I use an old 14k gold knife and pick rig and my finger. Fancy hillbilly method.
The Czech tool is a masterpiece of industrial design I must admit.
The Czech tool is a masterpiece of industrial design I must admit.
Czech Tool vs. ... Well, More Handsome Alternatives
- Thread starter EssJaySea
- Start date
Hard to beat a Czech tool for all-around functionality and price. I've got a couple of nicer tampers (e.g., 8 Deco) but keep returning to the Czech tool, I never worry about losing it or leaving it in the weather. A long golf tee is a good alternative, and if you use a wooden one it's environmentally friendly when you lose it.
I have Czech tools stashed in truck, car, shop, tractor, etc.. but, I prefer this for pocket carry..
Czech tool is great and as Mr. Embers points out great for snuff. I use a big old iron blade knife for cutting tobacco and cleaning out pipe clinker but everything else is the Czech pipe tool. I am sure Chuck Norris could figure out 30 ways to kill you with one of those pipe tools!
This is more or less what I had seen -- and I had always partly resisted because, as folks have said, the Czech tool is cheap and efficient, plus I didn't realize it came apart that way ... well, something else to help bump my online purchase into free shipping territory.
Thanks all for the helpful responses, and for the swerve to snuff.
I'm not a collector of either tampers or pipes, but I do own a few of the former. I stick to a Czech tool while on the road, because I'd hate to lose something valuable. Inside the house I use my more expensive tampers. Works for me.
I get it that some just rather use their finger, or a piece of wood. I get it, but obviously many prefer to have something nicer or different, as I make and sell quite a few of these. This one is my most elaborate, sterling, 18k, amethyst, and opal.
I like my Rodgers knife, or a fat boxwood twig that I picked up over the park.
The Rodgers looks nice, the twig works the best.
The Rodgers looks nice, the twig works the best.
For shear utility, a pipe nail is my standard tool. Between the tamper end and the scoop end, I can nearly always live without the pick. Because a pipe nail costs almost nothing, it seems impossible to lose. Put a gemstone on the shaft and it would be lost forever in an hour. The Czech tool is also a primo utility tool, although sometimes the parts get folded out in a clumsy way. I have one that dates back to my grandfather and is deeply oxidized, but only the finish; the metal and its utility are as good as ever. I have several Czech tools. But I admit, for the joy of using a pipe tool, some of the tools designed like a pen knife are intensely pleasing. I have a Brebbia and a Dr. Grabow, and they are so nice that I'm tempted by a Sheffield. And I have an elegant tamper or two, one with a swirled handle, another of willow. No number of pipe tools seems excessive. Then there is always a golf tee, whether you golf or not. I keep a wooden golf tee in the kitchen for when I'm caught without another tool. ...Excellent thread title. A+
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Never liked the Czech Pipe Tool. Prefer just a simple pipe nail. The only thing I use the Czech tool for is to bleed my Corona when it's time to bleed it prior to loading more fuel in.
Once I switched over to cheap pipe nails, I never went back to the Czech tool... too much going on for me, I just use the tamper and the flat spoon.
I think you got it backwards. Your finger has more complex moving parts and would go for a lot more then a few bucks. You mean you don't abide by simple tampers when you got the fanciest one already. I hate to break it to you, but thems is the facts here.
My experiences with helping a new pipe smoker are:
1. They don't tamp enough, and
2. They are hesitant to use their appendages.
I, too, use my index finger, but in the beginning, a fairly nice tamper encourages a newby to look at it and use it. Also, a nice one encourages very light tamping....both are good habits to get into.
I never carry any such tool when I travel, but I have an rec pocket knife with a flat butt that works well when my hands are gloved. I treasure my knives so I don't ever lose it.
1. They don't tamp enough, and
2. They are hesitant to use their appendages.
I, too, use my index finger, but in the beginning, a fairly nice tamper encourages a newby to look at it and use it. Also, a nice one encourages very light tamping....both are good habits to get into.
I never carry any such tool when I travel, but I have an rec pocket knife with a flat butt that works well when my hands are gloved. I treasure my knives so I don't ever lose it.
I never seem to have a tamper handy when I need one so I just tamp with my finger and on the odd occasion when I need a pick I just suffer and complain.
I never leave home without my Czech tool. It may come in handy if I ever find myself in a situation like MacGyver.
The tamper:
Tap Morse Code to get out a message.
Use the flat part of the tamper, along with the sun, to signal a search plane.
Pack chewing gum in a hole to keep a dam from bursting...saving a village.
Use as a screwdriver.
The pick:
A weapon.
To pick a lock.
Poke a hole in the bad guys gas tank so they run out of gas.
A skewer to roast bugs over a fire.
The spoon:
Dig a tunnel.
Dig a hole to get fresh drinking water.
Like the tamper, signal a plane using the sun.
Dig a bullet out of a wound.
Bend the pick into a fish hook.
I'm sure there's other survival uses.
The tamper:
Tap Morse Code to get out a message.
Use the flat part of the tamper, along with the sun, to signal a search plane.
Pack chewing gum in a hole to keep a dam from bursting...saving a village.
Use as a screwdriver.
The pick:
A weapon.
To pick a lock.
Poke a hole in the bad guys gas tank so they run out of gas.
A skewer to roast bugs over a fire.
The spoon:
Dig a tunnel.
Dig a hole to get fresh drinking water.
Like the tamper, signal a plane using the sun.
Dig a bullet out of a wound.
Bend the pick into a fish hook.
I'm sure there's other survival uses.
Although I mostly use a Czech tool, this is my next favorite. Deer antler with a briar tip.
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Here's a little collection of pipe tools that I won on ebay for $9.50.
From the same ebay seller I bought several of these 100+yo NOS German pipe tools.
From the same ebay seller I bought several of these 100+yo NOS German pipe tools.