Advice on Bowl Shapes/ Sizes for Different Blends

[RevBriar]

Hi folks, looking for some advice. I'm wanting to be a bit more deliberate about dedicating my pipes to different blend genres. Nothing too complicated; just dedicating a couple to Virginias/ VaPers, a couple to English, and a couple to aromatics.

My question: Have you dedicated pipes bases on bowl size/ shape? As in, wide chambers are good for Virginias, etc? What sizes or shapes do you find work best with different kinds of blends?

Thanks,

 

[DanWil84]

I think a ribbon with several different tobacco's like an english or balkan/oriental forward shines in a wider bowl 20-22mm or about 7/8 inches for you imperialists. You get more surface thats burning, so more leaf burned and the smoke "mixes" better. A flake rubbed out fine or a ready rubbed a 20 mm is fine, a flake or coin folded or stuffed works the best in a 18-20 mm bowl for me. If I put a RR or a folded flake into a wider bowl the bowl takes me to long.

So it's for me not based on the blend in most cases, but more on what the cut of the tobacco is.

 

[verporchting]

Conventional wisdom is larger wider bowls for English blends and taller narrower bowls for VA blends.

I’m not completely convinced this is an absolute anymore although I did rather believe it at one time.

It does appear to be generally applicable but I’ve experienced exceptions to this generalization several times, so … yeah, maybe it’s generally a fair statement but I wouldn’t take it as gospel truth.

Moreover, what I’ve found is chamber size is more important for the strength and type of tobacco for my personal preferences, i.e. how long do I want to smoke a particular blend. Strong ropes maybe a smaller bowl; VA ribbon probably more tobacco and a longer smoke; flakes I prefer a tall or conical chamber for the way I perceive the taste and the longer smoke.

Not sure if that’s any use to you but I think you can go down a rabbit hole with the notion that shape determines the quality of the smoking experience. It doesn’t seem to be as absolute as it is often portrayed to me - at least in my humble opinion.

 

[dunnyboy]

Purely anecdotal and unsystematic but I find virginias and VaPers—both folded flakes and ribbons—smoke well in Dublins. Maybe it's because the mellow smoke concentrates as it gets pulled through the conical bowl.

 

[bullet08]

Wide bowl wins out in the end for all tobacco.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Virginia dominant blends seem to favor narrow bowls. Red virginia responds well to tapered bowls. More complex blends seem to smoke best in larger diameter bowls. That's what works for me. YMMV.

 

[cigrmaster]

I smoke flakes 99% of the time and fold and stuff them. I am so used to doing that I don't even consider any other type to fill my pipes. It works great for me.

 

[Mopiper]

Pick up a Missouri Meerschaum for burley blends.

 

[RevBriar]

Thanks all, this has been helpful!

 

[Sidehatch]

Was wondering same question. Nicely done and appreciated answers. Hats off all

 

[Chasing Embers]

Entirely subjective to the individual.

 

[mso489]

I'd take it pipe by pipe. General advice includes wider chambers for more complex blends (with more kinds of leaf), but I wouldn't generalize. Chasing Embers has a point that it is also subjective. Some pipes that should not do a great job on "X" blend, actually do.

 

[sablebrush52]

I used to follow some of the rules, like narrow for Virginias and wide for English, but no longer do that. I'll try out blends in different piipes and if they seem to taste better in a specific, that's my answer.

Dunbar, which is an aromatic Virginia smokes fantastically well in my very large 1906 Barling bent billiard.

Frankly, moisture levels play more of a role in getting great flavors than wide vs narrow in my experience.

 

[captpat]

I used to follow that conventional wisdom as well, however over time I found that to have a small, almost unnoticeable impact on the smoke. I do not have a discerning palate so YMMV. I, like @verporchting above, will select a bowl based more on how long of smoke I want and to a lesser extent if it's really strong tobacco (like a rope, they go in a small bowl). Sometimes I just want to enjoy a shape or particular pipe, like today is OOM Paul day, I'll smoke whatever is open in my favorite OOM Paul.

 

[JOHN72]

It's very personal, but, I agree in part with bullet08. My best smokes are in the Charles Cobbler, with that egg-shaped bowl. But I have no authority to opine on a briar pipe. In short, I have the feeling that egg-shaped pipes seem to be better at getting a good smoke.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

It's very personal, but, I agree in part with bullet08. My best smokes are in the Charles Cobbler, with that egg-shaped bowl. But I have no authority to opine on a briar pipe. In short, I have the feeling that egg-shaped pipes seem to be better at getting a good smoke.

The Charles Towne Cobbler is a great cob by Missouri Meerschaum and collaborated with C&D.

The stem is acrylic and more durable than standard cob stems.

A fantastic product at a reasonable price. What's not to like?

A great pipe company gets together with a legit tobacco blender and creates some magic like two beautiful people having a baby.

Once the initial tenon issues were resolved, I haven't heard anything bad about it and the pipe smokes well.