Pipe Filters on a Savinelli Roma

[Wifesbain]

Stopped in to a new tobacco shop today just to browse. Came home with a new Savinelli Roma. Nice looking and smoked well. The problem I had is that I apparently smoke like a dog that just smelled a steak. About half way through the first bowl I started getting a high pitched wet reed sound. When I took it apart after I was done I found that it has a triangular filter in it. I am rather indifferent about filters but I was curious about this. The stem is cylindrical which I am guessing is normal since they are turned on a lathe. The filter was also wet, which I guess was the cause of the sound I heard. Air passing around one of the edges of these filter

This leaves me with two questions. First, can this be replaced by a cylindrical filter? The second would be, is the filter even necessary in any way for the pipes integrity? I am basically assuming the filter is there only for the smoker and it wouldn’t matter much to smoke without it. I don’t use filters in any of my other pipes. I also don’t generally get any gurgling in other pipes, which is one reason I was a bit surprised by how wet the filter was.

Thanks

 

[wolflarsen]

can this be replaced by a cylindrical filter?

These are the Savinelli replacement filters.

6mm Balsa Filters (20 Count) - Savinelli | Smokingpipes.com

A 20-count box of Savinelli's absorbent, flavor-neutral balsa wood filters, engineered to eliminate moisture buildup while maintaining flavor — here in 6mm size

www.smokingpipes.com

is the filter even necessary in any way for the pipes integrity?

You can streamline the void in airway with one of these when going filterless. Every Roma I've ever bought came with one.

Filters & Adaptors Savinelli 6mm Adapter (5 pack) | Buy Filters & Adaptors Pipe Accessories at Smokingpipes.com

Smokingpipes.com is your one stop shop for Filters & Adaptors Savinelli 6mm Adapter (5 pack) Pipe Accessories and all your tobacco smoking needs. From new tobacco pipes and estate tobacco pipes to tin pipe tobacco and bulk pipe tobacco, we have everything you need

www.smokingpipes.com

 

[mortonbriar]

I use the adapter and never looked back.

 

[ray47]

I have a Savinelli Roma 706 straight billiard and have tried smoking it with those round Dr. Grabow filters, Savinelli 6mm balsa filters and the adapter. I found that the pipe smokes better without any filters or the adapter.

 

[marlinspike]

I have a Savinelli Roma 706 straight billiard and have tried smoking it with those round Dr. Grabow filters, Savinelli 6mm balsa filters and the adapter. I found that the pipe smokes better without any filters or the adapter.

I've found that I prefer my 673 KS without any filter or adapter either.

 

[olkofri]

Only solution is to try all combos: no filter, with Savinelli filter, with adapter, and with alternative filters. I like these from Aldo Velani, supplied by Missouri Meerschaum:

Mitchell Thomas Pipe Filters (Pack of 30) - CornCobPipe.com

Mitchell Thomas Pipe Filters made of balsa wood are an alternative to Medico Paper Filters. Size 6 mm, cylindrical shape, with channels down the side.

corncobpipe.com

They're not just for cobs: I use them in a briar churchwarden drilled for 6 mm filters and they work just fine: I just have to trim them to 30 mm in length.

I'm all for filters, though I have a couple of adapters for my 9 mm Vauen: once I smoked it without filter or adapter and scorched the hell out of my tongue due to the very open draught—yet others seem to have no issue with Vauens smoked without anything. Only your tongue can tell you what to do with that Roma.

 

[madox07]

When I took it apart after I was done I found that it has a triangular filter in it. I am rather indifferent about filters but I was curious about this. The stem is cylindrical which I am guessing is normal since they are turned on a lathe.

Savinelli pipes usually come with balsa filters, the 6 mm balsa by Savinelli being triangular. The 9mm filters by Savinelly have a totally weird shape. I am guessing that from your description yours is a 6mm stem, which welcomes 6mm ceramic, paper, or balsa filters with no trouble at all. If you don't fancy the filter, just throw in an adapter, they ca be found easily online. I for one am not big on the balsa, but if I smoke a 6mm I prefer the 6mm denicote pressed filters.

