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Churchwardens For Reading?

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zerohunter

zerohunter

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 19, 2017
119
1
A friend suggested I invest in a churchwarden, as he found it to be an ideal shape for when he's reading. Usually, I smoke lightweight pipes and nose warmers when I read, but my jaw can't sustain long periods of clenching and the smoke tends to get in my eyes. When he told me to try out a churchwarden, it was like ten light bulbs going off in my head. In theory, it sounds perfect: holding the bowl or letting it rest on your body while the stem still maintains contact with the mouth for puffing. I can't say I'm thrilled with the look of churchwardens - they just aren't my style - but the shape of them seem excellent for reading a book while smoking.
Anyone use churchwardens primarily when they read? Should I pull the trigger on one? If so, which one?

 
ssjones

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
19,082
13,297
Covington, Louisiana
postimg.cc
I have only one, a 1940's era Kaywoodie. I tried reading with it, and damn near lost it. I suppose you can get used to anything, but reading a paper with a 12" long pipe sticking out of my yap did not work for me.

 
shanez

shanez

Lifer
Jul 10, 2018
5,479
26,333
50
Las Vegas
holding the bowl or letting it rest on your body while the stem still maintains contact with the mouth for puffing
Click to expand...
I'm usually 50/50 between letting my pipe rest on my body and holding it. There is a reason a churchwarden is also known as a reading pipe.
I can't say I'm thrilled with the look of churchwardens
Click to expand...
I've always liked the look of churchwardens. What I never cared for, however, were rusticated pipes. Now, I think my Savinelli Qandale Rusticated 602 KS is the most beautiful pipe I own.
IMG_20181012_203349052.jpg

Savinelli_Qandale_Rustic_6mm_602_P124Z_Left_Right_WM__99587.1348170902.jpg


 

bluto

bluto

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 24, 2018
737
8
While you guys were farting around , I drank the rest of your fullers london pride
.. urrrp

 
olkofri

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,182
15,030
The Arm of Orion
I love them, but I don't find them clenchable. As for reading pipes, well only if you read nothing but books that don't require both hands to keep open (i.e. hardcovers).

 
A

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
46
A nice compromise is a Savinelli Bing's Favorite. Not quite Churchwarden length, but mine gets a lot of use while I'm reading.

 
ray47

ray47

Lifer
Jul 10, 2015
2,451
5,632
Dalzell, South Carolina
To go the inexpensive route, you may want to try the Missouri Meerschaum Cobbit Series. I have the entire collection and their great for smoking while reading. Smoking a Cobbit Corn Cob while reading a book by Mark Twain or a Lord of the Rings book, makes for a relaxing evening.

 
pappymac

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,602
5,211
Slidell, LA
I think the "churchwarden for reading" may be a legend based in fact. I remember reading once that the long pipes were popular because men could smoke one while reading the Bible (one of the myths about why the pipes are called churchwardens). Of course, back then, the books and the Bible were usually large enough that they had to be placed on a table or stand for reading so hands were free to hold a pipe.
I have 4 churchwarden pipes and I don't use them for reading because I would have to hold the pipe in one hand and the book in the other. (Yes, I still read physical books and not on electronic devices.) Usually when I am smoking my pipe while reading, I use a 3/4 bent pipe.

 
chilllucky

chilllucky

Lifer
Jul 15, 2018
1,225
3,211
Chicago, IL, USA
scoosa.com
I've posted this story elsewhere in the forums, but I don't think my fidgity self could have made it through the hundred plus page a day reading assignments of my last two years in college we're it not for a chair that put my body in a perfect position for my giant-bowled churchwarden to rest in my sternum.

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,648
It depends on your manner of reading. I think a churchwarden is good if you are sitting in a chair with arms and rest your elbow on one arm and sip the pipe at will, with the book or device in your lap, turning pages with the non-pipe hand. That works well. Clenching doesn't work, for me, with a churchwarden. All that stem on a churchwarden gets in the way if you are moving around or using both hands for a task, IMHO.

 
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