A Question On Materials
- Thread starter blueeyedogre
- Start date
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You're 3 years older than me.Im only 29.
25 years ago.
Im 54....but I don't feel a day over 61!!
My oh my... how this thread got derailed by age talk. Oh well... 59 here. 
I have a couple of the Zenith ceramics. Great pipes but like you said, they do get a bit warm. lolI have owned and smoked pipes from all known materials....you know what I mean.
Briar and corn cobs are my thing.
I also have a few Meerschaums, but rarely smoke them.
Im a tobacco guy.
The best flavor with the least fuss.
I know Meerschaum has the flavor, but its outweighed by the fuss.
I had a Morta....it fell on the concrete....the stem not only broke flush, but it exploded. Its in the house, I haven't seen it in years...I believe its a Moretti.
You can see how impressed I was with it. To be fair, its just a poorly made pipe with a tight draw and tiny bowl.
I have some clays, some Brylon, some Ceramic.....but briar and corn are for me.
The ceramic pipes pipes like this one, actually taste very good. Every bit as good as Meerschaum, but they get hot....and they are extremely FRAGILE....that means breakable, its not Italian. If you get that reference, you're old.
View attachment 405546
Yep, either have to hold the stem, or wear gloves.
Maybe this is how you learn to smoke SLOWLY. Even a slightly fast pace will cause 2nd degree burns....not even exaggerating.
Being threatened by a guy with enough cake in his pipes he can open a bakery.
Not so much about materials, but I've had a thought about shaping, style, ease of use.....not sure where it falls.
My favorite shape is the Billiard.
Some of my favorite pipes are straight Billiards.
Here's my issue....why aren't all straight Billiards sitters?
This boggles my mind.
Of the dozen or so Billiards I have, only 2 are sitters. Its very easy to just lightly touch the bottom on a sander to flatten it slightly. This not only makes the pipe better, it leaves a good place for nomenclature.
And it absolutely does not affect the looks or design. I do not smoke several of my Billiards very much JUST because they cannot sit on their own.
A sitting Billiard is a better Billiard!
My favorite shape is the Billiard.
Some of my favorite pipes are straight Billiards.
Here's my issue....why aren't all straight Billiards sitters?
This boggles my mind.
Of the dozen or so Billiards I have, only 2 are sitters. Its very easy to just lightly touch the bottom on a sander to flatten it slightly. This not only makes the pipe better, it leaves a good place for nomenclature.
And it absolutely does not affect the looks or design. I do not smoke several of my Billiards very much JUST because they cannot sit on their own.
A sitting Billiard is a better Billiard!
I have smoked/owned all of the above mentioned materials including morta. They each have their uses and I still have examples of each. Saying that 90+% of my smoking is from my briars.
Likewise !
I have mortas, clay, porcelain, corn cob, cherry woods, olive woods, gourd calabash, meerschaum (both Turkish and African) and even ivory.
Mostly smoke my briars
Smoke what you like, try them all.
I’ve found most of the “truisms” regarding pipes of different materials (in my limited experience) to be a mix of reality and internet regurgitation of unfounded belief, e.g.-“you can’t smoke a briar all day like you can a cob”.
I’ve found most of the “truisms” regarding pipes of different materials (in my limited experience) to be a mix of reality and internet regurgitation of unfounded belief, e.g.-“you can’t smoke a briar all day like you can a cob”.
I go “huh?!” When someone mentions a negative about using briars is that “allowing it to rest means you’ll need multiple pipes”
Who today smokes briars regularly and has one single pipe only ?
“Needing” multiple briars is a pleasure of the hobby
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I never inferred not wanting to or not owning multiple pipes.
I’ve got plenty, but who doesn’t find themselves at work or working on something with one briar pipe on them and a pouch in their pocket?
I can’t stop every project just to go clean and change pipes, so yeah my pipes often get 3-4 smokes in a row (and if they’re good smokers to begin with, they often handle that treatment better than a cob).
I happen to know of a few pipe makers that smoke that way while making pipes