 

[goldenmole]

I would also recommend to try smoking with a filter to check out the difference. It has been discussed to death here, but since this forum is dominated by North Americans (where filter use is very rare), the majority will recommend against filter use (based on their own experience (or lack of experience)). I found (9mm Vauen Dr Perl Junior charcoal filters) to consistently, and with all tobaccos I smoke, enable drier smokes with less rough edges or tongue bite issues, without causing any negative effects. They are (relatively) cheap and it's no hassle to use, so I really see only benefits myself. Of cause it is possible that all my issues when not using a filter are due to my smoking technique, in fact in some cases it is even likely I admit that filter use encourages careless fast and hot puffing.

 

[Wifesbain]

I would also recommend to try smoking with a filter to check out the difference. It has been discussed to death here, but since this forum is dominated by North Americans (where filter use is very rare), the majority will recommend against filter use (based on their own experience (or lack of experience)). I found (9mm Vauen Dr Perl Junior charcoal filters) to consistently, and with all tobaccos I smoke, enable drier smokes with less rough edges or tongue bite issues, without causing any negative effects. They are (relatively) cheap and it's no hassle to use, so I really see only benefits myself. Of cause it is possible that all my issues when not using a filter are due to my smoking technique, in fact in some cases it is even likely I admit that filter use encourages careless fast and hot puffing.

I may try again with a cylindrical filter. I have a few in my Dr. Grabow pipes and they work ok. I think the triangular shape allowed air to flow oddly since I kept getting that wet reed whine with each draw. I hadn’t noticed at first, but there was an adapter in the box. I should have measured it before installation though. I didn’t realize it had a slight taper until I I got it stuck sticking out too far... played hell getting it out as I was afraid to crack it or the stem. Slipped in nicely the other way?. Can’t put a pipe cleaner all the way through the stem and into the bowl when assembled unfortunately. The air hole isn’t centered with the stem. Still smokes well, I just have to wait for it to cool so I can take it apart to run the cleaner.
Thanks

 

[dcon]

I have several Romas. One is over 35 years old. I used the balsa filters in the early days but, have gone without the filter or adapter for years. I prefer it this way. The only “advantage“ that I see to using the filters is if you are a ”wet“ smoker. Experience should keep you from being one of those.

 

[madox07]

I have several Romas. One is over 35 years old. I used the balsa filters in the early days but, have gone without the filter or adapter for years. I prefer it this way. The only “advantage“ that I see to using the filters is if you are a ”wet“ smoker. Experience should keep you from being one of those.

I disagree with regard to the fact that experience should keep you from being a wet smoker. Some people like it that way. I have a guy here that is a very choleric type of individual, always agitated, and that's just the way he smokes. Where I smoke a pipe in 45 minutes he perhaps smoke the same bowl in 30. This particular guy, though, hates filters and has sandpaper instead of a tongue, I for example like my tobacco moist, I hardly if ever dry my tobacco, and although I tend to be a slow smoker inevitably the smoke will get damp towards the later half. For that reason I like a ceramic filter. It's all a matter of preference, there is no right or wrong with or without filter.

 

[dcon]

I disagree with regard to the fact that experience should keep you from being a wet smoker. Some people like it that way. I have a guy here that is a very choleric type of individual, always agitated, and that's just the way he smokes. Where I smoke a pipe in 45 minutes he perhaps smoke the same bowl in 30. This particular guy, though, hates filters and has sandpaper instead of a tongue, I for example like my tobacco moist, I hardly if ever dry my tobacco, and although I tend to be a slow smoker inevitably the smoke will get damp towards the later half. For that reason I like a ceramic filter. It's all a matter of preference, there is no right or wrong with or without filter.

i was not referring to the moisture level of the tobacco itself. I was talking about someone who creates moisture when they smoke, a gurgler.

