Pipe Thickness

[cosmicfolklore]

Almost all of my pipes were bought with my intention to clench them, so I've always looked for lightweight pipes that would go unnoticed in my teeth as I work on other things throughout the day. This means that all of these have as little briar in them as possible, like .25" chamber wall thickness. I am always working on my clenching style of breath smoking to keep a cool bowl, but as I was looking at a friend's pipe that had very thick walls, I couldn't help buy wonder...
If you are a fan of thick walled pipes, what is it that attracts you to these? Is it a better briar "taste," or cooler smoke, or just pipe size? My original thought was that it would smoke hot, as the heat had more briar to dissipate through, and the heavy walls would insulate the fire that could make one puff harder before they feel the heat on the side of the pipe, but, as always, maybe I'm mistaken. What's your take on this :?:

 

[mso489]

Better insulation with thicker walled bowls may contain the heat better and make for a more even burn,

but that's pure theory. But I also notice that several of my thicker bowls are extremely light weight!

I ordered a Johs Dublin bent blast from Iwan Ries that is like a Stanwell lightweight, just weightless as

air. So for clenching, the thickness of the bowl doesn't impact weight. I had stalled on ordering the

pipe for more than a year, but bought it during a sale. What a pleasant surprise.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The theory is what concerns me. It would seem that containing the heat would lead to less flavor, but I'm prone to over-thinking... This is why I was wanting feedback from those who smoke them.
Good to know about weight for that one. I've held many at the B&M that seemed like they would be like holding crowbars between your teeth, lol.

 

[fadingdaylight]

I have a few with thick walls. My Rattray's Chubby Jackey has thick walls, but clenches well, it's short so it kinda balances out. The walls don't really get too hot, and I still have a ways to go on my technique. The smoke is definitely warmer than say, my Hilson. But the Hilson is also twice as long as the Rattray's. My Stanwell 198 is a diplomat shape with seriously thick walls, and the Stanwell 19 is a bent dublin shape with monsterously thick walls, around the top at least. Both are excellent smokers, but the 198 is heavy. It hurts my teeth and jaw to clench it after about 20 minutes. The 19 is an easy clench, even at 2 oz. And it smokes as cool and smooth as can be.
I like the thicker walls because it makes the pipe feel stout. Being a soldier, durability is a big issue for me.

 

[bryanf]

The Rattray's Chubby Jackey is one of those pipes that calls to me a bit. I don't own one, but hopefully some day.
All my pipes smoke cool, and bowls don't get hot, but that's probably more of the way I smoke. My average pipe has about .250 thick walls.
But I have one pipe with thick walls. It probably gets smoked the least of all my pipes, even though it smokes very well. The reason it gets smoked least is because I can't clench it well, as it's heavier, and I like my hands free when I smoke to hold my book.

 

[fadingdaylight]

Ok, I kinda rushed through that first reply, allow me to elaborate a bit.
The 19 has thick wall at the top, but being a dublin type shape, it tapers at the bottom. So I can smoke the first 3/4 of the bowl without the bowl heating up, but then when I get into that last little bit, where the walls are thinner, they get quite warm. The pipe is well made, and hasn't suffered any from the heat, but it always makes me nervous. The Hilson, having thin walls, certainly heats up faster, which is kinda like an early warning system I suppose. It does help me to remember to slow down and enjoy, and I seem to get the utmost flavor out of FVF in it. Other blends smoke just as well or better in some of the thicker pipes.
ODF seems great, regardless of the pipe, but I do enjoy it most in short, thick pipes because I like my smoke a tiny bit warm. Aro's and Latakia blends seem to do well in pipes with broad chambers and thick walls.
The heat doesn't really get trapped too badly, since often times the chamber is more broad on thicker walled pipes. I found that GLP Cumberland smoked well in both the Hilson, and the 198. A little heat helps the flavor on that one too, in my opinion.
As far as a more even burn, I don't think thats necessarily true. Again, often the thicker walls mean broader chamber, and broad chambers tend to have a harder time sustaining a perfect cherry. A well tamped narrow chamber will always burn best, at least to me.
One last thing to mention is rustication. If your concerned about heat being trapped, go with a heavy rustication, that will aid in the heat escaping.

 

[papipeguy]

In addition to the above comments I would not necessarily equate wall thickness with weight. My custom Gabrieli bent Dublin has thick walls but is not a heavy pipe. I think it depends on the age and quality of the briar. Properly aged briar weighs less than newer stock.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Thanks all,

Very nice pipe, papipeguy. I love that detail on the stem. What qualities about smoking a heavy walled pipe do you like? Does it burn cooler, better flavor, etc?

