Different Smoking Pipe Materials
Another variation of meerschaum pipe is the calabash pipe made iconic by William Gillette’s stage portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. The calabash is a gourd similar to a squash, grown specifically for use in pipes. The shape is determined as the gourd grows by placing small blocks under the stem, forcing it into a gentle curve. The mature gourd is cut and dried, then fitted with a cork gasket to receive a meerschaum bowl. The finished pipe offers one of the coolest, driest smokes available. Plastic tobacco pipes are extremely inexpensive, which is why they exist.
Another very fine, though quite different, buying experience can be purchasing or commissioning a pipe directly from an artisan pipe maker. While pipes of all levels of quality and price can be found among the Filling cut tobacco artisan makers, they all seem to share the same friendly and approachable attitude. As with most artists, theirs is a labor of love and showing interest in their work is a gratifying experience for them.
The tobacco chamber, draft hole, smoke channel and slot determine the smoking qualities of a pipe. Collectively, these drillings, more so than shape, size and component materials, are the factors that yield a well smoking pipe. Just as in a well tuned high performance engine, good airflow is the critical factor for a pipe to smoke well.
Torch-style lighters should never be used to light a pipe because their flames are too hot and can char the rim of the pipe bowl. Matches should be allowed to burn for several seconds to allow the sulfur from the tip to burn away and the match to produce a full flame. A naphtha fueled Filling cut tobacco lighter should also be allowed to burn a few seconds to get rid of stray naphtha vapors that could give a foul taste to the smoke. When a flame has been produced, it is then moved in circles above the rim of the bowl while the smoker puffs to draw the flame down and light the tobacco.
The metal is worked with great craftsmanship, especially the welded joints. After finishing the objects are generally engraved, especially on the surface of the container. Chinese landscapes are popular, tobacco pipe in combination with characters that express poetic thoughts. This example has a décor of a pastoral scene, a girl with fan on one side, a man walking in an overwhelming landscape on the other side.