Dunhill pot question

[bersekero]

Hello all. New to pipes and already ordered an estate 5506-2021 Dunhill half bent smooth bruyere pot in excellent condition. Chamber diameter is 23.20mm. It will be with me soon.

I didn’t know anything about pots and diameters so I decided based only on the looks.

I am only smoking Peterson 965, nightcup and early morning and Davidoff English mixture. I read here that the pot does a good job with these but I am concerned about the smoking ease of the pot shape. I am still learning how to smoke. As a cigarette smoker and vaper this is not very easy and I am still trying to find the right technique and cadence.

The deal is the seller will accept the return of the pipe, provided it has not been smoked. If I send it back they can exchange it for a replacement.

They have lots of other Dunhills to choose.

So the question is should I keep it or send it back and get a nice Dunhill billiard?

Thank you and sorry for my English.

 

[sablebrush52]

Pots are great for English blends. You’ll pick up a lot of flavors
Smoking a pipe takes a little practice to get right, regardless of the shape.

 

[Chasing Embers]

If you like the pipe, it'll get more use. Any shape is good for any blend and smoking has more to do with the smoker than the pipe.

 

[kcghost]

Pots are fine pipes but so is the billiard. Get them both.

 

[Homer]

Keep it. Don't think too much about the chamber size.

 

[OzPiper]

Pots and billiards each have their place. And devotees.

Getting the fundamentals right is the key to a pleasant smoke - not the shape of the pipe nor chamber

Get your tobacco DRY
Pack lightly eg gravity fill
Tamp gently
Smoke SLOW

At some later stage you may wish to splash out on a billiard

 

[Lumbridge]

A pot will typically have a wider, yet shallower bowl than a similarly sized billiard. I don't notice a flavor difference between shapes or that any particular pipe shape is suited to any tobacco type, but certain cuts of tobacco may be better suited to certain chamber dimensions.
Example: you may find that a flake packs better in a tall, narrow chamber, or that a thick cut tobacco performs better in a wider chamber, etc.

 

[bersekero]

Pots are fine pipes but so is the billiard. Get them both.

I am pretty sure that my story will have exactly this ending.

 

[bersekero]

Get your tobacco DRY
Pack lightly eg gravity fill
Tamp gently
Smoke SLOW

I keep reading this advice here but I always forget and rush things. So I smoke hot and have too many relights. Thank you for the kind reminder.

 

[gamzultovah]

For me, pot shaped pipes (bore) work best for ribbon cut and as most English blends are ribbon cut, this pipe should perform excellent. All of the advice above is spot on as well.

 

[bullet08]

The idea behind the chamber width has to do with complexity of the blend. More complex the blend wider the chamber. This way more of the components in the blend can be burned at the same time giving the smoker experience to fully taste the blend. Simple one type blend doesn't need the width. Narrower chamber will focus the flavor more.

At least, that's the idea behind the chamber width and the different blends. In practice, it depends on the smoker. If you don't have much of a palate, it won't matter what you smoke.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I am pretty sure that my story will have exactly this ending.

 

[Auxsender]

So much great advice here from veteran smokers.

My only advice is to not give up. Keep reading and learning and, above all, smoking. Like anything else that requires practice, giving up is the best way to ensure failure.

Your English is excellent by the way.

 

[Ash Cooper]

Pots are great for English blends. You’ll pick up a lot of flavors
Smoking a pipe takes a little practice to get right, regardless of the shape.

Do you find that the bowl shape makes that much of a difference?

 

[camaguey]

I like pots regardless if they are dunhill or not. But for me , they have their technique. I fill them with a soft hand and light in the middle. Then i use an edge tamper to tamp around pushing the unburned tobacco from the perifery to the center. In that way usually you can smoke your pipe with a single match because you are providing oxygen trough the perifery. Of course , it is essential to smoke very slow.

 

[didimauw]

I like pots regardless if they are dunhill or not. But for me , they have their technique. I fill them with a soft hand and light in the middle. Then i use an edge tamper to tamp around pushing the unburned tobacco from the perifery to the center. In that way usually you can smoke your pipe with a single match because you are providing oxygen trough the perifery. Of course , it is essential to smoke very slow.

That's how I do it too. But it's just because I'm in such a rush to smoke, then only the middle of the chamber gets lit. Then I push the outer area down first. ∆ like smoking a mountain

 

[sablebrush52]

Do you find that the bowl shape makes that much of a difference?

The bowl shape? None. The chamber shape? That can make a slight difference now and then, but for the most part, no, except in the imaginings of pipe smokers. I do experience that some blends do better for me in large chambers, so I smoke those in my larger pipes.

As for a thin narrow chamber VS the wide shallow chamber being optimized for a certain type of blend, might be the case, but you couldn't prove it by me. I can enjoyably smoke pretty much everything in anything. The experience with a particular blend may differ in different pipes, but not by much for the most part, and not in any way that can be conceptually generalized.

One's smoking experience depends much more on "technique" than on "equipment". I like to say, 25% equipment and 75% technique. Still, keep that equipment in good clean condition to get the best results.

 

[pepperandjack]

If you like the pipe, it'll get more use. Any shape is good for any blend and smoking has more to do with the smoker than the pipe.

I wish I had the chops to discriminate between pots and billiards, billiards and dublins, etc. but I don't. So all the claims by those who can so discriminate fly right over my head. Are they all wet? Am I? I don't know. But to begin with the fact that the pipe and whatever experience I get from it is evoked by drawing into my mouth smoke from the incinerated tobacco causes an immediate loss of boundaries, so reactive are we to the smoke's flavor and evanescent texture, which, I would argue, makes our discrimination as accurate as eating fruit loops. Subject/object? who knows. Inner and outer is a primary referent of discrimination.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I wish I had the chops to discriminate between pots and billiards, billiards and dublins, etc. but I don't. So all the claims by those who can so discriminate fly right over my head. Are they all wet? Am I? I don't know. But to begin with the fact that the pipe and whatever experience I get from it is evoked by drawing into my mouth smoke from the incinerated tobacco causes an immediate loss of boundaries, so reactive are we to the smoke's flavor and evanescent texture, which, I would argue, makes our discrimination as accurate as eating fruit loops. Subject/object? who knows. Inner and outer is a primary referent of discrimination.

Even easier, it's just a straw that you sip smoke through.

 

[VDL_Piper]

Personally I find the U shaped bowls typically found in pots suits my cadence/style, what ever you want to call it and allows me to get a better burn and ember control. This is the critical element IMO to extract the flavours. I find it more difficult to do in tapered/narrow bowls but it's not a deal breaker that's for sure.