Chamber shapes: U vs V

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Isagar

Isagar

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Which one do you prefer and why?

Personally, from the topic 'oily cake' which I posted few days before, I've found out that my 2 V shaped pipes doesn't smoke anywhere near as well as my U shaped ones. It could be that I use the same packing technique on both types and I need to adjust the formula for the V shapes. But for now, U shapes wins it for me.
 
Dutch":83c8ey52 said:
Personally, I prefer to have a variety of shapes in my collection. From personal experience the majority of pipes have either a square or rectangular shape, with the true triangular shapes a little harder to find.

Neill Roan has covered this topic in one of his blogs, which you may find interesting.....

http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/28/finding-that-magic-fit-between-pipe-and-tobacco.html
Click to expand...
That's an excellent article Dutch, I didn't know the difference between a square and a rectangle chamber. I always thought of them as U shaped.
Sigh I don't think I can edit the poll to add it in but I'll say that between square and rectangle, the latter still smokes better for me.
 
Isagar, another aspect that most people agree on, is that the quality of the briar can have a huge impact on flavor, as well as smoking experience. The larger your pipe collection, and the more variety you have in pipe shapes and styles, the easier it will be to experiment and find combinations that work extremely well together.

Some pipe smokers seem to be frustrated by this, but to me the journey is a huge part of the overall pipe smoking experience.
 
I much prefer the U-shaped chamber. Bowls with V-shaped chambers seem to smoke wetter and accumulate foul-tasting wet dottle at the bottom.
 
U-chambers for the performance, but i really like the V-chambers pipe's outwardness.
Anyway i voted for "both" option.
 
While V shapes are good for smoking, since there is less tobacco to dump at bottom when Done compared to U, it's a PITA to clean And ream!! so my vote is for the U.
 
"V" shapes are actually much easier to load in such a way that the tobacco coluumn stays suspended up off the bottom of the chamber.

Result : no steamy, wet dottle there to crab about.

Dottles = 100% operator error.

:face:
 
Wet Dottle":7e41lx9p said:
Bowls with V-shaped chambers seem to smoke wetter and accumulate foul-tasting wet dottle at the bottom.
Click to expand...
I was going to say just the opposite. I only have a couple pipes with a true V shaped bowl, but I find them to be my driest pipes. I also find that they smoke quicker than other equivalently sized pipes.
 
I've been struggling with yet another v-chambered pipe recently, and finally, after many years worth of empirical evidence comprising hundreds of samples, I've concluded that v-chambers and I just don't get along, and probably never will. The problem is that there are many shapes that I'm drawn to that sometimes have tapered chambers, and I continue to fall for them...
 
At the risk of (yet again) annoying people put off by dogmatic jerks :

Repeat previous transmission.

If you load your tobacco column so it's suspended up off the bottom of the bowl where moisture accumulates, and don't tamp it down into it as you go, there's no tobacco sponge there to sop it up and get nasty.

Really -- there isn't !

And this is much more easily accomplished with said "V"-shaped chambers.

:face:
 
I get along with both, but I do not treat them the same, either.

"V" shapes, for me, can actually work better for moister tobacco...IF...the tobacco is more of a thicker cut. My theory is that smaller pieces work their way down to the narrowing bottom more easily and sooner, be they mere particles or ribbons, and start screwing with the flow dynamics (resulting in moisture). Flake and plug (appropriately cut and loaded), chunky-cut, and larger cube-cut leaf works great. Tamping/packing too much usually begins the problems with a "V" chamber, at least in my realm, so perhaps the gravity-fed packing method I use helps out--no impaction of tobacco in the beginning, nor ash during the finale puffs. That could be said for any chamber, but with "V" chambers, it's a bit more picky, perhaps.

"U" shapes are pretty all-around okay. I never had to "get used to them." <img class="emojione" alt="?" title=":shrug:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/emojione/assets/png/1f937.png?v=2.2.7"/> That says something.

I still voted "both" because I'm always up for a challenge. :mrgreen:

8)
 
Yes. Good point there.

But why would anyone smoke tobacco that isn't in flake form ? :lol:

:face:
 
Aha! Flake, the universal key? Could be.

There's some damn tasty stuff in non-flake form out there? :shrug: If it all were flake...if only...
 
Can't really say I've smoked out of a "v" shaped bowl as all mine are "u" shaped. Don't know as it would really make a difference though.
 
This Dublin has a V shaped bowl, and it's a tricky smoker, so I vote for U, too. 8)
 
Although I smoke both shapes, and I prefer the U shaped. To me, that is the major problem with Kirstens, there bowls are short and very "V" shaped. I had MadDog make me several "U" shapes bowls that were also taller, and they smoke much better.

Natch
 
V shapes are my favorites. My best smoking Charatan pipes are all V shaped chambers. They just stay lit better for me.
 
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