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By Bob Tate
Dr. Grabow Royal Duke (Retails for about $25.00)
There is always going to be a raging debate in the pipe world about the cost of a pipe. Some people swear that a more expensive pipe is better than an inexpensive pipe and others will say that price doesn’t matter on how a pipe smokes. I would say that both sides are correct, to an extent. I will admit that I do not own any really expensive pipes. The most expensive pipe that I own, at the time of this article, retailed for $150.00 and that is a meerschaum so I can not weigh in on the quality of briar on an expensive pipe. The most expensive briar that I own, at the time of this article, retailed for $110.00. But I will say this; in my experience, the more a pipe costs (to a certain extent), the better it is constructed.
I would say that a $200.00 pipe would smoke a lot better than a $20.00 pipe, but I’m not too sure that a $700.00+ pipe would smoke much, if any, better than a $200.00 pipe. Regardless of the cost of the pipe, all of them are smokable. Some just smoke better than others. When I use the term ‘inexpensive’ I am referring to pipes $40.00 and under.
If you want to get into pipe smoking don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can’t afford it. You can find many pipes for under $100.00 all the way down to $10.00. I have a few pipes that I have paid $40.00 and under for them and they smoke great. A lot of no name pipes in the $30.00 to $50.00 range are actually manufacturer’s seconds from known pipe manufacturers. You can get Missouri Meerschaum cob pipes in the range of $3.00 to $8.00. Heck, some people only smoke cobs and own no other types of pipes! I own a few cobs and they smoke very well and for some reason, they don’t gurgle at all. Pipe smoking is only as expensive as you make it.
One thing to keep in mind when you are looking for a low to mid-range pipe is, the cheaper it is the more likely chance there is that there are flaws in the construction. Just make sure that you fully inspect the pipe before you purchase it to make sure that there are no major construction flaws. The two main things I look for when purchasing inexpensive pipes are;
1) The draft hole is at the bottom of the bowl and
2) The pipe cleaner test.
The pipe cleaner test is inserting a pipe cleaner into the stem and it should go down into the bowl. Now with inexpensive bent pipes, you may have to play around with the pipe cleaner a bit to get it to go down and sometimes it will not go all the way down into the bowl. There is a high chance that the pipe is improperly drilled on inexpensive bent pipes.
There are exceptions to the pipe cleaner test. It is sometimes very hard to get a pipe cleaner down into the bowl on some pipes with more than 1/2 bend to them, regardless of the price. I tend to disregard the pipe cleaner test on pipes with more than 1/2 bend to them as long as the draft hole is on the bottom of the heel. I have some pipes that the cleaner doesn’t go down into the bowl and they smoke great and hardly ever gurgle.
One of the biggest flaws that I have found with inexpensive bent pipes is that the draft hole is improperly drilled and does not go to the bottom of the bowl. I call this extra space a ‘well’ (Fig 1) because it will collect moisture and dottle in the heel below the draft hole. But even that does not make the pipe un-smokable. I own a couple of pipes with that flaw and I smoke them. I just use a specific packing technique with those pipes to minimize problems that can occur from the flaw. On a properly drilled pipe, the draft hole should be at the bottom of the bowl (Fig 2).
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Fig 1 |
Fig 2 |
Now a days, a lot of people purchase from the internet. It can worry you some if you are purchasing a pipe online because you can’t actually look at the pipe before you buy it. I was worried about purchasing online for awhile before I actually did so for the first time. A lot of online and mail order retailers will allow you to return a pipe that you purchased within a certain amount of time as long as you have not smoked it. That way you can look it over first and then make a decision. One of the things that I did when I was purchasing an inexpensive pipe online is that I would only buy a straight pipe. Straight pipes are easier to drill. I have bought a couple of new straight pipes online for around $20.00 and the draft hole was always on the bottom of the heel.
Mr. Brog Pipe (Retails for about $20.00US)
Keep in mind that even if you are going to spend more money on a pipe, you should still look it over. The more expensive the pipe, the more critical I am when I examine it. I expect a more expensive pipe to be made better than an inexpensive pipe. I will forgive some flaws in an inexpensive pipe that I will not forgive in a more expensive pipe. I keep in mind that you get what you pay for, so I expect some flaws in inexpensive pipes. I check everything on the more expensive pipes; from construction to aesthetic qualities. I look for fills in the bowl, construction, grain; I look for flaws in everything. Just remember that if you can only afford inexpensive pipes, you can still enjoy this hobby.
