Educate me about filtered pipes

[Lysander]

Bought a pipe on ebay without realizing it was filtered. Please tell me about filters as I don't know enough to ask the right questions. Advantages? Disadvantages? Is a filter good one or many bowls? Any reason not to smoke the filtered pipe without a filter?

 

[SpeedyPete]

Just treat the pipe as you would do with any normal, unfiltered pipe.

Filters suck

 

[loneredtree]

Some people like them and some(most) do not. I say that you should try some with and without and see for your self. They do tend to mute the flavor but also do make the smoke dry which is good. They do need to be washed or changed after a number of times of use. Again, it depends on your preferences. I am sure that there will be more responses. I personally have never used them.

 

[joshoowah]

The balsa filters of Savinelli are unique and decent. I actually prefer the 9mm filters, but I only have one pipe that uses them. Other times I do not use a filter, but I have never had issues using them when I do. A lot of complaints out there against them I've found unfounded. Most pipes made in and around Germany are made to take filters. Either way, you can smoke a filtered pipe without a filter just fine.

 

[ftrplt]

Lysander...I go along with trying to smoke your new "get" both ways. Do you have other pipes or is this your first? If you've been smoking a non-filtered pipe for a while, you will notice the difference...I think!! Personally, I do not own any filtered pipes anymore (I did years ago, got rid of them all!!). Smoking a filtered pipe without the filter is perfectly OK; the draw may be a bit too open, so puff slowly. Have fun and let us know how it turns out!! :cheers: FTRPLT

 

[Richard Burley]

I just bought an estate Il Ceppo that I originally wished did not have the filter cavity (the seller wasn't aware of it at first and offered me a chance to back out). But it smokes really well, and is now one of my favorite pipes. My suggestion is to just smoke it as it is, empty--no filter, no insert. I do the same with several Savinellis I have, and cannot really tell the difference, smoke quality-wise, from a conventional shank. (There is the nagging suspicion that it may actually be better, but I don't want to start anything.  :roll

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Filters of any kind are merely extra work. Some folks have gotten used to what they do and how they perform, but just like engines, the most fun ones are unfettered simplicity with no emissions controls.

That said, the filter pipes I do smoke consist of mainly cobs. They smoke just fine without filters under nearly any circumstance. The handful of others can smoke decently without them, but take a different timing and approach while smoking. The guys that have the most problems with them are the ones who tend to smoke like a choo-choo and burn through half an ounce of tobacco in 30 minutes.

I try to avoid filter pipes that aren't cobs, as they also make passing a cleaner mid-smoke somewhat troublesome.

8)

 

[Dutch]

Some smokers new to pipe smoking will assume that a pipe filter functions similarly to a filter in a cigarette. The pipe filters primary role however, is to collect excess moisture generated from the burning process.

If you really want the best of both worlds, get yourself a briar or meerschaum pipe with a bamboo stem. The bamboo does an excellent job of absorbing excess moisture, while still allowing the smoker to run a pipe cleaner through the pipe mid smoke. There are other reasons to run a pipe cleaner thru your pipe mid smoke, other than an attempt to collect excess moisture, and your tobacco getting gunked up at the draft hole is one of them. This is one of the major reasons I tend to smoke filterless pipes, but like Kyle I use them in some of my cobs.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

To be more precise, I smoke filter pipes (cobs) occasionally.  I never use filters, however.   :heart:  

It takes a real masochist to be diligent with filters, I've noticed--especially the 6mm paper (Medico/Grabow) type and the 9mm charcoal nonsense.   Changed after only a few smokes, sure--I get that they might appeal to folks if they like fussing over such things.   I can't tell you how many guys walk into my local pipe shop and say, "I'll be darned if my pipe ain't clogged!"   The worker then removes the stem to find this black, reeking, dripping, horrid cylinder of nasty.   A few even asked if "lifetime" filters were available.   :lol:

The 6mm balsa Savinelli-type triangles have their place in some guys' hearts, but maintenance is required.  

Beyond the idea that filtered pipes started catching on at the same time filtered cigarettes were touting themselves as "healthier" alternatives to the normal unfiltered, major pipe manufacturers in the mid 1950s (or so) decided to tag along with their own filters.   It has also been suggested that cheaper pipes featured this to compensate for bad design and rushed manufacturing that led to excess moisture.  

