".... variables of pipe size, tobacco type, time of day, what we are imbibing...."

motie2

I tried to find a similar discussion using search terms <<size, bowl, large, small, etc.>> and couldn't find it. So here goes.

Our friends at Pipes2smoke.com emailed this interesting article:

<<Pipe Missive:  A great mystery is why some tobaccos some better in bigger pipe and some smaller. What makes this and even more confusing issue is that tobaccos that have same ingredients with different proportions vary. I have pondered this as we all wish each pipe tobacco combination to give of its best.  After much observation I have come to a few conclusions. Tobaccos when burning breathe and some need to breathe more to deliver their best. Meaning a larger pipe while others become overpowering in length of smoke in a bigger vessel.  I find for example that Craven Mixture (the original) works best in a smaller pipe. Actually I have found it ideally suited to a Prince.  Anything larger - over 1 ½” high - and the taste begin to cloy on a longer smoke.

 

Of course this is also affected by the time of day you are smoking given. I smoke EMP, or Craven in the morning and State Express, McClelland’s Frog Morton in the evening.  This leads me to believe that that some tobaccos are best suited to different times of day. So, we juggle the variables of pipe size, tobacco type, time of day, what we are imbibing while smoking and all is affected by what we last ate and how log ago.

 

I am no mathematician but with a minimum of 6 variables for each smoke combination I suspect we have 1000’s of possible variations. It is impossible to test them all so it becomes what works best from previous experience.  Each pipe smoker has his endless quest to find the best combinations that suit the time.>>

ghostsofpompeii

I think body chemistry and our individual brain's pleasure center can be the greatest variable in the pipe smoking experience than the blend, type of tobacco, bowl size, humidity and weather conditions, or even the possibility of a seven year palate change. As medical science evolves we may discover there actually are certain parts of our bodies (like our taste buds) which are as uniquely individual as a person's fingerprint. And while the majority of smokers may only experience slight nuanced changes in the flavor of tobacco blends other individuals may be subjected to radical flavor disparities based on their body chemistry. Perfume and cologne can react differently to the body chemistry of an individual. What you smell when spraying the perfume directly into the air for a sniff may not smell exactly the same when combined with your natural body chemistry. That's why cologne may smell differently on different people. 

I think having these mysterious variable is just another added attraction to the hobby of pipe smoking. Think of it ... you take one pipe and one tobacco blend ... and with a few minor alteration in packing the pipe, weather conditions, bowl size, or smoking techniques and it's like adding another blend to your cellar without spending a dime.         

xDutchx

motie, someone asked a similar question, and here is the link to that thread. I definitely feel that there is a correlation between pipe size, bowl size, and the individual briar a pipe is carved from. Add to that, variations in tobacco cuts, which you can customize to alter flavors, and  I would agree there are 1000's of combinations.

xDutchx

https://thispipelife.com/us/tpl/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/745/bowl-shape-preferences-by-tobacco-type#latest

judandhispipe

I have heard for years that, as a general rule,lat blends and aros work best in larger bowl, while Virginias work best in smaller bowls. YMMV, but I have found this to be true. (I would define "larger bowl" as a Dunhill group 4 or larger.)

PappyJoe

The question that should be asked is "Are there any variables that will be the same for all?" It's a given that each individual pipe smoker is going to have a unique body chemistry which affects how they process the taste and aroma of pipe tobacco they are smoking. I would suggest that there is also a psychology to pipe smoking enjoyment. For example, when we buy a highly touted blend and smoke it for the first time three of the most common response to the blend are 1. I Hate it. This doesn't taste nearly as great as everyone says it is.;  2. This is the absolute best tobacco blend in the world.; or 3. It's okay. I get why some people like it but I like something else better.

We are all conditioned to buy into the "advertising" for everything in life. We are constantly bombarded with TV advertising, for example, telling us which soft drink or coffee taste better, which steakhouse is better, which airline to fly on  or which erectile dysfunction pill is going to work better. Hey! I'm a Mac! I'm better than a PC! You get my drift? 

It's the same thing with pipe tobacco. We all read reviews. We all read what the individual opinions of other pipe smokers are on forums. Those are nice, but they are just the personal opinions of individuals.

