It took me over a decade to figure out the relationship between my pipes and their shapes to the tobacco I smoked( which is all flakes, plugs and a rope. I finally came up with a criteria of the size and shapes that I really liked. Almost all of the pipes in my collection are either group 4-5 and the shapes are Billiards, Dublins, Rhodesians, Lovats, Apples,Bulldogs and one Volcano. I have two group 6 pipes that I hold while smoking. All my other pipes I clench. Before I choose a pipe to buy, I ask myself how well will that pipe smoke my favorite blends.
All my pipes except 2 that I currently own are American artisan pipes. The 2 that are not are my Jose Rubio Billiard and my 1966 Dunhill LB. After years of trying all kinds of Danish, Italian and British pipes I finally landed on my favorites which are my American artisan pipes. They smoke better than any of the other pipes I have owned. I cannot smoke acrylic stems. For my tastes nothing beats a hand made stem made from high quality German Ebonite. I finally leaned something about stem design which is a big deal if you are a clencher like myself.
I have been buying American artisan pipes since 2012 when I bought my first Rad Davis pipe. When I find an artisan I really love, I go balls to the wall. I recently have been commissioning pipes with Jack Howell. I will own 12 of his pipes when the next one hits in a day or 2 from now. and plan on getting more. I didn't have this many commissions even from Rad. In fact I haven't bought a pipe from Jack that wasn't a commission. I cleaned out a bunch of pipes to make room for all my new pipes I plan on getting. I moved out around 40 pipes in the first culling and another 20 or so in the second. My plan is to have 49 American artisan made pipes with my Rubio and Dunhill. I have 2 cabinets, one is my Savinelli Burl wood that holds 36 pipes and my other cabinet that holds 15 pipes. Neither of my group 6 pipes fit in either cabinet so they have a round 6 pipe holder for their home. So the plan is in effect and I will see how far I get to my goal.
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