A Good Smoker?

[olkofri]

Well, for quite some time I've wanted –and refrained at the same time– to ask this question, having seen the term come up plenty of times both in pipe literature and forums. Finally, this recent thread made me take the plunge.
So, what is "a good smoker"?
What makes a pipe so? Is the good smoker the one that hardly ever goes out? The one that never gives you tongue bite? .... What? :?

 

[lasttango]

To me a good smoker would have good quality, aged/seasoned briar that promoted dry smoking. The pipe would be engineered properly so that the draw was optimal, it wouldn't heat up too fast and it would have to feel comfortable.
Most factors that make pipe smoking difficult can be attributed to the smoker. It can a while to learn how to smoke a pipe well. My current two or three "best smokers" aren't necessarily my most expensive pipes.

 

[pianopuffer]

Interesting question, will be following this closely.

 

[ashdigger]

My best smoker is a light and fairly small Loewe. My second best is a light 1880 Meerschaum.
It's way above my pay grade why the smoke so well, but they do.
But here's the rub. I've either sold or given away pipes that for me were just dogs, but the new owner thought it was a great smoker. Go figure.

 

[warren]

Any pipe which delivers a good smoking experience, bowl after bowl. A good smoking experience is, of course, a subjective measure. I'll point out that I only keep "good smokers". The rest go away.

 

[puffermark]

For me?
Doesn't gurgle. Stays cool in the hand. Stays lit and smokes consistently down the bowl. Doesn't taint the tobacco with any nasty flavours. And does it time and time again with a variety of tobaccos. In other words consistently performs as advertised.
My tuppence.

 

[newbroom]

A 'good smoker' is one who at least attempts to smoke his tobacco from a pipe.

A 'good smoker' is relaxed about his pipe and derives relaxation from it.

I've learned to enjoy smoking even my Yello-Bole Brylon, and therefore, it's a 'good smoker'.

 

[piffyr]

I call a pipe a "good smoker" when it can be reliably counted on to not interfere with the smoking experience. Instead, it becomes invisible leaving the smoker alone with the tobacco.

 

[derekflint]

HEAR...HEAR !!

 

[npod]

it becomes invisible leaving the smoker alone with the tobacco.

:clap: :puffpipe: Beautiful simple definition.
From Wiki (as applied here): The phrase "I know it when I see it" is a colloquial expression by which a speaker attempts to categorize an observable fact or event, although the category is subjective or lacks clearly defined parameters. The phrase was used in 1964 by United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart to describe his threshold test for obscenity in Jacobellis v. Ohio.[1][2][3] In explaining why the material at issue in the case was not obscene under the Roth test, and therefore was protected speech that could not be censored, Stewart wrote:
I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ["hard-core pornography"], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.

 

[jaytex1969]

A good smoker.

 

[unkleyoda]

Trouble free, sweet smoke every time.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Well the definition of a "good smoker" will vary from person to person. For me a pipe that qualifies as a "good smoker" will meet the following criteria.
The draw is smooth and not restricted.

The pipe does not gurgle.

The tobacco smokes down evenly throughout the bowl.

The pipe does not get overly hot in the hand.
Note, some of these can be influenced by the pipe smoker as well. How the pipe smoker packs a bowl, how fast the pipe smoker is drawing on the pipe ect. If the pipe consistently provides a cool, dry smoke with a good even burn throughout the bowl then the pipe is a good smoker for me.

 

[mso489]

A pipe that is a good smoker is subjective in several ways, but this thread has covered a lot of the objective ground. Good drilling, good design, fit and finish, all contribute to an even draw, not restricted but not overly "windy". Balance between bowl, shank and stem, and a stem and bit that is sufficient to the weight of the pipe and comfortable to the teeth and jaw. I think light weight in proportion to the pipe is helpful in clenching the pipe or holding it to light and tamp. A great smoker is beautiful to behold but almost invisible as you experience the tobacco itself, and may supplement the experience with tactile aspects of texture in the briar/meerschaum/etc.

 

[jaytex1969]

The draw is smooth and not restricted.

The pipe does not gurgle.

The tobacco smokes down evenly throughout the bowl.

The pipe does not get overly hot in the hand.

How about good vs. great? For instance, my Viking Classic Dublin is an awesome flake smoker, but I must remove moisture more often than other pipes when using it.
Some day a "great" pipe may replace this "good" pipe, but I still find its other characteristics keep it in the rotation.

 

[sablebrush52]

What is a good smoker? Well, I think it's more about the person than the pipe. From what I've witnessed, poor smokers are more about poor smoking practices than anything to do with the pipe itself. Smokers who smoke fast, hot, and/or wet, or puffing like crazy to get billowing smoke, determined to burn that last thread of tobacco at the bottom of the bowl, are negating anything that pipe, or that tobacco, could possibly deliver.
Most of the pipes I've smoked over the years have been perfectly fine, once I learned how to smoke them properly. Very few stinkers in the lot, and a few that just seem so easy to smoke that they practically smoked themselves without my help. Those last aren't good smokers, they're great smokers.
It's 25% equipment and 75% technique. If you're having problems with your pipes, it's a greater chance that the source of the problem is you and not the pipe.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Amen to that.

 

[derekflint]

So you have to be a good smoker, in order for your pipe to be a good smoker....In other words if your not a good smoker your pipe will not be a good smoker. Unless of course it cheats on you and smokes with someone else...

 

[sablebrush52]

So you have to be a good smoker, in order for your pipe to be a good smoker....In other words if your not a good smoker your pipe will not be a good smoker. Unless of course it cheats on you and smokes with someone else...

Pretty much.

 

[hawky454]

A good smoker to me is one that is not quick to get hot to the touch, one that does not gurgle and one with a good draw. You don't have to buy expensive pipes to get one that smokes like a dream. I usually open all mine up because I like a wide open draw and most makers drill the airways too small for my liking.
You can get an excellent smoker for $20 right now on P&C. The Brushed brown Stanwell pipes... I personally open them up to 11/64 and then they smoke as good as any other pipe I own, including high end pipes.