Calabash Anxiety

[PApiper63]

Good morning. Last night I was just scrolling a bit and seeking to do some reading about calabash pipes. I currently have four and hope to get more. In my research, I found that a lot of my fellow pipers own Calabash pipes, but rarely smoke them because they are worried about how to clean them. I bought my first calabash in 1979 and have smoked thousands of bowls of tobacco from it, often multiple bowls in one day. I always wipe the bowl out with a paper towel after every smoke and at the end of the day, I separate the bowl from the gourd and twisted paper towel around. Of course I clean the stem with pipe cleaners. That calabash I bought in 1979 smokes as well today as it did then. I'm sure there is some buildup in the gourd, but who cares if it's still smokes well.
One of my calabash pipes has a particularly small bowl lasting no more than a half hour. I like a longer smoke so I just load it twice in a row.
The quality of smoke from a calabash is different than from a briar and if I'm having a long day where I will smoke 8 to 10 bowls, I always use a calabash.
Of course I don't clench with it and usually use it when I'm sitting around a fire with my buddies or sitting in my living room just contemplating life.
I'm curious if any of you have a calabash in your normal rotation? Do you guys smoke your calabash pipes regularly or are they in your collection because they are just cool looking? Either is great but I'm just curious how my fellow Pipers approached their calabash pipes.

 

[BingBong]

I don't have a calabash proper, but will now start a band named after the title of this thread.

 

[Waning Embers]

I've had a few over the decades but the chambers were just too small and the pipe itself was too unwieldy for regular use.

 

[Waning Embers]

I'm sure there is some buildup in the gourd

They can be cleaned with an overnight alcohol soak and the cork can be refreshed with lanolin.

 

[autumnfog]

I have two calabashes but I dont' smoke them.
Just bought them to look at, I think they look great on the bookshelf.
One is an Andreas Bauer I bought in Copenhagen 1994, the other one I'm not sure about the brand.
I would love to find an unsmoked Strambach, but they are rare these days.

 

[pappymac]

I have one but the bottom of the bowl has a couple of cracks in it. I found it in a small junktique shop for $30.
I keep meaning to buy a replacement bowl but the measurements I get don't seem to match up with the bowl sizes I see offered.

 

[OzPiper]

I do smoke mine.
I generally smoke higher nicotine blends in it as the gourd chamber ameliorates the nicotine hit.

As @Chasing Embers mentioned, removing the meer bowl, filling the gourd with cotton balls and alcohol and allowing it to soak overnight will get rid of most of the

I had another which I gave to a mate. Not sure if he uses it.

 

[PApiper63]

I do smoke mine.
I generally smoke higher nicotine blends in it as the gourd chamber ameliorates the nicotine hit.

As @Chasing Embers mentioned, removing the meer bowl, filling the gourd with cotton balls and alcohol and allowing it to soak overnight will get rid of most of the

I had another which I gave to a mate. Not sure if he uses it.

How often do you smoke it?

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

I own 5 and smoke them regularly. One is made of wood and I wouldn't recommend owning one of them as it's too heavy. The other 4 are all gourds.

Strambach :


Strambach :


Northern Briars :


Fikri Baki :


Donald Trump & Macho Man Randy Savage riding giant cats on the moon :

 

[PApiper63]

Now you make me think I need more! PAD in full swing!!!

 

[Choatecav]

I've never owned one nor smoked one. Now I am wondering what the experience would be like and what I have been missing.....

I need something else to obsess over like a fat man needs a gaulded ass..............

 

[OzPiper]

How often do you smoke it?

Probably once every 3-4 months.
I could smoke it more, but I smoke on weekends (and holidays) only.
And have a rotation of around 200 pipes

 

[georged]

Mr. Bauer Briar Basher believes in being basic and beguiling, not bombastic or belligerent.

Many bowls of blissful 'baccy have been burned in bliss because of his bountiful beneficence... (50 year's worth)

Behold his beauty ---

 

[lraisch]

I have a gourd calabash purchased in the 1970s which I smoke two or three times a year, generally at my local Sherlock Holmes group meetings.

 

[mortonbriar]

I really like that I have one, but do not often reach for it. Actually the meer bowl is sitting a little loose in the cork, which puts me off using it...any suggestions for a remedy (I don't mean a thousand person brainstorm, just if someone has tackled this specific issue successfully).

 

[georged]

I really like that I have one, but do not often reach for it. Actually the meer bowl is sitting a little loose in the cork, which puts me off using it...any suggestions for a remedy (I don't mean a thousand person brainstorm, just if someone has tackled this specific issue successfully).

EZ permanent fix ---

Put a length of masking tape directly over the cork about 1/3rd of the way around, lining up the bottom edge of the tape with the bottom edge of the cork.

Squish firmly on the cork to attach it.

Trim the top overhang off level using a razor blade or equivalent.

Test fit the bowl. If still too loose, add another length of tape over more cork (don't stack the tape). If too tight, remove some of it.

When you have a nice friction fit, you're done.

DO NOT use any other kind of tape, like electrical, Scotch, etc. The paper and glue "materials combination" of ordinary masking tape works perfectly for this application, reasons unknown. It just does. Apply and forget about it. Lasts for many years without drama.

 

[mortonbriar]

EZ permanent fix ---

Put a length of masking tape directly over the cork about 1/3rd of the way around, lining up the bottom edge of the tape with the bottom edge of the cork.

Squish firmly on the cork to attach it.

Trim the top overhang off level using a razor blade or equivalent.

Test fit the bowl. If still too loose, add another length of tape over more cork (don't stack the tape). If too tight, remove some of it.

When you have a nice friction fit, you're done.

DO NOT use any other kind of tape, like electrical, Scotch, etc. The paper and glue "materials combination" of ordinary masking tape works perfectly for this application, reasons unknown. It just does. Apply and forget about it. Lasts for many years without drama.

a PERFECT reply thank you George!!

 

[Waning Embers]

I really like that I have one, but do not often reach for it. Actually the meer bowl is sitting a little loose in the cork, which puts me off using it...any suggestions for a remedy (I don't mean a thousand person brainstorm, just if someone has tackled this specific issue successfully).

One I had was like that, mild desiccation. I applied lanolin liberally to the cork and let it soak up for a couple of days then wiped away the excess.

 

[OzPiper]

I've never owned one nor smoked one. Now I am wondering what the experience would be like and what I have been missing.....

The bowls tend to be quite shallow and small. Best with cube cut flakes to give a longer smoke.

As the smoke travels through the large gourd chamber, it becomes “diluted”, giving a lighter and airier taste.
Best for strongly/heavily flavoured or high Nic blends

 

[Choatecav]

The bowls tend to be quite shallow and small. Best with cube cut flakes to give a longer smoke.

As the smoke travels through the large gourd chamber, it becomes “diluted”, giving a lighter and airier taste.
Best for strongly/heavily flavoured or high Nic blends

Thank you, Oz. Good advice.