Anybody have any good suggestions for tamper

[mso489]

I agree with foggy, that there is something excruciatingly cool about a pipe nail. Since they are so inexpensive,

I wouldn't waste the labor making one. They are everything you need, a nice flat tamper, a scoop/pick that

does it all, and a short length and light weight. I love the tampers made out of exotic wood or sharks teeth, etc.,

but that darn pipe nail beats them all for shear unbeatable cool. Less is more.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

-bluesmoke
Index finger on the left hand, as long as I'm wearing blue jeans.

Heck yeah!
I use my thumb. It feels hot sometimes, but never enough to make me go out and buy something just to knock over a few bits of ash.

 

[derfargin]

If you're into golf, go to a golf shop and get an old Dynamic Gold Shaft that's been pulled from a golf club.(Club guys would probably just give them to you because they just throw them out) Cut out the section in the middle where the logo is. (It may be a bit too wide) but my dry-ass sense of humor would enjoy a "Dynamic Gold True Temper Tamper"

 

[tennsmoker]

My current tamper is an old-fashioned wooden clothes pin, the kind that has no springs. The fat top part of the clothes pin is a great tamper and the split part, that would hold the clothes to the line, is great for stirring up the ash in the bowl, or just clipping to your pocket.
I've also been toying with the idea of some modifications. I am going to whittle off one side of the lower part. The inside of the second part of the pin, again the part that goes on the line, is slightly concave and would make a wonderful scoop.
And did I mention that a lifetime bag is about 4 bucks at Ace Hardware?