Pipe Smoking\' s Chicken or the Egg

[frankryan]

As a newer pipe smoke I am curious.
All you veteran pipe smokers please share your opinion...
Can a very good high end pipe make a bad pipe tobacco taste, smoke or experience better?
or
Would a very tobacco even make a bad pipe seem better?

 

[cortezattic]

PipesMagazine blogger, westsidewilly, just posted his observations on this very topic: Corncob Synchronicity. Kevin's comments are equally interesting.

 

[hauntedmyst]

A good pipe smokes great no matter what the price but I personally believe you'll have a better chance to get a better smoke out of a high end pipe simply because of the care that goes into it at all phases, including the maker hand picking the best briar at the mill.
That being said, it won't make a bad tobacco taste good. Some pipes smoke different blends better than others for different smokers. A lot of VA lovers prefer them in smaller pipes.
One thing you'll find is that your taste change over time. For years, I couldn't stand English tobaccos. Now I love them.

 

[unclearthur]

Bad tobacco is just that. BAD!

 

[sapo59]

I agree a pipe can't change a bad tobacco blend. Over time you will be able to tell what blend smokes best in what individual pipe.

 

[jcsoldit]

I agree with Arthur & Sapo... A high-end pipe will not improve bad tobacco but good tobacco will improve your smoking experience not matter what you paid for the pipe as long as it's clean and in good working order.
Just look how many members here truly enjoy smoking cobs, there about as far from high-end as you can get but with good tobacco can and will deliver a great smoke.
BTW...What really is good tobacco? In my opinion it’s whatever you enjoy.

 

[jonesing]

One thing I think should be clarified is that a quality pipe doesn't necessarily mean "high end".
I think we've reached something close to agreement in this forum that a Dunhill doesn't smoke any better than a Stanwell or a Savinelli.
Good smoking is a result of quality briar and drilling.
Tight airways, airways that change in diameter, off center draft holes all cause problems. And I've yet to be convinced that briar grown in the far reaches of a dark forest on a mountain top in Peru and then aged for 75 years in an underground chamber lined with gold is notably different than any good seasoned briar. It's just wood after all
So my 2 cents is that a well made pipe is important. But well made pipes are available at very reasonable cost. After that it's all about the tobacco.

 

[cortezattic]

WestSideWilly recently posted a blog, with interesting comments, on this topic.

 

[hauntedmyst]

Just look how many members here truly enjoy smoking cobs, there about as far from high-end as you can get but with good tobacco can and will deliver a great smoke.

Yes, but friends shouldn't let friends smoke cobs....unless you are married to a relative.

 

[igloo]

Everyone knows a good pipe must be made in a 200 year old building in Europe and hand carved with a piece of glass stolen from the Vatican . With a stem made from whale oil and real India rubber by a Tibetan Monk living in Denmark . I agree some blends seem to smoke better in different pipes .

 

[cortezattic]

The cob lost one of its truly important uses when toilet paper was invented.

 

[pstlpkr]

Ok, I think the tobacco and pipe thing has been covered pretty well.

So, I will address the Chicken or the Egg thing.
It was the Rooster.

 

[cortezattic]

Phil, those were rough times indeed! Glad to have them "behind" me. LOL

 

[jonesing]

My understanding is that it's important the pipe has a magnet in it.

 

[pstlpkr]

Oh I yearn for the days when steel was actually used in automobile construction.