what makes a good pipe?

[VE7ITF]

I have smoked pipes ever since I was a teenager. I'd buy a pouch of tobacco and smoke a few then put it away and forget about it and have to throw out the rest of it because it dried up. I always bought cheap pipes around 30 dollars or so.
Is a smoke is a better smoke in a 500 dollar pipe? The quality of the pipe would be better I would guess.
I have been out of pipe'n for years but blew the cobweb off of a Savoy and bought a pouch of Amphora and joined the forum. Most of the pipes in our local shop are around seventy bucks up over a hundred. I like to smoke about 3 times a day and need to look for a couple of other pipes. Which brings me to another question. How long generally do you leave your pipes before smoking them again? Should you rotate the Meerschaum pipes or leave them for a time between smokes the same as briars?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[psyktek]

Morning Sean, and welcome back to the world of pipes! You ask some big questions with lots of different answers. But I'll give you mine.

A $30 pipe CAN smoke as well as a $500 pipe. A $5.00 cob can smoke just fine. At the 500 dollar price point what you are paying for is the makers reputation and careful engineering, along with well-aged briar and the artistry that comes with that price. However, Bo Nordh (RIP) routinely sold pipes in the 4 figure bracket, but smoked one of his 'rejects' exclusively.

The majority of pipers would say that a 7 day rotation would be the minimum. At 3 bowls a day, I think that would work fine for you. Some say that a pipe should be smoked once and then allowed to rest for several days, so that would mean 21 pipes. The main point is to keep them clean and allow them to dry.

Meers, being essentially porous stone, will absorb the moisture generated from smoking and can be smoked more frequently. They are also less likely to absorb the flavor from stronger blends and so don't have the problem of 'ghost' flavors. The main difference between them and briars is to not allow a cake to form, as they are likelier to crack.

For a good general source of information, check out www.aspipes.org. Also, www.smokersforums.org has an entire section devoted to pipe tutorials.

 

[rcolonel]

IMHO, allowing for keep pipe clean, you don't need to possess many pipes.
Probably, unwillingness to clean pipe every so often is underlying cause for pipes rotation.

 

[VE7ITF]

Guys,

thanks for your answers to my questions. I appreciate the input.

Sincerely,
Sean

 

[preembargo]

When shopping for a briar pipe, you look for a lightweight pipe. This indicates that the briar is aged and the sap has long since dried away. You also want to look at the grain. Grain direction is very important. A straight grain with no bald spots dissipates the heat most efficiently, resulting in a cool smoke. A birdseye grain is essentially the end of a straight grain leaving a nice burled pattern. This also results in a cool smoke. Bald spots are where the grain has no specific direction and consequently has no place to channel the heat.

When I smoked pipes in the 80's, I had pipes ranging in price from $70-$150 but my favorite was a $10 Isreali Oom Paul from the Tinderbox. It was very lightweight with a perfect grain. It had two or three almost microscopic sandpits, so whoever was grading the briar threw it into the 'second's bin', so what might have been a $100 pipe only cost me $10.

 

[knuck42]

I too subscribe to the 7 pipe minimum in a rotation. And not because I am too lazy to clean my pipes, (actually I am fairly fastidious about it), but because I spend a lot of money on them and would hate to ruin any of them by cracking them from smoking them too wet. I believe it bears mention that in addition to building up an adequate rotation, pipes must also be stored properly. That is, in a pie rack with the bowl on he bottom. This way moisture may drain to the bottom, (the bowl), where is is most readily evaporated. Just this noobs .02

 

[knuck42]

err... pie rack = pipe rack. Sorry, and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

[bilder]

Been smoking a couple 4 dollar cob pipes for nearly a year. Have one briar, but I keep coming back to the cobs.

They smoke just fine and I can tell no difference between them and the briar. Plus I don't feel like I am walking on pins and needles when I am out and about with my cheap pipe. I would feel rather paranoid about misplacing a $500 pipe. I smoke to relax, not worry about getting a scratch on my expensive pipe.

 

[PSTAN]

So far, the Cobb that I have feels heavy in the the mouth. Is my perception that a briar would feel less heavy? The guy at the B&M I was talking with was knowledgeable but was more interested in me spending a fortune at first.