Pipe Shape v.s. Smokeability

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pipemaker

pipemaker

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I realize that there are few absolutes regarding pipes, but I was wondering if any of you feel that certain pipe shapes generally tend to smoke better than others?

From my own observations, the Calabash shape, Dublins, Bulldogs, and Oom Pauls tend to produce the best smoking qualities that any particular tobacco can offer.

Mike B.
 
Just a wandering ramble of thoughts here,,,I wonder if the shape of the pipe has anything to do with how it smokes ,,,aside from the thickness of the bowl absorbing heat, maybe the shape and size of the chamber has a greater impact on smokability than appearance of the pipe.
Another thought, maybe a properly engineered layout including smooth airflow in the design could account for a better perceived smoke.
Then you get into "pipe mojo" where two identical pipes smoke completely differently,,,explaination?,,mojo.

How about a cob,, a chunk of vegetable matter drilled out and a hollow stick inserted. Produces the best smoking qualitiues any particular tobacco can offer. People aren't fussy with a cob,,,they stuff and puff,,after all it's just a cob,,,works great,,,everyone is surprised.

So I guess my opinion is pipe shape is a comfort or preference thing,,comfortable in the hand or nice to look at.

Smokability is an engineering thing,, or mojo,,, :lol!:
 
Form and function.

I think pipes, especially those made and found today, have worked out much of the "function" parameters: even though some decades ago the wheel was trying to be reinvented with different materials, cooling designs and wacky gimmicks--nothing has come close to what we know and do right now.

Like Mark said: a cob is a piece of dried, hollowed vegetable matter with a tubelike stick shoved in it and smoked--works great. Little has changed since its original inception and design, and why should it?

Form is another subject entirely. You'll find guys that swear certain setups work better for this and that, and they're probably right. To the next guy, though, whose style and method of smoking may differ, this could be a contentious point. Comparing one shape to another can be external or internal...bowl design or chamber design.

Then there's the discussion of "art." God help us. :lol:

8)
 
Many times, we will find reference to shape A has better smoking qualities than shape B but I feel that this really is more of a question best answered by ones manner of smoking, type of blend and the burn qualities of the tobacco's in it and the atmospheric conditions it is smoked in than the shape per se. It is true that a thinner walled pipe may smoke "hotter" than a thick walled shape, but again as many have stated here, it all depends on what you smoke (blend wise) and HOW you smoke it. I've a friend who likes "my "( Oriental #14 ) blend almost as much as I do and he prefers it in thin walled taller Billiard shapes and I mostly smoke it in Bulldogs and Pots. We both feel it smokes the same but smoke it in differnt manners. I think it really boils down to amatter of personal "style" and what you personally enjoy the looks of and how it feels in your hand and in your mouth. Pick your "style" and enjoy it :p
 
I agree with what monbla is saying. Some tobaccos smoke best in a deep narrow chamber where others tend smoke in a wide shallow chamber. Stem drilling diameter and how it meets the bowl has a lot to do with it too I think.
 
Generally speaking, I don't think any one shape smokes better than others. The only reason my so-called flake pipe, a small Castello, is thin and narrow is because the amount of tobacco it holds is all I can take in flake form. I can't see filling a large bowl with flake unless I want to go into a nicotine coma. What I have found is that I really like smoking a large bulldog for regular tobaccos--and this is coming from someone who is rather heavily invested in billiards. I just acquired the pipe below on eBay for 30-odd bucks and am loving it. It's not my favorite shape, it's too angular, and I prefer a tapered bit, or thought I did, but this is currently my go-to pipe. There's something about holding a bulldog, the way your thumb rests against the flat of the shank, and the way the bowl is shaped to match the progressive shape of the burn that suggests a well thought out functionality. I could be hallucinating, but it sure seems to work well. The pipe is a Jean Lacroix, a make you don't run across much anymore. It was my favorite brand when I first took up the pipe, so I regard this as sort of a nostalgia buy. Anyhow, I don't think it matters much. It's just a personal preference, and will vary from smoker to smoker. Yours truly, Captain Obvious.

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Dear Captain Obvious: Awesome pipe.

