Innovations In Pipe Smoking - Is Design Dead?

[unadoptedlamp]

I was thinking about how stable the pipe smoking hobby is in terms of innovation, but a few things crossed my mind to make me think twice. I'm sure there's many more.

For instance, Peterson's system pipe, or the falcon bowl. The newer, larger push/pull tenons on some meerschaum pipes.

I'm having a hard time coming up with newer examples though. I just bought a Werner Mummert pipe, because I like that he's pushing the envelope a little bit in his style. From a design perspective, maybe it's a little innovative. Maybe. But there's plenty of examples of wacky carvings out there.

Thinking of newer pipe smokers who tend to have similar problems when starting up like packing a bowl properly, dealing with moisture, tongue bite, etc., I don't' see much innovation to solve those problems.

Maybe what we already have is as good as it's going to get. Maybe it's a non-issue.

Curious to know what other people see as innovative design in the pipe world. Not even with pipes, but also tobacco processing techniques. It seems like a static industry at first glance, but I'll bet there's some very interesting things happening that I've overlooked. Just can't put my finger on them yet.

Any favorites?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

So far, I don't think any of the past design fixes for bad technique really ever helped much. This is a hobby where it takes practice and attention to detail to develop the necessary skills for maximum pleasure.
Trying to make it easier for newbies is not really doing them any favors, because if some designer were to actually design away poor technique, it would just enables them to continue without ever getting better. Besides, again... none of the attempts to do this really didn't ever work anyways, not enough to make a newbie go from bad technique to total pleasure without changing their poor techniques.

 

[Searock Fan]

I was thinking about how stable the pipe smoking hobby is in terms of innovation, but a few things crossed my mind to make me think twice. I'm sure there's many more.

For instance, Peterson's system pipe, or the falcon bowl. The newer, larger push/pull tenons on some meerschaum pipes.

I'm having a hard time coming up with newer examples though. I just bought a Werner Mummert pipe, because I like that he's pushing the envelope a little bit in his style. From a design perspective, maybe it's a little innovative. Maybe. But there's plenty of examples of wacky carvings out there.

Thinking of newer pipe smokers who tend to have similar problems when starting up like packing a bowl properly, dealing with moisture, tongue bite, etc., I don't' see much innovation to solve those problems.

Maybe what we already have is as good as it's going to get. Maybe it's a non-issue.

Curious to know what other people see as innovative design in the pipe world. Not even with pipes, but also tobacco processing techniques. It seems like a static industry at first glance, but I'll bet there's some very interesting things happening that I've overlooked. Just can't put my finger on them yet.

Any favorites?

Thanks for mentioning Werner Mummert pipes. I was not familiar with them so I took a peak on the net. I don't know how they smoke but have to give it to him for some interesting artistic, if impractical, designs.

 

[anotherbob]

a pipe is both a tool and a fashion accessory. Think about a tie that is also a screw driver. That's a decent model for thinking about what would limit pipe making and innovations. The tool is sort simple (which never means that improvements or "improvements" aren't very possible). But you also have to make someone think I want people to see that stuck in my face.

 

[litup]

Isn't the reverse calabash concept fairly new?
I also think companies like Briar Works are trying to change the process of making pipes. As I understand it, their pipes are artisan designed, machine turned, and then hand-finished. That seems like a new innovation. (I could be wrong about the Briar Works process so apologies if I got it wrong.)

 

[ashdigger]

This is an EMC Customs Cob I saw on Instagram

 

[mso489]

Pipe design has gone through some frenetic phases when the industry was growing and competition made many pipe makers introduce all kinds of innovations to try to elbow out the competition. Hence, all kinds of systems pipes, stingers of vast variety, carburetors, filters, synthetic materials like Brylon, the vest pocket pipes with swivel folding stems, and pre-smoked pipes, just to cite a few examples.

