Good Smoking Calabash!

[costa226]

Hey all.
I've had some really bad luck with pipes lately. One stem broke, and the other 3 just smoked really bad.
I always had an Affinity for the gourd Calabash
I've heard in small / medium size they smoke best, and the fact that they have meershaum Bowls is great

Fikri Baki I heard is the best to get, but 500 is up there for me... anything else you could recommend?


Thanks !

 

[shanez]

Probably the only real way to get a good deal on an actual gourd calabash is on the estate market. Not many people are producing traditional real gourds so they are getting expensive. Add a well known carvers name to a new one and the price goes up even more.

 

[OzPiper]

Estates come up frequently and are very reasonably priced.

The very old ones may have issues with the bowls, so ask to see LOTS of photos, if you are thinking of getting one.

Tars tend to accumulate in the gourd part, so removing the bowl, packing the gourd chamber with cotton balls or salt, then topping with a good amount of alcohol should result in a funk-free smoke.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Probably the only real way to get a good deal on an actual gourd calabash is on the estate market. Not many people are producing traditional real gourds so they are getting expensive. Add a well known carvers name to a new one and the price goes up even more.

I've got a Baki and it was worth every penny.
I've also got a few others, one of which is a used Strambach that I snagged off ebay for about £60.
Be careful though as there's a lot of used gourd calabashes on ebay that look pretty dodgy.

Baki



Used Strambach

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Estates come up frequently and are very reasonably priced.

The very old ones may have issues with the bowls, so ask to see LOTS of photos, if you are thinking of getting one.

Tars tend to accumulate in the gourd part, so removing the bowl, packing the gourd chamber with cotton balls or salt, then topping with a good amount of alcohol should result in a funk-free smoke.

Yeah, you have to be careful with 2nd hand calabashes. The one I bought was a bargain but the gourd needed many high strength vodka soaks to get all the gunk out. It was worth the effort though.

 

[Dio]

I've got a Baki and it was worth every penny.
I've also got a few others, one of which is a used Strambach that I snagged off ebay for about £60.
Be careful though as there's a lot of used gourd calabashes on ebay that look pretty dodgy.

Baki
View attachment 77514


Used Strambach
View attachment 77516

Beauriful pipe

 

[pepesdad1]

Love the one I got back in 1960's. Awkward, but fun to smoke if you have the time.

 

[mparker762]

anything else you could recommend?

An estate Pioneer calabash is a good smoker. Yeah you probably will have to clean out the insides, I just use a spoon and scrape out what gunk I can, then take an M16 toothbrush and some vodka to get the rest. I've never had to soak a gourd (beware that they get soft when wet) but I've never had one with a lakeland ghost.

 

[costa226]

Thanks all for the replies. Looks like calabashes are a little finicky but more power to them. I'll check around more. I've already got some pretty bad pipes so don't wanna take chances an an estate. But I'll look into these other options, thanks

 

[kcghost]

You must be really gunshy not to try an estate. From a reputable dealer they are the greatest things going.