Pipe Myths

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anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,402
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
A pipe ember is wider, and burns cooler than a cigarette, but still —-
—-
Those tiny burning embers at the end of a cigarette reach incredibly high temperatures -- 1,300 to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit when resting in the ashtray and 2,000 degrees when puffed. "Paper," says McGuire, "bursts into flames at 451 degrees centigrade (844 degrees Fahrenheit)."
The paper bursting into flame at that temp is widely disproven, including by the fact that paper comes in different densities and even materials and humidities and all that. So there really couldn't be a single invariable temperature that bursts paper into flame. It's kind of like saying all cats will rub against my leg after the second who is a pretty kitty?!
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
When it comes to pipe myths, pick your own poison. Much of what people believe about pipes are most likely myth.

Regardless, myth shouldn't be written off so quickly. It serves a valuable purpose; mainly to provide a basis for maintaining and perpetuating the traditions of associated with any custom or endeavor.

When we break everything down into a simple algorithm or theorem, all that is left is a recipe.

That's fine for replicating a cooked meal, but a meal is much more than that. It is the people gathered around the table, the linens, the plates, and the customs and traditions that occur before, during, and after.

Myths are NOT falsehoods. Rather, they contain elements of a larger truth; truths that help aid in continuity, tradition, and assist in creating the future.

Tobacco burns hot, briar is a wood that can for the most part contain that heat, and sometimes a Grabow smokes as well as any other name brand pipe that was ever made.

Beating up on the mysteries associated with pipe smoking doesn't make one smarter. It just makes them no fun to party with.
 

K.E. Powell

Can't Leave
Aug 20, 2022
493
1,781
37
West Virginia
I'm not sure anything I would list here would count as myths, but they are ideas I treat skeptically and do not employ in my own pipe smoking, despite their general acceptance in most pipe smoking circles.

1. You need to break-in a pipe before you can really smoke it as it was meant to be smoked. You need to build cake, and blah blah blah. None of this is true in my eyes. I keep my pipes clean and cake build up is minimal at best. It's not necessary. What is more important is keeping a pipe clean.

2. You must rest your pipes after every use. You can smoke the same pipe more than a couple of times in the same day without destroying it. I do think there is some value in "resting" a pipe, insomuch that use of any object typically entails its degradation unless due diligence to cleaning and repair is managed. But as a general rule, people treat briar and meerschaum as being far more fragile than it really is.

3. Every new smoker should start with an aromatic. I would say a new smoker would be best served by enjoying a sampler and then gravitating towards blends most like the tobacco he enjoyed from the sampler the most. Aros can be great for some newbies, and not so great for others. I started on aros, and it made my entry into this hobby probably a little tougher than it needed.

4. That the quality of how a pipe smokes is entirely objective. It isn't. Perception of things has a very large impact on how we take to them, regardless of the facts (or lack thereof) present. I'm convinced if you took a 100 veteran pipe smokers, blindfolded them, and had them try to reliably tell the difference between a basic $100 pipe and some custom piece, most would not be able to do so with any consistency. This is not to say there are not objective considerations that impact how a pipe smokes. But pipes are fairly simple tools, and I think people convince themselves their $800 pipe will smoke better than their, say, Peterson or Neerup just because it makes it easier to justify the pricetag. You're paying more for aesthetics than anything else.

5. Pipe smoking is physically healthy, or at least not harmful. We shouldn't kid ourselves. The mental benefits of smoking may very well outweigh the physical detriments, and pipe smoking in moderation helps alleviate some risks. But it is a physical risk. One I'm willing to take. But some pipe smokers act as if there is not physical risk at all, and that is just delusional to me. But to each their own. Wouldn't be much of a vice if it didn't incur some risk, I say. Where's the fun in having a vice without some risk?
 
Feb 12, 2022
3,405
46,976
31
North Georgia mountains.
Nope, only construction and drilling. I've had "top" brand pipes that can't even drill a straight hole.

