Churchwardens don't taste or smoke differently than normal-length pipes in the mechanical sense, but they definitely do regarding where your head goes while smoking them. From having to be careful when swinging the things around, to not letting their (usually) small bowls get too hot because you tend to hold the stem not the bowl, smoking a churchwarden requires more engagement. A "light it and forget it" approach doesn't work so well.
The upside? The same engagement makes the experience more memorable and vivid. Nothing else has to be done at the same time to feel fulfillment. Smoking a 'warden in a wingback chair in a quiet room is, in itself, a complete experience.
This Dunnie's stem was kinky-wonky when I got it---as I've said before, long, graceful, decreasing-radius "French curve looking" stems are labor intensive to get right, and mass production doesn't allow it---but that's all that was wrong. The stem/shank junction was dead-on axially (cw's often aren't), and the blast looked like one from the 1950's, not the 2000's.
Smokes great. (Seems to impart a slight "wizard-y" flavor to every tobacco put through it, though, regardless of type. Weird, huh?)
34.7 grams, 10.25" long
.
The upside? The same engagement makes the experience more memorable and vivid. Nothing else has to be done at the same time to feel fulfillment. Smoking a 'warden in a wingback chair in a quiet room is, in itself, a complete experience.
This Dunnie's stem was kinky-wonky when I got it---as I've said before, long, graceful, decreasing-radius "French curve looking" stems are labor intensive to get right, and mass production doesn't allow it---but that's all that was wrong. The stem/shank junction was dead-on axially (cw's often aren't), and the blast looked like one from the 1950's, not the 2000's.
Smokes great. (Seems to impart a slight "wizard-y" flavor to every tobacco put through it, though, regardless of type. Weird, huh?)
34.7 grams, 10.25" long
.
