Small is Beautiful ?

[John_B]

So I got to wondering why one should have at least one small pipe. Most of mine are medium + but today I got a Bantam bowl for my Falcon collection. It is very compact and bijou, but I think it may be the perfect vehicle for enjoying slow burning flakes, eg St Bruno. Also for a short smoke maybe ? Testing new blends perhaps ? I reckon with a relaxed cadence, I might get a one hour smoke if I'm lucky. Do you have any small pipes and what do you smoke in them ?

 

[FLDRD]

A few.
Whatever I feel like at the time.
But I don't think I've ever done flakes in them unless fully "prepared".

 

[John_B]

A few.
Whatever I feel like at the time.
But I don't think I've ever done flakes in them unless fully "prepared".

Yes, I don't fold and stuff, never worked well for me. Loosely rubbed and gently packed .

 

[kcghost]

They are too much trouble to load and for some reason the smoke always goes up my nose.

 

[FLDRD]

They are too much trouble to load and for some reason the smoke always goes up my nose.

I sort of like "nosewarmers" but most of my experience is outdoors...

 

[Flatfish]

Photo?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I have a number of small pipes (mostly French) that I use for sampling component tobaccos for blending at home.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I always tried to convince my girlfriends that small is beautiful. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

 

[Peter Turbo]

Small bowl or small in length? I dont like nose warmers but I do prefer my pipes to be on the petite side, just pack another bowl if you want more.

In general I like my pipes to be between 5.5-6inches and light as a feather.

 

[timt]

Variety is the spice of life but I lean towards small chambered pipes. Anything that smokes much longer than an hour, I start to get antsy.

I'm currently infatuated with my little Pete 303 that I just picked up. What a nice little pipe.

 

[warren]

So I got to wondering why one should have at least one small pipe.

I wouldn't presume to tell a pipe smoker what they should have. People should only have pipes they wish to own.

 

[Butter Side Down]

I like to have a variety of pipe sizes (bowl size and stem length). I feel like the subtle differences can have an effect on how blends taste. It's not a hard fast rule by any means, but I personally like VAs in a narrower bowl and Latakia blends in a wider bowl. This it totally non-scientific, but I feel like I get more flavor in the wider chambered bowl due to the slight increase in surface area for the burning leaf which works well for Lat blends, but can make VAs burn hot and wet for me since I'm a bit of a fast puffer. I like nosewarmers for a similar reason. The shorter stem makes me feel like the smoke is a little hotter and a little wetter when it hits my mouth. For some tobaccos, this works out well as it can really focus the flavor. For others, it's a recipe for terrible hot bitterness.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Increasing I find myself smoking my smallest, shortest, and/or narrowest pipes. I find very narrow bowls really bring out the best in non-Latakia orientals, and smaller, shorter pipes for some reason seem to intensify the kick I get out of the dark burley I usually smoke.

 

[mso489]

I wouldn't be without a few small pipes and a few quite large ones. My small pipes include a Peterson Belgique, a Scott Klein prince, and a Old Dominion reed stem corncob pipe.

They are perfect with slow-burning flake, coin, plug, or rope, and any of the stronger blends you prefer. C&D Bayou Night and Tuggle Hall come to mind, as does GH&Co. Irish X rope.

They are good for sampling tobaccos. You can take a pocketful of small pipes to a pipe show, pipe club, or pipe shop for sampling. They are also a way to sample particularly strong blends to see if you want to wade into a larger bowl of those.

I've never had trouble with nose warmer pipes (with short shanks and stems) sending smoke up my nose, but in any case, small pipes aren't always nose warmers. I have nose warmers, but none of those mentioned above are nose warmers, just Group 1 small chambers.

 

[anotherbob]

I got one small one and it's great for stronger nicotine blends.

 

[John_B]

I wouldn't presume to tell a pipe smoker what they should have. People should only have pipes they wish to own.

Indeed so as a pipe is a very personal thing.

 

[telescopes]

Small bowl or small in length? I dont like nose warmers but I do prefer my pipes to be on the petite side, just pack another bowl if you want more.

In general I like my pipes to be between 5.5-6inches and light as a feather.

According to Kinsley, that is about average.

 

[kola]

Petersons 303's are my perfect pipes, I have 3, all great smokers.

I dislike "nose-warmers."

 

[daveinlax]

I’ve got a really nice collection of very small/tiny Castello pipes that I never smoke. I like a long smoke, I don’t like reloading my pipe every 15 minutes

 

[warren99]

I have a few small pipes--mostly Danish and German. As tobacco prices are so prohibitive in those countries, many of their pipes tend to be on the smaller side. I smoke them when I don't have a lot of time to devote. I generally smoke English/Balkan blends; although I do dedicate a few pipes to VA/VA Perique.