Richmond, one needed a small alcohol lamp, with a shade having a narrow top to concentrate the flame, a long pin, and a container for the opium, which was a sort of tarry substance. You'd dip up a bit on the pin, roast it over the flame until hard, crack it off into the tiny opening on the bowl, light it, and inhale for as long as possible. There's some interesting stories out there from some people who were into the history of opium, built a replica opium den... and then, sadly, got themselves addicted to the stuff. It really is a nasty thing, and VERY addictive. No wonder the Chinese government tried to destroy all the equipment they could obtain! Watson's description of an opium den in The Man with the Twisted Lip is on-point except for the fire "waxing and waning in the bowls of the metal pipes." Five minutes of prep was done in one very, very long puff, and then you'd have to start the preparation process over, but the users did stretch out horizontally to do it. After perhaps three or four of these, as Watson's friend says he had, you'd be too messed-up to complete the finicky prep again.
The fine shag tobacco used in these Chinese and Japanese water pipes is still sold, for Japanese kiseru, just in case anyone wants to find out what the stuff Sherlock Holmes smoked was probably like. I understand that it burns dry and hot, tastes something like cheap cigarette tobacco (think Drum or Bugler) and has an intense nicotine kick. Kiseru aren't smoked for the kind of leisurely enjoyment we get out of pipes, they're most definitely about the buzz. I've never had much inclination to try one, it doesn't sound enjoyable.