Apart from the obvious like material and size. What attributes that are less obvious yet you find desirable? I prefer pipes that can stand up right by itself, and prefer some irregularities in sandblasted pipes, like some randon bigger pits and so on for character. What are yours?
What Oddities/Attributes do You Look for in a Pipe?
- Thread starter myhyeung
- Start date
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Wide open draw, plateau, near perfect ring blasts, and ivory accents.
I notice things that annoy me, like a pipe that has been given a flat spot but still rolls rather than sits...grrrr, see I'm getting angry just thinking about.
I like full bent (or as close to it as I can get) shaped pipes. They are very comfortable to me. I look for something with some style and alittle flare to it. Lately I've been collecting Chacom pipes. 
Love those Atlas pipes!
Nice open draw for me, prefer straight, classic shapes and quirky, or coloured stems and accents.
Although I’m not looking for more pipes anytime soon..
Nice open draw for me, prefer straight, classic shapes and quirky, or coloured stems and accents.
Although I’m not looking for more pipes anytime soon..
It really just depends... if I am looking for a stacked bowl with a really narrow chamber and for pot shapes with wide chambers, I don't mind a more narrow draft. For a 5" to 6" long pipe with a midland .75" to .85" wide chamber, I like a more open draft. I like variety in sizes and draws.
The button is important too, but if I am looking through some factory pipes, it's not a deal breaker.
I would prefer vulcanite, especially brindled, but if the button is nicely done, I'd consider acrylic.
If it is going to be blasted, I want deep craggy blasts, not one that looks like the blast was just quickly done quickly without much thought on an assembly line.
It just has to speak to me. I don't buy many pipes online, because I'd rather hold it and pick up some of the nuances of the pipe. And, I am lucky to have one of the best pipe shops in the US just down the road.
When I have purchased a pipe online, I am usually surprised by some of the differences between seeing pictures of the pipe online and having it in hand. Not, that the pipe wasn't as pictured, but that I just don't notice or get a sense of the pipe's scale and overall-ness.
The button is important too, but if I am looking through some factory pipes, it's not a deal breaker.
I would prefer vulcanite, especially brindled, but if the button is nicely done, I'd consider acrylic.
If it is going to be blasted, I want deep craggy blasts, not one that looks like the blast was just quickly done quickly without much thought on an assembly line.
It just has to speak to me. I don't buy many pipes online, because I'd rather hold it and pick up some of the nuances of the pipe. And, I am lucky to have one of the best pipe shops in the US just down the road.
When I have purchased a pipe online, I am usually surprised by some of the differences between seeing pictures of the pipe online and having it in hand. Not, that the pipe wasn't as pictured, but that I just don't notice or get a sense of the pipe's scale and overall-ness.
Tell me about it. Bought a Dunhill bulldog last year for cheap, it's perfect other than the fact that the bottom flat side with stampings weren't really flat, so it wouldn't sit. It bothered me too damn much I sanded it down, effacing all stampings on it. That's one way to get rid of any resell value lol. Now it sits like a champ and smokes like heaven. Before and after:
I also discovered how bad I am at staining wood. Shame on you Dunhill QC.
Kuddos!! I went through a period of grinding off the nomenclature of my new pipes. it makes a pipe smoke better for me, and all of those stampings are usually just ugly distractions.
Weight less than 2 Oz. Bowl ID between .75 and .80 inches. Must pass a pipe cleaner smoothly. Wide, thin stem for clinching.
My number one attribute is that it must be lightweight (40 grams or less). An open draw is good but that is difficult to measure by simply looking at draft hole and stem. I don't like exotic shapes or excessively large or very small.
My only absolute requirement is that it MUST easily pass a pipe cleaner from button to bowl.
Of course it must be a "good smoker" as well, but that's a pretty nebulous requirement that I won't delve into, though suffice it to say that even among equally well-engineered pipes, in my experience, some deliver a more enjoyable smoke than others.
Other preferences are that I favor classic shapes and like medium-sized bowls. For Virginia blends, I like narrower bowls because they facilitate a slow smoldering cool smoke while staying lit.
Of course it must be a "good smoker" as well, but that's a pretty nebulous requirement that I won't delve into, though suffice it to say that even among equally well-engineered pipes, in my experience, some deliver a more enjoyable smoke than others.
Other preferences are that I favor classic shapes and like medium-sized bowls. For Virginia blends, I like narrower bowls because they facilitate a slow smoldering cool smoke while staying lit.
Small bent, say 1/4 or so, easily pass a pipe cleaner, either rusticated or a blast, no plateau, non-sitter, and roughly 5 and a half inches long.
I want the bowl diameter to be at least .75 and although I do own several pipes with acrylic stems these days I’m only really interested in pipes with vulcanite/ebonite stems.
Must have a wide open draw so as not to laser beam the smoke onto my tongue, and needs to pass a pipe cleaner. I also like a wider-squat bowl so I can futz with the tobacco while smoking but that's not a deal-breaker.
Beyond the usual requirements of good smoking, durability, and appealing appearance, pluses include an uncoated chamber, a little brighter color on the briar and/or stem, a fishtail bit, a sitter, light weight relative to size, good insulation of the bowl, deceptively large bowl capacity for size and weight, balance, flow in design, "just right" bands and adornments or none; plateau; attractive sandblast whether deep or subtle; quality well beyond price point; and personality (a kind of appealing combination of traits that attracts me). I'll be thinking of other attributes for a week, but those are some.
Ha ha, thanks, but if any wisdom comes from me, it would be completely accidental, ha ha. I just tried to answer as specifically as I could. But, thanks again.
I agree with uncoated chamber. I forgot to mention in my original post.
After re-bending a bunch of stems recently I've discovered I much prefer the button to be pointed up by about 40 degrees (not quite 45 degress).
Pipes with a shank angled less than 40 degrees should still practically have a straight stem, though I do prefer the aesthetics of just a slight bend.
Pipes with a shank angled less than 40 degrees should still practically have a straight stem, though I do prefer the aesthetics of just a slight bend.