Thread: Advice on a pipe

I figured this forum would be a good place to ask for advice as many members seem to be pipe smokers.

I had been speaking with my roommate for sometime about getting a corncob pipe. So today, he came back from a vintage market in our area and had bought me a pipe. I'm looking for advice or insight into the pipe itself. It seems to be constructed from sturdy plastic. This baffled me as I'd only ever imagined tobacco pipes being some sort of wood or clay or corncob. The filter mechanism is nothing like I've seen in my brief pipe research as well.

Any insight would be great as I know very little about pipes.
(The pictures were taken with my phone so sorry for the poor quality)

Sorry i can't help you much as i never seen nor heard about plastic pipe. Well not at least plastic smoking pipe.
I would suggest you trying with pipes made of traditional materials (wood, corncob, meerschaum) before trying this. Could it be this is some sort of fake theater pipe or something? Not meant for real stuff?

There was a product out years ago called "The Pipe" that may have been something like that. I never had any experience with one but I know they were around for a time. I favor briar or corncob if you're just beginning. Corncobs are cheap but good smokes.

Yeah, I was planning on picking up a corncob. I did a few google searches and found this on amazon: Amazon.com: Classical Large Tobacco Smoking Pipe with Metal Bowl: Everything Else

I'm a little weary to smoke out of it and I think I'll wait until I grab a corncob, but now I just have to figure out what to tell him when he asks me if I've tried the pipe yet...

From Wikipedia:

"Synthetics
Venturi pipe of synthetic materials: A variety of other materials may also be used for pipes. The Redmanol corporation manufactured pipes with translucent stems in the 1920s and a series of pipes was manufactured and distributed by the Tar Gard (later Venturi) Corporation of San Francisco from 1965-1975. Marketed under names such as "the pipe," "THE SMOKE" and "Venturi," they used materials such as pyrolytic graphite, phenolic resin, nylon, Bakelite and other synthetics, allowing for higher temperatures in the bowl, reduced tar and aesthetic variations of color and style.[2] After Venturi stopped making pipes, several companies continue to make pipes from Brylon, a composite of nylon and wood flour, as a cheaper substitute for briar."

Judging from the apparent age of the pipe, I'd say what you've probably got is a Brylon pipe. As noted above, it's not plastic per se but a composite of nylon and wood flour. I myself have never smoked one but know lots of folks who have. While your apprehension about smoking this pipe is probably baseless (it's not gonna blow up in your face or melt and is totally smokable) what I have heard about the smoke quality of these things is far from flattering. Every word I've ever heard or read about these synthetic pipes sings the same tune. They heat up very quickly and retain the heat for a long time. The excess heat build up inevitably translates into a fairly poor smoke. I'm not sure how much it will help but I'd say that puff pace (i.e. how hard and fast you puff) would be a huge factor. Very slow sips would be the ticket here. By comparison, I have smoked many a cob in my life and NEVER had a single bad smoke from one.

As for the metal appendage attached to the bit, that is what is commonly referred to as a "stinger". Essentially this thing's purpose in life is to catch goo before your mouth or your tongue do. They do take a bit of getting used to but generally there's no real detrimental effect to the smoking quality of the pipe. I've got a room full of Kaywoodies with stingers and they are without exception the bees knees. Oh and speaking of bit installed devices, when you get your cob pipe step one is to separate the bit from the shank and remove the paper/wax filter. Once you have said filter in your dominant hand, throw that son of a buck as far as you possibly can and never again consider replacing it. This style of filter is a vile abomination indeed and will do NOTHING to improve the quality of your smoke.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I was hesitant to smoke it because I was thinking it would be a poor/harsh smoke.

haha, I'll be sure to toss the paper filter when I get a cob. Again, thanks for the help.

I've smoked a pipe similar to that (it was a vest pocket style, if you care). I didn't like it. It felt cheap, and it didn't pull well. I would recommend going to the local rite-aid and picking up a corn-cob, then going to the smoke shop to get an ounce of tobacco that they recommend. It'll probably be a cavendish, as they are really smooth, but I would definitely recommend trying McCleland's "Frogmorton on the Town" when you smoke enough to get over the tongue bite.

Personally, I'm not big on the corncobs. I had one a while back, and I never liked the taste of it. I realize that they're supposed to be relatively neutral, so that the respective tobacco's flavour is more apparent, but I just didn't jive with it.

FWIW Teemus, spend a bit and get an entry level Brigham or something, and start with a quality piece. You could probably find one for around $60-80 downtown T.O.

And Tomas Hinds (at Yonge and Cumberland) has a great selection of loose tobacco.

Originally Posted by Maxi

Personally, I'm not big on the corncobs. I had one a while back, and I never liked the taste of it. I realize that they're supposed to be relatively neutral, so that the respective tobacco's flavour is more apparent, but I just didn't jive with it.

FWIW Teemus, spend a bit and get an entry level Brigham or something, and start with a quality piece. You could probably find one for around $60-80 downtown T.O.

And Tomas Hinds (at Yonge and Cumberland) has a great selection of loose tobacco.

Yeah, I've been meaning to take a look at some of the shops DT. I've just gotta wait to start a summer job and then the money will start coming in and then I can really get this potential pipe hobby off the ground.

Out of curiosty, what tobaccos did you first start with?

The first tobaccos I started with were the ones in the pouches, shredded. I tried the flavoured ones first, because someone back then said that they tasted nice. They do, but the flavour also doesn't last for the entire bowl. It was easier to learn to pack, tamp and light the pipe with them.

After that, I went to the cake tobacco from the shops. I like to mix it up, but Thomas Hinds has a blender on staff, and when I need a bit I go see him.

If you can wait to the meet, I'll bring a Brigham pipe for your to try.

These days, I pretty much keep to cigars.