Draught Hole?

[Flatfish]

What are the pros and cons of different size draught holes? People seem to to have their preferences.

I'm guessing a narrow hole means sucking harder and the greater rush of air has something to do with the combustion of the tobacco.

 

[OzPiper]

What are the pros and cons of different size draught holes? People seem to to have their preferences.

I'm guessing a narrow hole means sucking harder and the greater rush of air has something to do with the combustion of the tobacco.

It really comes down to personal preference.
There are lots of members who prefer more open draws - there is huge love of cobs, and praise heaped on the openness of Castellos. Indeed there are those who drill out shanks to achieve that goal.

I happen to have a liking of old Britwoods.
And have run limited trials comparing the same blend smoked back-to-back in old Britwoods and pipes with more open draws
In the majority of cases my preference is for the pipes with a tighter draw.
The flavours seem more focused and complex in my opinion.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[proteus]

I like wide open and I drill out all my pipes to about 4.5mm or 11/64 in the mortise end and the tenon end about a millimeter less. Makes for effortless draw and stays lit longer.

 

[sablebrush52]

From my experience there’s no real pros or cons. It’s just a matter of personal preference. My pile of pipes includes both classic Britwood and modern artisan made pipes. It all works.
I’m not of the school that traditional pipe makers didn’t know what they were doing and needed to be corrected. Also, it’s bullshit. So is the idea that all the old makers used a standard narrow draught. Charatan drilled at 4mm for their straights and 4.7 for their vents, this from Ken Barnes, who trained at Charatan before cofounding James Upshall. The widest draught in my collection belongs to a large 1906 French carved Barling at an estimated 6 to 7 mm draught. It smokes wonderfully but is more difficult to clean since I need to twist together a couple of thick pipe cleaners to clean it. It’s a lot more work.
I like the feel of modern open draw pipes, but they can be a little bit of a problem when smoking very fine cuts as the tobacco can, and does, get sucked down the airway and into your mouth.
Overall, my experience is that it all works just fine. Any deficiencies are more a matter of operator error than equipment.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I pay no attention to the draw "inherent" in the pipe, i.e., the size of the airway. Regulated by tamping and tightness of original load.

 

[bullet08]

I never told Peterson how I like my draw, but they always get it right. Somethings are just magical.

 

[kcghost]

I generally smoke pipes as they come so it is just a matter of how the carver made it. The most important thing to me is how I packed the pipe. I want to be sure the pipe has a proper amount of air flow through it to ensure proper combustion.

 

[bent1]

Can’t recall having a problem with the mortice draft hole, but some bits have caused issues. Usually 5-0 minutes with a thin, flat file tapered to a point, on the button eases the draft. GBD perspectives (?) acrylic stems as below have that funnel shape.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Wide open draw for me. I usually like filter pipes with no filter the best.

I prefer to just breathe and let the pipe smoke itself.

I have a couple with a stinger that I smoke, but I wish they were more open.