 

[krizzose]

Triangular because the Savinelli 6mm balsas aren't really a filter, if a filter is something smoke goes through. The smoke goes around the balsa, and it basically just wicks moisture. I prefer the draw in Savinellis with the balsa in, but YMMV. I find using one balsa per smoke and throwing it away easier to deal with then separately cleaning the adapter, but that's just me.

 

[turboprof]

I’ll echo what @olkofri said, I’d suggest you experiment with all the possibilities and see what works best for you. Personally, I prefer the pipes without the filter or the adapter, but I do like a wide-open draw. I find that the triangular filters vary a bit, so you might find that the next one you use doesn’t give you that unpleasant whistling sound. Those Aldo Velani filters also sound really interesting.

I use the triangular filters in some of my corn cobs, but never in the Savs I own. I honestly really like the Savinelli balsa 9 mm filters, at least for the one 9 mm filter pipe that I have. The balsa filters, both 6 and 9 mm, all soak up moisture pretty well, so it does prevent me from having to use a pipe cleaner in the middle of the smoke. Smoking style and the tobacco you choose can minimize that kind of thing, but it is a nice option to have.

In any case, I hope you find a way to enjoy this pipe! Savinelli makes great pipes for a factory style product, IMO, so I think you will be able to figure out a way that will work for you.

 

[GJMinVT]

I exclusively smoke filtered pipes for a number of reasons that are shared in many places in the forum. I won’t smoke a non-filtered pipe any more. All my pipes are 9mm filters with the exception of the Sav Roma 673 KS 6mm that I recently bought. I’ve only put 4-5 bowls through it and I’ve decided that I don’t like the Balsa filters. I prefer charcoal and I have a another Savinelli that I picked up from the Pipe Nook that is a 9mm. I ditched the balsa filters for charcoal and I like it a lot. I tried Medeco filters for the 673 and they have to be cut to fit. I’m not a fan of paper filters. I bought a box of White Elephant 6mm charcoal filters and they are a scosh too long for the 673. The stem won’t seat completely and the draw is impeded. I very much like that shape and look of this Roma 673 and I am now on the looking for a 9mm version and having no luck.

Alternatively, does anyone have a bead on a 6mm charcoal filter that will actually seat in the 673?

 

[Busted_Edward]

What don't you like about the balsa filters? I was about to buy a Savinelli Roma and have never smoked a filter pipe before.

 

[verporchting]

I agree with others who ditch the triangular filter altogether. Been smoking my Roma for years that way with great results. If you like the filters, yay. If you like the adapter, yay. I just don’t love faffing about with them so I don’t. Never been a problem.

 

[Wifesbain]

What don't you like about the balsa filters? I was about to buy a Savinelli Roma and have never smoked a filter pipe before.

I suppose all filters increase the draw pressure, but the balsa seems to act as a sponge. In short order the air wasn’t going through it, as much as it was going around it. A triangular filter in a cylindrical hole leaves plenty of room for air to build around it. The air being drawn around the edges whistled “wetly”, if that makes sense, as it was drawn into the stem.

It smokes normally with the adapter installed, but you can’t (at least I can’t) put a pipe cleaner through the stem all the way to the bowl. The air shaft isn’t centered to the adapter. I have to wait until it is cool and pull the stem off if I want to run a pipe cleaner into the bowl.

 

[mordy18]

I have a 673 roma lucite that never smoked well with the 6mm filter. The filter didn't quite fit and the draw was restricted To my knowledge, Savinelli takes a 9mm tennon and attaches a plastic insert to that to make a 6mm filter fit. I ordered a 9mm stem from laudisi and it smokes like a dream with the 9mm balsa filter. I have two other sav 6mm pipes that smoke great with the 6mm balsa filter (both are straight pipes, maybe that makes a difference?). I happen to prefer them -- when they fit properly I find that they do reduce moisture and I believe they also capture some impurities, as you can tell when you remove the filter and it is both damp and brown,