I would also like to add; whether you choose to buy inexpensive pipes or that is all you can afford, don’t hate the people that do buy only high grade pipes. We all have different tastes and buy different things. There are also pipers that are more of collectors than smokers. Sure there are a few snobs in the hobby that only buy high end and like to bash on the inexpensive pipes and pipers, but they are the minority. You have those types of people in all aspects of life. The majority of pipe smokers are not like that. Although, at this moment in time, I don’t own any high grade pipes, I do not begrudge anyone that does. If I was able to afford some of the pipes that cost a few hundred dollars or more, I would definitely buy some!
Remember we are all pipers and brothers/sisters of the briar!
6 Responses to “Pipes: They’re Not Just for the Wealthy”
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Pipe Smoking - Quick Easy and Inexpensive | Pipes Magazine - Community for the 21st Century Tobacco Pipe Smoker said:
[...] All year I have been hearing that pipe smoking is realizing a resurgence. Articles, news stories and even government statistics point to increased sales in pipe tobacco. I was wondering why and after perusing many stories on this there were two main reasons cited; 1) the economic and political turmoil in today’s world has people searching for comfort in things that remind them of simpler, happier times … picture a "Father Knows Best type figure", and 2) they say that pipe smoking is a cheaper alternative to other forms of smoking … again a symptom of the bad world economy. Personally I laughed at this because you can’t prove that pipe smoking is cheaper by me. Every time I pass a tobacconist I have to stop in and buy a pipe. However, Bob Tate has done a fine job with his piece, "Pipes: They’re Not Just for the Wealthy". [...]
May 27th, 2009 at 7:06 AM
Is That A Gurgle I Hear? | With Pipe and Pen said:
[...] Bad Pipe Construction Bad pipe construction will sometimes cause a pipe to gurgle. I have noticed that with cheaper machine made bent pipes, that there is a divot (I call it a well) in the heel of the bowl. It is where the draft hole does not go to the bottom of the bowl (heel). The draft hole is higher than the bottom of the bowl and it allows moisture to build up in the well. It will also cause quite a bit of dottle because the draft hole hits ash before being able to finish the tobacco at the bottom of the bowl. I use a specific packing technique to help out with pipes that have this problem. Also a draft hole that is drilled too narrow can create condensation that causes a gurgling pipe. You can see an image of what I call a well at the end of this article, Pipes: They’re Not Just for the Wealthy. [...]
June 8th, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Jim Shive said:
A pipe, is a pipe, is a pipe. Over 33 years now, I’ve smoked em in all manner of shapes, dates of production, makers, and prices ranging from $10.00 old estates, to $200.00, so-called “artisan” pipes. A pipe, is a pipe, is a pipe. Never had any pipe, from any maker that gurgled because of some “engineering” flaw. When that has rarely happened, the culprit was an estate that someone had not kept clean enough over their use of it.
October 16th, 2010 at 3:44 AM
Ross said:
So what is the special packing technique that s used for a pipe with a “well” ? And roughly in the experience you guys have, what is the size of the hole at both , the bowl end and the mouth piece end ? ? Just to try and work out what grade of pipe i have .
November 4th, 2010 at 5:34 PM
Bob said:
Ross,
I use either the “Air Pocket Method” or the “Bob Method” when loading a pipe that has a well in it. The Bob Method is just a hybrid method between two other packing methods. You can read about them here:
http://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-smoking/tobacco-pipe-packing-methods/
and you can see video instructions here:
http://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-smoking/tobacco-pipe-packing-methods-part-2-videos/
November 7th, 2010 at 1:28 PM
Leon said:
I actually owned a sevent five dollar pipe before that I owned a sanda which is basically a ceramic pipe that has a metal bowl made to look like a wooden pipe it collected saliva and if I tipped the pipe right I would get the back wash into my mouth which was revolting so then I bought a seventy dollar pipe. I bought for looks not by feel or comfort the bowl was small and it ended up getting cracked so then I bought a Dr. Grabo omega and that works good except the bowl gets really hot.
One day I bought a 19.00 pipe at a cigarette store the kind with cigars cigarettes pre packaged pipe tobacco glass pipes and of course and indian dude. At any rate its light wieght feels good in my hand is pretty it works pretty good. Its a bent pipe and the only thing it says on it is Italy Im wondering where it came from or who made it but I don’t think Ill ever know. I agree alot of bent pipes you might have to shove a little to get the pipe cleaner into the bowl I also found that real pipe cleaning cleaners dont have this problem as much but if you use one those arts and crafts it will be hard for any pipe. SO all in all I think it’s based off the wood thats used and the design.
May 26th, 2011 at 2:42 AM