Looking for a Work Horse Pipe
- Thread starter PuffingWalrus
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A "work pipe" does present kind of a "Catch 22". On the one hand you want something that smokes well, but on the other hand you don't want to spend much. Unfortunately, in most cases you get what you pay for... but with pipes you can some times get lucky and hit on a cheap one that smokes great. 
I honestly would recommend smoking whatever briar pipe you like the most while working. Briar is pretty darned tough and you'd be surprised what they can handle. I would only be wary of smoking a meerschaum while doing manual labor or yard work. If you insist on having a briar pipe dedicated to working I would suggest a Ropp or a Kaywoodie. Both makers have light-weight pipes with vulcanite stems. I have a Ropp j03 smooth (bent billiard) that I often use while working outside. I also have a Savinelli 626, which is triple the price of the Ropp, that I use while working outside and have no fear of it dinging it. A well-used pipe has character and I think you'll find that once a pipe gets its first few dings and you can let go of trying to keep it pristine, you'll enjoy smoking it even more.
Those are pretty tough too. One left a dent in my kitchen floor linoleum with no damage to the pipe.
I would consider the Aron’s to be a workhorse pipe. A smaller bent pipe would be my choice for clenching while I’m out doing things.
Yeah that's true they are pretty tough in their own right. I've dropped my Altinay once but it was on grass (Right next to concrete though. Yikes!). I think a lot of it has to depend on the carving of the pipe. I'm sure your skull meers are more durable than my Altinay lattice meer. I've also found certain Turkish meerschaum pipes to be made of 'softer' meerschaum than others unless I'm just imagining things.
I've dropped this one at work a few times and it bounced. I figured with the egg shell thin true lattice it would shatter, but nope.
I you drop a meer on a hard surface you may be lucky and not break it... but if it's a pipe you like, why take the chance?
For work or travel pipes, so much depends on individual habits. You know if you drop or lose pipes. Even if you don't, you could, but the chances are a lot less, and much depends on your work too. If you don't like cobs, MM hardwoods are serviceable pipes that cost little, and they look pretty good, like Danish modern furniture.
