The Big Tobacco Pipe Information Thread

[Columbo]

You do pay a premium for the name but, as Colombo said, it's never that simple. I don't own any Savinellis but I do own a dozen or so Petersons of various grades and a couple of Stanwells. My worst smoking Dunhill outsmokes all of them except one Danish Stanwell that has always been an exceptional smoker.

IMO Dunhill makes the classic pipe shapes better than anyone, and the chances of getting a lemon are as near to zero as you can get. Their reputation goes back a century and is very well earned. They aren't for everybody, and they aren't a necessity, but they are more than just a name to show off.

Some of the best Danish Stanwells are among the best factory pipes ever made by any maker, from any era.

Like you, I have a couple of them, and they are superlative smokers.

I was very sad when they closed that shop years ago.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Some of the best Danish Stanwells are among the best factory pipes ever made by any maker, from any era.

Like you, I have a couple of them, and they are superlative smokers.

I was very sad when they closed that shop years ago.

Wait, Stanwell is not anymore?

 

[JCinPA]

Danish Stanwells are not anymore. They moved production to Italy in 2010. Not sure if they are or are not still in production.

Stanwell - Pipedia

pipedia.org

Looks like they are, plenty on offer at pipes & cigars.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Danish Stanwells are not anymore. They moved production to Italy in 2010. Not sure if they are or are not still in production.

Stanwell - Pipedia

pipedia.org

Looks like they are, plenty on offer at pipes & cigars.

My sandblasted Bang Design 178 is one of my best smokers. I looked at their current Italian catalog for a polished one but it seems that it is out of production.

 

[Multum in parvo]

 

[Benzadmiral]

Multum, that's a fantastic-looking pipe!

Okay, if this is a catch-all thread: I've noticed that some places are better suited to smoking certain pipes than others. For instance, on Sunday mornings lately I've been smoking my longish Trade Wind straight billiard at my dinette table. I tend to hold my pipes and don't clench for very long. So, resting my elbow on the table puts the stem of the pipe up higher than is completely comfortable. (Imagine if this were a churchwarden --!) Yet I have no real trouble smoking the big straight while sitting on my couch. Perhaps, at the table, one of my bent and smaller pipes will work better.

Not a complaint, just an observation.

 

[JCinPA]

OK, another catch-all question. So I read the linked article by G.L. Pease and he claims nearly identical briar pipes will taste very, VERY different with the same brand of tobacco. I'm like, whaaaaat? I thought briar was prized precisely because it didn't impart a taste to tobacco. Have any of you guys experienced this?

If he's right, how would one ever figure this out. If you have a dozen pipes and a dozen tobaccos (not unreasonable around here, I'd bet) that's 144 combinations to test right there. My guess is he's exaggerating to make a point, but I had to ask. It sounds strange to me. Interesting read.

The Pipe Doesn’t Matter

I hear the rumblings already. “What a load of codswallop, Pease? Of course the pipe matters.” Sure it does, but I can’t count how many times I’ve read similar words […]

pipesmagazine.com

 

[RookieGuy]

Yeah, that makes sense. The briar root was a living thing at one point, there's going to be variations within it. The same way with the tobacco leaves.

In the end, we smoke around until we find what works for us.

 

[JCinPA]

I just have pipes for "wife friendly scents" and pipes for "Stuff I like to smoke ... outside." Until I read that article, I thought that was enough.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I just have pipes for "wife friendly scents" and pipes for "Stuff I like to smoke ... outside." Until I read that article, I thought that was enough.

I have two briar pipes per blend type:
Virginia, VaPer, Aromatic, Lakeland, and Miscellaneous (anything and everything). Only one briar pipe for English.

Yes, some of this pipes might have been better for smoking something differently in, but I either had enough pipes already for that other type, or I had already committed the pipe, by having smoked a blend (with Latakia or some topping) which claims the pipe as it's own.

There's also a limit as to what my palate can discern, how many pipes I'm prepared to own, and also how much I can remember. If an English pipe doesn't taste well in my Latakia pipe, I'm not going to try it in other pipes, until I find one it smokes well in. I'll just stick to blends that I have enjoyed in that pipe. Maybe that's part of why I only like mild English? So be it.

Likewise, if I broke one of my pipes - let's say my VaPer pipe - I'm not going to buy several pipes to find the one that best smokes VaPers. I'll just buy one pipe, allocate it, and call it done. I might prefer VaPers in it, than I did before, or find that none taste as good as they did in the old pipe, but I'm still not going on some never ending shopping quest to find a specific lump of wood to suit a specific pinch of baccy.

 

[Kilroy6644]

With one exception, I don't dedicate my pipes at all. I smoke willy-nilly, grabbing whichever pipe and tobacco strikes my fancy. I've never worried much about ghosting, and don't actually have much experience with it. I don't know if my palate just isn't refined enough to pick out the extra flavors, or if my smoking practices have resulted in all of my pipes being uniformly ghosted, or some combination of the two. Either way, I never have to worry about tainting a Virginia pipe with Latakia, or whatever. Of course, some pipe and tobacco combinations do smoke better than others, and that leads to more frequent pairings, but they're not dedicated.