I suspect that most pipe smokers learn over time that the less complicated, more traditional designs are dependably some of the best. Even the Falcon, revolutionary in its way, has become a sort of tradition among its devotees, as has the Peterson p-lip for others.

Nording has introduced stones as moisture traps in recent years.

I think artisans and some pipe factories have figured out ways to make perfecting shapes, proportions, and elegant finishes as exciting in their ways as the stingers and systems of the past.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Thanks for mentioning Werner Mummert pipes

Enjoy! He's got some interesting ideas. Some fall flat for me, but it's exciting to see where he tries to take things and I really like that. He's part of what got me thinking about innovation in this corner of the world.

I suspect that most pipe smokers learn over time that the less complicated, more traditional designs are dependably some of the best

I'm in this category. I don't have 'system' pipes, reverse calabash pipes (tried one - didn't take), or others in my collection. Actually, I most likely wouldn't be interested in owning any innovation in the pipe world, as I like what I have, which is simple and works great.

But, I'm still interested in seeing it. I think the obvious thing is something electronic.
Not those vaping pens or whatever are popular right now. Although, perhaps vaporizing tobacco leaf somehow might produce a consistent flavour/burn every time that is magical, in the right delivery. I have no idea.

I don't know. Perhaps a heat sensor on the bowl to tell you when it's too toasty.

Hell, obviously, I am not a designer. My ideas on the subject are not interesting. But I think someone like Werner Mummert (and others) are most likely to put out something wild. Color changing bowls? He does have a glow in the dark stem.

Anyway, I just like seeing unusual things. I don't tend to have the desire to own them, but I like to see it. Seems like there was maybe a burst of innovation in the distant past, which has tapered off. But maybe that's just my perception.

This is an EMC Customs Cob I saw on Instagram

Looks like a cooling tower! Interesting idea.

I wonder what people would like to see in a pipe design, if design was unlimited. Personally, while I do get consistent flavour, it's not 100%. I'd be interested in that, perhaps. Or maybe something that is self cleaning. That would be quite nice as well.

But, I would probably just stick with what I've got, because it is simple and it works.

 

[cigrmaster]

The pipes I buy and smoke are all classic styles. I find that many pipe makers try to come up with new designs and I think it is fine. So far I have not come across a new design that appealed to me. Most new designs don't look like a pipe but more like a lump of wood trying to look like a pipe. I should qualify that I am soon to be 65 and the new stuff just doesn't appeal to me. I would rather purchase an awesome looking Billiard, or Dublin or Rhodesian and other basic shapes made by certain artisans.

 

[SBC]

The degree to which a sector is driven by nostalgia is the degree to which its participants will resist innovation.

Certainly, in the case of pipe collecting and pipe smoking, we can't broad-brush the participants (as this forum bears out very well) -- there are plenty of folks here who like non-traditional design, and who insist that pipes for them are mere nicotine delivery systems, etc.

But it goes without saying a higher proportion of all pipe smokers than of all cigarette smokers -- or of all dog breeders or photographers or bakers -- are motivated partly by some things which some people would call nostalgia.

And for those who have that bone in their bodies, any step away from tradition is going to be a step away from the point. For them, innovation guts the thing of what drew them in the first place.

For a hundred years, perhaps -- from the late 19th to late 20th centuries, roughly -- the masses were titillated by innovation, by "progress." But what are the burgeoning phenomena now? Axe throwing. Regenerative agriculture. Metal forging. Retro cars. Farmers' markets. Etc.

Of course there's an arguable hypocrisy about all this. The very fellows who want tradition in these regards, want ceaseless innovation as regards their iphones, etc.

But you get the idea.
I don't think that we're at a moment in history in which innovation is going to drive pipe sales.
20-25 years ago, there was nothing cool about pipes smoking among young men.
You cannot market to much of the current influx of 20/30-something newbie pipe smokers by innovation -- you can market to them by tradition.

 

[OzPiper]

Why try re-inventing the wheel ?
Or a better mousetrap ?
And does different = better ?

