Pipe Shape Preferences Over Time

[InWithBothFeet]

Please read Rule 9 for title formation. Capitals!

Has your pipe shape or style preference changed over time? Did the first pipe you buy end up being the last pipe you get out? The first pipe I bought in March was a big LOTR churchwarden. After smoking pipes I can clench (not nose warmers, but normal sized bent or half-bent billiard and bulldog pipes), the churchwarden seemed awkwardly clumsy yesterday. I'm actually considering looking for a nose warmer now for lighter easier clenching.

 

[warren]

Nope, after my first pipe, a straight Apple, I always went with what attracted my eye, something bent to some degree or another. Bowl shape really wasn't a consideration, had to please my eye, a proper proportion. The pipe simply had to attract my eye hanging on the wall or in a display. If a pipe caught my eye, I fondled it, tested how it fit my fist, then I inspected the fit and finish. Always in that order, no deviation. A pipe has to fit my eye, my fist, and, when I get home, smoke well.

 

[huntertrw]

Some 50 years ago I started with bent pipes, but over time my preference has changed to billiards.

 

[Cracklin' Tobaccy]

I have several shapes none of which I dislike. I like bent pipes quite a bit but I've become partial to the straight Dublins. After I figured out how to hold the damn thing I fell for it. The conical bowl of a good Dublin does amazing things to the progression of a bowl of tobacco both in flavor and in strength.

 

[OzPiper]

Just as not eating the same food day in, day out, I like variety in my pipes and tobacco.
With pipes, I see, I like, I buy.
Is simple

 

[Servant King]

Funny, I was just thinking about this recently. My tastes have not only undergone a complete change from where they were when I started (five years and change ago), but I have also gone through several phases within this long-term change, much in the same way that I did with tobacco blends. It's funny how that happens, and with such drastic differences at that.

I used to only like smooth bent billiards--I literally hated anything else. Any other shapes, any other finishes...no good! And I used to positively loathe bead lines for some reason. Now I love just about everything, although I still prefer bent stems, and I'm not terribly fond of the Dublin shape, which is entirely centered around my difficulty keeping the pipe cool at the end (very little wood down there at the conical "tip") rather than any visual aversion.

Right now, my most used pipes (not counting cobs or the two pipes I'm currently trying to sell) are a bent bulldog for straight VAs, a bent pot for VaBurs, a bent author for Englishes, a bent billiard for aromatics, a bent egg for latakia aromatics, and a bent rhodesian for VaPers and anything else. As with tobacco blends, looks like I'm all over the map.

My overall favorite look is probably the egg, with the author being a close second. This could change at any time, however!

 

[BingBong]

I have straight, bent, all sorts, but the most elegant which I love dear is this one, Prince stem and shape 406 bowl?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Not in shape but in size. The older I get it's becoming harder and harder to hold small pipes so I lean towards the very large ones with a 1"×2" chamber minimum. Three decades ago I leaned towards the smallest of Dr. Grabows.

 

[olkofri]

Has your pipe shape or style preference changed over time? Did the first pipe you buy end up being the last pipe you get out? The first pipe I bought in March was a big LOTR churchwarden. After smoking pipes I can clench (not nose warmers, but normal sized bent or half-bent billiard and bulldog pipes), the churchwarden seemed awkwardly clumsy yesterday. I'm actually considering looking for a nose warmer now for lighter easier clenching.

'Twas the opposite for me: my first pipe was a churchwarden, then I started acquiring other classical shapes. I leant towards the bents but soon discovered that it's difficult for me to light them since I can't look at the rim that easily; nosewarmers were worse in this regard. Worst of the worst were bent nosewarmers like the Al Pascia Curvy.

Since I never learned to clench, my preference is now long-stemmed pipes –churchwardens, demi-wardens, and Canadians, with the first named being my most preferred shape. Churchwardens are also easiest to smoke when driving.

 

[bullet08]

No. Hasn't changed. Still love bulldog/Rhodesian.

 

[Choatecav]

Some 50 years ago I started with bent pipes, but over time my preference has changed to billiards.

Seems our selection in avatar persona is not the only similarity we share.....
I too started with bents and now favor billiards.

 

[OzPiper]

What hasn’t changed are my dislikes - Castello Shape 55, hawkbills and Charatan Countryman.
And while it is not a pipe shape, I can’t abide Charatan double comfort stems.

It would seem that I have a much longer list of likes than dislikes

 

[Auxsender]

My first was a Butz-Choquin bent Billiard. Now I prefer smallish, straight bulldogs, billiards and dublins. I do not like the aesthetic of a bent pipe as it feels too dandy and ornate to me.
My biggest pipe crush at the moment is the Dunhill 5117.
Honorable mentions to the Prince, author and Apple.

 

[Sig]

I like them all, and always have.
Looking at my collection of pipes, its about 80% straight and 80% of those are Billiards.
So, are straight Billiards my favorite?
Not really.

 

[elvishrunes]

I have a special shape bent Apple which caught my eye 10 years ago and is still the favourite, but my tastes have expanded into everything. Straight billiard, churchwarden, ect Like with tobacco, I like regular variety.

 

[K.E. Powell]

In terms of shape? No. I'm still quite partial to the shapes in the classic billiard family, especially brandy and apple shapes. But I've pipes of all shapes minus the more avant-garde freehand Danish styles.

Likewise, I'm still partial to a fairly generous bent in the stem. I've straight and near-straight pipes, but I typically prefer a nice bend; I find them easier to clench and more aesthetically pleasing.

Now, I will say, my tastes in finish has changed. When I first started, smooth finishes caught my eye. Now, I much prefer rustication or sandblasts. I still like smooth finishes, but the texture of a non-smooth pipe can be both pleasing to eye and hand alike. That they tend to run cheaper than smooth pipes is just a nice bonus.

Finally, I don't care if a stem is acrylic or vulcanite. I prefer the former, but not enough to really sway me one way or the other.

 

[kcghost]

Over time I have switched my preference from at a half-bent billiard to one-eighth prince and straight bulldog.

 

[renfield]

In the beginning I leaned towards bent shapes. Now many years later I prefer straight or nearly straight shapes. The specific shape/style doesn’t matter as long as it catches my eye.

 

[Hillcrest]

Not really, no change at all but size. My first real pipe was a Savinelli 2614KS Dry System which is still in regular rotation. All of my other pipes are variations of that first bent billiard shape which is why I stopped buying pipes unless I see a really unbeatable deal. And i do look often. Last purchase was Peterson Pub Pipe second which is in regular rotation. I've tried straight billiards and small bowls but they are not for me.

 

[burleybreath]

Straight billiards, by far, shaped by someone who knows what they're doing. Dorky billiards don't cut it. Many Dunhills and old Comoys are quite good. I've recently learned to like the prince shape, one I once detested. But it took me fifty years. I went through a bulldog phase, but haven't touched one in several years.