Pipe vs. Aesthetics: a Deal Breaker?
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Spencer,
tarak, sorry buddy but that pipe smokes too well to ever let it go. Now that I am going to have Zack color it black, and it will match most of my purses, it will be even harder for you to get it out of my hands. :nana:
If I had seen pecks Rousch, I would have jumped on it immediately as even though it is not a pipe I would consider to be very good looking, I know how well it will smoke and for me that is first and foremost.
As much as I really dislike the color of that Rad, it gets smoked as much as any pipe in my collection and definitely more than quite a few others. I grab it whenever I go out as I consider it to be my beater Rad. I smoke it inside whenever the mood strikes because of how great it smokes. I don't know if it is possible but I am going to ask my buddy Zack if he can re-stain it a different color. I think it would look great in black. Even if it were black, I wouldn't smoke it anymore than I do now but I would feel better about myself having it black as it really does not match any of my purses.
tarak, sorry buddy but that pipe smokes too well to ever let it go. Now that I am going to have Zack color it black, and it will match most of my purses, it will be even harder for you to get it out of my hands. :nana:
If I had seen pecks Rousch, I would have jumped on it immediately as even though it is not a pipe I would consider to be very good looking, I know how well it will smoke and for me that is first and foremost.
Allow me to take this topic far too seriously (despite my nutsack picture).I've been coming up against this idea of form V function in various areas of my life.
The dichotomy of form and function is a tough one - and one which far wiser men and women than I have written on at length. I am primarily referring to architecture as it is my profession but from automobile to interaction/interface design it is a fiercely argued matter.
American, Louis Sullivan, the father of the modern skyscraper, is well cited as stating Form ever follows function: a treatise that was followed through the majority of the 20th century until the resurgence of humanism and the rise postmodernism in which cultural symbolism became predominant. Conversely the Art Nouveau school of thought promotes the use of ornament over utility, forwarding beauty over pragmatism. I'm big on tactility and if a pipe doesn't feel good in the hand it is a major obstacle for me.
Though many have tried, I don't believe you can arrive at a definitive answer over which is more important, form or function. It is a very personal thing.
There are obvious comparisons in the pipe world: how it appears V how it operates as a smoking apparatus. I have a stanwell straight billiard that smokes quite well but it never ends up in my hand because the poor excuse of a blast and the goopy application of a finish combined with especially cheap feeling acrylic stem does not at all float my boat.
The dichotomy of form and function is a tough one - and one which far wiser men and women than I have written on at length. I am primarily referring to architecture as it is my profession but from automobile to interaction/interface design it is a fiercely argued matter.
American, Louis Sullivan, the father of the modern skyscraper, is well cited as stating Form ever follows function: a treatise that was followed through the majority of the 20th century until the resurgence of humanism and the rise postmodernism in which cultural symbolism became predominant. Conversely the Art Nouveau school of thought promotes the use of ornament over utility, forwarding beauty over pragmatism. I'm big on tactility and if a pipe doesn't feel good in the hand it is a major obstacle for me.
Though many have tried, I don't believe you can arrive at a definitive answer over which is more important, form or function. It is a very personal thing.
There are obvious comparisons in the pipe world: how it appears V how it operates as a smoking apparatus. I have a stanwell straight billiard that smokes quite well but it never ends up in my hand because the poor excuse of a blast and the goopy application of a finish combined with especially cheap feeling acrylic stem does not at all float my boat.
drezz01, interesting post, very well done. When it comes to something as personal and important to the smoking experience as the stem, then looks and functionality goes out the window. I have had plenty of great looking and great smoking pipes that had awful stems which totally ruined the smoking experience. Both of my Meers are wonderful to look at, both smoke just fine, but the stems are so bad, I cannot smoke the pipes. Now if your Stanwell had a great stem, and still had the lousy blast and lousy stain, I believe that function would take over, what do you think?
That's a tough one because the feeling of the pipe in my hand is sort of the main concern I have with it. It's a stanwell relief and the finish is more than a stain -- it almost seems like a thin application of tar or something. It has a slight grit to it as well. It sort of smooths out the blast so the texture is subdued. It feels... globby almost.
The main thing that bothered me about the stem is how insubstantial the material felt ... like a cheap wine glass that has all of the same dimensions as a higher end glass but just feels -- off. If you clench it you get that sort of Styrofoam on Styrofoam feeling as your teeth slip slightly on its surface. Comparatively teeth just seem to nicely bed themselves in vulcanite instead of struggling for a place to sit.