 

[JCinPA]

Pipe Filters

What's up with them? I see ads for pipes for 6mm filters, or 9mm filters. I looked them up on Amazon, and I see some have activated charcoal in them. Why would you want to do that? Charcoal is used to reduce odors, no? Wouldn't that be counterproductive in a tobacco pipe?? Says they can be smoked with or without filters, but I'm curious, why would you want to?

Thanks!

 

[Multum in parvo]

Pipe Filters

What's up with them? I see ads for pipes for 6mm filters, or 9mm filters. I looked them up on Amazon, and I see some have activated charcoal in them. Why would you want to do that? Charcoal is used to reduce odors, no? Wouldn't that be counterproductive in a tobacco pipe?? Says they can be smoked with or without filters, but I'm curious, why would you want to?

Thanks!

Mostly they take up moisture, but as you have noticed charcoal will reduce the flavor as well. When I started out with filtered pipes I went for Meerschaum or Balsa filters. Nowadays I only have filterless pipes or in those chambered for filters a reduction piece to 3mm.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Pipe Filters

What's up with them? I see ads for pipes for 6mm filters, or 9mm filters. I looked them up on Amazon, and I see some have activated charcoal in them. Why would you want to do that? Charcoal is used to reduce odors, no? Wouldn't that be counterproductive in a tobacco pipe?? Says they can be smoked with or without filters, but I'm curious, why would you want to?

Thanks!

I did have one cob that can take 6mm filters. I did have two, but chomped a fair way through an amber stem, and the only spare I had that would fit, is unfiltered. I also have two pearwood pipes that take 9mm filters.

As @Multum in parvo says, they take out moisture. If I get a blend that always seems to be a bit steamy, or leaves lots of dottle, I'll either use a filtered pipe, or put a couple of Denicote crystals in the bowl before packing. For the stems on this job, I will either use balsa, or the cartridges with meerschaum chips in. I find the meer still mutes the taste slightly, in comparison to balsa, but not anywhere near as much as the carbon ones. Same applies if I find something gurgling more than once.

I do have some of the carbon filters, but rarely use them. They only tend to come into play if I get a tobacco I really don't like, so I can still smoke it, and not waste it. Add in some strongly flavoured Lakeland, and a carbon filter, and I should be able to battle my way through it.

The only other "filters" I have, are on Falcon pipes, and I just use a bit of bent pipe cleaner in those.

 

[Multum in parvo]

I did have one cob that can take 6mm filters. I did have two, but chomped a fair way through an amber stem, and the only spare I had that would fit, is unfiltered. I also have two pearwood pipes that take 9mm filters.

As @Multum in parvo says, they take out moisture. If I get a blend that always seems to be a bit steamy, or leaves lots of dottle, I'll either use a filtered pipe, or put a couple of Denicote crystals in the bowl before packing. For the stems on this job, I will either use balsa, or the cartridges with meerschaum chips in. I find the meer still mutes the taste slightly, in comparison to balsa, but not anywhere near as much as the carbon ones. Same applies if I find something gurgling more than once.

I do have some of the carbon filters, but rarely use them. They only tend to come into play if I get a tobacco I really don't like, so I can still smoke it, and not waste it. Add in some strongly flavoured Lakeland, and a carbon filter, and I should be able to battle my way through it.

The only other "filters" I have, are on Falcon pipes, and I just use a bit of bent pipe cleaner in those.

Is there a big difference if you smoke your Falcon with or without cleaner? I got sick of the fiddling and smoke them now without anything.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I don't smoke anywhere near as often as some of you, so I'm not constantly being wreathed in smoke. And my smokes tend to run 30 minutes or less. Thus I've never seen the reason for a filter -- especially now that I dry my tobacco before smoking it, thus reducing moisture to start with, and have learned to sip the smoke or breathe around the burning leaf. (I probably could have used a filter in my pipes back in the '80s, before I learned from people here.)

Similarly, the one pipe I have with a stinger, the Heibe hexagonal bulldog, I've found to be a touch difficult to draw with the stinger in place. I've got to experiment a bit more. But I think I prefer the pipe without it.

 

[JCinPA]

Thanks, guys, that's what I thought. I never use them. First time I clean a new cob, I trash the filter. If it gurgles I run a pipe cleaner through it. I am coming to the conclusion that filters just increase the general 'fiddliness' of pipe smoking in general, and the are optional, with dubious value at best. That's what this thread is for, though, thank you all for the responses to my question!

 

[Multum in parvo]

Thanks, guys, that's what I thought. I never use them. First time I clean a new cob, I trash the filter. If it gurgles I run a pipe cleaner through it. I am coming to the conclusion that filters just increase the general 'fiddliness' of pipe smoking in general, and the are optional, with dubious value at best. That's what this thread is for, though, thank you all for the responses to my question!

Opening the airway all the way to 6mm will affect the draw and burn significantly. 3mm or a touch more would be ideal. Have you looked for custom filterless stems for your MM cobs?

 

[JCinPA]

Um, no. I did not know there was such a thing. I just toss the stems and I'm none the wiser. Linky?

More stuff I don't really need.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Um, no. I did not know there was such a thing. I just toss the stems and I'm none the wiser. Linky?

More stuff I don't really need.

Forever stem - Vermont Freehand