Cigar Weekly

Bernie*C · 06-27-2003, 05:18 PM

A friend of mine, for years, has been smoking a pipe that was never shaped or polished. He bought a predrilled Grecian briar ebauchon with a fitted stem. His intention was to carve it into a pipe. Because the bowl and tenon were predrilled, one day he decided to enjoy a smoke in the block of unvarnished, unwaxed, undyed briar. He found it to smoke cooler and drier than any pipe he'd ever owned, so he left it as it was. I always chuckle when I see him smoking his burl block.

I have some high grade, popular name pipes...Castello, Ashton, Don Carlos, Savinelli, etc. I also have some pipes made by contemporary American makers, Bosi, Boswell, and others. Does one "name" smoke better than the other??? Not in my experience. I think that every pipe is very unique; a function of the briar, the shape, the engineering, and many other factors. Two pipes that appear to be identical may smoke very differently. One just has the right karma. It is inexplicable.

I have a basket pipe (many pipes on display in a basket for one price) that I bought a few months ago at a local shop. It's an unnamed 3/4 bent briar. I have no idea where it was made or who made it. The owner of the shop says he buys assorted basket pipes and has no idea where or who the manufacturing source is. I paid less than $10.00 for it and it is my best smoker...not the prettiest, but a great smoker. Recently I purchased an unsmoked but very old Kaywoodie. I trimmed the stem's metal hardware that fits within the draft hole to increase airflow. I also removed the high gloss dark varnish finish and simply rubbed it out with olive oil. It is a wonderful smoker. I paid $3.00 for it.

You don't have to spend a bundle to get a great smoking pipe. Most reputable pipe shops have basket pipes, usually seconds of some really nice pipes for less than $20.00. A wonderful store like Iwan Ries in Chicago has fabulous briar pipes, pretty inexpensive, see:
http://iwanries.net/acb/Category.cfm?&DID=7&CATID=30
Look at the Mix and Match Specials
A cobb is okay for a quick start, but check out a few inexpensive briars. You could get a pipe like my best smoker. Bernie

06-27-2003, 05:18 PM	#1
BernieC Member* Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Rural St. Cloud, MN Posts: 326	Is It A Better Smoking Pipe Because It Is More Expensive? A friend of mine, for years, has been smoking a pipe that was never shaped or polished. He bought a predrilled Grecian briar ebauchon with a fitted stem. His intention was to carve it into a pipe. Because the bowl and tenon were predrilled, one day he decided to enjoy a smoke in the block of unvarnished, unwaxed, undyed briar. He found it to smoke cooler and drier than any pipe he'd ever owned, so he left it as it was. I always chuckle when I see him smoking his burl block. I have some high grade, popular name pipes...Castello, Ashton, Don Carlos, Savinelli, etc. I also have some pipes made by contemporary American makers, Bosi, Boswell, and others. Does one "name" smoke better than the other??? Not in my experience. I think that every pipe is very unique; a function of the briar, the shape, the engineering, and many other factors. Two pipes that appear to be identical may smoke very differently. One just has the right karma. It is inexplicable. I have a basket pipe (many pipes on display in a basket for one price) that I bought a few months ago at a local shop. It's an unnamed 3/4 bent briar. I have no idea where it was made or who made it. The owner of the shop says he buys assorted basket pipes and has no idea where or who the manufacturing source is. I paid less than $10.00 for it and it is my best smoker...not the prettiest, but a great smoker. Recently I purchased an unsmoked but very old Kaywoodie. I trimmed the stem's metal hardware that fits within the draft hole to increase airflow. I also removed the high gloss dark varnish finish and simply rubbed it out with olive oil. It is a wonderful smoker. I paid $3.00 for it. You don't have to spend a bundle to get a great smoking pipe. Most reputable pipe shops have basket pipes, usually seconds of some really nice pipes for less than $20.00. A wonderful store like Iwan Ries in Chicago has fabulous briar pipes, pretty inexpensive, see: http://iwanries.net/acb/Category.cfm?&DID=7&CATID=30 Look at the Mix and Match Specials A cobb is okay for a quick start, but check out a few inexpensive briars. You could get a pipe like my best smoker. Bernie