To filter or not
PipeProfessor
Apprentice
What are your thoughts on filtered pipes?
PipeProfessor
Apprentice
Comments
@Hiker007 All my Big Ben pipe are made for 9mm filters and I don't use filters on any of them. And in all my years of smoking I've never damaged a pipe by not using a filter. There actually are inserts you can insert in your stem in place of a filter to make it smoke like a regular pipe. But I don't really see much sense in them because I've never found it difficult smoking without a filter anyway. Some people don't like them because they rattle around ad are not a tight fit. Maybe it's just another way of making money. But here is a picture of one. And the stinger on the end is removable. I think they are only a couple of bucks.
I agree with Woodsman, that the filter was primarily designed to take moisture out of the smoke stream, and reduce the chance for a pipe to gurgle. Another design that attempts to do this is the Peterson System pipe, which doesn't use a filter, but attempts to compensate for any possible moisture buildup inside the pipe. I think a lot of manufacturers in decades past, decided to use some sort of design or filter, to compensate for any possible internal condensation.
It is exactly the reason some folks favor pipes with larger bores, or drilling out pipes and stems to larger dimensions. However, anytime you allow more oxygen to flow, you also allow the possibility that your tobacco will burn faster and in most cases hotter. This is one reason I will wait to see how a pipe smokes, before having it drilled out to a larger bore.
When I smoke a Missouri Meerschaum factory pipe, I almost always use the paper filter as was intended. The Dr. Grabow paper filters I prefer are open in the center, and will easily pass a pipe cleaner, just as though there is no filter in the pipe. Since the smoke makes a straight shot through the center of the open filter, I can't tell a difference in the taste of my tobacco. Same principle with the balsa filters that a few of my pipes use, since the smoke travels around the filter, not through it.
I do have some round filters that have some sort of crystals inside, and the smoke is required to travel through the filter and the crystals. I can't tell a difference in flavor, but I can see how some people might be able to detect a difference in flavor with such a filter.
A briar pipe as well as a cob, absorb moisture from the smoke stream, and the filter is simply a further attempt to absorb even more moisture. What is puzzling to me is that I have never seen a meerschaum pipe with a filter, and it would seem that since meerschaum pipes don't absorb much if any moisture, that they would benefit from a filter even more than a briar or meerschaum. I suppose a filter may keep a meerschaum from coloring as quickly, and I suppose the average meerschaum smoker might sacrifice a little tongue bite, for the possibility of getting a little extra color. I am guessing that there may be meerschaum pipes on the German market with filters, I dunno.
I have read threads over the years that would suggest that filters are for newbies, or for folks that haven't learned to smoke a pipe properly and I think that is hogwash. If I have a pipe that uses a filter, I will always try smoking it with a filter. The main reason I do not like smoking a pipe without the filter that it was designed for, is that those pipes tend to gather more gunk in the area where the filter should be used, and it seems to me to change the airflow/draw of the pipe.
I have tried an adapter in a filtered Ferndown that I really enjoy smoking, but it is difficult to remove for cleaning. I just use the balsa filters instead and the pipe smokes great, and without the adapter, the pipe is much easier to keep clean.
@ghostsofpompeii Keystones??? What are those?
Keystones are little clay pebbles that you put in the bottom of the bowl to sop up any moisture. The pipe in the picture is designed to have the stones put in under the bowl ... but you can do the same thing with a regular pipe, simply by dropping about five stones in the pipe before packing it..
The only exception for me is that I like the O-ring in Falcon pipes. I use them to keep the moisture in my Falcons in check.
All the Carey's smoke the same. For my tastes and habits in smoking, the Carey is just qualitatively a better experience.
Should you use a filter in your pipe, if so, what kind of filter should you use!
That being said, I rarely use a filter, yet when I do, there doesn't seem to be enough of a difference to prevent me from enjoying the bowl.
When the wife and I go on vacations, I usually take 2 filtered pipes, 1 or 2 blends and 3 or 4 filters along with a couple of pipe cleaners.
Rather than taking cleaning solutions, etc., I simply run a cleaner through, change filters between smokes, and I've hit a middle ground between a thoroughly clean pipe and not.
So for me, there's one case that can be made for filters...
I agree. Some of my filtered pipes smoke hotter than the hinges of Hells gate no matter how I puff so it seems to protect the tongue somewhat. I’ve never noticed a taste difference but it’s only on a couple pipes I own. I’ll stick with no filter 95% of the time. It’s all about what works for you.