The pipe speaks?

audiophile · Sep 15, 2012

When I'm breaking in a new pipe I'll try various styles in it until I find one that tastes the best in that specific pipe. Sometimes it only takes one bowl of a balkan or burley blend and I'm sold. No extra auditioning needed. Mostly a simple tasting between a VA and an English will have a big standout winner. Meh, or Woah! It's like the pipe is telling you what will taste best in it. But what happens when you buy a pipe planning to dedicate it to a certain style? You look at the pipe and think "You shall be my new Virginia pipe!". But then after tasting, English blends taste waaaay better than VAs? Does anyone do this or am I nuts? Should I just dedicate the pipe to whatever I want it to be and just let the cake improve the flavor or Do you guys really think that certain pipes taste better with certain blends? Sorry if I'm bringing up an old topic...

sixmp · Sep 15, 2012

I just had this happen to me. I bought a Peterson Donegal Rocky with plans to dedicate to 1792 and it turned out it wanted Squadron Leader. It worked out well because i can now taste things in SL i never noticed before and it smokes cooler.

papipeguy · Sep 15, 2012

Quite the can of worms you've opened with this post. Many guys dedicate specific pipes to one blend, one cut or a particular style. I suppose some pipes are made for specific tobaccos like flakes versus ribbon cuts. I dedicate one Stanwell to C&D's Gentleman Caller because I believe that the deer tongue in the blend ghosts a pipe pretty well. Otherwise, I just load the rest with what I want at the moment and go for it.

In short, it's up to you on how you want to approach the hobby. I doubt that I can keep track of what has gone in any particular pipe except that one Stanwell.

I'm sure others will share their experiences and advice as well.

garyovich · Sep 15, 2012

@pa,

I understand not wanting all your pipes to taste like deer tongue, but do you ever smoke other blends in that pipe? I have one pipe dedicated to 1792 for the same reason (tonquin instead of tongue) that's all I smoke 1792 in. However I often smoke other blends in it as well because I find the ghost mingles and interacts well with some, poorly with others. The experimenting with combined flavored is fun and sometimes surprising.

sjpipesmoker · Sep 15, 2012

I have a Boswell that I only smoke boswells blends in, they work for the shape and they taste better than if I smoke it in any other pipe!! I think certain blends work best in certain pipes.

cigrmaster · Sep 15, 2012

I have certain pipes dedicated to my Boswell aromatics( haven't smoked them in over a month though), they are larger sized and they smoke them well. I then dedicate the rest of my pipes in two categories, va flake or vapor flake. The sizes on these pipes are smaller than the Boswell pipes. I find flakes work best in certain shapes and sizes. Since I don't smoke English blends I don't have to worry about those. The few times I smoke a Lakeland scented blend, I have a pipe dedicated for that.

I experimented for a brief time dedicating all my pipes to certain blends, and it was a pain in the ass. I won't do that again.

bentmike · Sep 15, 2012

I have a couple pipes just for English, but don't smoke them very often. Normally I smoke Virginia flakes with the occasional Vaper or aromatic so other than those two pipes for Latakia blends I just randomly decide what blend to smoke in which pipe. You are correct though some blend do well in certain pipes and shapes and I think it's fun experimenting to see how it plays out.

rcstan · Sep 15, 2012

I dedicate a pipe or two for flakes ( VA or VA/Per ) based on their construction, and I have a couple for non-Lat mixtures. Since I don't smoke a lot of aros, I have a little Pete Belgique exclusively for them ( plus, nothing else tastes right in that little pipe ). The rest are for Englishes, mixture or flake.

However, the two meers ..... anything goes in those guys.
To answer the OP .... yes, different pipes for different baccy, based on how they smoke out of a particular one. And the pipe DOES speak : puffy

:

rigmedic1 · Sep 15, 2012

Can't argue with this post. Some pipes just sing when you find the right blend for them. Downside is that some pipes never seem to find a match. The fun for me is finding the right combination.

gwtwdbss · Sep 16, 2012

I certainly agree audiophile. Recently I began to listen to my pipes and my over all smoking experience has improved since I have let the pipe dictate the blend(or type of blend) it prefers.

philip · Sep 16, 2012

The fun for me is finding the right combination.

I agree.
The upside is when you find a pipe that works with anything.

gnatjulio · Sep 16, 2012

So far the only dedicated pipe I have is my Boswell Poker to my Boswell blends.
rcstan, is there a particular size bowl that you find more beneficial for flake tobacco, (deep bowl, shallow bowl, narrow bowl, wide bowl...)? I'm totally digging the flakes of late.

rcstan · Sep 16, 2012

gnatjulio, I'll say that a Group 3 Rhodesian or Apple type ( in Peterson terms, a 999 or 03 ), IOW a moderately wide ( 0.75 " ID ), slightly shallow ( 1.5" depth ), fairly thick walled bowl has yielded the best results for me with flakes, folded or ruffled ( I don't rub out my flakes ). You could smoke them in a smaller bowl or even in a cob, but I find they burn a bit hot. Deep wide bowls seem to drown them out a bit for me.

pstlpkr · Sep 16, 2012

While I don't dedicate pipes per se'.

I do have a couple that definitely prefer a certain type of blend.

: puffy

:

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