Stiff Pipes

[sergemoat]

I was browsing the internet earlier and came across a post on a gear blog. They claim it's the first plastic pipe. What about "the pipe", "venturi" and "the smoke" pipes?

 

[brian64]

I'm sorry, but every cell in my body recoils in horror at the thought of a plastic pipe. But hey, that's just me.

 

[mp31guitar]

Not for me. I read in the description that it has a briar insert in the bowl. I figure why worry about a briar insert when the whole pipe can be briar. This is only my opinion. If you like it, try it out. It's all about making the smoking experience enjoyable for the individual.

 

[kris]

Going on the description they give, I don't think they're claiming to be the first plastic pipe but rather the first 1-piece plastic pipe.
Whether this is true or not, I have no idea... :roll:

 

[sergemoat]

I thought about that Kris, but it says it has a briar bowl. The older pipes had plastic exteriors and pyrolitic graphite bowls. Mostly I was just surprised to see a pipe as an entry on that website. Never smoked one, and probably never will.

 

[papipeguy]

Several companies have tried plastics for pipes. I jhave a Yello-Bole Brylon that has to be the worst pipe ever made. Bought it on a whim 3 decades ago; smoked it twice and retired it to the pipe stand to remind me never to stray from biar again.

 

[john218]

"If you're going to smoke, you might as well make it count". Who wrote the ad copy?
As mentioned previously, they claim it's the first plastic pipe molded in one piece. The Pipe and Venturi pipes were plastic with a pyrolytic graphite liner (material used to line pipes in nuclear reactors). There's also pipes made of "Brylon", by Medico. Brylon is supposed to be a composition of briar and plastic. Unless these earlier pipes were machined out of blocks of plastic in a process similiar to briar pipes, which is unlikely, their claim is not true.
There's a collector of "The Pipe", with a web site showing his extensive collection and their history.
I got a Medico brylon pipe years ago out of curiosity, smoked it two or three times and threw it in a drawer, where it's been ever since. Unlike Papipeguy, I didn't think it deserved a place on a pipe rack.
I'm betting this one will smoke hot.

 

[john218]

Hey Papipeguy, your experience and reaction to the brylon pipe reflects mine in every single way, except I threw mine in a drawer to be forgotten and you put it on a pipe rack as a reminder. I hope my comment was not taken in the wrong way; it was just an attempt at humor. On reflection, however, they would make great pipes for a snowman!