Tried and true works for me

 

[Chasing Embers]

Isn't the reverse calabash concept fairly new?

Been around for about a decade. It was old news when Missouri Meerschaum released their 2015 reverse calabash cob.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Hard to reinvent or improve upon a straw.

 

[workman]

The real innovations were cigarettes and now vaping. If you want to go modern, don't smoke a pipe.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Hard to reinvent or improve upon a straw.

Hard... but not impossible!

Looks like potential for interesting heating/cooling properties!

 

[Epip Oc'Cabot]

The real innovations were cigarettes and now vaping. If you want to go modern, don't smoke a pipe.

The logic of what you stated rings true to me. I could elaborate on the train of that logic just a bit:

1. In “origin” folks noticed something “pleasurable” about the leaves of wild tobacco that were thrown on the fire.

2. To attempt to concentrate that pleasure, folks began to roll together those leaves and purposefully ignite them (the start of a cigar).

3. Tighter rolling and more precise rolling of these leaves together in a way that could allow concentrated indulgence by drawing smoke into the mouth (the typical cigar)

4. To perhaps more systematically hold leaves and/or scraps of the leaves together while igniting them, they developed a bowl to hold these leaves (the start of a pipe).

5. The shank and stem were added to the bowl to allow a more concentrated indulgence in the pleasure (typical pipe).

6. The concentrated rolling of shredded leaves (less waste) and the use of a consumable holder (the paper tube) to more “easily” and rapidly indulge in the pleasure (the cigarette).

7. The attempt to “distill out” all the components of the leaf that contributed to the psychoactive pleasure while theoretically reducing potentially harmful components (vape devices).

8. ????? The next “innovation” remains unclear.

******************

While the lineage of the above seems logical….. for me, the DESIRED innovations concluded at #5….. the typical tobacco pipe.

 

[fireground_piper]

I think it’s high time for that reverse calabash, falcon doodler church warden.

 

[workman]

The logic of what you stated rings true to me. I could elaborate on the train of that logic just a bit:

1. In “origin” folks noticed something “pleasurable” about the leaves of wild tobacco that were thrown on the fire.

2. To attempt to concentrate that pleasure, folks began to roll together those leaves and purposefully ignite them (the start of a cigar).

3. Tighter rolling and more precise rolling of these leaves together in a way that could allow concentrated indulgence by drawing smoke into the mouth (the typical cigar)

4. To perhaps more systematically hold leaves and/or scraps of the leaves together while igniting them, they developed a bowl to hold these leaves (the start of a pipe).

5. The shank and stem were added to the bowl to allow a more concentrated indulgence in the pleasure (typical pipe).

6. The concentrated rolling of shredded leaves (less waste) and the use of a consumable holder (the paper tube) to more “easily” and rapidly indulge in the pleasure (the cigarette).

7. The attempt to “distill out” all the components of the leaf that contributed to the psychoactive pleasure while theoretically reducing potentially harmful components (vape devices).

8. ????? The next “innovation” remains unclear.

******************

While the lineage of the above seems logical….. for me, the DESIRED innovations concluded at #5….. the typical tobacco pipe.

The next innovation is tobacco companies investing in energy drinks and protein bars and other 'enhancement' stuff removing themselves from tobacco and indulging in more sophisticated ways of altering peoples' minds and bodies.
Tobacco is going to be a niche product.

 

[OzPiper]

The next innovation is tobacco companies investing in energy drinks and protein bars and other 'enhancement' stuff removing themselves from tobacco and indulging in more sophisticated ways of altering peoples' minds and bodies.
Tobacco is going to be a niche product.

I have a cigar (purportedly a Cuban) infused grappa.
Innovation ? Yes. And interesting
Better ? NO

I think the 2 are way better on their own

 

[Chasing Embers]

Hard... but not impossible!

Looks like potential for interesting heating/cooling properties!

Still just a tube with two open ends Luke a pipe. Not really an improvement, just longer.


I still love those things.