We all read the advertising copy (the descriptions) on the on-line retailers. Those descriptions are written to entice you to spend money and trust me, they don't have as much to do with the reality of the tobacco as you would think.

I have had been told by older pipe smokers that they can tell the difference between one pouch of Carter Hall and another depending on the year it was made because every season's growth of tobacco is different than the previous. Sort of like the difference in vintage years of wines. 

I have been told that you can buy two brand new pipes - same brand, shape and size - and they will smoke differently because it is physically impossible to carve two pipes from the same piece of briar.

Do some types of tobacco smoke better in some bowl sizes than others? I would agree with this on a personal level. I have at least two pipes with taller, narrower bowls and I find them better suited for smoking flakes than others. I have a few Apple shape medium size bowls that I have unconsciously relegated to English and Balkan blends (though that is mainly because the cake which has formed in them would affect the taste of an aromatic). 

With all that being said, I think the number one variable in all of pipe smoking is the individual pipe smoker.

dbh1950

Agree PappyJoe, the biggest variable is the individual pipe smoker. Years ago, I could little stand a pipe tobacco with burley, I was strictly a Virginia base, some Latakia, and a but of Perique. Working part time for a friend that owned a pipe and tobacco store, I was free to mix my own. In the last few years, I have somewhat change, I still like the Virginia base tobaccos, but have now added a number of aromatics, even a burley base Half&Half. The nice variable for me, is that there is a wide world of tobaccos to explore, new experiences.

motie2

@dbh1950 - I hear you. I have a related experience. Back in the late 60's and early 70's, I was an English blend (Latakia!) and VaPer fan, my two faves being Balkan Sobranie and cope's Escudo. After a nearly four decade hiatus, during which I didn't smoke, I've taken up the pipe again, and all I'm smoking are heavily flavored, sweet tasting tobaccos from Sutliff, the kind of tobaccos I mocked back in the day. I no longer care for Latakia or Perique. Go figure. In fact, I've admitted that in my current incarnation that I really don't care for the taste of tobacco itself; it's smoking I enjoy. Hence, my fondness for Molto Dolce, Vanilla Custard, and (still uncertain why, as it is hardly sweet) Barbados Plantation.

motie2

<<Pipe Missive Sept. 14, 2017-09-14 from http://www.pipes2smoke.com

 

Tobacco Thoughts – It’s strange I have been smoking pipes for a long time. All sizes, big ones, normal sized and small ones.  I have also tried every tobacco I have ever been able to. I would think that after this many years I would easily be able to match a type of tobacco to a right sized pipe.  It just doesn’t happen easily. It seems like nothing with pipes is predictable.

 

I generally work on the theory that a strong flavoured Oriental – my favorite - will work best in a smaller to normal sized pipe but that is not always the case.  Taking into account the finer cut the faster it will burn and the hotter it will smoke.  Assuming that I choose a smaller pipe. Yet, sometimes a smaller one burns hotter maybe because it has less briar to dissipate the heat and a larger one, sometimes surprisingly large, if nursed carefully smokes the same tobacco far more enjoyably.  The whys of this remain unknowable mysteries?

 

I have a very limited supply of G. Smith & Sons Old London Mixture made back when in the golden age of UK blending. It is fine cut, rich & full with ample Latakia and smokes cool and smooth in any sized pipe I have tried. Why, absolutely no idea.

 

To some degree I suspect the somewhat randomness of which combination of pipe and tobacco works best for one is what keeps the hobby endlessly interesting.>>

Woodsman

Two of my favorite Flake pipe are a Carey MI 1/2 bent with a 13/16" bore X 1 1/4" Depth and a Comoy's K1057 Rhodesian 1/4 bent with a 3/4" bore X 1 1/4" depth both tested  with 7 yr. old PS Luxury Navy Flake. Next I'll try 1 1/2 yr. old Newminster's 400 Superior Navy Flake in both pipes 

Corey562

I have found that my bowls seem to be sweeter when the rain is starting to set in. Now that might just be something I tell myself so I can sit in the porch swing and smoke. But that is my outlook on it.
 Like you really need a reason to enjoy the swing and a bowl.

Londy3

All these variables are making my head hurt