Churchwardens…Opinions and Photos.

[Jef]

I have a Ryan Alden Churchwarden. I bought it from him at the Chicago show a few years back.

The pipe came with two stems, a short one and a churchwarden. It is a small pipe and he made the churchwarden stem so it would be more marketable I guess.

I use both stems from time to time. I use the CW stem when I watch 'the Hobbit'.

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That's a nice pipe. ?

 

[ssjones]

I had a great old Kaywoodie Churchwarden (4-hole stinger era). You had to patiently sip it. I like reading when I'm smoking a pipe and it was just too ungainly. I found i like a long-stemmed Prince shape. I sold the Kaywoodie to someone here.

 

[FLDRD]

My wife bought me a KAF pear wood churchwarden from Amazon, I really like it. It's super light weight, and draws fantastic. I like the church for a sit-down smoke sesh, you can almost keep your elbow on an arm rest while bringing the pipe up for a puff. Would I smoke it in public? Too damn long imo.

I like them for the simplicity of nearly no movement of the arm in order to get the stem to my mouth. Sitting, leaning up against an old pickup truck, wherever. At home & around property, not transporting.

 

[FLDRD]

I had these several years ago but they fell into disuse.

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I guess these two would be churchwardens but it's more about them being meerschaum than the churchwarden idea that I enjoy about them.

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If you're getting one because you've heard they cool the smoke, that's a bit of a myth. With the speed that smoke travels through a pipe, it would have to be many feet long to make a real difference in the temperature.

I see a couple in your "disuse" category above that I'd put back to use.

 

[FLDRD]

Churchwardens too hard to carry? Well, yes, unless you make some alterations to you everyday carry suite:
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(The 2 photos on the right are "before and after" shots of Gandalph after visiting the House of Elrond Men's Haircuttery and Haberdashery.)

I'm going to have to look for a new staff.
Damn brilliant.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I see a couple in your "disuse" category above that I'd put back to use.

Chambers were too small for my interest. Gone for years now.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have a good stand recommendation for:

a) Churchwarden

b) Tyrolean/Hunter/Cavalier

pipes?

 

[SBC]

I have two.

Well, three if you count the cheap tyrolean (probably pear wood?) a friend brought me from the Czech republic after visiting there. It's a cool conversation piece for non-smokers, but I fire it up very rarely. Maybe once a year, when my kids ask me to smoke it because it looks cool.

Otherwise, I have one of those cheap Iwan Ries rusticated ones. I like it a lot even though the draw is too restricted. One of these days I may play with opening it up.

The other is from an old Bewlay stummel I had lying around for years. It had originally been a bent billiard, but hadn't had a stem for a long time. I finally sent it to Mike Myers and asked him to make a churchwarden of it. He did a great job.

Like others have said, the cooler smoke canard helps justify things, but doesn't seem to hold up to any noticeable degree.

Nevertheless, I really enjoy my churchwardens for the reason others have cited -- the exaggerated leverage lets you move the stem however you like with mainly wrist motion, while your arm lays on a rest. It's lazy, but pipe smoking for some of us is about comfort and relaxation at the end of a day, and boy is the churchwarden well suited to reading, watching a film, or staring at the fire.

 

[anotherbob]

No opinion. Wasn't really taken with Gandalf. Never saw a hot witch with churchwarden either.

that's the most creative way anyone has ever said they don't know enough hot witches.

 

[anotherbob]

Chambers were too small for my interest. Gone for years now.

biggest issue with the style they always have small chambers. In fact they're one of my quicker smoke pipes. Gets more use when the weather sucks.