I Think I've Found My Shape.

I've come to be a firm believer in keeping an open mind when it comes to shapes. Of course we always rule out the ones we don't care for, that comes naturally. For me, it's the pot shape. I don't find it visually appealing or enjoyable to smoke. For the longest time I didn't want anything to do with straight pipes at all. A few years in to smoking a happened upon a Sasieni 4 Dot Billiard that I took a chance on. I was shocked how much I liked it and now the traditional straight billiard is one of my favorite shapes there is.
It's great to find that one shape that fits your style and personal perferences just right. Definitely don't let it stop you from trying new things or even revisiting a style you swore off at one time or another. That't the beauty of pipe smoking. So many options!

Remind me guys what does a Zulu style pipe look like? If you live in stagnant meerschaum world as I do I tend to lose touch with all the other styles. You know after reading all these posts I am almost tempted to try something different!

1/4 bent dublins and 1/8 bent princes are probably my two favorite pipe shapes right now. One for a long smoke and one for a short smoke. I still smoke my other pipes, but I do tend to gravitate towards these two. I enjoy my zulu as well; an excellent smoker.

Arhhhh. Thank you. I have seen those before and they look like fun pipes. I hope you enjoy your new acquisition.

Good for you! It's a satisfying moment to find your perfect shape. For me, I must say I'm boring enough that my favourite is a good old fashioned rusticated billiard.

Initially I stayed away from bents, except a 1/4 bent. As most estates I found were straight. The I saw the LVC meer and I loved how it hangs . I smoke both now, mostly bents however.

Shapes I like are Dublin, Zulu, Prince, Billiards, Tomato, Apple. There is really not a shape I don't like in the standard range.

Great topic! I thought I would love the big chunky full and half bent pipes, so I bought an older estate Brigham mountaineer. Super excellent, until I purchased a Brigham Chinook #62 (made in France)...which is a quarter bent apple...rusticated finish and under 50 grams. It feels amazing in hand and even better in mouth. It took the experience of it to seal that deal. Maybe my tastes will change. Truth is...I love all the shapes...some are just more attractive than others and the super light straighter pipes seem to be catching my attention.

Zulu is a great shape. I especially like the Savenelli 404. Chapuis Comoy makes a fine zulu at

an astonishingly low price, if you can track one down. My favorite shapes include billiards,

Dublins, bulldogs, and apples, but most traditional shapes appeal to me -- authors, diplomats,

poker, pot, cheerywood, and brandy among others.

Unless a billiard, lovat or Zulu is very light, I do not enjoy them. I have a couple of lighter weight straights that I really like but most are too heavy for me.
They are too hard on my teeth while I clench
Bents of all types are my favorites, preferably under 55 grams

The hourglass is my favorite shape.
But in pipes, it would have to be the apple. There's just something comforting about a well shaped apple and the bent ones are great to clench.
Glad you're enjoying the Zulu.

The zulu is a great looking shape, both elegant and classic (even though I don't own one, but hope to some day).That said, I also agree with Mike:

I've come to be a firm believer in keeping an open mind when it comes to shapes.

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I have one Zulu and enjoy it. I have around 7 or 8 Dublins which are the same family and enjoy those more because they have no forward cant like many of the Zulu's on the market. I buy pipe shapes based on how I think they will smoke my favorite tobacco's. I only smoke flakes and the shapes I buy are Dublins, Apples, Billiards, Brandy's, Cherrywood, Poker, Lovats and Rhodesians. I buy only group 4-5 sized pipes and after only 12 years did I finally figure out what shapes and what sizes I really liked. I used to buy pipes based on looks alone and never considered how they would smoke my favorites, never considered what they weighed or if the stem was comfortable, what stem material I really enjoyed, I was basically all over the place with no freaking clue. lol
This site really helped me focus on my collection and I stopped having to sell off pipes on a consistent basis because they just did not work for me. Now when I buy a pipe the first thing I think about it how well it will smoke my flakes, is it light enough and will the stem be what I like. I have minimized my mistakes a whole bunch.

I like the look of Zulu's, but since I am mostly an outdoors smoker, I have never desired to own one. Too bad I can't smoke inside, as they are great looking pipes.
I only buy billiards, apples, brandy's, and I have a pot. I prefer a pipe smaller than group 3, as I can't often sit for an hour straight to smoke.
I also prefer system pipes of one sort or other, as for the price (under $120), they smoke very well. A standard non-system briar pipe that smokes well and could take hard smoking will typically cost me much more money, as the draft hole must be drilled perfectly, with an open draw, and a very tight mortise/tenon gap. The walls must not be too thick, nor too thin or it will be hot, or too heavy. I like sandblasted pipes as I think they smoke cooler. I like a thin bit, not a wide fishtail, with a button that is defined, but not too bulky, and prefer vulcanite to acrylic. I drool over these pipes, but I have not seen many pipes in my price range with the qualities I like, and I prefer to check my pipe in person before buying. One day, I may chunk down and get a nice Dunhill shell briar, as to me they have the perfect qualities. I can afford these pipes, but I am too cheap.
At the moment, I still don't own this "perfect pipe" as I describe, but hopefully one day. The pipes I do own have one or more of these qualities, but not one of them have all of these qualities. At least, buying a few pipes has taught me what I like, and I know no other way in which I could have learned. Moral of the story? Buy different sorts of pipes, to learn what is perfect for you- then seek that perfect pipe.

I agree, the Zulu shape have a perfect balance i the mouth (at least for me) and it looks great and elegant too.

I still love the billiard shape, and am even having a custom billiard made as I write. (More about that when the pipe is finished in a couple of months.) But after that, finances depending, I want to try different shapes like the apple and so forth. The next frontier in the collecting of pipes!

I will say, the zulu shape is unique. I've never seen a zulu I would describe as large. To be carried off well, it

has to be sleek and spare. The cant on the bowl is subtle, just detectable on the Savenelli 404, for example,

so I wouldn't worry about it outdoors. Not like a cutty or some horns with the overt forward tilt. If you haven't

considered a zulu, take another look. They're handsome pipes with a lot of style, and most often great smokers.

My favorite shape is represented by the Stanwell 185, a 3/4 bent, relatively large bowl danish style. I only have one of the Stanwell but probably a dozen that are pretty close. They just feel right in the hand and I am told look good in my mouth. Anything that makes my face look better is a major plus!