I have been on the lookout for a nice bent churchwarden ( reminiscent of the one used by Gandalf). So far amazon has only provided what appear to be shoddy imitations. I have a price range of $20-40 dollars. Any suggestions on where to look or specific links to some ?
Churchwarden Fixation
- Thread starter corrine
- Start date
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
Not quite the size of gandalf's buy a mr brog number 14 is a fun church warden and is right in your price range.
Occasionally you can find Savenelli churchwardens at discount. I have a 601 as a gift,
but I think my wife did an excellent deal (I'd looked at it before she ordered it) for about
$60. If you want to hold out for a briar, that would be the one. It's at least a Group #3
bowl. I think think the Group 2's are too small for most purposes. Otherwise, I've heard
nothing but good things about the Brogs on Forums. You have to do a little pearwood
flavor to break in the pipe, but people seem to like that too.
but I think my wife did an excellent deal (I'd looked at it before she ordered it) for about
$60. If you want to hold out for a briar, that would be the one. It's at least a Group #3
bowl. I think think the Group 2's are too small for most purposes. Otherwise, I've heard
nothing but good things about the Brogs on Forums. You have to do a little pearwood
flavor to break in the pipe, but people seem to like that too.
I'm looking for another churchwarden myself, I finally received my MacQueen Halfling churchwarden and I absolutely love the thing. Very relaxing for sitting around the fire at night to puff on that pipe, comfortable, cool smoke and just made for lounging!
I know this sounds really lazy, but one great thing about churchwardens is, you can keep your
hands lower, in a more relaxed position, while you smoke and "conjure." I certainly enjoy my
bent pipes, or straight ones for that matter, for thinking, but a churchwarden encourages a more
relaxed posture. Now I'll go walk two miles in penance for being so slack.
hands lower, in a more relaxed position, while you smoke and "conjure." I certainly enjoy my
bent pipes, or straight ones for that matter, for thinking, but a churchwarden encourages a more
relaxed posture. Now I'll go walk two miles in penance for being so slack.
The Mr Brog 14 was certainly smaller than I originally expected but i really like the way it fits in my hand; the relaxing position you speak of is certainly possible. The bowl is also quite narrow but I am consistently surprised at how long such a small bowl can smoke. The pear wood smells delicious but the extra flavor fades quickly. Highly recommended.
So it seems the churchwarden/wizard/hobbit post has become a weekly occurrence.
I've not owned a Mr. Brog but I have owned pearwood pipes and in my opinion they're no substitute for briar. And frankly I think a decent quality pipe will run you more than $20 to $30, regardless of the shape.
I've not owned a Mr. Brog but I have owned pearwood pipes and in my opinion they're no substitute for briar. And frankly I think a decent quality pipe will run you more than $20 to $30, regardless of the shape.
I had a couple of beat up old pipes that the stems had holes chewed in them. The bowls cleaned up nicely but the stems didnt draw worth a shit, so I sent them off to Floyd Norwood at Norwoods Pipe Repair and requested he make me churchwarden replacement stems for the pipes since they seemed like they would be good churchwardens. The two replacements cost me about $40 shipped, so if you can find a couple of pipes you dont really like anymore you can explore that option. Aside from that, Roma makes some nice churchwardens that can be had for around $40. I can get them locally at my smoke shop but I think pipesandcigars.com carries them as well. If you have an extra $10 or so you can look at getting a Bjarne churchwarden from pipesandcigars.com.
I bought four ebay pipes my first month. Then I inherited about twenty pipes from my grandfather, which I am currently refurbishing.
I've got a cheap Italian churchwarden (HIM?) that is dedicated to Eileen's Dream. Works pretty good. I smoke this maybe once a month or so. I'm not much of a churchwarden guy though. I agree with the Savinelli suggestion though; they make outstanding pipes for the price.
If you want an authentic churchwarden -- meaning the type of pipe that was actually smoked generations ago and will look cool and medieval -- I would skip looking at briars altogether. Instead, get yourself a long-stemmed clay pipe. They are less expensive than briar, smoke wonderfully and are, in my mind, the definitive churchwarden-style pipe if I'm thinking of Tokienesque imagery. The one caveat is that they are fragile, even moreso than meerschaum, so don't drop one!
As an aside, I've found it somewhat curious that people associate churchwardens with Tolkien's work. It's entirely the effect of the movies, I suppose.
In the books, Tolkien doesn't specify that the pipes are churchwardens. In fact, I get the impression that the characters are smoking regular sized wooden pipes, presumably briar (although briar is never specifically mentioned). I imagine that hobbits, Rangers and wizards actually smoked handcarved briars, probably in the kinds of shapes often produced by Boswell, Ardor, etc.
It's a similar phenomena, I think, to the fact that so many people associate calabash pipes with Sherlock Holmes. However, Holmes didn't smoke a calabash in the original Doyle tales. He generally smoked straight-stemmed briars and the occasional clay. The calabash was contributed by one of the original actors who portrayed Holmes (I'm not sure why, although I did read an explanation many years ago).
In any case, if you are interested in a briar churchwarden, I'd save up a few more dollars and buy either a Savenelli or a Stanwell. They are high-quality pipes and are unlikely to disappoint.
In the books, Tolkien doesn't specify that the pipes are churchwardens. In fact, I get the impression that the characters are smoking regular sized wooden pipes, presumably briar (although briar is never specifically mentioned). I imagine that hobbits, Rangers and wizards actually smoked handcarved briars, probably in the kinds of shapes often produced by Boswell, Ardor, etc.
It's a similar phenomena, I think, to the fact that so many people associate calabash pipes with Sherlock Holmes. However, Holmes didn't smoke a calabash in the original Doyle tales. He generally smoked straight-stemmed briars and the occasional clay. The calabash was contributed by one of the original actors who portrayed Holmes (I'm not sure why, although I did read an explanation many years ago).
In any case, if you are interested in a briar churchwarden, I'd save up a few more dollars and buy either a Savenelli or a Stanwell. They are high-quality pipes and are unlikely to disappoint.
- Status