View attachment 196638
Now this is agree with. I thought brand would play a part in this, as some brands/carvers are reputable for their drilling efficiency.
There are brands or carvers I've tried who's pipes didn't smoke well for me, so I avoid those brands.
In short, I both agree and disagree with your stance. I will say that price tag especially doesn't matter.

Hmm. Does that pipe happen to have a white dot on the stem?
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
Interesting. You dont think brands matter?
I agree with Embers on this one.

I have Dunhills, Charatans, Upshalls, and many other name brands.

I have Pipe Makers, Lees, Grabow, and Marxmans.

I have true no name basket pipes.

I can honestly state that the brand name does not seem to dictate quality of smoking experience.

What it can do is provide an esoteric quality that is not possible with a lesser name brand pipe.

My Geppetto and Kristianson, and Sixten Ivarsson designed Stanwell pipes are beautiful, a joy to look at, and absolutely a kick to smoke because they look so damned good.

But in terms of smoking quality over my Marxmans, nope, they don't have it. They are the same.

I buy a Porsche. It looks great and drives great. But it comes with its own issues. High insurance, maintenance, and other concerns. My Kia Forte takes me everywhere the Porsche can, only the Forte has lower insurance, maintenance, and almost no other concerns.

Which is "better".

The Porsche is more fun to drive up and down the mountains. That's about it.
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
I'm not sure anything I would list here would count as myths, but they are ideas I treat skeptically and do not employ in my own pipe smoking, despite their general acceptance in most pipe smoking circles.

1. You need to break-in a pipe before you can really smoke it as it was meant to be smoked. You need to build cake, and blah blah blah. None of this is true in my eyes. I keep my pipes clean and cake build up is minimal at best. It's not necessary. What is more important is keeping a pipe clean.

2. You must rest your pipes after every use. You can smoke the same pipe more than a couple of times in the same day without destroying it. I do think there is some value in "resting" a pipe, insomuch that use of any object typically entails its degradation unless due diligence to cleaning and repair is managed. But as a general rule, people treat briar and meerschaum as being far more fragile than it really is.

3. Every new smoker should start with an aromatic. I would say a new smoker would be best served by enjoying a sampler and then gravitating towards blends most like the tobacco he enjoyed from the sampler the most. Aros can be great for some newbies, and not so great for others. I started on aros, and it made my entry into this hobby probably a little tougher than it needed.

4. That the quality of how a pipe smokes is entirely objective. It isn't. Perception of things has a very large impact on how we take to them, regardless of the facts (or lack thereof) present. I'm convinced if you took a 100 veteran pipe smokers, blindfolded them, and had them try to reliably tell the difference between a basic $100 pipe and some custom piece, most would not be able to do so with any consistency. This is not to say there are not objective considerations that impact how a pipe smokes. But pipes are fairly simple tools, and I think people convince themselves their $800 pipe will smoke better than their, say, Peterson or Neerup just because it makes it easier to justify the pricetag. You're paying more for aesthetics than anything else.

5. Pipe smoking is physically healthy, or at least not harmful. We shouldn't kid ourselves. The mental benefits of smoking may very well outweigh the physical detriments, and pipe smoking in moderation helps alleviate some risks. But it is a physical risk. One I'm willing to take. But some pipe smokers act as if there is not physical risk at all, and that is just delusional to me. But to each their own. Wouldn't be much of a vice if it didn't incur some risk, I say. Where's the fun in having a vice without some risk?
I've smoke for 41 years. During that time, this is what I've learned.

1. Building a small amount of cake from top to bottom matters. I've smoke both ways - jumping right in and I've used a method to build cake. The later has produced better results.

2. Resting my pipes has meant that I have less experiences with "yuk". Yes, I clean after every smoke. Resting seems to make a difference.

3. Starting a smoker on an English blend or a heavy VaPer runs the risk of getting them sick. More than anything, a lower Nic hit seems to be more critical.

