The Love of Small Pipes

[judcole]

I have a number of pipes that are smaller - Ropps and some smaller Petes. I don't even look at larger pipes, these days.

 

[dPero]

I've come to find, as time has gone on, that I'm much more inclined to make the time to relax and have a smoke when I have a small pipe that only takes 20 or 30 minutes to smoke. In the hustle and bustle of modern life it can be difficult to dedicate an hour or more to smoking your pipe, so I've found myself gravitating towards small pipes that offer a break for leisure more compatible with a busy schedule.

Sure, I could just load a larger pipe half full, but there's something that's just more gratifying about sitting down and smoking a full bowl of pleasant tobacco in a pipe sized for your needs. With that in mind, I've spent the past couple years collecting small pipes as I found them, and with the Rattray's Blower's Daughter I got in the mail today I now feel like my small pipe collection is finally complete!

From left to right, here's my little assortment and the blend styles I'm dedicating them to:

Morgan Bones Milan - Aromatics
Rossi Piccolo - English blends
Rattray's Blower's Daughter - Virginias & VaPers
Dr. Grabow Lark (2002) - Burley blends
Peterson Junior Rusticated Billiard - Lakelands
AKB Meerschaum Wolf - Whatever the heck I feel like smoking

View attachment 298945


How about you? Are you a fan of small pipes, and if so which are your favorites?

I do agree, same here have love for small pipes and short smokes but for evening I go with 1,5 h smokes

 

[proteus]

For me I use only chamber depth and diameter to determine if I like the sizing for my purpose. Chamber diameter is the first thing I look at. Anything in the .7x range is regular and above that it's large. Anything with a depth less than 1.5 inches is regular and above that it's large. Simple for me to keep straight.

 

[didimauw]

Do you have a side by side of the Ropp J07 and the Ropp 275? The 275 stem didn't quite clench right for me.

J07 on left, 275 on right


If u don't like how the 275 clenches, the J07 is what you want. I don't mind the 275 bone stem, but that button is round. Like what I picture a reed stem would be like. It took me a few bowls to get used to.

 

[Choatecav]

My typical clencher.

View attachment 298956

Dang, they could have buried Jimmy Hoffa in there..............

 

[AroEnglish]

View attachment 299022
J07 on left, 275 on right
View attachment 299023

If u don't like how the 275 clenches, the J07 is what you want. I don't mind the 275 bone stem, but that button is round. Like what I picture a reed stem would be like. It took me a few bowls to get used to.

Thanks! Yeah I think you're right about the J07 being better but I like the shorter stem length of the 275

 

[MartyA]

I smoke churchwardens pretty much exclusively. They're perfect for reading, and when I smoke I'm outside with a book. Most "traditional" churchwardens seem to have a small bowl, and usually last me about a half hour.
If I'm really in the mood for a longer smoke, (and I often am,) I've cobbled some larger bowls off ebay onto some long stems, or I can just load up two of my little churchwardens.

 

[didimauw]

Thanks! Yeah I think you're right about the J07 being better but I like the shorter stem length of the 275

Same! A little shorter would be good with me. Tried interchanging stems, and nope. Lol

 

[didimauw]

@AroEnglish what does your draft hole at the button look like on the 275?

 

[solideogloria86]

All of my pipes have chambers around 0.75"x1.5" and are around 4.5"-5.5" in length. Depending on the blend, I typically spend about 45mins to an hour on a bowl.

 

[AroEnglish]

@AroEnglish what does your draft hole at the button look like on the 275?

I sent it back but both the slot and the hole were pretty centered

 

[kcghost]

I prefer bowls in the 5 to 5-and-a-half inch range. Generally, a Group 4 bowl size works well for me. At 77 I have enough leisure time to smoke what I want and when I want it.

 

[vosBghos]

I love the Rossi Piccolo series and the Vittoria series its bigger brother has vulcanite stems but the same finish, great looking, and smoking pipes.

 

[burleybreath]

I like smaller pipes that take a folded flake perfectly. Just slide it in, know what I mean? Burns forever, which negates the short smoke premise, I reckon. I have no other use for them. The middle pipe below fits a folded Mac Baren's Navy Flake perfectly. Think the bore is .70" or less, which is generally too small for me. Looks larger here, for some reason, but it's not. (Group 4, above) Handles like a pencil and weighs nothing.

 

[paulfg]

I can understand a small pipe for strong blends or short smokes.
I dont get the "I don't have time" thing lf I couldn't find a spare hour at least a couple of times a day then something is wrong with my life
Surely you don't work 24/7 ,relax a little

 

[AroEnglish]

I like smaller pipes that take a folded flake perfectly. Just slide it in, know what I mean? Burns forever, which negates the short smoke premise, I reckon. I have no other use for them. The middle pipe below fits a folded Mac Baren's Navy Flake perfectly. Think the bore is .70" or less, which is generally too small for me. Looks larger here, for some reason, but it's not. (Group 4, above) Handles like a pencil and weighs nothing.

View attachment 299069

What's the pipe on the bottom?

 

[Horrible Gelatinous Blob]

I like small pipes for chores / travel

 

[huntertrw]

I really can't explain it, but the older I get the more I find that a Group-Three-size bowl suits me better than a larger bowl.

 

[OzPiper]

I really can't explain it, but the older I get the more that I find a Group-Three-size bowl suits me better than a larger bowl.

Ditto
When I returned to pipes a few years back I gave away quite a few of my smaller pipes as I was used to hour- long smokes from my cigars
I just don‘t reach for my larger pipes as much these days

 

[tobakenist]

Peterson Barrels are my favourite small pipes.