Selecting Your First Pipe

[anotherbob]

Advertising non-tobacco use.

It's good business but I can understand both sides.

from my understanding more turning on the issue on a dime. At first saying they'd never condone such use and then a few years later explicitly encouraging such by marketing a line of cannabis friendly cobs. I could have misread that but that's my take on it.

 

[Ahi Ka]

With your weekly cigar budget bro, you could easily get a cob, a good briar in the $40-$60 range and a solid haul of different tobaccos to try. You obviously like the experience of smoking, and enjoy the flavour of tobacco. I’m interested to hear whether dabbling in pipes causes you to jump ship, cement your preference for cigars, or provides something complimentary which you may use alongside regular cigars. Go with the briar pipe shape that speaks to you, and if anything, I prefer bent cobs. I find they sit more easily when clenching. Also don’t forget to check out the forums sales section, who knows what you might find there!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Cobs are not for me. (Just to try to balance the scales!)

 

[Daydreamer]

Will hopefully be posting pics in a couple weeks to show what pipe(s) I ended up getting as well as tobacco selections. Thanks again for the input.

 

[cigrmaster]

I suggest you buy a Savinelli that cost 100-150. No filters and I suggest you get a tin of Capstan Blue Flake. Then you start reading everything you can about flake tobacco and how to smoke it.

Once you smoke a tin or 2 of the Capstan and learn how to fill and smoke your pipe, then you can move on to other Virginia flakes. If you are still smoking after this then it is time to get another pipe to smoke other blends in. I would go for Virginia/Perique blends next. Once you learn how to smoke a pipe then the world will open up to you. You want your pipe to be a pipe that smokes cool and dry. You also need to learn how to clean your pipe after every smoke. When you order your first pipe you also need pipe cleaners. I only use BJ Long Tapered Fluffy cleaners and then Tapered Bristled cleaners. I buy 20 packs at a time. I clean my pipes to within an inch from their lives. There is nothing worse than a dirty pipe. After each smoke I have, I then clean the pipe and let it rest at least one to 2 days.

Pipe smoking is so much cheaper than cigars and the flavors are way better as well. Pipe smoking is much more difficult to learn but it is so much better once you learn how to smoke one.

 

[North Pole piper]

Have to agree with the cob advice or an entry level Brigham or Rossi. I think spending $100 on a pipe is too expensive to decide if this hobby is for you. I am a cigar smoker too and when I first started smoking cigars I didn’t spend $15 or $20 on my first cigar, it was a cheaper brand. Once i decided I liked the taste of a cigar, I invested more and became conscious of why one cigar at $5 was totally different than one for $10. It’s like whiskey or wine, I wouldn’t tell someone interested in getting into whiskey to get a single barrel bourbon or a single malt for $60 a bottle or spending $20 on a Bordeaux. Much like a complex tobacco, those flavours are most likely going to be lost on someone just starting out. Plus, pipe smoking is very different from cigar smoking. A cigar is much less demanding in being smoked while the pipe takes time and patience to learn. Those are my pennies in the pot, but I hope you enjoy pipe smoking as much as we do!

 

[rdpowell]

If that's the case you'd better just give up on pipesmoking altogether.

Across 50+ pipes, Ashton, Ferndown, Big Ben, Blakemar, Nording, Peder Jeppesen, Peterson, Rossi, Rattray's, Radice, Ser Jacopo, Savinelli, Tsuge, and then an assortment of basket pipes, all of them are drilled to a 3mm draft in the stem.
In terms of air flow they're all virtually identical, which is to say it's pretty poor compared to a Missouri Meerschaum 80 cent plastic stem.
Unfortunately while Brebbia and Vauen do use a 3mm draft through most of the stem, they like to finish the button with a single 2mm hole only the height of the button slot, which is pretty bad, but you only need to slightly extend the slot to restore the industry standard 3mm airflow.

