Oval Tobacco Chamber Questions

[sergemoat]

Does anyone around here have or smoke pipes with an oval bowl? What are your thoughts on them? Do they build cake evenly?

 

[winton]

Drilling a round hole is easy. Drilling an oval hole involves drilling two holes very close to each other. It sounds difficult. I can't imagine why anyone would want to make a pipe like this. The odds of destroying the briar blank are very high. Also, what would be the advantage, other than having a larger tobacco chamber? Just grab a larger drill bit. I don't see why the cake would build differently, if there was an oval bowl.
Now if you are talking about the outside of the pipe, then no problem. You can make the outside any shape you want. This would not have any affect on the thermodynamics of smoking or building cake.
Winton

 

[mikestanley]

They are known as Opera pipes. They are designed to fit less obtrusively in one's jacket pocket than a round bowled briar. I have a couple of old Wilke's and an unsmoked Longchamp Opera pipe. The Wilke's were well smoked and heavily caked when I bought them. I cleaned up the cake with my Dremel and then with sand paper and a pencil. They were evenly caked, cleaned up well and still provide good smoked. Fear not the oval bowl IMHO.
Mike S.

 

[petes03]

I've always been intrigued by these. I saw a few at the Chattanooga show, but I didn't pull the trigger.

 

[onepyrotec]

I have two pocket pipes withe oval bowls. They smoke & cake OK for me when I use them. My only issue is tamping. I have never got around to making the perfect tamper for the bowls. I use two tampers, one regular and one smaller for the narrow ends.

 

[timely]

I have an old Streamliner Oval Shape Pipe, I did not know that they were referred to as Opera Pipes.