Dedicate a Pipe to a Type of Tobacco

[dacor]

I just finished to read the article of G. L. Pease entitled "Shapes of Things", where the author talks of how pipe smokers dedicate their pipes to a certain type of tobacco. So I was wondering, how do you choose the destiny of your new pipes? What shape, size or material do you feel suits better to Latakia, VA, aros, etc.?

 

[mikestanley]

Here's what I do. I start a new pipe off with Virginia blends. If it likes them, I stop there. If not, VaPer or Va/Orientals. Nothing? I move to English or aromatics. Just seeing what excites the pipe without causing a lot of "ghosting" which I think reversing the order might do. I usually give it 3-4 ounces before I move on.
Mike S.

 

[goldsm]

I do have 5 pipes be dedicated to Dunhill Night Cap.

Mostly small, size 2 or 3 bowls. Bulldog or Apple.

Also I do have 7 pipes be dedicated to Lane 1Q.

Mostly bigger, size 4 or 5 bowls. Dublin or Freehand.

Above pipes are only for 1 blend never smoked others.

 

[calebtheindian]

Dang, I can't even afford more than my cob right now :P The pear pipe I had smoked pretty well with aro. I had Altadis Forsty Mint and Chocolate Mousse. I feel like it did quite well because it had a good sized bowl and never smoked wet and had plenty of good airflow, even though I can only smoke outside. Would a bigger sized pipe follow suit for the genre? I eventually want a Big Ben Bora and that seems like it'd be good for it for me, especially since I don't have a lot of experience or money to experiment with of types of tobacco.

 

[andrew]

I pretty much have a pipe for every blend, except the Va's I have about 5 different va pipes.

 

[rmbittner]

For me, it's somewhat random. I make it a point to have "favorite" pipes in the line-ups for all the different types of blends I smoke -- English, Balkan, straight Virginias, VA/burley flakes, Lakelands, and aromatics. My favorite favorite pipes, though, are all dedicated to a single blend: Penzance. And my least expensive pipes are all dedicated to Lakelands and aromatics. My one meerschaum is primarily a Lakeland pipe.
I know right now, though, that the next pipe I get will definitely be a Lakeland pipe, regardless of what it is. I've discovered a couple of Lakeland blends that I just love, and the three Lakeland pipes I have now just aren't enough to handle the frequency with which I'm smoking them.
I will add that I do tend to have oil-cured pipes dedicated to straight Virginias; for me, the oil-curing process really helps straight Virginias to shine.
Bob

 

[smeigs]

My nicer pipes only smoke nicer tobaccos. I never smoke an aromatic in my high end pipes for some reason. Just a personal preference for me. If I do for some reason smoke a sweeter aromatic style tobacco, I usually smoke it out of one of my cheaper pipes. For some reason, good tobacco tastes better in good pipes.

 

[mso489]

Mike S.'s method is simple and effective. I don't designate pipes, don't seem to be bothered by ghosting. But

if I ever decide to designate, that sounds like a good way to do it. I tend to smoke English blends in billiards

and Virginias in my bulldogs and Rhodesian, but that leaves many other shapes. I guess the broad bowled

pot, Dublins, authors and diplomat tend to take the aromatics.

 

[bryanf]

Pretty easy for me. I really only smoke Lakelands, OTC Burleys, and Virginia's. Since I like the lakeland ghost, I smoke whatever I want in whatever pipe, with a couple exceptions.
I do have 2 pipes that are ONLY Latakia (smoke them just a few times a year), and 2 pipes that are ONLY aromatic (smoke maybe a couple times a month). As I own 9 pipes, 2 smokes are all day every day smokers, 1 pipe is a "dress" pipe, and 2 others are pipes I've over smoked and rest and smoke only once every few days.
I decided to buy another all day every day pipe, because I have found that my rested pipes have a MUCH better cake than the ones I beat up by smoking all day every day, and I am going to attempt to form some sort of 3 pipe rotation.
I think of my pipes sometimes as pets, which crave a certain type of food. Feed them until they find the tobacco they like, and let them have as much as they want!

 

[admin]

Here's something we published back in 2010 -
Dedicating Tobacco Pipes to Pipe Tobacco Blends

 

[papipeguy]

I use all of my pipes for everything with the exception of my Stanwell Golden Danish billiard. That pipe is used only for C&D's Gentleman Caller. The deer tongue in that blend will ghost a pipe just by passing it over the open tin., but I love the stuff.

 

[settersbrace]

A good read and I personally fall into the "genre dedication". At one time earlier in my pipe smoking journey, I was a true blend to pipe purist but that did not last very long. To me some peices of briar handle English and Balkan blends better than VA's or VaPers and so it goes. I've more than once reamed and cleaned a pipe to make an attempt at re-dedicating it to another genre of tobacco. I'm not a fan of Aroumatics or Lakelands so my work is a little easier than for those that favor a wider spectrum of tobacco tastes.

 

[aquilas]

I just smoked everything and anything in all my pipes, then I started to figure out which pipes smoke what the best. I have this Savinelli that just smokes Mississippi River so well that I dedicated that pipe to that tobacco, only. Then I have this Crown Achievement that smoked Frog Morton on the Bayou so well, that they're now married. All my other pipes become sort of a "general" pipe that I'll smoke anything out of.

 

[lochinvar]

I usually start out like Mike S. with VAs and move on down the line. I do occasionally branch out and test similar blends. I had a Caminetto bulldog that was a great VA pipe, but when I tried a bowl of Grand Oriental Drama in it, it moved permanently into the VA/OR camp. Most pipes I find out pretty quickly what they like. I ordered a Rinaldo bent bulldog thinking it would be an awesome VA/OR pipe. It fell flat with them all, but when I load it with Marlin Flake or Old Glaurung it sings. On the flip side, I have a Ser Jacopo Gepetto I've had for 10 years and it is a Jack of all trades pipe.
I only have three pipes dedicated to a single blend. A Savinelli 320 for Lancer's Slices, a Caminetto pot for Tilbury and a Digby (GBD 2nd) stout Rhodesian recently reserved solely for Red Rapparee.
As for shape determining what the pipe will smoke , it can be a loose guide, but all pipes are different. I have two identical straight French Algerian bulldogs, same brand, from the same shipment, exact same dimension inside and out, but one is a Virginia only, and the other only tastes good with heavy Balkans. Bottom line, to find out you have to smoke them....a lot.

 

[ithelouniverse]

I have at least two pipes for every blend type that I smoke
Burley or va/bur: bings favorite, paneled roma and a third pipe on the way

Virginia or va/per : sav linea piu Dublin and a sav Ontario 802 Canadian

Latakia heavy blends: sav Trevi 320ks author and a roma bent Billard with another pipe on the way

Aros: they go in corncobs, but I have a pipe on its way that I can see being strictly for Aros

I also have a Randy Wiley feather cut Dublin that only gets OGS or escudo. I do ZERO experimenting with that pipe!
Like I said I have three pipes on the way. 2 are commissioned pieces, both from the same guy, and the third is a calabash from turkey ordered through my B & M. I can't wait to show them off...