Favorite bowl size?

[sjpipesmoker]

I'm not sure what dimensions 2,3,4,5 or 6 are, when i see those the are usually refering to Dunhills which I own none. for the past year or so, i'm favoring big bowls, at least 7/8 to 1" size, I always say, If I can get my thumb in the bowl it's a good size. as far as depth, at least 1 1/2" min. I don't like the shallow bowls. I do own pipes that fall into the catagory of small size bowls and depth, I don't smoke them but in the near future I'm gonna take my hand at smoking flake and VA blends and my smaller pipes will be used for those.
For me the bigger bowl, makes the tobacco burn easier and allows for a better flavor and smoke.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I have no idea of the world of Dunhill pipe sizes. Never have been interested in Dunhills so, I've never seen a reason to learn their sizes.
I'd say most of my pipes are average size bowls. None of them are anywhere near the size of PipefriendCHS pipes. His bowls would last me a few days lol.

 

[keith929]

Cigrmaster in reply to your question; a large group 3 lasts me about 20-30 minutes. A large group 4 can last me 45 mins to an hour.

 

[philip]

I tend to prefer the small to medium size bowls. The medium bowls will smoke an hour if I take it easy and any more than that is just too much for me.

 

[morton]

Cigrmaster, I've begun to dedicate pipes to certain blends and I've found that for the most part Vapers and straight Virginias ribbon and flakes, go into medium sized bowls, preferable Dublins or at least cone shaped and many of my medium to large straight bowls end up filled with English/balkan blends. I've got a few tiny bowls (group 1's) which I tend to use indiscriminately for fairly fast smokes when I just want a quick smoke. I've got a tiny Pete straight diplomat P-lip thats so small, its a just under a 10 minute smoke. The stem looks like a pencil in my hand. I rarely clench so weight isn't as important to me as a comfortable shape in my hand.

 

[av8r]

I'm not educated enough to speak in Group Sizes but I prefer a chamber ~.75in wide and ~1.5 in deep.

These dimensions are one of my main considerations when I buy a pipe.

 

[hobie1dog]

Bigger the better (that's what she said)

 

[cigrmaster]

Keith, thanks for the info. I can get a good 45- 1 hour in my 4's.
morton, I am with you on the dublins, they smoke flakes great in my opinion. I have half a dozen or so and everyone of them is a flake smoking machine.
roth, I have read Tareks opinion and like all things, he is entitled to his. I prefer 5's so I can get a longer smoke than a 3. I have a 3 and it does smoke flake great, but not any better than my 4's or 5's or even small 6's.

 

[johncorosz]

Where do the Johs Giant series fit in? I am considering one of those in a BIG WAY due to the reviews I have read from others online that prefer smoking aromatics through them. In my experience thus far I choose to smoke a smaller bowl with thick walls when I smoke flake tobaccos and when I am smoking a very dark, wetter tobacco I choose the churchwardens. But I have my eye on a Johs Giant online and it appears a few of them have already "sold out" so I may need to buy one quickly before they are all gone. I refuse to pay more than 200 for a pipe and it seems that rather limits my buying choices considerably.

 

[rcstan]

Flakes : group 3
Englishes : group 5 or larger
Aros : group 1 or 2 ( as I don't smoke aros very often )
anything else : depends on the mood, usually a group 3

 

[fshu2]

great topic i like my pipes to be mid sized but leaning on the larger end ( no idea of numbering). though mid day i smoke a smaller pipe.

 

[bentmike]

I'm middle of the road I suppose. Size three with cubed flakes easily goes 45 min for me. .750-.800" x 1 1/2" deep. I have a couple pot shapes with wide bowls that tend to bring out the flavor nice.

 

[clyde]

Gave up using group size as a bowl descriptor years ago as there are way to many diameter to bowl ratio's in manufacture these days. Sort of go by decimal inch measure and approximate values at that. Largely prefer small bowl pipes but don't give it a lot of thought. Whatever fetches my fancy that day is what works for me.

 

[kris]

On my Falcons, which is what I smoke 80% of the time, my favourite bowl is far and away the Dublin. I also have an Algiers and a Dover which are larger, but I just don't seem to get the same amount of flavour out of them.

 

[cigrmaster]

johncorosz, that size is considered an ODA plus. That is a big pipe. There is one here for sale here.
http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/johs/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=99825
clyde, I agree that many of the group numbers are different from each maker, I use them as a guide only. When I am looking on line,if I see and oda or larger I just pass it by knowing it is too large for me.

 

[johncorosz]

Thank you cigrmaster. That is indeed to one I was mentioning in my post. I hope to add that to my pipe arsenal soon.

 

[cigrmaster]

john, my pleasure. It sure is a beauty.

 

[lankfordjl]

I prefer small to medium bowls. I usually never smoke more than an hour at a time.

 

[colcolt]

I tend to lean toward the larger bowl. The Peterson 307 and my Winslow Crown Viking are a good size as is the recent Ferndown I bought- a size 5-6. The smallest one I have is a Dunhill 3103 and while a super smoker, just a bit small for any serious contemplations on the deck as I can't get more than 15 minutes from it at best. However, I don't cull any of them. Each has it's own purpose and place.

 

[lestrout]

Lately I've been gravitating to smaller bowls, Gp 3-4 or even smaller. At pipe shows and pipe club meetings, I'm in a tobacco tasting mode, so the petite pipes allow me to try a goodly bunch of blends. That said, I do like experimenting with pipe sizes and geometries (and substrates) when ranking my Top100 Cellar. I even have a half dozen oval bowled opera pipes to this end.
hp

les