Bamboo shanks do indeed wick away moisture; the same principle with cobs and their hardwood shanks (no, the shanks aren't made from cob--they're just printed to look that way).   Brigham and their "rock maple inserts" achieve the same goal, I presume.   Though in the case of Brigham pipes, I believe the inserts can go quite a while without much trouble if kept clean.  I have no idea as I've never owned or smoked one.

They are simple filters, not catalytic converters--they indiscriminately filter out everything in the smoke to some varying degree, and to my senses, the good stuff in tobacco, as well.

8)

 

[monbla256]

Bought a pipe on ebay without realizing it was filtered. Please tell me about filters as I don't know enough to ask the right questions. Advantages? Disadvantages? Is a filter good one or many bowls? Any reason not to smoke the filtered pipe without a filter?

You have not said exactly whether you are refering to a pipe which uses actual filters made of either bamboo as savinelli makes or ones which use the rolled paper tube style ala the Medico brand or if it has a metal condenser often refered to as a "stinger" which would really determine if you'd want to continue using it. I've smoked pipes with both and for my personal method of smoking I've found BOTH to be too restrictive draw wise for me so do not use either in any pipes I have that came with them. I also like to pass a cleaner thru the stem mid smoke and BOTH of these systems really don't allow that to happen. Also the Medico type need to be watched as if they are not changed frequently can give the pipe a "sour" smell to it and taste when smoked. JMHO :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Brewdude]

My first Savinelli, a 316 Rusticated, came with the triangular balsa filters. Smoked the pipe that way for a while and found it restricted the draw so eliminated them and never looked back. Didn't see any advantage to them from a moisture standpoint, as I've never been one to smoke blends that are too wet.

My Sav 320 Punto Oro takes a 6mm filter, but don't use one. Smokes just fine and the draw is not too open either.

My very first pipe, an inexpensive Chacom, had a stinger but that provided too much resistance so that went away pretty fast.

So guess I'm not a fan of filters. Or stingers.


Cheers,

RR

 

[MisterE]

Yeah, the balsa filters the Savinellis take are pretty cool. The only drawback is if you get a gurgle, or the draught hole plugs up with a piece of tobacco, you can't get it with a pipe cleaner. You'll have to wait 'til it cools ant pull out the stem.

Medico filters just suck in every way, shape, and form. Fie on tube filters.

I smoke them without the filter, or even an insert. Inserts are ok, but a royal pain when it's time to clean the pipe. Oh-so-messy.

 

[Natch]

About half the pipes I smoke are filtered, try it and go with what you like. The Sav. balsa filters seem to do little more than soak up moisture. I rather like the Brigham maple filters, they barely soak up some moisture, but are the least "filtering" of any filters in my experience.

Smoke what you like and like what you smoke applies to more than just the tobacco blend.

Natch

 

[Dutch]

To be more precise, I smoke filter pipes (cobs) occasionally.  I never use filters, however.   :heart:  

It takes a real masochist to be diligent with filters, I've noticed--especially the 6mm paper (Medico/Grabow) type and the 9mm charcoal nonsense.   Changed after only a few smokes, sure--I get that they might appeal to folks if they like fussing over such things.   I can't tell you how many guys walk into my local pipe shop and say, "I'll be darned if my pipe ain't clogged!"   The worker then removes the stem to find this black, reeking, dripping, horrid cylinder of nasty.   A few even asked if "lifetime" filters were available.   :lol:

The 6mm balsa Savinelli-type triangles have their place in some guys' hearts, but maintenance is required.  

Beyond the idea that filtered pipes started catching on at the same time filtered cigarettes were touting themselves as "healthier" alternatives to the normal unfiltered, major pipe manufacturers in the mid 1950s (or so) decided to tag along with their own filters.   It has also been suggested that cheaper pipes featured this to compensate for bad design and rushed manufacturing that led to excess moisture.  

Bamboo shanks do indeed wick away moisture; the same principle with cobs and their hardwood shanks (no, the shanks aren't made from cob--they're just printed to look that way).   Brigham and their "rock maple inserts" achieve the same goal, I presume.   Though in the case of Brigham pipes, I believe the inserts can go quite a while without much trouble if kept clean.  I have no idea as I've never owned or smoked one.

