Any of us who have been pipe smokers for a while probably have a varied collection. But what would you say is the most unusual pipe you’ve ever had? And you define what is meant by unusual. Now, it’s not enough to identify that one pipe, but please tell us why it’s unusual.
For me it’s a Ropp cherrywood poker, and I find it unusual for several reasons. First, it’s made from an actual piece of a cherry tree branch, with most of the bark left on the outer bowl. It’s square, or I should say, diamond shaped, but being from a tree, it’s a bit uneven on its sides, so it has a unique feel in the hand. Also, the bottom wasn’t cut perfectly, so it sits at a bit of an angle.
But the most unusual feature to me is its carburetor, or air hole, in the bottom of the pipe. My guess is that the carburetor feature was created to help improve airflow for pipes that were packed too tightly. And I would imagine the carburetor does its job nicely, if you pack too tightly.
But I pack my pipes looser than most smokers, and so that carburetor just made things worse, to the point the pipe was almost unsmokable. Which is why I gave it away a few years ago. Well, since I began smoking again earlier this year, I was given the pipe back. This time, I decided to try Dark Strong Flake in it, and it smoked it like magic, as long as I kept my thumb over that carburetor air hole. So I thought about it, and came up with an easy solution. I cut a short piece of pipe cleaner, and pushed it into the carburetor air hole. The problem is solved, and the Ropp cherrywood poker is now a very good, unusual pipe.
For me it’s a Ropp cherrywood poker, and I find it unusual for several reasons. First, it’s made from an actual piece of a cherry tree branch, with most of the bark left on the outer bowl. It’s square, or I should say, diamond shaped, but being from a tree, it’s a bit uneven on its sides, so it has a unique feel in the hand. Also, the bottom wasn’t cut perfectly, so it sits at a bit of an angle.
But the most unusual feature to me is its carburetor, or air hole, in the bottom of the pipe. My guess is that the carburetor feature was created to help improve airflow for pipes that were packed too tightly. And I would imagine the carburetor does its job nicely, if you pack too tightly.
But I pack my pipes looser than most smokers, and so that carburetor just made things worse, to the point the pipe was almost unsmokable. Which is why I gave it away a few years ago. Well, since I began smoking again earlier this year, I was given the pipe back. This time, I decided to try Dark Strong Flake in it, and it smoked it like magic, as long as I kept my thumb over that carburetor air hole. So I thought about it, and came up with an easy solution. I cut a short piece of pipe cleaner, and pushed it into the carburetor air hole. The problem is solved, and the Ropp cherrywood poker is now a very good, unusual pipe.
