Which Pipes Float, When Boating, Fishing, Etc.?

[mso489]

Has anyone tested pipes or learned from experience which materials dependably float, or do you just have to float-test each one? I would expect corncob pipes to float, and most briar and other woods like beech, maple, and Mountain Laurel, but I don't really know that. Meerschaum might tend to sink very slowly? Morta I would expect to sink quickly. A Falcon might sink because of the metal. Have you lost a pipe, or rescued a pipe or pipes, enough to know? Any info on this might be useful as spring approaches and people spend more time near the water.

 

[BROBS]

meerschaum will float I believe... a cob should float.
I think Briar would sink.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I would suspect cobs, but I have no idea! Best never to find out:

 

[mso489]

With all the gimmicks designed into pipes -- stingers, filters, wind caps, inner tubes, carburetors, and so on -- it is amazing a pipe has never been designed with little cork strips enough to guarantee it floats, for people who smoke pipes on their boats or when fishing in waders or in the surf. It's such an excellent excuse to buy yet another pipe, I'd think. Or maybe just a little velcro life vest for various pipes.

 

[briarbuck]

If it floats...it's a witch.

 

[alaskanpiper]

If it floats...it's a witch.

"VERY SMALL ROCKS!!!!!"

 

[anotherbob]

I think it's completely based on price point. Not sure why but those multi thousand dollar pipes probably pop out on the other side of the planet they sink so fast.

 

[pipinho]

Cobs

 

[alaskanpiper]

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Didn’t pipe test kitchen do an episode on this?

 

[mingc]

From what I can find on the internet, briar is less dense than water and should float. Ebonite and acylic are denser than water and will, therefore, sink. Whether an individual pipe will float/sink will depend on how of much of each material is in a pipe. A long Canadian or Lovat with a short stem might float.

 

[mso489]

In order to sell, a tobacco pipe life vest would have to look good, suave and outdoorsy, not dorky and like something poor Uncle Ralph might use. Apologies to any Ralphs out there; I don't have an Uncle Ralph, so it was safe to use.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Why not a pipe cord so it can hang around your neck between smokes with a cork ball that allows one to adjust the length?

 

[anotherbob]

I really want to sink that pipe with my Brebbia Iceberg. I am not a stickler for historical accuracy in my reenactments.

 

[Sewage Pipe]

Messing with bait and fish all day?..with the possibility of losing and dropping it? Only a cob fits in that category for me my friends.

 

[mso489]

The less expensive the pipe, the more unlikely that it will every make the plunge. There are probably pipes that have lived their life at sea, all cobs and basket pipes.

 

[pappymac]

I take a couple of cobs with me when I go fishing. If I drop one it should float. If it doesn’t I’m only out about $6. Just wash your hands after handling fish. Fish slime stinks when it gets hot.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

All pipes made of wood should float, right? I'm guessing only clays would sink.

 

[carlomarx]

Not sure about all brands of pipes but when I tipped my canoe last fall my briar pipe definitely did not float. I felt stupid enough for tipping over, details of that a long story, but worse because I have a Boswell fisherman's pipe that has a windscreen and a built in lanyard with a clip that can be attached to your vest safe and dry on my desk at home.

 

[briarbuck]

All pipes made of wood should float, right? I'm guessing only clays would sink.

According to the woodchucks, yes.