Who's Still Enjoying Churchwardens?

[MattCC]

Macqueen Halfling and a no name meer with a long stem I got from eBay. I also have a cheapo Ukrainian church warden but I don’t use it much.

 

[HeadMisfit]

i once read a nice article about churchwardens and the like.

The thought was the churchwarden sucks because longer stem needes more effort to pull smoke through it, and that means more suction, that entails more burning in the bowl, a hotter mess so to speak and more theory of tongue burn.

There always will be a market for it, just like decaf

 

[AreBee]

I didn’t know it was a craze!

My fourth one just arrived yesterday. A Selver Meer from Meerschaum Gallery’s eBay store. I smoke two of my three others in my regular rotation. The dark pipe is a cheap Italian (Cassillero) and smokes really well. The Peterson is a mini-Churchwarden (Halloween 2024 Dracula) is a favorite for short smokes. The Mr. Brog at the bottom was a throw-in to a lot of six pipes and is unsmoked.

 

[anotherbob]

i once read a nice article about churchwardens and the like.

The thought was the churchwarden sucks because longer stem needes more effort to pull smoke through it, and that means more suction, that entails more burning in the bowl, a hotter mess so to speak and more theory of tongue burn.

There always will be a market for it, just like decaf

Yeah that's just not how it works. The stem length doesn't really have much of a noticeable effect. Fun thing is people also have this opposite impression that the longer stem means a cool smoke. Doesn't really make a difference either way at least not in any noticeable manner.
What I have been told by people that make pipes and are considered quite good at it, is that the stem hole has too be tapered so it's wider near the mortise (going into the pipe) then it is near the fishtail end.
Back to the original post.
I love mine. The biggest difference is in the handling of the pipe. I can't say it's better then any other style of pipe but I still think every pipe smoker should have at least one just to see what their opinion of them are. But seriously I'd be pretty bummed out if I couldn't smoke one on occasion.

 

[Olkofri]

It's my preferred pipe. Great for smoking and driving.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Ever so often and my wife's favourite pipe shape.
Great for a cool, dry smoke while reading. Armchair )
Sav. Gandalf, Pete, Stanwell, Vauen LOTR and some more.

 

[lraisch]

I have six which I smoke occasionally. Two clays, two Brebbia, a Savinelli and a Stanwell. The Stanwell came with a straight stem which is useless if you clench at all, so I reshaped it in the oven, giving it a gentle curve. The Savinelli is the best smoker and the Brebbia Lectura is the most elegant.

The clays are just for Christmas when I pretend to be Santa!

 

[smokingauthor1]

I have a Roma Riposo from P&C that I haven't smoked out of yet. I don't really know what to smoke out of it. It's a poker shape, and I know that favors aromatic tobaccos, but I haven't picked a tobacco that I want the pipe to smell like. I think I'll eventually have some vanilla tobacco in there one day, but for now, nothing really urges me to smoke out of it currently. I favor my author-shaped pipes currently for the English blends, and I have a Morgan bones straight apple that I smoke my peach blends out of, and a sitter for maple flavored blends.

 

[NookersTheCat]

I have a Roma Riposo from P&C that I haven't smoked out of yet. I don't really know what to smoke out of it. It's a poker shape, and I know that favors aromatic tobaccos, but I haven't picked a tobacco that I want the pipe to smell like. I think I'll eventually have some vanilla tobacco in there one day, but for now, nothing really urges me to smoke out of it currently. I favor my author-shaped pipes currently for the English blends, and I have a Morgan bones straight apple that I smoke my peach blends out of, and a sitter for maple flavored blends.

Maybe this means its calling for all of them... an all-sorts pipe haha
Pretty much all of mine range from Lat bombs to goop masters and everything inbetween

 

[wyfbane]

I love churchwardens. I have several.

If i had the dough I'd make a play for these:

MINT PATENT ERA 1926 DUNHILL SHELL CHURCHWARDEN MATCHED PAIR English Estate Pipe | eBay

This is A GREAT PIECE OF NEAR 100 YEAR OLD DUNHILL HISTORY! So few of these early Dunhill pipes have survived, that the markings alone, which are rarely seen outside of photos make them highly desirable, but finding a cased pair in such condition is a rare treat indeed!

ebay.us

 

[RL Bucktails]

I didn’t know it was a craze!

My fourth one just arrived yesterday. A Selver Meer from Meerschaum Gallery’s eBay store. I smoke two of my three others in my regular rotation. The dark pipe is a cheap Italian (Cassillero) and smokes really well. The Peterson is a mini-Churchwarden (Halloween 2024 Dracula) is a favorite for short smokes. The Mr. Brog at the bottom was a throw-in to a lot of six pipes and is unsmoked.

View attachment 427491

That Dracula is nice.

 

[Dr. Van Loafer]

A churchwarden was once my second pipe - a Savenelli rusticated. For some reason my younger self sold it to a buddy for $50 about a decade ago. I cannot remember why I sold it. I have been eyeing a churchwarden as my next pipe.

 

[verporchting]

I’ve got a few and still smoke them when the fancy strikes. The best one is a Vauen LOTR and my favorite is an old no name bought from a newsstand in the 80s. The others see occasional use as well but not as much. I think everyone has wanted one at some point but whether or not they indulged in that is another question.

 

[Bassman65]

I love all of mine. Churchwardens and demis - yes please. I’ve even converted a bunch of old pipes into 9mm filtered Frankenpipes using aftermarket acrylic Churchwarden stems. I often smoke them while reading.

 

[MartyA]

I smoke churchwardens almost exclusively. I like to sit outside with my pipe and a dusty old book, and churchwardens are perfect for reading. In fact, the german name for a churchwarden is "lesepfeife" meaning "reading pipe."

This was my Halloween display this year, poking a little fun at myself.

 

[ThermionicScott]

I smoke churchwardens almost exclusively. I like to sit outside with my pipe and a dusty old book, and churchwardens are perfect for reading. In fact, the german name for a churchwarden is "lesepfeife" meaning "reading pipe."

This was my Halloween display this year, poking a little fun at myself.

Well done! I thought about getting some skeletons and setting one of them up with a pipe, but just didn't pull it together in time. Maybe next year!

 

[Hillcrest]

I don't have a proper church warden but wanted to try one to see what its like so I put the extra long forever stem on a Mark Twain MM cob to get a semi-churchwarden effect. I like it very much and would consider getting a tavern pipe or a clarks favorite if a good buy came along. Very nice dry cool smoke.

 

[Douglas]

The cob with the VF stem is not pictured. The one in the picture is a Savinelli. The knife is a Morakniv Classic No 2.

Moriakniv maybe, get it, Moria. I love Mora knives, have more than I should!

 

[MartyA]

Well done! I thought about getting some skeletons and setting one of them up with a pipe, but just didn't pull it together in time. Maybe next year!

That was me last year. :D

 

[telescopes]

You have yours, I have mine.