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How Did Pipe Shapes Get Their Names.

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randelli

randelli

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 21, 2015
914
5
I am fairly new to pipes; but I often wonder how pipe shapes get their names. I mean, some are easy to see because they look like the name - apple/pear/egg, but others must have some historical or geographical reason.
Take a billiard. One of the most common and recognizable shapes; but what makes it a billiard? It does not look like a billiard ball. What about a poker? Or an author? Or the canadian/lumberman/liverpool/lovat shapes? Other interesting shape names are the cutty, rhodesian, and what the neck is a calabash anyway?
Please enlighten me.

 
A

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
A Calabash is named after the gourd used to fashion the originals. The Lovat was supposedly favored by one of the Lords Lovat. A poker, I have heard, was useful for sitting on the table while attending to your hand of cards. Etc, etc. The stories are legion, and usually highly disputable!

 
simong

simong

Lifer
Oct 13, 2015
2,585
15,497
UK
Good question randelli, I'm impressed by such a question from one so young as yourself. The only one I'm 100% sure of is the lovat.

Better known in these parts (Great Britain) as a colonel Henry Fraser. He was as his name suggests a colonel in the Coldstream guards (Scottish Borders).

Having excelled at charging the enemy with spears,gusto & the queens colours, her majesty bestowed upon him the title, Lord lovat.

 
randelli

randelli

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 21, 2015
914
5
I'm impressed by such a question from one so young as yourself.
Click to expand...
Full disclosure: I am slightly older than my avatar would suggest ;)
Poker sounds plausible. I can now check calabash and lovat off of my question que - thanks

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
33,945
75,564
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
Oom Pauls were named after the guy in Africa that coined the pipe. If I remember correctly.

I've heard Dublins were named so, because the country folk would make their own pipes in that cone shape, and the name was deragatory in a way. Or, so I've heard. My great grandfather carved his own pipes in a similar shape with folding knives on the porch, so it might have some merit.

Bulldogs were the first all machine frazed pipes, mass produced using slot and peg technology in France. They had brass, silver, and gold plated caps to give them an almost dublin/billiard look. But, English working men ripped the frilly tops off and clutched them in their maws while working. They were cheap and appealed to the working man. I'm not exactly sure who or when the name, bulldog, came about, bullcaps, rhodesians, squats, were all variations.
We need Mrlowercase and his research skills on this.

 
simong

simong

Lifer
Oct 13, 2015
2,585
15,497
UK
I do hope other more learned chaps chip in with more explanations, meanwhille:

Oom pau-uncle Paul. Famous boer war politician ,who may or may not have had the better of the Brits during the conflict.

Prince- styled for the tastes of the long time vivevauvant prince of Wales & short term King.

Cutty-cutty hand, term for low ranking/low class ship hand.

Canadian-they have taller trees in Canada so it's easier to make a longer shanked pipe. That's gospel, 100%.

Churchwarden- the pipes were that length so they could stand by a window, with their bowls outside so as not to molest the congregation with their smoke.

 
pitchfork

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
606
The cherrywood...
004-008-0470.jpg

723-1-1200x800.jpg


 
randelli

randelli

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 21, 2015
914
5
Cherry wood!
I have a s-ton of bartlett pear branches that decided to fall during the last storm. I wonder....

 
simong

simong

Lifer
Oct 13, 2015
2,585
15,497
UK
+1 misterlowercase! He'd be all over this, with a mountain of knowledge & wonderful photos.

We miss you mr. Lowercase where ever you are. Best regards, Simon.

 
randelli

randelli

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 21, 2015
914
5
MLC had some great information to share. I wonder if we can still access it? Did his posts disappear when he went away?

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,454
The brandy is clearly named after the shape of glass used to drink brandy which is tapered at the top to capture the fumes and enhance the sipping experience.
The pot is probably named after the standard cooking pot with a cylindrical shape.
The egg and acorn are shaped like those objects.
The Dublin probably honors where these pipes were first made and/or were widely popular.
The yacht/zulu ... I'd like to know ... maybe denotes the dashing shape, but like the author shape is probably a bit of good marketing
The bulldog? The diplomat?
About mrlowercase -- maybe some of the guys with a lot of expertise get impatient and truculent and blow their membership, although not everyone who gets booted has a lot of expertise, or maybe he just found a different outlet for his energy. Since I don't have any expertise, I'm complacent!

 
hextor

hextor

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 20, 2015
642
6
a billiard pipe, the end of it looks like a billiard stick, and they are straight.

 
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