Briar or Brand?
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Good read and especially the quote attributed to Einstein, ""It is the theory which decides what we can observe."
Given my limited exposure and experience, I notice no difference in my cobs or briars when smoking the same tobacco. I am not suggesting a difference doesn't exist.
For me, it is the shape and feel that draws me to reach for a pipe.
Given my limited exposure and experience, I notice no difference in my cobs or briars when smoking the same tobacco. I am not suggesting a difference doesn't exist.
For me, it is the shape and feel that draws me to reach for a pipe.
I agree
I also agree. My cobs always taste fresh and don’t require as much attention. I have 26 briars, including one oil-cured 1956 Dunhill. None provide a better smoke than my cobs. — but I smoke burley scraps.
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Quite an interesting article, but doesn't add much to what is often discussed here on this forum .
personally, I would identify the taste of a cob straight away, just as surely as if I'd opened a tin of
Green Giant.
All the cobs I had, have taken a long walk off a short plank.
I gave them a good try, honestly I did, but in the end they had to go.
personally, I would identify the taste of a cob straight away, just as surely as if I'd opened a tin of
Green Giant.
All the cobs I had, have taken a long walk off a short plank.
I gave them a good try, honestly I did, but in the end they had to go.
I certainly agree with the thesis of the essay. It corresponds to my less exalted but long experience with pipes.
You must not have MM Private Stock No Corn Taste (MMPSNCT) versions. LOL!!
Certainly agree. I'm of simple mind and simple tastes so, yes, it is all about the briar for me. There's something about the subtle taste imparted by a good briar that I find compelling, and usually preferable taste-wise to a cob or meer. Had nearly two dozen Dunhills, also S. Bang, Vesz, Viprati, etc. - all gone. A couple of the 50's Dunhills were notable great smokes as was a Barling. Had several US pipesmiths' work - all but one were traded. Why? Simple: non-descript smokes or, in the cases of the "new carvers," on what River Styx hillside in Sheol did they source their wood? Beautiful work, um ... god-awful smokes. About ten years ago it became for me, basically, just "Upshalls and Autographs," some Nachwalters thrown in to patronize a neighbor carver (decent smokes), and a couple of good "yard pipes" (Charatan, Burak, Wilke - Buraks stand out). The stories I have read about Upshall and Savinelli Autograph briar sourcing sold me - and these pipes most always back up the briar hype nonetheless for my quite impaired tastebuds. So, yes, for me, it is "all about the briar" - and because it is, it is also about the brand and what that brand sources for briar. Smoke in peace whatever you have!
This may be the best known essay in all of Pipendom and it attempts to refute the myth of Brand importance as opposed to the importance of the raw material. At the time of writing, belief in Brand importance was much more widespread among pipe smokers than it is currently. There are pockets in the back eddies of the pipe smoking population where such now discredited ideas as the importance of brand are still held, but by and large, more education about what goes into the pipe making process has helped dispel such notions.
I think that the equation of Briar vs Brand has changed to something different. We know that brand alone is not a guarantee. We know that price alone is not a guarantee. A good pipe is where you find it, and that is not restricted by brand or price. Pipes made by the same maker vary in smoking properties. We recently had an article by Greg Pease, wherein he recounts that two pipes, made by the same carver, in the same shape, from the same block, at the same time, smoked differently for him. So pipes are something of a craps shoot when it comes to absolute standards of result.
Fact is, it isn't just about Brand any more than it's just about Briar. Briar is going to be different, block to block, maybe not much, but some, and how that wood is processed is going to have more to do with the result than anything else.
Maybe it's Briar vs Processing. Oil cure vs heat cure vs air cure, vs etc, etc. All methods produce variable results. The variation is small, but to some smokers, significant. To others, not really noticeable. And pipe makers, as attuned to their material as they are, can't predict with 100% surety what the result will be.
Most of us find that pipes all seem to smoke equally well, all things considered, and occasionally one just seems to provide a little more enjoyment, the flavors seem livelier. That's the so called "magic" pipe that seems to smoke everything you load into it, and it's not specific to brand, or price point. A "magic" pipe is where you find it.
