Just bought a calabash- review/comment

scottydu81 · Mar 19, 2010

I have been trying to get my hands on a good calabash pipe and i found this one at marscigars- http://www.marscigars.com/b-ccalabash.aspx
I recieved it and i tried smoking it, but it has a really tight draw. it is like sucking peanut butter through a straw (and yes, this is even without any tobacco in it). is this normal for a pipe of this type? or did i get ripped off? It looks good, but it is hard to smoke and keep lit considering i have to use so much energy just to get any smoke out of it.

maxpeters · Mar 19, 2010

Sounds like you have an obstruction somewhere. It shouldn't smoke like that.

pstlpkr · Mar 19, 2010

Welcome Scotty,

It sounds to me (and looks) like the stem might have too sever a bend and the air hole has been pinched.

Before attempting to do something to it, I would see if you can get a church warden pipe cleaner through the stem. If you can the obstruction may be something caught in the draft hole between the mortis and the bowl OR ...

Possibly, the tenon itself while in the mortis may not line up properly and the air hole might be sealed off.

Here is a link that will help with the above terminology.

Pipe Anatomy

I hope this helps.

And again welcome.

PS Beautiful Pipe!

Don't get frustrated with it.

cortezattic · Mar 19, 2010

Scotty, like Max says, there's something obstructing the pipe. Maybe a bug crawled in the stem. That pipe should draw nice and easy, like any other pipe.

sapo59 · Mar 19, 2010

I've heard a lot of people complain about the draw in that brand of particular pipe. I cannot speak from experience though, I never smoked one. Take a thin piece of bailin' wire and see if you can run it through from stem to bowl. Perhaps it is just a obstruction of some sort.

maxpeters · Mar 19, 2010

If you haven't already, try this. Take a toothpick and stick it in the hole at the bottom of the bowl. Push it through till it doesn't contact anything.

Sometime Calabash pipes come with a piece of meerschaum blocking the hole from underneath.

scottydu81 · Mar 20, 2010

i have no idea how this happeend, but just messing around with it, i had the stem off, trying to figure it out, and i blew into it, and big chunks of some stuff came out. i have no idea how they got there or what it weas, but it cleared up perfectly and now it smokes perfectly!

cortezattic · Mar 20, 2010

Glad you worked the bugs out! Enjoy!

unclearthur · Mar 20, 2010

Scotty,it was most likely bits of the innards of the gourd stuck in the neck.

scottydu81 · Mar 20, 2010

yeah, probably. either way, it smoked really well, however i would not be able to tell a good pipe from a bad pipe unless it was outrageously bad. i will say this- while smoking it, i never thought of anything i didnt like about it!
thank you for the welcome- i am fairly new to pipe smoking but i love it and it jsut feels natural to me now! my friends asked me why i never started sooner

sapo59 · Mar 20, 2010

Welcome Scotty, hope you enjoy.

cortezattic · Mar 20, 2010

Scotty, that calabash was a particularly good choice for starters. You can smoke the hell out of them without the rest period alledgedly required of briar. So you don't have to commit to a large rotation of pipes. Also, your tongue will appreciate the natural cooling and drying of the smoke. To me, the only downside is that they're pretty much an armchair pipe.

scottydu81 · Mar 20, 2010

i plan on bringing it to school sometime (i am in college), to show it off. i started bringing my pipe to school and since then, three other guys have broguth theirs too, including a newbie. it is a lot of fun to smoke and chat after a nasty exam.

admin · Mar 20, 2010

Wow, that is a really cool looking pipe Scotty!
I'm glad you got it working and the guys here were able to help.
I am also very pleased to hear you are taking it to school with you. We need more people smoking pipes in public.
Here's 2 articles you might want to check out:

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/dont-leave-home-without-it-your-pipe/
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/pipes-are-for-everyone/

python · Mar 20, 2010

That's a nice looking pipe Scotty! I'm glad that you got your problem fixed.
Welcome to the site!

Just bought a calabash- review/comment

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