Bowl vs Shank Material

calvinsomething · Apr 16, 2019

I've got a question that I have not been able to find any information on, and it has to do with the effect of the bowl material vs the effect of the shank material.
I'm not sure of the physics going on inside a smoking pipe and how each of these parts affect the quality of the smoke at their respective stages in the process. For example, a Falcon pipe is only made of briar in the bowl, and the shank is aluminum. You also have meerschaum lined bowls in otherwise briar pipes.
It would seem to be that with harshness of the combustion process the quality of the smoke would be affected more in the shank than in the bowl. Also, you typically have cake in the bowl, blocking the briar from absorbing any moisture at that point. I have a meerschaum lined briar and can definitely taste a difference, though.
Can anyone explain to me how the smoke is altered by the materials it comes in contact with and at what temperature/other variables make it most affected? Or if anyone has a link to direct me to some information on this? Is it the smoke, or is it the heated tobacco that is being affected?
Sorry about the clumsy articulation of this question.. it's quite confusing to me! But thank you for the time!

mso489 · Apr 16, 2019

That gets pretty far into the physics, chemistry, and materials of pipes. I'm not sure there have been any authoritative studies; I can't imagine who'd fund them. Once the airway gets a coating of carbon I would think that would keep the materials out of the mix, so you are experiencing mostly only smoke from the burning tobacco ember. If you are getting much of the constituent materials, there's likely something malfunctioning, I'd guess.

bassbug · Apr 16, 2019

Way too many variables to ever get any sort of definitive answer on this.
My advice...smoke the ones that do well for you, find a good home for those that don't

jpmcwjr · Apr 17, 2019

I haven't smoked a metal shanked pipe in decades. In general, the temperature of the smoke doesn't vary significantly by length of the airway, though some swear it is.
Also in general, temperature of the smoke wouldn't vary much due to the composition of the chamber or airway. Unless you find differently!
The temperature of the ember might vary a bit according to the chamber material in which it's burning, but that's also a function of how and what one smokes. (Lower temp the better)

olkofri · Apr 17, 2019

I think one of the selling points of Nording's Compass series pipes is the metal shank that 'gives you a cooler smoke'. Mine does smoke cool, but I can't really swear that the difference is world-shaking. I've no means of measuring how much heat the smoke loses to the shank as it's passing through, but I'd wager the length of the shank and the thickness of its walls, the velocity of the passing fluid, and the ambient temperature are all factors. Maybe they smoke cooler in the winter when it's -10 °C than in the broiling 40 °C of the summer. I'd also wager that a carbon layer will take longer to build up inside a metal shank, if any builds up at all.
Only engineers such as Mr Nording himself would be able to answer these very interesting questions.

loadclear · Apr 17, 2019

If the shank material with respect to the bowl material made a huge difference, then a Canadian or Lumberman would have a significant taste differential with a churchwarden.
In my experience, there isn't a huge difference.

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