And here's another thought. Maybe that magic has nothing to do with the briar at all. Maybe it's the stem, button, slot, the rubber meets the road part of the delivery system. Maybe it's Stummel vs Stem.
Whatever the variables are, there will always be an element of chance in choosing a pipe, regardless of Brand.
I think that the equation of Briar vs Brand has changed to something different. We know that brand alone is not a guarantee. We know that price alone is not a guarantee. A good pipe is where you find it, and that is not restricted by brand or price. Pipes made by the same maker vary in smoking properties. We recently had an article by Greg Pease, wherein he recounts that two pipes, made by the same carver, in the same shape, from the same block, at the same time, smoked differently for him. So pipes are something of a craps shoot when it comes to absolute standards of result.
Fact is, it isn't just about Brand any more than it's just about Briar. Briar is going to be different, block to block, maybe not much, but some, and how that wood is processed is going to have more to do with the result than anything else.
Maybe it's Briar vs Processing. Oil cure vs heat cure vs air cure, vs etc, etc. All methods produce variable results. The variation is small, but to some smokers, significant. To others, not really noticeable. And pipe makers, as attuned to their material as they are, can't predict with 100% surety what the result will be.
Most of us find that pipes all seem to smoke equally well, all things considered, and occasionally one just seems to provide a little more enjoyment, the flavors seem livelier. That's the so called "magic" pipe that seems to smoke everything you load into it, and it's not specific to brand, or price point. A "magic" pipe is where you find it.
And here's another thought. Maybe that magic has nothing to do with the briar at all. Maybe it's the stem, button, slot, the rubber meets the road part of the delivery system. Maybe it's Stummel vs Stem.
Whatever the variables are, there will always be an element of chance in choosing a pipe, regardless of Brand.
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Well said, I agree. At the end of the day when the smoke clears, you either have a good smoker or you don’t.
If one buys a good pipe you may never realize it.
If you buy a bad pipe you will probably know it right off the bat.
And size!!! Yes size does matter with some tobaccos.
If you buy a bad pipe you will probably know it right off the bat.
And size!!! Yes size does matter with some tobaccos.
My best smoker is a Peretti bent bulldog, found for $3 in an antique shop.
And I don't even know what I mean by it being my best smoker. It's just an impression that I always walk away with, probably for innumerable little reasons in combination, each too subtle to pinpoint. Packing and lighting and tending at the perfect burn always flow easily and thoughtlessly with that one. It feels uniquely at home in my mouth and hand. Whatever it is, it's a consistent impression.
I've never smoked a Dunhill, but I've smoked Ardor and Cavicchi and Vesz and Winslow and Ser Jacopo, etc. etc., and that Peretti bulldog just smokes more naturally for me.
And I don't even know what I mean by it being my best smoker. It's just an impression that I always walk away with, probably for innumerable little reasons in combination, each too subtle to pinpoint. Packing and lighting and tending at the perfect burn always flow easily and thoughtlessly with that one. It feels uniquely at home in my mouth and hand. Whatever it is, it's a consistent impression.
I've never smoked a Dunhill, but I've smoked Ardor and Cavicchi and Vesz and Winslow and Ser Jacopo, etc. etc., and that Peretti bulldog just smokes more naturally for me.
Oh Fred Hanna.
History may or may not be kind.
On a positive note, he certainly wrote like he knew what he talking about.
History may or may not be kind.
On a positive note, he certainly wrote like he knew what he talking about.
Some brands always use the best briar. Therefore, yes, and...
Well said. But... for me it's "I prefer my Meers and cobs. Briar does not go in to the equation. Smoke what ya like,like what ya smoke...
And I do truly appreciate your Meer stable my man. Sweet pipes for sure.?Well said. But... for me it's "I prefer my Meers and cobs. Briar does not go in to the equation. Smoke what ya like,like what ya smoke...
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For some smokers yes, for others no. For thirty years I chased that notion and finally found that I discern no difference in flavor of one blend from one pipe to another so I now just buy giant pipes to be able to smoke for very long periods or off and on throughout a 12 hour work day. I tend to prefer the hand feel of meerschaum but love the feel of ring blasted briar.
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