My first straight bulldog was a leather-covered gift from a friend. I used to be under the impression that it was a good idea to keep the shape roughly with the tobacco--seemed like the right thing to do at the time. While English blends smoked wonderfully in it after I cleaned it up (and chased away the Lakeland reek :lol: ) I soon found myself enjoying the weight, shape, and feel of the pipe. So I got a couple more straight bulldogs. They, on the other hand, are not particularly good at handling my English blends. I discovered the chamber shape was totally different on both, one being even wider at the base than at the top. They all smoke wonderfully, but the other two are for my darker VA flakes. They handle them amazingly. I even tried some Connecticut Yankee and Stormfront in the wider-bottomed chambered pipe, and am thinking of possibly using that briar just for meaty cigar blends.

Funny enough, I don't even particularly like the look of straight bulldogs, I'm a slight-bent kind of guy in that realm. The ones I do have smoke so damn good, though, and the shape is so conducive to my smoking, why fight it?

We're all just gonna like what we like, for logic or simple preference.

Signed,

Admiral Apparent 8)
 
I like different shapes for different types of tobacco but only because the shape of the chamber will be determined, in part, by the shape of the pipe. The shape of the chamber can have an enormous effect on how a particular blend is experienced.

Here's a fantastic article by Neal Archer Roan detailing why this is so: How and Why Chamber Geometry Impacts Tobacco Flavor
 
Interior concepts like bowl size and shape, and airway construction, how the stem is shaped... these will control far more about how a pipe smokes than the exterior shape itself (notwithstanding VERY thin bowls or VERY thick bowls).

A bulldog smoking fundamentally differently than an apple simply because there are rings cut on the bowl.... I call "bullshit" on this.

A huge pipe with a tiny draw will smoke entirely differently than a tiny pipe with a huge draw, but it's nothing to do with whether they are billiards or dublins.

I've never sold a person 2 pipes and thought "Gosh, I hope they smoke the same." They'll smoke the same (if the briar is the same), because I put 'em together the same.
 
I can't get any shape or maker to smoke the same. If you can, then I'm obviously doing something wrong.

I did acquire a pipe from a carver who boasts a large draw hole, and while I do indeed notice a difference, I'm still undecided if that difference is a good thing. It might be too wide of a draw. There's no resistance unless I pack the bowl a special way, and I think a wee bit of resistance is a good thing to get that slow, cool smoke.
 
+1 for Sas's argument. It's all about engineering.

However, even two very differently engineered pipes can both be good smokers.
 
I am tempted to say that the existence of corn cobs blows this discussion all to hell, but I won't. :twisted:

Admiral Apparent, above: We seem to share the same opinion of bulldogs. Wish I had a leather covered one. Don't know why, it just seems cool. Howzabout this one--is it to your taste? It is to mine, so I bought it a few months ago. Smokes damn near as well as a cob:



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I don't notice any difference in how my pipes smoke. As I've been focused on attaining good smoking technique, it only follows that I would see it as determining the best tobacco taste.

I don't believe that any of my pipes have the best internals as Sasquatch described. I can thus draw no conclusions based on this.

The shape of the pipe is far out of my view.
 
Sasquatch":la8hyxzd said:
Interior concepts like bowl size and shape, and airway construction, how the stem is shaped... these will control far more about how a pipe smokes than the exterior shape itself (notwithstanding VERY thin bowls or VERY thick bowls).

A bulldog smoking fundamentally differently than an apple simply because there are rings cut on the bowl.... I call "bullshit" on this.

A huge pipe with a tiny draw will smoke entirely differently than a tiny pipe with a huge draw, but it's nothing to do with whether they are billiards or dublins.

I've never sold a person 2 pipes and thought "Gosh, I hope they smoke the same." They'll smoke the same (if the briar is the same), because I put 'em together the same.
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+ another for this. I've settled on Billiards and Canadians because of funtionality, and the, "i know I can get a good hassle-free smoke" appeal. I have a couple freehands that are beautiful, but I think the complexity of engineering the internals makes it harder to make a pipe that smokes well.
 
And a guy who pushes a cannonball of goopy Danish aromatic loose-cut into a pipe may find that certain pipes work better for him than a guy who is smoking a virginia flake....
 
Richard, er, I mean, Captain, yep, that subtle-bent bulldog is all the things I like about a pipe, right there. Spot-on. 8) As for leather-covered pipes, they get a little warm and "breathe" differently, but there's a utilitarian charm to them and they feel excellent in the hand--I don't see too many of them (most of the leather-bound pipes I see are billiards) but if you manage to find one, of course, grab it. 8)

Alfredo brings up a good point about smoking technique which is very worth mentioning. I do have to say, though, all the good pipe engineering in the world can't make up for bad smoking technique any more than good smoking technique can improve a really bad pipe. :lol:
 
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