What Size Tobacco Chamber--and Why?

[literaryworkshop]

Hello, all. New member here. I kept running into this forum every time I googled information on pipes and pipe making, so I finally got around to setting up an account. I'm not much of a pipe smoker, really, but I'm an amateur woodworker who occasionally makes pipes. In fact, I've probably made nearly as many pipes as I've ever smoked. I just finished my twenty-fifth last week.
Anyhow, my question. What size tobacco chamber is your favorite? What's your preferred width and height, all other things being equal? What are the practical limits of tobacco chamber size?
I'd be especially interested in hearing from churchwarden smokers, as I've been making quite a few CWs recently. They appear to be in demand, mostly from LOTR fans. I'm happy to feed the demand as long as it lasts.

 

[zack24]

My standard that I make is 13/16 with a tapered bit. I also make a few pipes with a 5/8 for Group 1 pipes....

 

[warren]

It all depends on how long I want smoke to last. The largest bowl I have is an MM General and the smallest is a Peterson Silver Cap with lid. The smaller pipes go out in the field with me when shooting wildlife. The larger pipes are for my moments of retrospection with a glass of some type of fortified wine.

 

[bryanf]

.750 x 1.5 deep is a good all around pipe for me. Not too long a smoke, not too short.
My daily pipe is only .700 x 1.25 deep, but I just pack back to back bowls like I'm doing right now.

 

[anglesey]

I've never bothered to measure it, but I like a bowl that I can stick my index finger down with very little room left over, down to halfway between my first and second knuckles. I don't bother with tampers or anything like that so I can't be doing with a bowl any smaller than my finger width.

 

[psychpipes]

Like Anglesey, I don't really measure the size exactly. I tend to like lighter pipes as my smoking primarily happens in the car. I end to like small to medium pipes that offer about an hour of smoking as my commute to work is 30 mins each way. This allows me to load up the pipe, smoke half on the way there and half on the way back. On the weekends, I take out my hefty 2"+ depth bent Boswells and smoke for longer periods.

 

[rmbittner]

I don't have a "favorite." As others have said, it depends on how long I want a particular smoke to last. To a lesser extent, it also depends on what I'm smoking. Certain sizes/shapes of bowls bring out different qualities in certain blends. I can't imagine wanting all of my pipes to be of the same "perfect" size and shape.
Bob

 

[literaryworkshop]

Thanks, folks! I appreciate the perspective.
Right now I have the tooling to make both 3/4" and 7/8" wide bowls, but I could easily add other sizes. I do own one pipe with a 5/8" tapered bowl, and though I've only used it twice some time ago, it seemed to work really well at the time. It was a short smoke, though. I've made chambers as big as 7/8" wide and 1 3/4" deep. The customer asked for a high-capacity pipe, and he seems happy with it.
Anyway, I'd be interested in learning what sorts of blends do best in larger/smaller bowls.

 

[billypm]

I don't choose bowl size by duration of the smoke, but by the cut of the baccy. Ribbons go in bigger bowls, flakes rubbed out or cubed in smaller ones.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

+1 bryanf, that size or deeper. Just clenching it and letting the smoke drizzle, never puffing, I average about an hour at that size. One of the things that discourages me from buying artisan pipes is the bowl size. Most are just way too large for me. I rarely ever have more than an hour to dedicate to smoking.

 

[dixcreek]

Depends on what I want to smoke in it. I am not a fan of an oversized bowl though. Another consideration is the thickness of the bowl. some of the thin ones will get mighty hot with certain tobaccos and mostly need to be sipped