Beyond the most basic drilling with a 3mm draft intersecting with the button slot, there are three exceptions I've found.
First is an old "Icarus" brand bent egg from Briarworks, the drilling on that pipe is truly impressive (very deep slot) but from the glimpses I've seen of clear stems on recent Briarworks pipes it seems they've given up on the style of stem with an extended slot.
The draft on the old Icarus is only slightly larger than standard at 1/8" or 3.125mm, which doesn't seem like much, but when virtually every other pipe in existence is 3.0mm it's noticeable, plus the extended slot significantly amplifies the effect.

Next just recently I've found a Viprati Lumberman and "S. Klein Design" from Scott's Pipes that were also drilled to 1/8" (3.125mm) instead of the standard 3mm.
The S. Klein Design pipe in particular has an extra deep slot like the old Briarworks Icarus. The stem on the Viprati is a little rough, clearly "hand made", but at least some extra effort was taken to slightly improve airflow.
I will say here that both of these pipes are Lumberman shapes, and that means the stem is really short and that makes drilling really easy, I have no idea if bent shapes or longer stems from either brand take the same steps.

We all know Castello is renowned for maintaining very open airflow, but that reputation has inflated their prices to the point where you're paying 2-3x more for the simple luxury of a pipe made with a slightly larger drill bit.
It's really astounding that there is so little variation across the entire pipemaking industry.

Well, I won't have to give up smoking a pipe because most my pipes smoke just fine. I haven't went and measured all the drafts in my pipes, Mastro De Paja's Rinaldo's Radice, etc. but, I would say 3mm is a bit small compared to what American pipe makers drill there's at, 5/32" and mine 9/64" and I know Savinelli's have got to be larger then 3mm. Anyway all my pipes smoke just fine with me, so no quiting seen in the future. LOL!

 

[Daydreamer]

Well, I won't have to give up smoking a pipe because most my pipes smoke just fine. I haven't went and measured all the drafts in my pipes, Mastro De Paja's Rinaldo's Radice, etc. but, I would say 3mm is a bit small compared to what American pipe makers drill there's at, 5/32" and mine 9/64" and I know Savinelli's have got to be larger then 3mm. Anyway all my pipes smoke just fine with me, so no quiting seen in the future. LOL!

You guys certainly know quite a bit of details about your pipes. Hopefully I’ll pick up some of that knowledge!

 

[rdpowell]

You guys certainly know quite a bit of details about your pipes. Hopefully I’ll pick up some of that knowledge!

Like with anything after a while you learn about what your handling everyday, that and I make pipes so
I have to know a little just to mak'em. LOL!

 

[Daydreamer]

Like with anything after a while you learn about what your handling everyday, that and I make pipes so
I have to know a little just to mak'em. LOL!

?

 

[Daydreamer]

Like with anything after a while you learn about what your handling everyday, that and I make pipes so
I have to know a little just to mak'em. LOL!

Would be too much for me now, but I’ve always enjoyed woodworking since I was in high school so I’m really interested in pipe making and hope I can do a little more with that when I retire. Big learning curve ahead of me!

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Well, I won't have to give up smoking a pipe because most my pipes smoke just fine. I haven't went and measured all the drafts in my pipes, Mastro De Paja's Rinaldo's Radice, etc. but, I would say 3mm is a bit small compared to what American pipe makers drill there's at, 5/32" and mine 9/64" and I know Savinelli's have got to be larger then 3mm. Anyway all my pipes smoke just fine with me, so no quiting seen in the future. LOL!

Most people are just talking about the shank, it is extremely uncommon to see a stem drilled larger than 3mm, and that's where Missouri Meerschaum has the biggest advantage in their injection molded 80 cent plastic stems. It's actually a lot harder to shape the inside of a stem with a drill than it is using an injection mold.

 

[rdpowell]

Most people are just talking about the shank, it is extremely uncommon to see a stem drilled larger than 3mm, and that's where Missouri Meerschaum has the biggest advantage in their injection molded 80 cent plastic stems. It's actually a lot harder to shape the inside of a stem with a drill than it is using an injection mold.

