The Ugly Truth

[saltedplug]

But this is not a sad true, there are people who looks at pipes just as a smoking machine and others looks at them also for their aesthetics, neither one is right or wrong.

What bothers me in this debate are the implications that either the objective characteristics of the pipe make it a better pipe or that they subsume the actual characteristics of the delivery of smoke to the mouth from a briar bowl containing the burn through a hole at chamber bottom; through a draft drilled straight from the draft hole through shank and stem to the button. No, the quality of the smoke is separate from and actually subsumes the art employed in crafting the pipe. Yes, I enjoy and regularly admire the art in my pipes, but I make time to smoke; not to admire pipe art but to smoke. Smoking is the primary activity and pipe art second.
We hear the words "a good smoker" ad nauseam, but no one says what they mean by this, and too often it is the familiar accolade for someone who is justifiably proud of the pipe he bought. My point is that neither side can substantiate their claim as smoking is very subjective. You cannot tell me why a pipe is "better" any more than I can tell you why those same characteristics do not constitute "better" for me.
Yet every day threads start and posts are made by new and experienced members making the same unsupportable statements. Even members who agree with this post one day will the next day make such claims once more.
YMMV. This is only my opinion. I don't control what members post. But in this matter I would love for them to tell me substantively the reasons why they make that their assertions.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I would love for them to tell me substantively the reasons why they make that their assertions.

I think some have told us why and what makes their pipe better ad naseum over the years. I've been saying since I got here that I think it's the smoker more than the pipe. Some will site the bit, and the shape seems to transform the smoke as it hits their tongue into pure magic. Some will site that they can lay their pipe down and come back hours latter and it will still be burning cool. Some will argue that the hole drilled for the draft has to be engineered in some fashion for a pipe to even work, ha ha. Some will say the taste of the briar, and I can sort of see that, having gotten hold of one pipe that tasted bitter or green to me. Nothing can be proved to you or anyone else, but talking about pipes is what we do here. Even at The Briary smoking lounge, guys do the same thing, set around speculating over what makes their (insert pipe brand or maker here) smokes better than anything else they've ever smoked.
Meanwhile, someone slaps a hole in a corncob, shoves a half-assed piece of wood, and adds a piss poor stem on it, and it smokes better than a Dunhill.
It's like arguing what type of music is the best, or which softdrink is the best, or whatever... sure, it's subjective, but it's what we do. We smoke and think and talk (or write). It wont ever stop. We came to this knowing that it involves a device, and after a while, we delve into the magic of the device. It's fairly natural, and it's going to happen. ::

 

[cigrmaster]

Cos, there isn't much of an argument about how bad internals can ruin a pipe. If it is drilled wrong, the pipe will smoke wet. If a stem is made poorly, it will also make a pipe smoke poorly. When it comes to acrylic vs. vulcanite, many people such as myself find acrylic very uncomfortable. I wish I could deal with acrylic as I would own a dozen or more Castello's instead of my lone one.
People should be respectful of each others likes and dislikes. Saying that a cob smokes better than a Dunhill is your opinion and that is fine, but it is certainly not a fact. I am not a fan of Dunhil per se, but the ones I owned smoked a lot better than the cob I tried. For my smoking tastes, cobs do nothing to enhance the flavor of the flakes I smoke. I even tried the illustrious Carter Hall in my cob and was not impressed. The stem on the cob I owned was lousy and it took away part of the pleasure I get from smoking a pipe. My preference for a really nice hand cut vulcanite stem that is comfortable and engineered to produce a quality(for me) smoke is something I really enjoy. Pipes that have an open airway is an important criteria in the pipes I buy. I have owned pipes in the past that had airway's not large enough and stems that were restrictive and those pipes smoked poorly.
Your dismissive attitude to those of us who enjoy their artisan pipes or our Pre Transition Barlings or whatever higher end pipes we collect is not cool. The world doesn't begin and end with a cob.

 

[aldecaker]

"Yes, I enjoy and regularly admire the art in my pipes, but I make time to smoke; not to admire pipe art but to smoke. Smoking is the primary activity and pipe art second."
The hand feel is part of the smoking experience for me, as is the feel of the bit and the way the pipe hangs (or doesn't). These are generally areas where my favored briars beat out my cobs. Where the cobs excel, for me, is that they are not prone to smoking hot, they don't get as wet, and the wide-open draft just breathes better and stays lit longer.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Saying that a cob smokes better than a Dunhill is your opinion and that is fine, but it is certainly not a fact. I am not a fan of Dunhil per se, but the ones I owned smoked a lot better than the cob I tried.

I have two '74s. A group four billiard, and a group three Zulu. The billiard has since become a container for a tiny bonsai, and the group three is a glove box pipe. Cobs beat them.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Your dismissive attitude to those of us who enjoy their artisan pipes or our Pre Transition Barlings or whatever higher end pipes we collect is not cool. The world doesn't begin and end with a cob.

Was that meant to be wafted in my general dirrection? If so, you’ve forgotten about 90% of what I’ve ever posted concerning pipes, ha ha. Plus, I was defending people like you (us) who do appreciate a well made briar and appreciate discussing them. Why would I collect Beckers if I thought a corncob was such a great joy? ::

 

[Chasing Embers]

Good Lord, Dunhills are even trying to look like cobs! 8O

 

[cosmicfolklore]

British pipes have just never really appealed to me. They are too... average looking too keep my interest. To each their own.

 

[cigrmaster]

cos, I read this part of your post.