4. A tight draw is a tight draw. Quality of vulcanite is easily felt, both by hand and mouth. Sour briar tastes, well, sour.

5. Pipe smoking has inherit risks. It also has benefits. Smoke heavily, diminish the healthy aspects of pipe smoking. Smoke more lightly and prudently, a happy soul is a much healthier person.

Absolutes are the one thing we can say without a doubt are questionable.
 
Last edited:
Feb 12, 2022
3,405
46,976
31
North Georgia mountains.
I agree with Embers on this one.

I have Dunhills, Charatans, Upshalls, and many other name brands.

I have Pipe Makers, Lees, Grabow, and Marxmans.

I have true no name basket pipes.

I can honestly state that the brand name does not seem to dictate quality of smoking experience.

What it can do is provide an esoteric quality that is not possible with a lesser name brand pipe.

My Geppetto and Kristianson, and Sixten Ivarsson designed Stanwell pipes are beautiful, a joy to look at, and absolutely a kick to smoke because they look so damned good.

But in terms of smoking quality over my Marxmans, nope, they don't have it. They are the same.

I buy a Porsche. It looks great and drives great. But it comes with its own issues. High insurance, maintenance, and other concerns. My Kia Forte takes me everywhere the Porsche can, only the Forte has lower insurance, maintenance, and almost no other concerns.

Which is "better".

The Porsche is more fun to drive up and down the mountains. That's about it.
I agreed with him also, just from a different stance. I've found brands that the drilling and construction is consistent for me, so I'm loyal to them. They smoke well for me on every one ive bought. I've had other brands/carvers (low end, highish end) that were drilled by a toddler so I've avoided those brands ever since.
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
I agreed with him also, just from a different stance. I've found brands that the drilling and construction is consistent for me, so I'm loyal to them. They smoke well for me on every one ive bought. I've had other brands/carvers (low end, highish end) that were drilled by a toddler so I've avoided those brands ever since.
Hmmm. I find Petersons to be the least reliable brand I have ever experienced.

That won't stop me from buying them.

They also happen to have a look to them I enjoy, and when they do smoke correctly, what a joy they are to have.

Now, if they were more expensive, quite possibly I wouldn't push my luck with them.
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
I have quite a few Rock Island Armory 1911s. All of them have had to be sent back to the armorer. All of them.

But when they have come back, what a joy they are to shoot.

I know that when I purchase a RIA 1911 that I will be sending it back to the factory for work. They all seem to have something not right about them.

I also know that the company will stand behind them and send them back to me in a condition that will allow me to compete gun to gun with a Kimber.

Sometimes, you just have to know how to work the system.

I do the same thing with Petersons.

By the way, I am looking for a 309.

Anyone wanting to sell one? It is the one pipe I just can't seem to get.
 

OverMountain

Lifer
Dec 5, 2021
1,296
4,689
Western Caccalack Hinterlands
I'm not sure anything I would list here would count as myths, but they are ideas I treat skeptically and do not employ in my own pipe smoking, despite their general acceptance in most pipe smoking circles.

1. You need to break-in a pipe before you can really smoke it as it was meant to be smoked. You need to build cake, and blah blah blah. None of this is true in my eyes. I keep my pipes clean and cake build up is minimal at best. It's not necessary. What is more important is keeping a pipe clean.

2. You must rest your pipes after every use. You can smoke the same pipe more than a couple of times in the same day without destroying it. I do think there is some value in "resting" a pipe, insomuch that use of any object typically entails its degradation unless due diligence to cleaning and repair is managed. But as a general rule, people treat briar and meerschaum as being far more fragile than it really is.

3. Every new smoker should start with an aromatic. I would say a new smoker would be best served by enjoying a sampler and then gravitating towards blends most like the tobacco he enjoyed from the sampler the most. Aros can be great for some newbies, and not so great for others. I started on aros, and it made my entry into this hobby probably a little tougher than it needed.