What exactly do you think pipe makers do? I drill my stems with a 9/64" taper drill and my drafts are drilled at 9/64".
I then cut the slot/ funnel by hand to 1" deep, sand and polish it, the funnel/slot. How much more can you do to the internals of a stem that will improve the smoke? I've never had a complaint, nor anything said other then good about my draws.
And what started all this is I think, was me stating I would not advise anyone to open the draw on a stem.
Let me clarify what was meant by that statement, I would not advise it because one can ruin
a stem if one does not have the knowledge to do the job correctly.

 

[Daydreamer]

What exactly do you think pipe makers do? I drill my stems with a 9/64" taper drill and my drafts are drilled at 9/64".
I then cut the slot/ funnel by hand to 1" deep, sand and polish it, the funnel/slot. How much more can you do to the internals of a stem that will improve the smoke? I've never had a complaint, nor anything said other then good about my draws.
And what started all this is I think, was me stating I would not advise anyone to open the draw on a stem.
Let me clarify what was meant by that statement, I would not advise it because one can ruin
a stem if one does not have the knowledge to do the job correctly.

I certainly would not try to do this without the experience. It is a topic that is interesting to me since I was an engineer before I became a pharmacist. One of big topics studied both engineering school and in practice was flow through pipes ( not briar ?). It was a very important aspect when designing any system which involved flow through pipes. It certainly has my interest sparked.

 

[Daydreamer]

Most people are just talking about the shank, it is extremely uncommon to see a stem drilled larger than 3mm, and that's where Missouri Meerschaum has the biggest advantage in their injection molded 80 cent plastic stems. It's actually a lot harder to shape the inside of a stem with a drill than it is using an injection mold.

Found this article on pipe airway design which was interesting to me me from an engineering standpoint. May be a bit much to read, but it does address important design elements. Just thought I’d post it since there has been some discussion about it. What is a pipe Part 4: Design of the Airway - https://canerodpipes.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/what-is-a-pipe-part-4-design-of-the-airway/

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Found this article on pipe airway design which was interesting to me me from an engineering standpoint. May be a bit much to read, but it does address important design elements. Just thought I’d post it since there has been some discussion about it. What is a pipe Part 4: Design of the Airway - https://canerodpipes.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/what-is-a-pipe-part-4-design-of-the-airway/

Yes those illustrations of good and bad air channel design explain the situation perfectly.
99% of pipes made today have bad stem design, though some are certainly worse than other.

 

[Daydreamer]

Yes those illustrations of good and bad air channel design explain the situation perfectly.
99% of pipes made today have bad stem design, though some are certainly worse than other.

I find the topic interesting, glad you brought it to my attention.

 

[Daydreamer]

After taking all the information into consideration, I set a max price of <$100 on a pipe pipe and ran a search to review what was available. I’m someone who likes options and I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied having just 1 pipe. So I looked at various pipes in the price range I selected based on forum members input.

I finally decided on 7 pipes within that price range. I purchased 3 MM cobs, 2 Aldo Velani, 1 Graco and 1 Savinelli. I tried to select different shapes and stem material to see what I liked best.

I am posting pictures as well as more details on the pipes in the “Show Us Your…” forum under the thread “My Pipe Collection”

I selected tobaccos to start with and will post this information under the “Pipe Tobacco” forum.

Thanks again!

 

[Michigan_Bill]

I certainly would not try to do this without the experience. It is a topic that is interesting to me since I was an engineer before I became a pharmacist. One of big topics studied both engineering school and in practice was flow through pipes ( not briar ?). It was a very important aspect when designing any system which involved flow through pipes. It certainly has my interest sparked.

So you’re a pharmacist? I just retired from pharmacy. My friends who came from engineering backgrounds, I always thought were very good pharmacists.

 

[Daydreamer]

So you’re a pharmacist? I just retired from pharmacy. My friends who came from engineering backgrounds, I always thought were very good pharmacists.

Congratulations, and enjoy your retirement, I can’t wait. We’ll have to share some pharmacy horror stories someday. Lol?