Check out what I found.....

Sanding, rusticating, sandblasting, buffing, etc. All here.
User avatar
marks
Posts: 735
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: United States/North Carolina

Post by marks »

Random, you make a good point about the pipe absorbing oils and such from the owners hand. I have several pipes I bought years ago where many times during or after a smoke I rubbed the pipe against my forehead and nose to collect the oils from my skin. These pipes have developed a very rich patina that is unmatched in pipes that I did not subject to this treatment.

I actually had a guy at a pipe shop tell me about doing this years ago, and over time it seems to add a richness to the pipe that rewaxing alone will not achieve.

I told my friend Buck to do this to the pipe I gave to him, and it was coloring beautifully after only a few smokes. The grain is really starting to come alive, and the pipe was already developing a nice patina. I need to stop by and visit him and his pipe again to see how they are doing.
User avatar
Nick
Posts: 2171
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: United States/Connecticut

Post by Nick »

I wonder how much moisture actually has the opportunity to enter the pipe. Surly a majority is evaporated by the heat of the ember.
User avatar
Tyler
Site Supporter
Posts: 2376
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: Farmersville, TX
Contact:

Post by Tyler »

Someone mentioned corn cobs, and that leads to the point that materials DO matter. Cobs and Meers are clearly a case of materials over engineering. Talk about poorly made! The drillling and overall construction of both cobs and meers is typically quite poor, especially with cobs, but their sponge-like characteristics overcome that and produce nice smokes. Materials definitely do matter.

As for the steel experiment that has been all but tried, at least for the characteristic of absorbance. The Pipe, The Smoke, and other such synthetic-material pipes, have no absorbing abilities. While certainly not the best smokers out there -- so I hear -- it is still surprising that such a pipe would even be a possiblilty. I bet with some careful design considerations, and properly dried tobacco, one could make a decent smoker out of a non-absorbing material like the graphite composite The Pipe is made from.

In the end, I certainly think briar is a wonderful material. In fact, I am not interested in other types of pipes. Meers do nothing for me, nor even to wooden pipes other than briar. I have some cobs, but that is only because, at $5, they are perfect for pipe-dangerous activities such as fishing. I love briar. I just reject the notion that the pipe maker is completely at its mercy. Can briar cause a bad smoke, of course! I think though, that many, MANY, poor smoking pipes are poorly MADE pipes. Briar is not the culprit nearly as often as most assume.

Tyler

P.S. Here's an opinion to consider: I believe that in many (most?) poor smoking pipes the STEM is the main cause of the problem. Most would chaulk the issue up to a bad hunk of briar. Usually, not so...its the stem!
Last edited by Tyler on Fri May 14, 2004 12:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Jeffery_Suter
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: NJ - NYC
Contact:

Post by Jeffery_Suter »

Tyler,

I think your dead on with that statement about the stem!

I forget who said it (I think it was Jan Zeman) but it was something to the effect of, A perfectly drilled pipe will never smoke well if the stem/mortise engineering is not of the highest quality.

Tyler Said: Here's an opinion to consider: I believe that in many (most?) poor smoking pipes the STEM is the main cause of the problem. Most would chaulk the issue up to a bad hunk of briar. Usually, not so...its the stem!
User avatar
marks
Posts: 735
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: United States/North Carolina

Post by marks »

Random, you said what I was thinking about cobs, and how well they smoke. The open draw these offer create a wonderful platform for a great smoke. I have eight cobs in my workshop, and since that is where I spend a lot of my free time, they get smoked a lot.

For those of you who like latakia blends, cobs rival and sometimes surpass a quality briar in how they smoke these blends, IMHO. I smoked a tin of GLP Renaissance once, and the last three or four bowls were in a cob. They were the absolute best smokes of the whole tin. (I ducked when I said that to Greg at Richmond last year, just in case he took a swing, LOL!!! 8O He is such a nice guy, that he barely grimmaced. :wink: :D )

That being said, for my tastes, cobs do not do the same for Va blends. I much prefer these in a quality briar. Anyway, just my opinion on the lowly corn cob. Your mileage may vary. :D
User avatar
Jeffery_Suter
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: NJ - NYC
Contact:

Post by Jeffery_Suter »

I'll smoke a cob 80% of the time I'm in the workshop... you just can't beat 'em in the bang for the buck...

I bite down hard on my bits while I'm working, so that's my main reason, but they will always deliver in smoke quality...
User avatar
Tyler
Site Supporter
Posts: 2376
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: Farmersville, TX
Contact:

Post by Tyler »

random,

Good point on the open draw. That is true, and is a BIG factor. My thoughts were mostly aimed at all the sharp and sloppy corners in and around the drilling. Those are causing turbulence and therefore condensation, but the cob will soak it right up. It is a very forgiving material. (I'd be willing to bet that a briar made like a cob would not be near the pipe the cob will be.)

Tyler
Last edited by Tyler on Fri May 14, 2004 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Nick
Posts: 2171
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: United States/Connecticut

Post by Nick »

To be honest, I've never smoked a cob pipe.
User avatar
KurtHuhn
Site Admin
Posts: 5326
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: United States/Rhode Island

Post by KurtHuhn »

So it seems, I'm not the only guy that actually *likes* cobs? :)

I have about a dozen that I use in the shop, when walking, fishing, driving, whatever. They really do make great pipes. I have found that the "natural" cobs by Missouri Meerschaum are my favorite - I think they taste better for some reason.
Kurt Huhn
AKA: Oversized Ostrogoth
artisan@k-huhn.com
User avatar
Jeffery_Suter
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:00 pm
Location: NJ - NYC
Contact:

Post by Jeffery_Suter »

Hmmm...

I'll have to try a VA in a cob... I generally smoke English or Oriental when carving...

Interesting...
Post Reply