I've been saying since I got here that I think it's the smoker more than the pipe. Some will site the bit, and the shape seems to transform the smoke as it hits their tongue into pure magic. Some will site that they can lay their pipe down and come back hours latter and it will still be burning cool. Some will argue that the hole drilled for the draft has to be engineered in some fashion for a pipe to even work, ha ha.

This is where I think you were being dismissive. Plus the shot at Dunhill not being as good as a cob. Did I read this wrong? I have a bad memory and forgot you collected Beckers. I didn't get the impression you were saying your higher end pipes smoked better than cobs, from what you wrote.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I stand my words. I don’t argue that my Beckers, Castellos, or any of my pipes smoke better than a cob. I don’t even like cobs, but on something as subjective as quality, it’s moot. Argue till you’re blue in the face, but there’s always going to be that guy (or guys) who will beg to differ. Now, in my mind, I may have a different opinion, amd yes, I enjoy talking about the small differences that make one pipe better than another. But, it’s all still opinions.

 

[sablebrush52]

We hear the words "a good smoker" ad nauseam, but no one says what they mean by this

Do you read the threads?
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/a-good-smoker
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/a-good-smoker#post-1174362
So, lots of people shared what they consider a "good smoker". But if you're looking for an objective set of rules, good luck! Like many of life's pleasures, smoking a pipe is largely a subjective experience.
About the only thing that can be said with assurance is that $$$$$$$$$$$ does not necessarily translate to a better smoking experience.

 

[rhoadsie]

The more things change the more they stay the same...
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/is-it-a-good-smoker

 

[elpfeife]

Geez, Duane. I wouldn't count on Bruce Weaver giving you anymore pipes! :nana:

 

[saltedplug]

Let's say that instead of buying pipes as we do, we had been told to forgo this for the greater joy of fashioning a pipe on the fly from available materials. So something round with an inch diameter becomes the chamber affixed to a tube for the shank/stem. And don't bother about the stem, too much trouble, just lip the tube end. Not saying this contraption would have anything close to the craft of even a factory pipe but using this for a more pure example of smoking for the smoke only. On the other side take the Chonowitsch on that site selling for $4K, which is used as an example for pipes as art, only. Surely "the smoke" combines from both sides, yet someone's appreciation for a pipe that "smokes better" is rarely precisely stated and quite usually leaves me with questions. Castello, Beckers, Barlings, Dunhills are hallowed time and again, held up to be "better."
If art wins, why smoke? If "the smoke" wins, why not smoke contraptions, above? No, the "good smoker" is good both for art and the smoke.
More, I've smoked some 150 pipes in my career, and I cannot tell the difference one to another, whether cob, briar or among briars. So much for my theorizing about the size of the chamber draft as well as the shank and stem drilling. "A pipe is a stick with a bowl, drilled down the center. Tobacco goes in the bowl and the end of the drilled stick in the mouth. Suck on that end to get smoke." This is certainly a simplification yet basically true. But some call the centered airway the "internals" and elevate it with the term "engineering." Maybe so, but to my mind drilling a hole through the center of the shank material that enters in the middle, bottom of the bowl is a clearer description than the elevated terms before. Then there are those who want to glorify the button for distributing the smoke across the tongue, and although I don't prefer premolded stems with a small rectangular bit draft, to me one is as good as the other, for the simple reason that when I suck through the bit, I get smoke in my mouth. If I want less smoke I suck less; more, ditto. Getting smoke in my mouth by drawing on the pipe is effortless and happens with bits open or not as open.
To clarify, I like to smoke briars better than cobs, but for the act of smoking itself, which amounts to enjoying the incineration of tobacco by mouthing the smoke, a contraption will do.

I drool over artisan pipes daily, and were my budget three or four times its current size, I'd have bought two or three dozen by now and would have enjoyed smoking them, but I would not be under the illusion that their art made them smoke better.

The stem is important and can make or break a smoke. Just lately a pipe was lionized that to me had a chunky bit. It is such a great shape that I'd buy it to collect but not smoke.
I love to talk pipes and find the contributors to this thread, at long last, are in sympathy with my views, defining the two sides of a "great smoker," the smoke and the art, with some precision.

 

[sablebrush52]

Your all are correct. It is not a sad fact but a welcoming fact that the pipe snob in me died a little more.

Well, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. If you're enjoying smoking a pipe, what difference does it make what the hell kind of pipe it is?
My cobs smoke well enough for me, since I enjoy what I smoke in them. But they don't work with every blend that I like to smoke. My newest favorite is a large Barling from 1906. It's not a great pipe because it's from 1906. It's not a great pipe because it's a Barling. It's a great pipe because the blends that I've smoked in it have given me deep rich flavors. But no pipe is going to do it's best if the smoker doesn't know how to smoke it properly. If you don't know how to suck smoke, your smokes will suck.

 

[3rdguy]

Starting out on a pipe I was about to give up, then I tried a cob. I have imported my fair share of pipes but you just can't beat a cob.

 

[sablebrush52]

More, I've smoked some 150 pipes in my career, and I cannot tell the difference one to another, whether cob, briar or among briars.

Boy, I can. I wish I couldn't. Life would be much simpler. I've only have a couple of pipes that weren't pleasant smokers, blends tasted muted, the draw was tight, that sort of thing. But not all of my pipes perform equally well with all of the blends I smoke. But even here, price and performance weren't necessarily related.

 

[chilipalmer]

If you don't know how to suck smoke, your smokes will suck.

That is genius!
Cheers,
Chili

 

[unkleyoda]

Some guys jar their tobacco, I jar my cobs.

 

[saltedplug]

Do you plan to age those cobs? I see that they are in a liquid presoak. Is this part of the new practice of cleaning by water? Very creative response!