All Briar Pipes
Since the 1970s, though, Turkey has banned the exportation of meerschaum nodules, trying to set up a local meerschaum industry. The once famous manufacturers have therefore disappeared and European pipe producers turned to others sources for their pipes. Cigars cause harm because the tobacco is aged and fermented, which makes nitrates and nitrites. Nitrates and nitrites can cause cancer which means it is carcinogenic. When a cigar is burned, it makes cancer-causing compounds (carcinogens), such as nitrosamine, tar, carbon monoxide, and ammonia. These are found in higher levels in cigar smoke than in cigarette smoke.
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.
Meerschaum pipes are constructed from a specific mineral composite and are very rare these days. They’re very fragile for one thing, and very expensive due to the process required to make them. This type of pipe is renowned for delivering an exceptional flavor, however, due to the porous nature of the material. Also, briar is a very durable material, which is great for those who like to take their pipes with them when they go out.
Perhaps this is because of the required accoutrement of the pipe smoker. Having need of tobacco pouch, lighter or matches, pipe cleaners, extra pipes, ashtray and a tamper, the pipe smoker is better accommodated in comfortable seating with adequate table space for his requisites. The need for preparation of these items, as well as the attendant rituals of the pipe and a comfortable spot for smoking all tend to promote a relaxed and unhurried state of mind. Corn cob pipes are quite popular and have a long history in the U.S.
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, tobacco pipe 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.
Briar is a particularly well suited wood for pipe making for a number of reasons. The first and most important characteristic is its natural resistance to fire. The burl absorbs water in nature to supply the tree in the dry times and likewise will absorb the moisture that is a byproduct of combustion.
The bowl (1) which is the cup-like outer shell, the part hand-held while packing, holding and smoking a pipe, is also the part “knocked” top-down to loosen and release impacted spent tobacco. On being sucked, the general stem delivers the smoke from the bowl to the user’s mouth. Margit and Aage Bisgaard established Bisgaard Pipes in 1963 and the company quickly became known worldwide for selling smoking pipes in exclusive design and very good quality. More research is needed to prove the links between cigar and pipe smoking and cancers of the stomach, pancreas, colon, and rectum. If you now want to learn more about the topic of tobacco pipes, I recommend you buy the book In Search of Pipe Dreams by Rick Newcombe and to take a look at the magazine Pipes and Tobacco magazine.
Unrestricted airflow, of optimal volume from bowl to button, insures the best conditions for modulation of the burn. This, in turn, allows an easy pace or regulation of puffing without undue concentration and effort required of the smoker. Optimal airflow is achieved when the smoke channel maintains a consistent “ Goldilocks ” diameter – not too small and not too large. Over the past twenty years I progressed from an avid pipe smoker, to collector of high grade hand made artisan pipes and on to creating pipes for others to enjoy. I have formed, revised, and re-formed many opinions and conclusions about the smoking, collecting and the making of pipes over the years. I am still enthusiastically learning today and it is my great privilege to share with you a bit of what I have learned and absorbed.
However, if it becomes too thick, it may expand faster than the bowl of the pipe itself when heated, cracking the bowl. Before reaching this point, it needs to be scraped down with a reamer. It is generally recommended to keep the cake at approximately the thickness of a U.S. dime (about 1/20 of an inch or 1.5 mm), though sometimes the cake is removed entirely as part of efforts to eliminate flavors or aromas. Some cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas smoke tobacco in ceremonial pipes, and have done so since long before the arrival of Europeans.
Clay pipes must be constructed using a very specific molding process, and few companies are willing to take the time to execute this process. However, briar pipes can be a bit expensive because of the cost of the material and the fact Fashion tobacco pipe that they are carefully handcrafted. If you’re on a tight budget, you may want to choose an alternative material. Were it not unhealthy and disapproved of – in an anti-smoking world – you’d wonder why more people weren’t doing it.