Upside-down Pipe Rack?

mikethompson

Lifer

Jun 26, 2016

11,326

23,458

Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Jun 26, 2018

• #1

I've found this pipe rack locally, and I am considering it, BUT, do the pipes sit in here upside down do you think? I've never seen a rack where the pipe rests on the bowl on top.
Anyone have something similar? Any benefits of having them hang that way?

 

mikethompson

Lifer

Jun 26, 2016

11,326

23,458

Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Jun 26, 2018

• #2

In case its not clear, there are no groves on the bottom to rest the bowl in.

 

bassbug

Lifer

Dec 29, 2016

1,112

906

• Jun 26, 2018

• #3

It kinda makes sense...but I'd be afraid to snap a stem

 

A

aldecaker

Lifer

Feb 13, 2015

4,407

42

• Jun 26, 2018

• #4

If the space between the top and bottom plates is small enough, I would think you could slip the stems up through the holes and use it that way if you prefer. It does look like it may have been designed to have the pipes hang bowl-up, but I'm used to seeing that type with slots radiating out from the hole to the edge of the wood. I have one rack of each style, and have noticed no difference in how the pipes dry or anything like that.

 

Civil War

Lifer

Mar 6, 2018

1,552

396

• Jun 26, 2018

• #5

Yep, looks like the pipes hang upside down to me also.

 

3rdguy

Lifer

Aug 29, 2017

3,472

7,293

Iowa

• Jun 26, 2018

• #6

Appears they could fit either way if you were so inclined. Would be nice to have the grooves on the bottom but you would not absolutely need them I suppose...

 

ben88

Lifer

Jun 5, 2015

1,324

546

Quebec

• Jun 26, 2018

• #7

Mike, are you sure it was intended for pipes?

 

anthonyrosenthal74

Lifer

Jan 8, 2013

7,493

733

• Jun 26, 2018

• #8

I've seen them made that way before. There are actually many racks made for stem down storage.

 

bazungu

Starting to Get Obsessed

Feb 28, 2018

110

7

• Jun 26, 2018

• #9

Almost all of the racks you find in mainland Europe, atleast here in Belgium are all made to hang the pipe inside with the stem down and bowl up.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator

Staff member

May 12, 2015

24,706

27,299

Carmel Valley, CA

• Jun 27, 2018

• #10

No benefit, but no real downside, either. Mostly aesthetics.

 

metalheadycigarguy

Lifer

Apr 26, 2012

3,369

5,444

Washington State

• Jun 27, 2018

• #11

Pretty much all my pipes hang by the bowl with the stem down. It makes no difference to the pipe to store them either way. Some racks are designed to store the pipes stem down and others are designed to store them with the stems up.

 

cosmicfolklore

Lifer

Aug 9, 2013

33,949

75,587

Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC

• Jun 27, 2018

• #12

When you hang your pipe upside down, all the luck runs out of them. ::

 

huntertrw

Lifer

Jul 23, 2014

5,267

5,502

The Lower Forty of Hill Country

• Jun 27, 2018

• #13

Regarding the position of pipes in a rack, the late Carl Weber had this to say in his book titled Weber's Guide to Pipes and Pipe Smoking:
"Should the head be up or down? Georges Herment, a knowledgeable and entertaining writer on the subject of pipes, states flatly, "One can, indeed, buy so-called 'pipe holders' in which the mouthpiece is held uppermost. We pass these by without comment, leaving such stupidity to expose itself." But the Weber Guide to Pipes and Pipe Smoking refutes Herment with this excellent argument: "The vertical position of the pipe allows the moisture in the stem and shank to run down into the bowl, where it will evaporate or be consumed in the next smoke.""

 

smittyd

Part of the Furniture Now

Feb 7, 2018

830

907

45

Pennsylvania

• Jun 27, 2018

• #14

If its cheap enough buy it and use a chisel and some sand paper to cut your own grooves in the plate.

 

mikethompson

Lifer

Jun 26, 2016

11,326

23,458

Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Jun 27, 2018

• #15

Thanks for the replies - looks like there are no 'wrong' ways, just different styles.
Interesting point bazungu, maybe it's a North American thing?