I think you're right about that. I really suspect many of the "rules" stem from conditions that really are not an issue these days.
Pipe Geometry - What to Look For
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In my own personal experience every pipe that passed a fluffy pipe cleaner smoked nice and dry. Any pipe that did not pass the test gurgled.
As far as knowing upfront weather it passes a cleaner, I just ask the cellar. Now there were loads of pipes I bought frrom No American artisans where I never even brought it up because I knew they would never sell me a pipe that didn't pass one.
In my 20 plus years of pipe smoking there were very few that did not pass the test and that includes all of the factory pipes I used to own. I never had an issue with Castello, Radice, James Upshall, old Caminetto's, Savinelli's, Ardor, Don Carlos, Mastro de Paja, Winslow hand mades , Viprati and a few others I am forgetting
As far as knowing upfront weather it passes a cleaner, I just ask the cellar. Now there were loads of pipes I bought frrom No American artisans where I never even brought it up because I knew they would never sell me a pipe that didn't pass one.
In my 20 plus years of pipe smoking there were very few that did not pass the test and that includes all of the factory pipes I used to own. I never had an issue with Castello, Radice, James Upshall, old Caminetto's, Savinelli's, Ardor, Don Carlos, Mastro de Paja, Winslow hand mades , Viprati and a few others I am forgetting
None issue as far as pipe cleaner pass is concerned. All Peterson pipes other than System pipes pass the pipe cleaners. It just takes knowing how to.
Years ago, almost all of my pipes gurgled. Now, all of my pipes (the same ones) never gurgle. It is almost all technique and moisture content of the leaf. Humidity in the air plays a part too. As far as drilling on center, I have some grabows that a really off center and they smoke great. Also on a side note, I have a calbresi bent freehand that never passed a cleaner until I discovered I could rotate the cleaner 180 degrees when it gets stuck and it passes the rest of the way. You could also cover the bowl with your thumb and give the pipe a hardy flick with the stem facing down, this usually gets the moisture out. Just make sure you keep a good grip on it lol.
My wife loves it when I fling brown water all over the walls.
What about 45º to starboard??
Seriously now, can you flesh that out a bit? Keeping the pipe angle down does something for gurgling? Or merely keeping the swig out of the mouth?
It's really to Fore. Saying port or starboard just sounds cooler. When I stand like this, all the drool just flows out of the stem and into the bowl. No gurgle. 45 degrees to aft and you are just choking on your own spit...if you are a drooler. Which I am. I come from a long like of droolers. Prolific droolers. Many a man in my family was invited not to return to church because they assumed we were filled with demon lust. Singing Go Tell It On The Mountain just isn't the same without an organ. It was nice to finally get an official medical diagnosis back in 1974 so we could get all get doctors notes and attend again. It was still a little humiliating to be the only ones in the pews forced to sit with a mop and bucket next to us. I get it though. The slip $ fall liability is staggering. Father Riley was nice enough to give us our own pew and have Mr. Rossetti install a gutter so the shame of the mop and bucket went away.
It's amazing how much comes out sometime. It's promptly gets wiped up with my sock haha.
Usually just blow into the chamber and wipe it out with paper towel. If I'm smoking, run the pipe cleaner. I don't really want to flick it with army mounts and spigots, but I should give it a shot.
I like to be able to pass a pipe cleaner through just because I'm sometimes a little lazy when it comes to cleaning. If I figure I'm going to be using a particular pipe often then I don't like to be always pulling the stem off. Pipes I don't use that often I do let fully cool and remove the stems and do an overall more thorough cleaning.
For everything I've read in this thread there seems to be exceptions:
1) I don't care which pipe I'm using or how dry the tobacco is or how low the humidity is, I can probably get it to gurgle if I try.
2) The exception to my exception #1 is that I have a calabash that I can not get it to gurgle ever yet I can not fully pass a pipe cleaner through it unless I remove parts. ?
For everything I've read in this thread there seems to be exceptions:
1) I don't care which pipe I'm using or how dry the tobacco is or how low the humidity is, I can probably get it to gurgle if I try.
2) The exception to my exception #1 is that I have a calabash that I can not get it to gurgle ever yet I can not fully pass a pipe cleaner through it unless I remove parts. ?
Myst: Great expo!
Drooling into the stem, down the airway, into the heel, is a feat I have been unable to emulate. There's no reasonable position in the mouth where saliva is above the orifice. At least in this ole set of chompers.
Drooling into the stem, down the airway, into the heel, is a feat I have been unable to emulate. There's no reasonable position in the mouth where saliva is above the orifice. At least in this ole set of chompers.
I dont have any pipes that i actually smoke that wont pass a pipe cleaner. Pipes that wont pass a pipe cleaner are more likely to gurgle.
Also a pipe that has a draft hole that doesnt enter at the bottom of the chamber will leave you with a wet nasty dottle at the bottom of the bowl. Yuck.
I have a poker that i never smoke that has a draft hole that doesnt quite enter at the bottom of the bowl, otherwise its a good pipe, but with the draft hole the way it is its impossible to smoke all the tobacco in it without burning your tongue trying to get the last bit.