They are simple filters, not catalytic converters--they indiscriminately filter out everything in the smoke to some varying degree, and to my senses, the good stuff in tobacco, as well.

8)

Kyle, my bad! I comprehended your post wrong. I should have recalled from your previous posts, that you had no intentions of ever crossing over to the dark side. :lol:

 

[joshoowah]

Perhaps it might be better to clarify what type of filters the pipe you bought takes? To answer one of your questions, filters usually last 2-3 bowls.  As everyone has stated, there will be nuanced issues per individual. As I said, I have one filtered pipe that I actually use a 9mm filter for, but it is an artisan pipe; thus it is designed a bit better than most factory pipes. It has zero restriction on the draw with or without the filter. I've tried the balsa filters from Savinelli but did not like the restriction on the draw.

 

[J Soshae]

I would recommend a newbie to keep the filters in a cob at the very beginning. We all started a little aggressive with the puffing. The filters help protect the tongue from steam and maybe with saliva going back into the pipe. The restriction to the draw is fine when someone is still sucking like a Hoover vacuum.

 

[Jevverrett]

I used the filters in high school, and then stopped buying filter pipes. The ones I do own (savs and such) I don't use the filter in them. I have tried the adapter that comes with the savs, and I'm not sure if it helps. My actual advice for a new smoker would be to use filter till you get the pipe broken in. I think the cake helps regulate the moisture a bit in addition to the heat. I think you'll find you don't like them once you get the pipe broken in. Also for a new smoker, your tongue is still soft lol. It'll be like leather after a while, and the steam won't bother you as much.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

The whole "keep it simple" standard is something I prefer to hand over as advice to newbies.  

Adding/accepting extras, gadgets, gimmicks and the like (the list is vast in pipeland) seem to complicate and lengthen the time it takes for tobacco to be found, pipes learned to be smoked...  

...if some years down the road one says, "...wow, I really need a (insert pipe "innovation" here)..."  ...that would be a good time to start adding-to the piping experience.  

One good thing a filtered pipe, smoked filterless, has going for it is they usually are more open-draw to compensate for the purposeful obstruction of a filter--cobs being a good example.   Careful packing and practice can make nearly any pipe with an open draw smoke decently, but a restricted draw is something of a headache.   Savinelli pipes are a go-to for one buddy of mine here locally, and he omits the balsa/triangle filters altogether. He finds Savinelli to be just perfect the way they are filterless. They're all he smokes.

Dutch, no sweat, man--I'm no mathematician even in regard to pipes.   The more things I add, the less correct answers I get.   :lol:

8)

 

[fsu92john]

Remove filter, throw it away, smoke as normal. This is my routine any time I buy a filter pipe.

 

[Puffer Mark]

(There is the nagging suspicion that it may actually be better, but I don't want to start anything.  :roll

Oh, oh, Richard. I think it may be too late.

When I took to the pipe again in a serious way about 18 months ago, my first purchases of consequence were 2 Stanwells with 9mm filter options. I started out using the Savinelli balsa filters, and did not find a significant difference in draw or taste. Being bit anal, though, I would break down the pipe after cooling and squeeze the moisture out of the balsa with a paper towel, thinking it probably not a good idea to leave a saturated filter in the pipe between smokes. Bit of a smelly job, and frankly, I just got tired of the hassle.  The filters may have eased my virgin tongue back into the smoking routine though.

Either way I now smoke them with the filter adapter they came with and clean everything out with alcohol during my deep cleans. I was freaked out by the warning that that your shank would promptly split wide open from bowl to stem, if you smoked them without the filter or adapter EVEN ONCE! Also worried about gunk building up in the cavity and possibly tainting the smoke. They take a cleaner OK most of the time with a bit of wiggling (they're both bents).

SpeedyPete will tell you though that this is all BS, and I defer to his wisdom. But as I said, I'm just a bit anal. I certainly don't think this is an issue with 6mm filters like cobs. I smoke mine filterless all the time, no problems.

As a rule, I don't buy filter pipes anymore (although I would consider a 6mm, if the shape appealed to me) That said, my family bought me a pipe for Christmas, and guess what? Yep, it's a 9mm filter. Anyone got any spare adapters?

Mark.