Which Do You Prefer, Big or Small Pipes?

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I'm surprised to see so many people who perfer small pipes over the larger ones, fully understanding that most people will have pipes that fall into both categories. Nonetheless, when I am looking at new pipes, I find the majority to fall under the large category (2" deep bowls weighing over 1.5oz. I cannot help but wonder why the majority of pipes seem to be so large. I will say no to 10 pipes before I find one that meets 'my small' criteria.
 
Northern Neil":gej0w5i4 said:
I'm surprised to see so many people who perfer small pipes over the larger ones, fully understanding that most people will have pipes that fall into both categories. Nonetheless, when I am looking at new pipes, I find the majority to fall under the large category (2" deep bowls weighing over 1.5oz.  I cannot help but wonder why the majority of pipes seem to be so large. I will say no to 10 pipes before I find one that meets 'my small' criteria.
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It's cause we buy all the small ones.  :mrgreen: 
 
Northern Neil":1wax8y5f said:
I'm surprised to see so many people who perfer small pipes over the larger ones, fully understanding that most people will have pipes that fall into both categories. Nonetheless, when I am looking at new pipes, I find the majority to fall under the large category (2" deep bowls weighing over 1.5oz.  I cannot help but wonder why the majority of pipes seem to be so large. I will say no to 10 pipes before I find one that meets 'my small' criteria.
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I too find many a pipe I like that are large, but I never buy them. These days I don't buy hardly anything, so it has to fit my criteria for me to even think about it, that is unless I absolutely fall in love.
 
For me it's relative to the tobacco type, strength. A large bowl for a mild medium Va and a small bowl for OJK mixed with brown rope, etc.
 
As a rule, my preference is for large bowls. The small ones work in the car or for a quick smoke before supper or bedtime. I am a clencher for the most part and don't seem to be bothered by the size/weight. I am smoking a Custombilt as I type this. I started it in the office, smoked it in the car on the way home and will smoke it clenched as I do a few things around the house before lunch.
 
So far, I haven't experienced a single good smoke from my group 5-6 pipes.  I probably just need to find the right combination.  Trouble is that I am having a great experience with the smaller pipes...
 
I have 'em all, from a Grabow Westbrook into which I can hardly fit my little finger to a Sav Punto Oro in which I can almost take a bath. And everything in between.

And I love all of them  :bounce: :bounce: 
 
My biggest pipe is right at 2 oz and I doubt that I will ever go larger. My lightest is 0.8 oz and I will never go smaller. I prefer 1 to 1.5 oz pipes, though I have a few at 1.6 oz that I really like. I almost never clench so that isn't an issue for me. In all honesty I pick my pipes by what is visually appealing to me, and I say to myself, "I have to have that pipe". My method must work because all of my pipes are great smokers.  :D 
 
I am another small pipe guy Size 3 & 4 Dunhill's, my rotation is 90% flake so for taste & burn quality it has kind of gone that way, I have struggled smoking flake in anything bigger, I know there are lots that can do it but it's not for me, my collection is built up of mainly billiard's, dunhill 3 & 4's parker super bruyere's & punto oro's all around same size 20mm max opening and thick as i can get walls
I do smoke the odd english mix and I love peterson's hyde park which I have an Astley, peterosn deluxe & various Stanwell's & savinelli autographs  which take care of that & strangely are all bent's not sure if that's telling me something
As a restorer & dealer I have tried a real mix of pipes but I always seem to find good smokers within these makes, but then I also have a large group of pipes that I would class as average smoker's but they are just so bloody pretty I can't part with them & they sit in a rack like it's a trophy cabinet & the discipline involved in not keeping a lot of the pipes that go thru my hand's has to be monitored very carefully by the wife :)
 
My preference is the largest bent I can get -- like the Peterson House XXL Pipe. I am almost always working while I'm smoking so I like a pipe that I can clench, that doesn't put a lot of pressure on my teeth.

I've always been amused with the size of this Calabash that Col Lanta lifts from his uniform.

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Of the approx. 3 dozen pipes I own, only 4 are large ... an equal number could be described as VERY small ... the remaining 75% of my pipes are pretty much evenly split between being small or medium in size ...
 
I generally own only pipes greater than 6". The only smaller pipe I own is a Tsuge bent apple around 4.2" someone bought me when I was staying in Japan. I enjoy smoking it when I'm hiking or traveling.
 
For me it depends on what blend I'm smoking. Flakes I tend to smoke a smaller sized bowl. Virginia"s what I would consider a medium sized bowl. English blends, the bigger pipe the better.
 
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