Bowl Shape for the Right Blend

[pipebaum81]

I hear a lot about certain pipes being better smokers for one type of tobacco or blend than another. I've also come across opinions stating that attributes of the bowl shape that lends itself to better experiences if paired correctly. If any of this is factual, are there any generalities that can be drawn to pair the bowl shape to a blend of choice?
j/B

 

[misterlowercase]

I think it's the character of the wood in some pipes, perhaps finicky as to what works with the particular pipe - I know I've had a few like that.
Tobacco tastes and nuance can change pretty dramatically in some pipes, either enhancing or detracting.
A lot also depends on your personal palate and how sensitive it is.
I personally think true conical bowls are the best and my favorite because the shape undoubtedly intensifies the flavor, for me at least.
A couple of wellwritten treatises on the subject of chamber geometry:
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/31/how-and-why-chamber-geometry-impacts-tobacco-flavor.html
:
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/28/finding-that-magic-fit-between-pipe-and-tobacco.html
:

 

[pipestud]

Howdy Pipebaum and great thread starter!
Without question, the same blend will make a different presentation in different sized pipes. But, to say that one size pipe will smoke better than another is not a theory that I subscribe to. Rather, just a different taste presentation. A particular blend in a small bowled Castello, IMO, will not smoke any better or worse than a blend in a larger bowled one unless such a presentation suits your own tastes.
I'm totally with misterlowercase on the V shaped bowls and so are a lot of other folks. The general thought is that conical V shaped bowls will present a stronger taste as the tobacco is consumed. A U shaped bowl (such as found in billiard shaped pipes), will, generally speaking, maintain a more uniform presentation of the leaf from top to bottom. That has certainly been my experience over the years but others may have a different opinion.
For a fun test (and one I have performed many times), is to take a couple of pipes from your rotation that you know really well. One with a V bowl and the other with a U bowl. Then, take a tobacco that you also know well. Smoke the blend in one pipe, wait a few hours or even a day or two, and then try the same blend in the other pipe. See if you like the overall taste presentation better in one or the other.
To complicate matters; I've found that different blends perform better (for me) in one shape or the other, but not all blends perform better in the same shape bowl. As an example; I appreciate the taste of McClelland's 5100. It is a delightfully sweet Virginia but doesn't really have the stronger taste or strength that I gravitate towards. To me, 5100 is a bell ringer in a pipe with a V shape bowl as the flavor concentrates as I work my way down the bowl due to less air space. So, when I get a craving for 5100, I always reach for either a Dublin shaped Moretti that I own or a Dublin shaped Kevin Arthur that smokes great. Both have dramatic V shaped bowls and the 5100 really sings in both of them.
Again, great thread starter and I look forward to hearing from the other great folks here regarding what they have discovered regarding differences, if any, in bowl size and shape.
Pipestud

 

[goldsm]

May this can be little help?

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/picture-game-which-tobacco-in-which-pipe#post-553612

 

[buroak]

What a great thread. I now have several experiments to conduct. Do you think I can convince my wife that my coming pipe smoking sessions are work?

 

[wilson]

A small (diameter) bowl will smoke differently than a larger bowl (and a V-shaped will be different than a U shaped). At the risk of over simplifying, the ember is heating the tobacco underneath causing volatile oils and such to vaporize. This is what gives rise to most of the flavor. Some of them re-condense deeper in the bowl and are re-vaporized as you burn through the tobacco. This is one of the reasons why the flavor at mid-bowl is somewhat different than it is at the top of the bowl. With a different diameter bowl, you are changing the ratios of the regions that are vaporizing and condensing. Not enormously, because pipe bowl diameters, except at the extremes, do not differ that much in size. But, there is some physics and chemistry at play.
Is it enough to taste? Depends. I don't think that I have a sensitive enough palate, but some claim that they can taste a difference. If you are comparing a bowl of 3/4 inch diameter to one that is 7/8" diameter and claim to taste the difference, I think you are blowing smoke. But, what do I know? I tend to be somewhat of a philistine.
If you compare a huge bowl with the smallest bowl available, you might notice some differences? Though I have a few small-ish bowls and a few large-ish bowls, I don't notice any trend and think that any differences resulting from size are smaller than normal pipe to pipe variations, rather than being related to the size of the bowl.
At some level, it's a bit like beer or wine -- having the right shaped glass enhances the experience and may contribute to the taste. A good glass, however, can only do so much. But, if you think flakes are better in a narrow bowl and lat blends in a large bowl, or some other arrangement, and it helps you to enjoy your smoke more, go forth and enjoy.

 

[wilson]

Alas, it is our lot in life to be under appreciated.

 

[lochinvar]

Certain shapes are generally better. The issue is pipes are like little people, each one has its own quirks and idiosyncrasies, and can differ wildly from what it's shape family should smoke well.
It is generally stated that pots are best for English blends, and generally they are. One of my best latakia pipes is a Comoy pot. I also have a Caminetto pot, with the same chamber dimensions, that makes anything that has even sat next to latakia taste like rotten soot, but makes blends like Tilbury sing. I have two mirror image French Colossal billiards, both unsmoked when they came to me. One is a Balkan champ, the other is a VaPer pipe.
Shape can hint what the pipe will smoke well, but exceptions happen enough that you should not be surprised when Lovat you picked out as a flake pipe turns out to be your go to Oriental monster.

 

[owen]

I smoke only english and balkan blends and feel the wider deeper bowl is better in my limited experience.

 

[mso489]

I think pairing pipes and tobacco is mostly trial and error. I like my Virginia and Va/Per in smaller pipes, and

I find flake and plug seem to go better in Group 4 or smaller. I have not been able to pick up distinct pairing

advantages between conical and cylindrical bowls. Wider and bigger bowls seem to show off complex blends

like English and some of the more creative burley blends better. The most striking pairing I have found is Semois

tobacco in a large-bowled Ferndown pipe; it's a leaf I like anyway, but it really unfolds in the bent billiard. It smokes

like a complex blend although there is only one leaf involved to the best of my knowledge. That's my next bowl

to pack, now that all of my recent Christmas pipes are resting.

 

[bigboi]

Cool thread and much to think about. Thanks

 

[dottiewarden]

My last two bowls of FMOTB were in pipes with drammatically different chamber dimensions, and both smokes were absolutely fantastic.
King's Cross Featherweight 110 A Blast

Chacom Salsa 297 Smooth Canadian
I do prefer the Chacom for the simple reason that it holds more tobacco and lasts considerably longer.
All hail the mighty FMOTB!

 

[pipebaum81]

I have been silent on this thread not due to disinterest but because the feedback has been great and I have very little experience with topic. pipestud, mso489, misterlowercase have given me so much to think about and experiment with. Everyone's contribution have been very helpful.
j/B