I have seen men drop $700 on a new Dunhill, and then also buy a pouch of Fruitberry aromatic to break it in. I never say anything out loud, but in my mind I am like...
Pipe Shape: Match the Tobacco?
- Thread starter Salvaje
- Start date
I don't smoke Virginias, but some who do have told me that it smokes better in a small bowl pipe.
I have my pipes divided into two basic groups, one is for English blends and the other for everything else.
I have my pipes divided into two basic groups, one is for English blends and the other for everything else.
.... then there's the opposite, the guy who buys a pouch of the finest English blend he can find and shoves in into his Grabow.
For some reason that doesn't shock me as much as turning an expensive pipe into a smelly aromatic pipe. But, I may just be desensitized to the opposite by the corn cob boys on here, ha ha..... then there's the opposite, the guy who buys a pouch of the finest English blend he can find and shoves in into his Grabow.
The correct pipe is the one I want to smoke. The correct tobacco is the one I want to smoke. Unless it is a strong tobacco, like Visions of Celephais, I don't bother with using specific pipes for specific tobaccos.
I am not of the school that the shape of the chamber makes an important difference, if there's any difference at all.
Individuality is a wonderful thing.
My tobaccos behave and taste vastly different in differently shaped chambers; and even so in different pipes with similar chambers. And that's just in the world of briar...
Cheers
My tobaccos behave and taste vastly different in differently shaped chambers; and even so in different pipes with similar chambers. And that's just in the world of briar...
Cheers
Another example of "it is so if you think so"!
Diff folks, diff strokes; YMMV, etc., etc.
There is truth in that statement.
However in this case it's not true. It's the reverse.
I did not think it would be so. I found it to be so.
Thus, I think it to be true because I found it to be true for me.
That doesn't mean I have self-hypnotized myself into believing it.
Neither does it give latitude to those who don't find it to be so, to indicate that those who do find it to be so, are deluding themselves. ?
Cheers
I find that my current circumstances impact the smoking experience more so that the chamber dimensions.
What did I have to eat/drink before? What is the weather like (I smoke outside)? What am I drinking as an accompaniment to the smoke? Am I stressed or relaxed before the smoke? Is my head congested? Am I just sitting down, smoking my pipe, or am I doing something while smoking?
All of these and a myriad more can contribute to the enjoyment, or lack thereof, to the experience.
The only thing I will say about chamber dimensions that "could" effect the smoke is that if you smoke a blend with several component tobaccos in a wider chamber, then the odds of all of the individual components burning simultaneously are higher and therefore you would experience the blend in its totality. But at some point during the bowl, I believe this would become moot as you will eventually burn all of the components and get the full flavor that is intended.
Bottom line...I pick a pipe and I pick a tobacco and I smoke it. Just depends on my mood.
What did I have to eat/drink before? What is the weather like (I smoke outside)? What am I drinking as an accompaniment to the smoke? Am I stressed or relaxed before the smoke? Is my head congested? Am I just sitting down, smoking my pipe, or am I doing something while smoking?
All of these and a myriad more can contribute to the enjoyment, or lack thereof, to the experience.
The only thing I will say about chamber dimensions that "could" effect the smoke is that if you smoke a blend with several component tobaccos in a wider chamber, then the odds of all of the individual components burning simultaneously are higher and therefore you would experience the blend in its totality. But at some point during the bowl, I believe this would become moot as you will eventually burn all of the components and get the full flavor that is intended.
Bottom line...I pick a pipe and I pick a tobacco and I smoke it. Just depends on my mood.
Some times I encounter a blend that has just too much bite for my liking. In this case, according to my policy of never throwing a blend away, I put in in my Calabash (the real thing with a gourd and meerschaum bowl) and give it a try. It's amazing how a calabash calms down even the roughest blend. I can see why there used to be so popular. There is one catch to them, they burn tobacco really fast.
Approximately 95% of my collection is group 4-5 sized pipes that I smoke flakes and lugs in. I buy pipes based on how well they fit my strict criteria for buying a pipe. I dedicate my pipes to genres and specific blends. All of my pipes except for 2 are American artisan pipes as I love how they smoke especially when broken in with a nice hard cake.
From time to time I have found pipe a gave a great smoke with a certain blend but I’m not organized enough to only smoke that blend in that pipe. It is like a little bonus when it happens. Bottom line is I don’t keep a pipe that doesn’t smoke well. I’m not cultured enough to pick up on the cross contamination of aro or English.
^^^^Some times I encounter a blend that has just too much bite for my liking. In this case, according to my policy of never throwing a blend away, I put in in my Calabash (the real thing with a gourd and meerschaum bowl) and give it a try. It's amazing how a calabash calms down even the roughest blend. I can see why there used to be so popular. There is one catch to them, they burn tobacco really fast.
Gourd calabashes work really well with high nicotine blends.
I usually use mine for Peterson's Irish Flake.
For me, so far (app. six months) I haven’t found that the pipe or chamber shape necessarily suits it to certain type of blend, but I like certain pipes I own for certain blends. That has more to do with practical matters.
For instance, I like smoking faster burning blends in a bigger pipe for a little more smoke time. I have a few pipes that just seem to smoke a bit more moist than others, I put tobacco in them that I find burns dry, and vice versa.
I have one pipe I enjoy with one particular blend because I always seem to get it packed just right in that pipe and it burns well.
I guess what I am slowly saying is that although I prefer different horses for different course, it isn’t because of shape. It has to do with size and burning qualities.
For instance, I like smoking faster burning blends in a bigger pipe for a little more smoke time. I have a few pipes that just seem to smoke a bit more moist than others, I put tobacco in them that I find burns dry, and vice versa.
I have one pipe I enjoy with one particular blend because I always seem to get it packed just right in that pipe and it burns well.
I guess what I am slowly saying is that although I prefer different horses for different course, it isn’t because of shape. It has to do with size and burning qualities.
After 10+ years of smoking, I have decided that the most important factor for my pipe enjoyment is temperature. I want it to be between 50 - 80 degrees. If the outdoor temperature is outside the stated temperature, I get grumpy.
I believe that’s most of us. We’re called curmudgeon’s. Welcome to the family.
I'm not speaking for anyone else on the Forums, but I definitely qualify for "Grumpy Old Man" status. ?
At least according to my wife ?
I love my Escudo and I’ve smoked enough of it to know I have pipes that really make it shine, and others that still taste great but is missing a little something extra. Those pipes that shine aren’t the same shape or marques at all. Some are bent and some are straight. Some pipes just have “it” when it comes to certain blends in my experience.