A Smoke of Pipes
-
Kevin Godbee - Mar 2, 2009
- 5 min read
Ok so you’ve made up your mind that you’d like to try smoking a pipe. You’ve heard that it’s relaxing and a great way to spend time just sitting back and watching the world go by and maybe even a great way to contemplate where you want your life or business to go in the future.
Now you’re about to head down to your nearest pipe store to buy that pipe but, unless you’ve spent some time looking around the Net you could be in for a bit of a shock. You see, you just can’t walk into a store and ask for a pipe … well you could but the store clerk may look at you a bit strangely and he’s certainly going to have some questions for you for the term ‘pipe’ covers a huge range of shapes, sizes, and types.
There are decorative pipes, plain pipes, long pipes, short pipes and even mini pipes. There are pipes made out of briar … and pipes made out of other materials. There are pipes with straight shanks, pipes with bent shanks, there are pipes with small bowls and pipes with large bowls. So walking into a pipe shop or tobacconist and asking for a pipe is a bit like walking into a hardware store and asking for a couple of screws … you’re either going to need to give the clerk more information or ask for his recommendations.
Hopefully after reading this you’ll be a little more informed about pipes and have some better idea about what sort of pipe you’re looking for.
Quality
A lot of smokers who want to try a pipe are going to head down to the store with the idea that they’re not going to spend a lot of money. So they go looking for something cheap … something that’s not going to break the bank … and something they won’t feel that they’ve wasted their money on if they find that pipe smoking isn’t for them.
And straight away, they’re making a fundamental mistake. Sure you can pick up a pipe for a couple of bucks in a bargain bin somewhere but the price you pay for a pipe is in direct proportion to the quality you’re going to get and those cheap pipes are not going to give you the smoking experience you want … especially when you’re just starting out.
So if you want to give pipe smoking a real test then be prepared to spend some dollars and maybe think of buying something around the $50.00 mark for your first pipe. Also be prepared to buy the pipe from a specialty store. Yes you can find them in a few other places but the specialty stores are the places to go to get the right advice so don’t waste time going elsewhere.
So what makes a good pipe?
There are three main parts to every pipe. There’s the bowl that holds the tobacco while you smoke it. The bowl is attached to the shank which is designed to keep the bowl away from your face and allow the smoke to cool before it enters your mouth and the shank is attached to the stem … the part that actually goes into your mouth.
The most noticeable difference in some pipes is the shape of the shank; some are straight and some are curved. The shape of the shank is more about what’s comfortable for the smoker than anything else. Some people like the way a pipe with a curved shank feels when it’s in their mouth or when they hold it and some prefer a pipe with a straight shank.
The most important factor in what makes a good pipe is the material that it’s made out of and a briar pipe is what you should be aiming for. Briar is a type of wood that comes from the roots of a bush found around the Mediterranean Sea. The briar wood is very tough and very heat resistant and it’s the perfect material for pipes.
Briar’s ability to resist heat isn’t the only reason that it’s ideal for pipes. Briar is actually somewhat porous and so the moisture and heat in the tobacco can escape and cool air can enter the bowl and that allows the tobacco to burn more evenly. So definitely aim for a briar pipe … even just to test the waters.
Does it look cool?
The outward appearance of a pipe really isn’t very important when it comes to smoking it. Back in our grandfathers’ days … or even earlier … the way a pipe looked on the outside was probably of very little importance and I’m sure that some pipe smokers really had absolutely no choice when it came to that outward appearance. However these days we do have a choice and we’re all creatures of fashion so the outward appearance of a pipe can be quite important to the user.
There are basically three different exteriors on a pipe. There’s the smooth polished pipe that’s gentle to the touch and some people might think that it gives of an air of refinement and adds that refinement to the smoker’s image.
 |
 |
| Briar Pipe with Smooth Surface | Briar Pipe with Rough Sandblasted Surface |
There’s also the roughened exterior … something that’s created by sandblasting the exterior of the bowl. Some roughened exteriors go beyond a light sandblasting and have a very pitted exterior and, while you think that may be a little too rugged a look for you, there are some advantages in a roughened surface. You see, the rougher the surface the greater the surface area and if it’s a good briar pipe that means a larger surface area to be air-cooled and that leads to a cooler smoke.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the choice of exteriors really does come down to a personal preference.
Exotic pipes
Before I close this piece on pipes I really should briefly mention carved meerschaum pipes. These pipes are beautiful works of art but their beauty grows with their age and use. You won’t find these in a close-out bin at your tobacconist or pipe store and you won’t pick one of these beauties up for $50.00 either but they certainly are something to aspire to further into your pipe-smoking experience.
So there you have a brief introduction to pipes. I really have only briefly touched on the topic and there is so much more to learn about those pipes that can deliver so much pleasure.
Written by Kevin Godbee
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 637. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Nate King. Most people know of Nate as an excellent pipe artisan. He also has an honorary Master of Pipes degree from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club, and is a member of the prestigious Confrérie des Maitres Pipiers de Saint-Claude. To be inducted into the Confrérie, this past May Nate travelled to Saint-Claude, France with master tobacco blender G.L. Pease, who was also inducted. It was quite a time in France, and at the ceremony. We’ll hear all about those adventures on the show. At the top of the show we’ll continue the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with six of his Satou Dublin-shape pipes.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 636. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Barry Kane. Barry started smoking a pipe in 1961 when he was 14-years old. Back then it seemed like everybody smoked, and you could buy pipes and tobacco just about anywhere. Barry is a true old-school pipe smoker, sticking to just one blend. See if you can guess which one before listening. At the top of the show Brian will give his take on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s purchase of Mac Baren and Sutliff Tobacco and their announcement that they will be shut down.