4. That the quality of how a pipe smokes is entirely objective. It isn't. Perception of things has a very large impact on how we take to them, regardless of the facts (or lack thereof) present. I'm convinced if you took a 100 veteran pipe smokers, blindfolded them, and had them try to reliably tell the difference between a basic $100 pipe and some custom piece, most would not be able to do so with any consistency. This is not to say there are not objective considerations that impact how a pipe smokes. But pipes are fairly simple tools, and I think people convince themselves their $800 pipe will smoke better than their, say, Peterson or Neerup just because it makes it easier to justify the pricetag. You're paying more for aesthetics than anything else.

5. Pipe smoking is physically healthy, or at least not harmful. We shouldn't kid ourselves. The mental benefits of smoking may very well outweigh the physical detriments, and pipe smoking in moderation helps alleviate some risks. But it is a physical risk. One I'm willing to take. But some pipe smokers act as if there is not physical risk at all, and that is just delusional to me. But to each their own. Wouldn't be much of a vice if it didn't incur some risk, I say. Where's the fun in having a vice without some risk?
I agree that there are health risks, and that is a myth to consider pipes as a “lesser harm” type of tobacco use.

That being said, we do have a few MD types on the forum. I would be interested to hear their thoughts on the “pipes are healthier” myth.
 

craig61a

Lifer
Apr 29, 2017
5,767
47,577
Minnesota USA
CD. , v v.
They were pplaced in the fire to clean them as well. Tavern clays had long stems and were reused by different customers. Between use the pipe would get roasted and then a bit of stem broken off before being passed onto the next customer. When the stem ran out, the Thames was the recipient.
While Ewha mentions that in his 1974 book, it is also noted that there is no documentary of that practice. It does mention that pipe cleaner's trade was established, and pipes were bundled together and sent to the bakehouse for cleaning. How pervasive or widespread the practice was is unknown. So to say that this was just done as a matter of course isn't really established.

At Fort Snelling, just a few miles east of me, people used to find old clay pipes near the riverbank over the side of the cliffs. The theory is that soldiers threw their used clay pipes in the latrine, and over the years the erosion washed the pipes down the side of the cliff. The area is marked no trespassing now to keep scavengers out. There are also old tunnels and dilapidated sewers in the area that attract urban explorers. I guess they didn't have pipe cleaners trade nearby in the early 1800's.
 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Myth: cobs are disposable, or don’t last. (My cheapest cobs have lasted years with regular smoking).
Actually, all pipes are disposable should the owner decide to do so. So, not a myth for some of us. I consider corn cobs to be disposable. They're cheap/inexpensive, if one goes floating down the creek and falls into the chainsaw/table saw/etc. I'm out nothing in reality. So small amount of moneys, to me, that I fetch another one from the garage or kit bag, stuff and enjoy without a regret. I also bin pipes which do not "work" for me and my style of smoking.
 

craig61a

Lifer
Apr 29, 2017
5,767
47,577
Minnesota USA
When it comes to pipe myths, pick your own poison. Much of what people believe about pipes are most likely myth.

Regardless, myth shouldn't be written off so quickly. It serves a valuable purpose; mainly to provide a basis for maintaining and perpetuating the traditions of associated with any custom or endeavor.

When we break everything down into a simple algorithm or theorem, all that is left is a recipe.

That's fine for replicating a cooked meal, but a meal is much more than that. It is the people gathered around the table, the linens, the plates, and the customs and traditions that occur before, during, and after.

Myths are NOT falsehoods. Rather, they contain elements of a larger truth; truths that help aid in continuity, tradition, and assist in creating the future.

Tobacco burns hot, briar is a wood that can for the most part contain that heat, and sometimes a Grabow smokes as well as any other name brand pipe that was ever made.

Beating up on the mysteries associated with pipe smoking doesn't make one smarter. It just makes them no fun to party with.
Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight
Red is grey and yellow-white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion