Looking at a Bulldog Pipe

Hey McLuvin,
Welcome to the forum! Take this with a pinch of salt, I'm still fairly new so I'll let the real experts give real advice. My first pipe, a peterson, was thick walled bull dog, and as most newbies do I puffed hot and hard. It always kept pretty cool to the touch and the tongue. Hope this helps!

I love bulldogs and have several. To answer your question, yes and no. It will, for the most part, be cooler in your hand. I say for the most part because towards the end of the bowl the briar is thinner so if you smoke hot it will be hot there when you get there. Also, this is felt heat on your hand. If you are smoking hot it will still be hot inside the bowl and for tongue bite concerns. But, I tend to smoke hot as well and I do prefer the bulldog for the cooler hold.

And I love the Donald "Duck" Dunn avatar, bulletsnbriar. RIP.

Thanks Dread! We both play bass and smoke pipes, I felt a connection!
Mcluvin, I love playing with my own blends! One of the funnest parts of the hobby to me.

I had a situation of a tobacco that was too strong and another that was too bland, and when I mixed them together and added some oriental for spice, I ended up with my favorite blend so far!

I've grown to absolutely love bulldogs. They clench well, fit in a pocket and take a beating well. And, they have that "tough guy" clenched like a cigar aesthetic to them.
However, when I started, thinner walled pipes were suggested to me, because I could feel the heat through the walls of the pipe more easily, so that I could monitor my cadence to keep the fire cool. If you start off with a pipe, without being surrounded by other pipemen who can show you how to smoke without puffing, just allowing the smoke to drift idly into your mouth, you may develop the bad habit of puffing to get flavor, thus scorching your tongue.

A thin walled pipe can help you learn to SLOW down to keep the walls cool enough to hold. About 90% of the problems posted on here can be resolved by those two words "slow down," gurgle, bite, burn out, sour taste, etc. can all be attributed partially to just puffing too hard. If you think you're going slow enough, slow down more :wink: There is no other form of smoking like the pipe in that regards.
In the guys I smoke with, if you are making billowing clouds of smoke, people will think you're neophyte. But, if that's how you enjoy your pipe, so be it. You might just have a tougher tongue than me, ha ha.
Also, not all aromatics are created equally, nor Englishes. Not all are goopy, not all burn hot, and not all bite. And, the same goes for all of the other varieties. Most over-generalize this, because our first experience with these blends are the jars of tobaccos in the pipe shop. There are better quality aros, lesser quality lat blends, and even Virginias that don't bite. Go figure ::

Hello. Haven't posted for a while. But found your post and thought I'd reply. I have an Invicta bulldog and it is a great smoker. Sturdy, compact and neat in shape, it fits comfortably into the hand and mouth. It draws well and smokes great. The thick walls give a cool smoke and the solid construction gives confidence. Each smoke I've had in it has been wonderful. I can definitely recommend a bulldog. I've gone the way of smoking fast and furious and received the due penalty of tongue bite which lasted for a couple of days. I learned to slow down, enjoy the taste and savour the smoke.

Steve

Huge bulldog fan here. Got a couple, both by Blatter & Blatter. They're a very old shape, from what I've been able to find out. They're a solid, masculine shape, and mine smoke well. I'd say go for one.

Johs makes a great affordable Bulldog, both smooth and partial rusticated.
Peterson Bulldogs are the cat's ass, I own several, from the small 150, to the larger than life XL13.

I have two bulls and a rhodie, they're good pipes. I don't use the rhodie too much as it's a bit of a pot and it doesn't play well with my flakes.

Most of my pipes are bulldogs, whether straight or bent. I love how they smoke, and love how they look. Most of all, I love how they fit my meathooks; nothing beats the feel of a bulldog in my hands.

The best bulldog I do have is a BBB OWN MAKE VIRGIN 403.

I did dedicated this pipe with Dunhill Night Cap.

Very sharp shape, great smoker and coolist pipe.

Bulldogs are great pipes and I highly recommend them. But you shouldn't need a specific shape pipe to have it

smoke cool enough, if your pipes are made of briar. If one of your pipes is made of Brylon, I'd put that one aside,

and go with briar or cobs. Also, I notice you are a reformed cigarette smoker; congratulations! Many former

cigarette smokers smoke a pipe way too fast and make any pipe smoke hot. Slow down and go easy, and this

will cool off all your pipes (except Brylon) to an appropriate temperature. It's a big leap from cigarettes to pipes,

but it's worth it. I think you may still be going after that nicotine high, and once you wean yourself from that,

you'll have some nice cool smoking.