None of this is rocket-science, but
I thought I'd pass it along.
I never owned a churchwarden, but
often wondered what they impart to
the smoking experience. I fashioned
a seven inch bakelite rod and backed
it with a MM mini mouthpiece. This I
fastened onto a cob's
shank.(air-tight fit) As expected, a
few tested blends seemed milder.(not
necessarily a good thing)
I recalled a tin of MB navy flake
which languished in the back of my
cabinet. Although I loved its spicy
flavor, it always yielded more or
less bite depending on the pipe
used. But.....packed in my makeshift
churchwarden, a star was born. No
loss of flavor, yet the bite was
gone. Obviously, the increased air
volume within the stem tempered it.
I imagine that a meerschaum bowled
calabash chamber acts similarly.
In the interest of experimental
validity, I switched back the cob's
original stem, and the bite was
back. Stem construction was time
consuming, and I probably would have
been better off just buying one of
those inexpensive, ready-made
imports on Ebay to toy with. Now you
might suggest that bite occasions
were caused by uneducated locomotive
puffing. Regardless, I now have a
dedicated pipe for the few otherwise
wonderful, but painful blends.
I thought I'd pass it along.
I never owned a churchwarden, but
often wondered what they impart to
the smoking experience. I fashioned
a seven inch bakelite rod and backed
it with a MM mini mouthpiece. This I
fastened onto a cob's
shank.(air-tight fit) As expected, a
few tested blends seemed milder.(not
necessarily a good thing)
I recalled a tin of MB navy flake
which languished in the back of my
cabinet. Although I loved its spicy
flavor, it always yielded more or
less bite depending on the pipe
used. But.....packed in my makeshift
churchwarden, a star was born. No
loss of flavor, yet the bite was
gone. Obviously, the increased air
volume within the stem tempered it.
I imagine that a meerschaum bowled
calabash chamber acts similarly.
In the interest of experimental
validity, I switched back the cob's
original stem, and the bite was
back. Stem construction was time
consuming, and I probably would have
been better off just buying one of
those inexpensive, ready-made
imports on Ebay to toy with. Now you
might suggest that bite occasions
were caused by uneducated locomotive
puffing. Regardless, I now have a
dedicated pipe for the few otherwise
wonderful, but painful blends.