Preferred Pipe Shape

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saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,192
5,116
Shape is the strongest part of attraction, then weight, but it is also true that finish and chamber size, and straight vs. bent, are all important. I've stopped considering a rustication that is little more than pimpling the bowl, preferring some type of sculpted divot (Lomma).

Within this my choices are very boring: straight billiards and dublins, group 3 or 4, preferably with a decent blast. Of course I like smooths, but paying a 100% premium for them is not something that I will do.
 
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Reactions: Sweet Home Alabama
Mar 13, 2020
2,790
27,049
missouri
I prefer those of the billiard family most. Though i do have a few bulldogs that i enjoy as well. I also have a piece by Ron Powell that is a cross between a bulldog and a lovat that i smoke quite often. Basically a bulldog with an elongated shank and saddle bit. I believe he calls this creation a "Dog Lovar".

I have few bent pipes in my collection, those that are being System pipes and a few bent cobs. Oh and a Peterson 03 Christmas 2020 edition. Other than those i prefer a straight pipe.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,293
119,463
There was this king in one of the fiction who only drinks out of gold cup, crush and throw out each and every time..
Big difference between a gold cup and a pipe. I have an aversion to clutter and anything that falls into disuse or lack of interest has to be cleared out.
 
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Lochstar

Lurker
Mar 15, 2021
3
5
50
MN - Canada's Lil' Brother, Eh?
I love each pipe uniquely (at least the ones I purchase)... I purchase them because there's something about the art that draws me in.

That said, my smoking preference are deep bowls and bent stems. Cooler hold and out of the way when I'm working on other stuff. For sitting back, a churchwarden is my go-to because I do love the cooler smoke. I feel it brings out more of the nuance to flavors.

Straight stems like billiards just don't have the same appeal but have their place and usefulness. Falcons when fishing for example. Easy to pack, easy to load up another bowl, and pretty tough.
 

musicman

Lifer
Nov 12, 2019
1,119
6,058
Cincinnati, OH
I have 25ish pipes, briar, cobs and a meerschaum, and 10 of the 25 are either straight or bent billiards or from that family of shapes (1 lovat and 1 Canadian), so apparently I like the billiard shape. I've collected these over the past 18 months or so, generally by buying estates that appeal to me visually and are priced right (many purchased right here on the forums), so even though a few months ago I would not have claimed to have any favorite shape, it's obviously the billiard.
 

burleybreath

Lifer
Aug 29, 2019
1,093
3,873
Finger Lakes area, New York, USA
Billiards, by far, whether straight or bent. But they have to be graceful billiards, with just the right degree of tilt to the bowl, a perfect taper to stem and shank, a transition that looks right, the right proportions between bowl and the rest, etc. Not keen on saddle bits, and most current "artisan" shapes make me either snicker or scratch my head. I've probably watched too many '30s and '40s movies.
 
Mar 2, 2021
3,473
14,253
Alabama USA
Billiards, by far, whether straight or bent. But they have to be graceful billiards, with just the right degree of tilt to the bowl, a perfect taper to stem and shank, a transition that looks right, the right proportions between bowl and the rest, etc. Not keen on saddle bits, and most current "artisan" shapes make me either snicker or scratch my head. I've probably watched too many '30s and '40s movies.
Had to laugh. What if some passer by exclaimed, “what’s that sticking out of your face”??
 
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Reactions: burleybreath