I Think I've Found My Shape.

[curl]

In my mind the Dublin 3421 is the perfect zulu shape. However, I cannot justify buying another $400 pipe. So I'm searching the world over for someone who can replicate that shape for a much lower price.
A meerschaum version of a zulu would be something to have.
I just bought two MM diplomat cobs, one bent Apple and the other a straight tall fifth avenue. I stuck the bent bit on the straight tall pipe and prestige change o, I got my zulu!

 

[mso489]

I recently bought a Chacom blast zulu, a beautiful little pipe for a jolting low price. It reminds me

a lot of the Dunhill zulu at one tenth the price. It's perfect for Va/Pers, to me. And rather a looker.

 

[dochudson]

picked this guy up from James Island a while back.. a great smoker.

 

[phil67]

My collection of pipes is modest at about 21...

Why on earth would you say 'modest'?

My great uncle only had two (as far as I remember) and he had a damn pipe in his mouth constantly.

21 is way more than enough, and consider yourself lucky to have more pipes than you'll ever be in need of. :wink:

 

[neverbend]

Understanding the shapes that work best is a work in progress until you've also defined the tobaccos that you like (often for specific pipes) and how you smoke them (in the mouth or in the hand).
From my moniker you can tell that I don't smoke bent pipes, but I did. Over time I evolved to almost exclusively straight billiard bowls with a moderate preference for tapered stems.
There was a time (1980 to be precise) when a Dunhill Zulu was my favorite pipe, for much the same reasons that you say, but other pipes proved more acclimating and my current pipes reflect those changes in my smoking (and that zulu is, I hope, smoking well for someone else).
As long as you're enjoying yourself you're doing everything right so keep on with the Zulus and I'm glad that you found such a fine piece.

 

[derfargin]

I a huge fan of that Zulu shape...the 1/8 bend really appeals to me. I have a small canted billiard that's like that. I love smoking it as it's really comfortable to clench.

 

[blueeyedogre]

I have a small Zulu pipe for flakes but for me the best shape is short and fat. My three main pipes are a Paulson Devil Anse sand blasted, a Savinelli Sport rustic, and a Big Ben Barbados Rhodesian. All mid size bowls, under 5" in length, perfect for fitting in a pocket on busy days. Weekend I fall back to bigger pipes like either my Chacom Louvre horn or one of my Brigham Filter pipes.

I say smoke what you like, what feels best to you, what you can afford, or what happens to be in front of you. In short..... Enjoy your smoke.

 

[pipesdownunder]

Eric Gainey makes a cracker Zulu. Zulu and Cutty have never been faves for me but recently both have been growing on me. Non in the personal collection - yet!

 

[curl]

I just bought a Dr Grabow pipe that looks a lot like a zulu.

If it's a mistake, at least it ain't an expensive one.

And this is my first Dr Grabow, so it's got that going for it.
Hook'em