends on the mood and the tobacco I am using.
 
You know, I've never smoked a churchwarden, but I've always wanted to. They just look so neat! I'd always be afraid of snapping the stem, though, being the clumsy person that I am.
 
You know, I've never smoked a churchwarden, but I've always wanted to. They just look so neat! I'd always be afraid of snapping the stem, though, being the clumsy person that I am.

Churchwardens are great pipes - I got my first one about three weeks ago - A Stanwell HCA.

Mainly I smoke straight pipes, but I do have a few bents which get smoked regularly. My most recent addition a Peterson SH Professor.
 
Both have their place. My collection of 30 or so pipes is about evenly divided. The bent is great for the long, slow smoke when you hold the pipe and feel the warmth. On a fall day with a little breeze, you can't beat a short straight (cutty or "nose-warmer"). One shape which does it both ways is the "Bent Rhodesian," one of my all-time favorites.
 
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