Big Pipe / Little Pipe? Is one best for certain blends?

[Tim in Ohio]

Still learning. I have a big bowl pipe that is dedicated to English blends. I have been smoking VAs in a smaller bowl. I just acquired a new large bowl pipe and I'm debating what this pipes mission in life will be. I'd like to hear thoughts on the merits of different sized bowls for different types of tobacco... or do the larger bowl pipes just serve the purpose of holding MORE of your favorite blend for a longer smoke... regardless of what the blend may be? :scratch: :scratch: :scratch:

 

[Handsome Dynamite]

I've never really planned what I'm going to smoke in a pipe. They just all 'find' the tobacco I smoke out of them, and they all work very well for that tobacco.

 

[ftrplt]

We have most knowledgeable brothers who maintain that flaked tobacco smokes better in smaller pipes. Others feel that VAs & VaPers smoke better in one size or another. For me, the decision rests with how long a smoke I plan to have!! FWIW, FTRPLT

 

[Midnight Blues]

We have most knowledgeable brothers who maintain that flaked tobacco smokes better in smaller pipes. Others feel that VAs & VaPers smoke better in one size or another. For me, the decision rests with how long a smoke I plan to have!! FWIW, FTRPLT

Sage wisdom indeed! I believe that pipe smoking is very subjective and that one size does not fit all. I suggest that you'll find whats best for you through trial and error.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm finding also that flakes (mostly VA's) tend to do better in bowls with narrow chambers, and if they're a bit deeper than usual that's better too...aromatics do well in larger chambers and I'm finding I like the english blends in medium sized bowls...

 

[Tim in Ohio]

We have most knowledgeable brothers who maintain that flaked tobacco smokes better in smaller pipes. Others feel that VAs & VaPers smoke better in one size or another. For me, the decision rests with how long a smoke I plan to have!! FWIW, FTRPLT

To back up the theory shared by FTRPLT with some anecdotal evidence from my experimentation last night. I fired up a big bowl of my new estate American Pipe rusticated Dublin with some Sam Gawith Full Virginia Flake. This being a delicate Virginia which is best "sipped" rather than puffed with gusto, I was working on that pipe for over an hour and a half! I don't really have that kinda free time usually to devote to a smoke. Great tobacco, very pleasurable, but an hour and a half??? It may just be me... I'm too ADHD for that. I would get bored with opening a pile of Christmas presents well before the hour and a half mark... :twisted: I'd be kicking Jessica Alba out of the bed by the time an hour and a half rolled around... well, maybe not. :evil:

Also, in addition to the time element, the wispy little "sips" weren't well suited to the bigger diameter shank. Like trying to use an empty toilet paper roll for a drinking straw.

I'll stick with my smaller pipes for the flakes.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

A group 4 filled with flake can easily hit the 1.5 mark; 2 hrs for a 5. For me, it's how much time do I have and what pipes are dedicated to that blend, or second best, what pipes are in the neighborhood of the proposed tobacco selection. VAs with VAs, etc.

I never pick a pipe that hasn't at least minimal cake from the new blend and expect that I'm going to get the true flavor of that blend. So that means 2-4 smokes before finding true flavor.

 

[Anonymous]

When smoking flakes (FVF especially) I typically choose a narrow bowl (less than 3/4"), just goes together like peanutbutter & jelly. I have a Savinelli 320 that starts wide at the top and tapers down sharply that seems to love the aromatics. Wide bowls (7/8" & up) seem to work for english, burleys, & other loose tobaccos.
These standards are what works for me.

 

[Hunter5117]

I find that tobaccos that benefit from slow smoking also go well in a thick-walled bowl. One reason I like Dublins for the extra heft to the bowl. The heavier walls hold heat better and when smoking slow it allows the tobacco to release its full goodness. I almost always rub my flakes out completely so I don't find the tall narrow bowl is as critical, when I do fold and stuff then I do look for one of my pipes that has that shape bowl, seems to help keep things lit. Burleys (mostly OTC's) I smoke in whatever is at hand although I find a tight restricted draw makes some of them taste soapy.

 

[adauria]

In general, I tend to dedicate small/narrow bowled pipes to VAs, med-larger bowls to English (or anything with noticeable Latakia), and very large bowls to burleys. OTOH, I find sometimes I'll hot a combination where a certain blend just works really, really well in a certain pipe, even if it goes against the norm. E.g. I've got a small bowled churchwarden that loves English blends, especially with orientals (man, I smoked a lot of Nightcap in that pipe before it disappeared). I've got a big-bowled, thick-walled billiard that loves VAs, though I don't smoke flake in there too often.

Anyway, I have my guidelines, and then I have my exceptions. Works for me.

-Andrew

 

[Natch]

Guess I'm the "oddball" [insert insult here :twisted: ] in this narrow vs. wide chamber discussion. Probably half of what I smoke are flakes and I find a wide, shallow bowl the best overall. With the latakia/oriental/Balkan tobaccos (being more of a shag or such cut) I prefer larger and deeper bowls. But for flakes, I'm a "wide and shallow" kind of guy [insert second insult here :twisted: ].

Natch

 

[Tim in Ohio]

Guess I'm the "oddball" [insert insult here ] in this narrow vs. wide chamber discussion. Probably half of what I smoke are flakes and I find a wide, shallow bowl the best overall. With the latakia/oriental/Balkan tobaccos (being more of a shag or such cut) I prefer larger and deeper bowls. But for flakes, I'm a "wide and shallow" kind of guy [insert second insult here ].

Natch

Sure Natch, I'll try to accommodate your request:

Guess I'm the "oddball" [who puffs his pipe while wearing a lacey corset and thigh high fishnet stockings] in this narrow vs. wide chamber discussion. Probably half of what I smoke are flakes and I find a wide, shallow bowl the best overall. With the latakia/oriental/Balkan tobaccos (being more of a shag or such cut) I prefer larger and deeper bowls. But for flakes, I'm a "wide and shallow" kind of guy [when it comes to my buttocks and my intellect respectively].

Natch

Hope this helps, pal. :lol!:

 

[Natch]

Tim,

You're closer to correct in my smoking attire than you might think. I tried to post the pix once, but for some odd reason there was a universal request to take them down! Go figure?

Natch