I was just getting ready to type that, I totally agree with your premise but, not all of your conclusions. You just said about the same thing. Despite yesterday, we actually agree on more things than we disagree.
Effects and Properties of Pipe Bowl Shape
- Thread starter Effortlessdepths
- Start date
I think when people give me time, hear me out, and ask questions, they find that I am not opposing much of anything. Except the notion that there is no difference between smoking a teeny tiny amount of tobacco verses a huge gargantuan sized pipe full. That seems ridiculous to me. And, I think everyone should have a good range of pipe sizes. It can help you understand a lot about different tobaccos, IMO.I was just getting ready to type that, I totally agree with your premise but, not all of your conclusions. You just said about the same thing. Despite yesterday, we actually agree on more things than we disagree.
Bowl geometry = twaddle, bilge, etc., etc. Something for n00bs to obsess about while ignoring the most important issue, smoking technique. The resident wise man has said pipe smoking is 80% technique and 20% hardware.
I don’t disagree. However, when you have that 80% down that other 20% can make a difference.
Whatever Saraswati... I would agree with 80/20... but, so is driving. And, if you are going to tell me that a MG Midget drives like a Suburban, then get outa here. I don't think the percentages of pipe to technique, flows over onto differences between tiny pipes and giant pipes.... whomever the resident wise guy is.
The only observation I can make respecting the shape of a pipe is that a properly-drilled conical chamber seems to combust more evenly (duh!) So even though Dublins aren't my favorite, my heaviest smoked pipe is a Dublin as I feel it really brings out the best in tobacco.
Absolutely, I was speaking with regard to how I choose which pipe to smoke. It is based mostly on the cut of the tobacco and ease in which I can pack it.
First, I qualify to respond as I am not offended.
Second, the MG:Suburban metaphor is telling. I'll rethink the issue (though I still believe it twaddle) and perhaps post a rejoinder later.
HMMMN. . .Saraswati. . .doesn't ring a bell.
Being that she is the goddess of learning, I didn't anticipate any negativity.
Yeh, it may all be twaddle. I am finding this one less evocative than more than a a year of listening to people recommend Sutliff's vinegar aromatic as a pliable alternative for those who want to know what a McClellands is like.
It's kinda hard getting passionate about some guys who can't taste well enough to see a difference between a tiny pipe and a gigantic pipe... as outrageous as that seems to me.
Things that seem as though they should be self-evident... but, no one should be telling anyone what tobacco to put in what kinda pipe. That would irk me as well.
But, it should make sense to everyone that a small bowl would produce a different size and dynamic smoke than a great big wide one. But, it also makes sense to me that if someone's idea of a full range of pipes is merely .75" to .85", then yeh... probably no difference.
Now cones to U-shaped bowls... once again, the size of the top of the chamber is going to make whether a cone or U-shape can be detected as well. I'm not sure if at the .75-.85 range whether one or the other shape is going to matter.
But, I would encourage people try get a larger range. It adds more interest to the hobby in my opinion.
So, would capacity merely be the reasons the same cigar would be offered as a lancero verses a robusto?
That's the only difference I've noticed. One is just more comfortable to smoke than the other.
Hmmm... one of the reasons I like to order a variety of cigar size and shapes of the same make is to get variety of smokes... to fully explore the leaf the blender has chosen. I think there are a lot of cigar guys like that.
It's interesting that you see both pipes and cigars this way.
There is in my experience a undeniable relationship between tobaccos and bowl size and shape. I’ll leave this aspect there.
The 80/20 formula is good in so far as it goes. But the are indefinite aspects that separate the good from the great, This applies across a spectrum of human endeavors: archery, planning the piano, tennis, painting portraits, public speaking, blowing bubbles with chewing gum, ad infinitum.
There needs to be a small percentage allowed for mystery in this formula for there are unanalyzable or intangible aspects that draw the line between a good experience and the grand experience. These range from easy to quantify things like the weather, the immediate surrounding environment and our state of mind to more unanalyzable and elusive contributors. Many have smoked tobacco and pipe combinations and had transcendental flights of smoking revery and then prepared the same combination at a later time and merely had a great smoke. I do believe there is a percentage of magic, say, 5% that could be added to the formula.
Yes, I would agree. Magic is a large factor... if we define magic as an unidentifiable phenomena. There are always factors at work that defy explanations.
Like, where di the 80/20 ratio come from? Ha ha, I think I may have actually coined that ratio in an argument of another nature years ago. It is my default hyperbolic ratio that I pull out of thin air all the time. It could actually be 79/17, with room for magic in there.
Like, where di the 80/20 ratio come from? Ha ha, I think I may have actually coined that ratio in an argument of another nature years ago. It is my default hyperbolic ratio that I pull out of thin air all the time. It could actually be 79/17, with room for magic in there.
I don't really pay much attention to "The Rules". I smoke the tobacco that suits my fancy that day in what I feel like smoking it in. I like a smaller pipe for virginias.... why? Cause a single flake fits nicer in a smaller bowl then a bigger bowl. I like aromatics in a bigger bowl. Why? Cause when I'm smoking an aro its just to smoke it, not to savor and sample the complexities of the tobacco so I reach for a big bowl for a long smoke. lol
That being said I have had two pipes of the exact same shape, size, and maker when one pipe is a joy to smoke and the other is a turd so size isn't always the huge factor it's made out to be.
That being said I have had two pipes of the exact same shape, size, and maker when one pipe is a joy to smoke and the other is a turd so size isn't always the huge factor it's made out to be.