I have a couple of bent pipes, cavicchis and ser jacs that pass pipe cleaners and the draft holes enter at the bottom of the bowl, they dont gurgle and they smoke all the down, no wet dottle at the end.
And i would never run a pipe cleaner through a pipe while smoking unless the airway got blocked. Which almost never happens.
Also a pipe that has a draft hole that doesnt enter at the bottom of the chamber will leave you with a wet nasty dottle at the bottom of the bowl. Yuck.
I have a poker that i never smoke that has a draft hole that doesnt quite enter at the bottom of the bowl, otherwise its a good pipe, but with the draft hole the way it is its impossible to smoke all the tobacco in it without burning your tongue trying to get the last bit.
I have a couple of bent pipes, cavicchis and ser jacs that pass pipe cleaners and the draft holes enter at the bottom of the bowl, they dont gurgle and they smoke all the down, no wet dottle at the end.
And i would never run a pipe cleaner through a pipe while smoking unless the airway got blocked. Which almost never happens.
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I don't know anything about pipe making, but I have a few pipes that I refer to as "well engineered." Some of the characteristics of those pipes include meticulous attention by the maker to how well the tenon fills the mortice on the shank of the pipe. On those pipes, clearly the maker has cut the length of the tenon to completely (or nearly so) fill the mortice from front to back. In this way, there is no "expansion chamber" inadvertently left in the pathway of the smoke as it travels through the pipe. Also, my well engineered pipes have a beveled entrance to the stem, which I've always presumed made the contraction of the gas going through the pipe more gradual and less apt to cause condensation.
Further, there is a definite venturi at the exit of the stem in many of them. That is to say, the maker seems to have intentionally made the last, little bit of the trip that the smoke takes narrower -- presumably for cooling the smoke at the very end of its journey inside the pipe. This is at a point where any water that is condensed leaves the pipe immediately -- into the smoker's mouth.
It would be interesting to section some of the really good smokers to see the full profile of the passageway. Of course, no one is gonna do that to their best pipes.
My guess is that the really masterful pipe engineers (Eltang, Rovera, Piersel) have all kinds of proprietary knowledge about the dynamics that occur in a draft channel on a pipe.
So, as I said, I don't know anything about making pipes, but I know I have some pipes that perform at a higher level than others when it comes to condensation, cooling, and aesthetic of the smoke that comes out of them.
Further, there is a definite venturi at the exit of the stem in many of them. That is to say, the maker seems to have intentionally made the last, little bit of the trip that the smoke takes narrower -- presumably for cooling the smoke at the very end of its journey inside the pipe. This is at a point where any water that is condensed leaves the pipe immediately -- into the smoker's mouth.
It would be interesting to section some of the really good smokers to see the full profile of the passageway. Of course, no one is gonna do that to their best pipes.
My guess is that the really masterful pipe engineers (Eltang, Rovera, Piersel) have all kinds of proprietary knowledge about the dynamics that occur in a draft channel on a pipe.
So, as I said, I don't know anything about making pipes, but I know I have some pipes that perform at a higher level than others when it comes to condensation, cooling, and aesthetic of the smoke that comes out of them.
Maybe, and maybe not. However, it does prove that if I need to use a pipe cleaner while I'm in the midst of smoking a bowl to clear the airway and/or suck up moisture, I can. I believe this is the primary reason cigarmaster makes this a priority as it why it is imperative to me.
I have my own theory that the overall drill alignment and the smoothness of the drill (how smooth the inside diameter of the airway is) does make a difference. Mis alignment or rough surfaces could create turbulence which can create a place for moisture and crud to build up. i have no way to prove that other than my own experience. I've found that Jose Rubio, Ryan Alden, Larrysson and Cermak pipes seem to be drilled flawlessly. When I use the water cleanse, water flows smoothly and evenly out the stem. These pipes also seem to smoke the best and while it may be my imagination, also seem to stay the cleanest.
I'll do it for you guys. No, no, no... no problem at all. Just send me your best smokers, and I'll saw them in half to measure the engineering.
Condensation will occur on all pipes. Most of it will be at the stem. If the draft hole in stem is such that tenon end is wider than bit end, there will be less chance of gurgling. Peterson System pipe is a good example. Moisture at the bottom of the chamber is more to do with how wet the tobacco is and moisture from your breath if you blow out to "cool" the pipe or something.
But that's beside the point. If your technique is OK, and if you are not huffing and puffing, there really shouldn't be gurgling. Unless drilling was REALLY bad on a pipe.
But that's beside the point. If your technique is OK, and if you are not huffing and puffing, there really shouldn't be gurgling. Unless drilling was REALLY bad on a pipe.
Cadence for me keeps any gurgle from happening. Though some tobaccos certainly have more moisture creation than others. When I get to puffing too much and pop a gurgle, I run a pipe cleaner into the tobacco through the shank and then the stem possibly too, and then slow it down. Gurgle just sucks, but thankfully, I've come to avoid well now with technique.
At the risk of stirring up some controversy, I thought I'd give this a share, only because this conversation has been driven towards how much impact engineering has on the smoking experience. I'm not quite sold on this, but its worth some thought, especially for those who can afford to purchase multiple high-end pipes to test the theory 
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Airflow: The Key to Smoking Pleasure - Pipedia
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