 

[fadingdaylight]

I think it mostly aesthetics for me, I guess I kinda like my pipes like my women, a little short and thick, easy to get a grip on, lol.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

LMAO, yeh, if that is true, then I like my ladies light, long, narrow, and with very little cake :wink:

 

[eastwoodaudio]

I like thicker walled pipes for straight virginias or VaPer blends, as they tend to burn hotter for me. I admit, I am a bit of a puffer, trying to settle that down though. However, my favorite pipe is a Savinelli 623 unfinished bulldog. It smokes cool as an iceberg, no matter how hard I push it, with whatever blend I throw in it. best $50 I've ever spent on a pipe!! :D

 

[salewis]

I prefer thick walled pipes since I believe that these pipes smoke cooler. My favorite shapes are the apple and pot since they both have ample briar at the bottom of the pipe.
Just because a pipe has thick walls it does not necessarily mean that the pipe is heavy. Some of my pipes with thicker walls are actually lighter than my pipes with a little thinner walls.

 

[dottiewarden]

My daily driver is a Kings Cross Featherweight, Very light and thin walled. Although I'm not a clencher, I just like the portability of the pipe.
In terms of thick or thin walls, I like the early warning my pipe gives me; if it heats up, I'll know before it's too late. My Peterson billiard 106 is always cool to the hand, but I'm left worrying about the inside of the chamber.
Thanks to all those who have posted on this thread for the varied opinion, wth a special thanks to cosmic for starting the discussion as it is something I've been wondering about myself.

 

[rx2man]

Some info on wall thickness from the pipe makers forum. On a lot of artisan pipes you will find the weight listed.
http://www.pipemakersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8575&p=79980&hilit=minimum+thickness#p79980
On the wall thickness: I try to keep mine a minimum of 3/16 to 1/4 or .250. However I have a pipe that has a wall that is only 1/8 or .125 thick and it has done just fine. I did coat the chamber for protection. I personally wouldn't sell a pipe with less than 3/16 wall. It also depends on quality of briar. My experience so far is that tight grain that is properly cured will have no burnout issues, but if it has balding ( no grain or blotchy grain) it seems that the briar is softer and could burnout. I've had one pipe that had balding and where it was was bald it burned out a pit in the chamber. Again this is just from my experience, I'm sure the veteran carvers or masters will have better info for you.
Nicholas Burnsworth

Boulder & Briar
With really good briar, you can make pipes extremely thin. I'm talking about 1/16" and it will be issue free. But that takes superior wood. Briar's heat resistance is way higher than most other "regular" woods, not least of which because lots of the flammable stuff, oils and resins, have been removed, and you are sort of left with "skeleton". This can be burned but it takes a lot of heat to do so.
With hardwoods I'd leave 1/4" of wood everywhere for a few reasons. One is burnage, the other is that tars will wick through a lot of open-pored woods eventually, and the thinner they are, the faster it will happen.
Sasquatch

 

[phred]

My thickest-walled pipe is a cob - a Great Dane that came in my smokable seconds grab bag, and appears to have been carved like a Diplomat instead of a GD Egg shape. Smokes great, though - it's the one that gave me my first transcendent smoke, and I've had a couple of others in it since then. I've elected to dedicate it to smoking Black House, which it does quite nicely.

 

[brudnod]

I guess I must be in the minority since I smoke only to smoke and not to do anything else. It is my meditative time. Therefore, I do not clench very much. I prefer a pipe with some weight, say around 60 grams but that is as much a function of holding it my hand the whole time as the appearance of the heavier pipes which I prefer. All a matter of preference and what your pipe time is all about.

 

[sablebrush52]

Thicker walled pipes are a bit more forgiving of poor technique. With a thin walled pipe you will quickly know of you are smoking hot. But, that's not why I favor thicker walled pipes. I always feel that they're just more durable. That said, some of my "go to" pipes are thin walled. It's all about what offers up a good smoke.
And since I'm a devotee of Barlings, thicker walls come with the territory. These older pipes were made with Algerian briar, which is softer, more porous, offers better heat dispersion, lighter weight, but also more prone to burn out, hence the thicker walls and long air curing. Those thick walls don't necessarily cause a hotter smoke, nor do they mute flavors. From an aesthetic standpoint, a wide rim can offer a nice opportunity for a display of grain or birdseye around the chamber.
A large pipe need not weigh a ton. I have a giant Preben Holm reject that is freaky light, lighter than pipes half it's size. Great smoker! And while that pipe is far bigger than any ODA, it's an easy clencher or hanger, with walls that are an easy 7/16" thick.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Wow, I am soaking all of this in. This is great information. I just got back from visiting the Briary and was handling some of those great big Northern Briar pipes, massive chunks and heavy. But, they smell wonderful, and I can only imagine the aroma while smoking one of them. You guys may just be making those pipes call my name, so to speak, lol.

 

[saltedplug]

My speculations about smoking characteristics dependent on design have not served, thus I don't explore this very much anymore. For me the thickness of the walls is purely an aesthetic concern, and as regards this, I find both thin and thick-walled pipes appealing. If a maker can bring in a pipe at 50 g or less, I prefer thicker walls. I have two pipes with thin walls that smoke just fine, and one of them is a very old Jobey, and I've smoked it about 1000 times.

 

[brudnod]

This has brought up a question that I have had for a long time but never seem to get an answer: Does a pipe that just sits in a pipe rack over time "age" as a function of reduced moisture, etc?