How Fragile are Pipes?

[tzinc]

Just broke my Savinelli Spring Canadian. It dropped about 5 feet from my jacket pocket. The stem broke off in the shank. I had a filter in there. I had no idea pipes were this fragile. I have dropped my pipes on my wooden floor numerous times lol. I really have to be careful from here on in. I didn't think pipes were this fragile.
Thank God it wasn't my Dunhill or Castello lol.

 

[mortonbriar]

5 feet could possibly do it for most pipes if it hit the ground at just the wrong angle, but you could also go years being clumsy (as I have) with nothing other than clay's breaking...

 

[DanWil84]

I dropped my Stanwell about 6 feet from my mouth this week. No harm. I snapped the shank of my first Briar, a BBB Billiard, with a little pressure on it.

 

[gamzultovah]

Depends on the pipe as well. Some are (by design) far more fragile than others.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I've been very fortunant 2-3 times.

 

[condorlover1]

Compared to what? Meerschaums can be the pipe worlds equivalent of a fragmentation grenade. Some briars can take the most amazing abuse. In my experience it is the shank that tends to be the point of failure as well as longer amber stems seem to have a propensity to explode and shatter on impact.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I've broken one, snapped the tenon in the shank. We an easy repair, Briarville even salvaged the stem. Briar and even Meers are quite durable but if they land just right, goodbye.

 

[paulfg]

A canadian with its long stem is probably more likely to break than a pipe with a short stem

 

[Merton]

Depends on the pipe as well. Some are (by design) far more fragile than others.
View attachment 116743

Been there done than on the very first day i owned a Becker 4 club dublin. Fell out my hand getting out of the car and hit the driveway. Had it repaired with a silver band but it is so far up the shank that it looks awful and i have never smoked it again. an expensive lesson. It happens.

 

[gamzultovah]

Been there done than on the very first day i owned a Becker 4 club dublin. Fell out my hand getting out of the car and hit the driveway. Had it repaired with a silver band but it is so far up the shank that it looks awful and i have never smoked it again. an expensive lesson. It happens.

Yes, it was an expensive lesson! I keep mine around as a Memento Mori. It can very easily be fixed as the break is clean with no missing pieces, but much like you, it will never be the same to me. In this configuration it is far more useful to me.

 

[shanez]

The angle of the pipe as it hits the ground is key.

 

[sablebrush52]

If you're into dropping your pipes or subjecting them to endurance tests I recommend that you buy one of Scottie Piersel's pipes. She's tested the steel shank reinforcement by dropping test pipes from two stories above, onto concrete, and only one snapped because it landed dead nuts on the end of the stem.

 

[mso489]

I've dropped pipes a number of times, but never broken one. I had a handsome no-name "made in London" straight billiard that developed a crack in the shank, that I gave away as a piece of decor. For a comparison, I'd say that pipes are about as fragile as everyday tableware, subject to breakage, but not prone to it. A throw carpet beneath the area where you handle your pipes most might help soften the landing and save a pipe or two over time.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Just broke my Savinelli Spring Canadian. It dropped about 5 feet from my jacket pocket. The stem broke off in the shank. I had a filter in there. I had no idea pipes were this fragile.

They are not fragile in my opinion, even though I've broken 6-8 over the last 55 years.

You are also lucky in that it broke in the way most favorable to a good and simple repair.

I have dropped my pipes on my wooden floor numerous times lol. I really have to be careful from here on in. I didn't think pipes were this fragile.

They aren't! As mentioned, angle of impact, surface and velocity all play a role in the extent of damage, if any.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have dropped pipes on tile and they break. If I drop one on the carpet, my pipes live. All depends where you are.

 

[kcghost]

You, know, a snapped tenon is not difficult if your really good it. Talk to a top flight repairman (not just a refurbisher) and ask him.

 

[warren]

A couple of my meers have survived, intact, drops onto various surfaces. Briars the same. Survival depends on several factors, the angle of the impact, the surface it impacts on, the pipe's construction and internal integrity (it is a natural material with a variety of internal structures.), speed at impact and etc. So, I doubt one can generalize as to the strength of individual pipes and their ability to survive, intact, a drop.

 

[mingc]

Just broke my Savinelli Spring Canadian. It dropped about 5 feet from my jacket pocket. The stem broke off in the shank. I had a filter in there. I had no idea pipes were this fragile. I have dropped my pipes on my wooden floor numerous times lol. I really have to be careful from here on in. I didn't think pipes were this fragile.
Thank God it wasn't my Dunhill or Castello lol.

I'm sorry for your accident. There was obviously no Spring in the pipe. I'd return it for false advertising.

 

[anotherbob]

why are you people dropping pipes? I've only dropped on out of a pocket once. O.k. a few more times but always caught it before it hit the ground. Seriously though you have to be more careful if you keep dropping them.

 

[tzinc]

why are you people dropping pipes? I've only dropped on out of a pocket once. O.k. a few more times but always caught it before it hit the ground. Seriously though you have to be more careful if you keep dropping them.

Just Clumsy. I drop stuff all the time or it goes flying out of my pockets or I knock it over. I just spilt my tea lol.