I didn't really have anything to compare the stem to until I got my Alden Lovat. That man has ruined me. The stem just sort of slips between my lips effortlessly... how it is so thin with such an unencumbered draw I do not know. I haven't clenched it very often but when I venture to do so it feels right. My teeth bed in to it instead of slipping along the hard surface and I'm not struggling to maintain a grip on it. This is partially due to the material, partially the saddlebit vs tapered but largely, I think, the efforts Ryan went to shaping that stem.
I am only now starting to appreciate the draw of a pipe as well and don't have enough experience to really appreciate the relative smokeability of a pipe. This is maybe why I am leaning so much on the tactility side these days.
A pipe, however, is certainly governed by anthropometry and ergonomics. It's meant to be (typically) held in the hand, clenched at times between the teeth, and to be met by the mouth and lips of its smoker. If it's not pleasing at those intersections between pipe and man -- then I don't think it's doing a very good job as a pipe.
The main thing that bothered me about the stem is how insubstantial the material felt ... like a cheap wine glass that has all of the same dimensions as a higher end glass but just feels -- off. If you clench it you get that sort of Styrofoam on Styrofoam feeling as your teeth slip slightly on its surface. Comparatively teeth just seem to nicely bed themselves in vulcanite instead of struggling for a place to sit.
I didn't really have anything to compare the stem to until I got my Alden Lovat. That man has ruined me. The stem just sort of slips between my lips effortlessly... how it is so thin with such an unencumbered draw I do not know. I haven't clenched it very often but when I venture to do so it feels right. My teeth bed in to it instead of slipping along the hard surface and I'm not struggling to maintain a grip on it. This is partially due to the material, partially the saddlebit vs tapered but largely, I think, the efforts Ryan went to shaping that stem.
I am only now starting to appreciate the draw of a pipe as well and don't have enough experience to really appreciate the relative smokeability of a pipe. This is maybe why I am leaning so much on the tactility side these days.
A pipe, however, is certainly governed by anthropometry and ergonomics. It's meant to be (typically) held in the hand, clenched at times between the teeth, and to be met by the mouth and lips of its smoker. If it's not pleasing at those intersections between pipe and man -- then I don't think it's doing a very good job as a pipe.
Ryan has now ruined you like Rad Davis runied me. After smoking my first Rad I became obsessed with my stems. I had owned plenty of vulcanite stems in the past, but never one that was designed as well as my Rad. Besides being super thin and comfortable, it made my smoking experience so much better becasue of the internal design of the stem. Rad explained to me about airway dimensions and how that can contribute to a great smoke. He also told me that it was vitally important that the inside of the stem be smooth as a baby's butt so there was no turbulence, which will lead to a wet smoker.
I clench my pipes at all times as for me it lends to a nice smooth cadence which makes my pipes smoke very cool. I don't have to think about how I am smoking anymore as the pipe just sits in mouth and as I breath I take in some smoke, blow some out my nose and mouth and keep repeating. All of my pipes now are light enough to clench comfortably and the stems are all designed for easy clenching.
I don't know what your Alden pipe weighs but it is probaly light enough for clenching. You should try a few bowls clenching and see if you can get a nice cadence going so you don't have to think about what you are doing. You might be surprised and like it. Contact Ryan and ask him to explain to you how the stem and it's internal workings are so important to the smoking experience. I think you will be amazed at what he tells you, I know I was when Rad explained it to me. I am sure Ryan can explain it much better than I have done in this post.
I clench my pipes at all times as for me it lends to a nice smooth cadence which makes my pipes smoke very cool. I don't have to think about how I am smoking anymore as the pipe just sits in mouth and as I breath I take in some smoke, blow some out my nose and mouth and keep repeating. All of my pipes now are light enough to clench comfortably and the stems are all designed for easy clenching.
I don't know what your Alden pipe weighs but it is probaly light enough for clenching. You should try a few bowls clenching and see if you can get a nice cadence going so you don't have to think about what you are doing. You might be surprised and like it. Contact Ryan and ask him to explain to you how the stem and it's internal workings are so important to the smoking experience. I think you will be amazed at what he tells you, I know I was when Rad explained it to me. I am sure Ryan can explain it much better than I have done in this post.
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