Cigars

[Rick Boylan]

Any good sources for the kind of clay pipes you all are talking about?

I'm not sure I'll smoke enough to break in a pipe very well. Heck. it can take me a year to smoke 3 cigars.

 

[LongrifleDoc]

Agree with everything you said here.

 

[LongrifleDoc]

As Tenngun said, Crazycrow.com or jas-townsend.com

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well corncob pipes have two advantages. They are cheap...they don't break when you drop them.

I sometimes buy a "wooden corncob pipe" and cut off the stem at the cob. With the awl portion of a Swiss Army Knife, I open the glued in wooden insert until my reed stem will fit. Depending on the size I buy, the cob is about right if I had made it from an ear of corn.

I have also turned a Mo Meerschaum "Osark" pipe, which is fruitwood, into a reed stemmed pipe. Lasts longer than the corncob.

I get my clay pipes from John White at Avalon Forge or Tom Muschlitz at The Mountain Forge.

Funny thing... I have four clay pipes...two smoked, and two standing buy in case of breakage....but since I bought four at the Ft Fred Market Fair last April, I haven't broken either of the first two. I used to break them regularly. I wonder if having backups in the "pipe department" wards off The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate?

Also at some point, if the clay pipe lasts, you may have to place it, UNsmoked for the past 24 hours, on hot coals in the fire to "cure" it of residual tobacco juice and tar. I've done this a couple of times with the pair that I smoke now. Works well to sweeten them up. :grin: SAFETY TIP...a clay pipe will be very hot when you take it off the coals, even if the ceramic isn't glowing, place it on a brick or stone to cool and watch that folks don't go near it until cool. :shocked2:

LD

 

[tenngun]

yes j townsend and sons, crazy crow ,log cabin sport shop , and turkey foot traders all have them and run about the same price, Turkeyfoots are made with mixed clay andare very pretty

 

[Brokennock]

http://shop.pipeshoppe.com/product-category/claypipes/

http://www.tinderbox.co.nz/tinder_box_online_store.html

 

[tenngun]

One thing I might get hammered on so I add it as to my own experience. Tobacco sold in regular stores often have presvitives in them or are high in sugar. This tends to make the smoke bite. Start out with smoke sold in bulk form at a tobacco store or a pipe/cigar store. A black cavendish or a cavendish Virginia blend is good. Avoide vanilla or cherry blends as they tend to smoke hot.
Load a pipe in thirds. The lowest third packed lighty, the middle a little tighter and the top third tight. The old saw is the finger of a child a women then a man. Have a small dowl and as the draw gets light tamp the smoke. The one piece sold clay cutty pipes smoke well but as you hold the stem in your teeth you grind off bits of clay that end up tasting like dirt. The reed stemed pipe is easier on the teeth and doesn't taste. Stems that enter the pipe at an angle are less Likly to collect fluid and so you don't get a wet draw. Always keep the bowl down so to not draw fluids in to your mouth.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

What he just said.... :thumbsup:

LD

 

[LongrifleDoc]

Correct.

 

[Rick Boylan]

Well, I took the plunge. I went to a local tobacco store. They had a very good selection of pipes. What I did was find a good small briar pipe. It's a small model that I figured would be a good test to see just how well I like smoking a pipe. It was a good price only $20 so I got it, a pipe tool, pipe cleaners, a disposable lighter, and the owner recommended a good cavadish blend. The blend is named Mardi Gras and is a cavadish and vanilla blend.

Later last night I packed a few pinches in the pipe and went outside to try it out (no smoking in the house warned the wife). I had a little trouble keeping it lit but once I got it packed right it stayed lit very well.

I must say, I'm sold. It was a smooth, cool, flavorful smoke. No harsh biting or hot smoke, just a pleasant smoke.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll continue to use the small pipe for now. They did have a very nice meersham (sp?) pipe for $59. It has a long amber stem and the pipe is carved to look like a pirate with a patch over his eye. I might have to add that to my newly started collection.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Just remember that Meeschaum is an indoor only pipe.

LD

 

[Rick Boylan]

Oh? Well, then I better not buy it. I'm restricted to only outdoors smoking.

That's OK though, because it means I'm limited to the number of times I can smoke. Most times this time of year it's too darn cold out to want to sit outside and smoke my stogies. That's why I decided to try a pipe. I can pack a small amount of tobacco in a pipe and only be outside for a few minutes. Most of my cigars would take 30, 45 or 60 minutes to smoke. During warm weather that's not a problem. But in an Iowa winter it can be life or death. :haha:

 

[leslie]

I have never smoked anything and I have not missed anything.Quoting statistics to justify a habit is a little off center since there are statisics that will give any answer you want.A visit to a cancer treatment center like Fred Hutchison in Seattle might change some viewpoints about tobacco.Dying isn't something to fear but the horrible process of a cancer death is something else.If its all the same to y'all I would prefer being shot by a jealous husband while fleeing over the back fence.

 

[LongrifleDoc]

Congratulations. However, I suggest you hold off on the Meerschaum. They are rather expensive hard to care for. I'd hate to see you ruin one.
As for the briar, you will need a pipe boring tool soon. The pipe will really start to smoke properly once it has developed a good carbon coating and has been properly reamed out. That requires a pipe boring tool you can get from the tobacco shop. If you find that the pipe smokes hot you might try an unflavored Cavendish. Also, don't empty the pipe by banging it. Always use the pipe tool or the pipe will break at the stem. Wait until the pipe is cool before you try to separate the bowl from the stem. If it gets stuck, just put the pipe in the freezer for a half hour. Enjoy your pipe.

 

[Rick Boylan]

I worked 11 years in a hospital and worked around cancer paitents a lot. Not to mention that my wife just beat breast cancer last year. Cancer is caused by many factors. My wife didn't smoke and neither did her sister who died of cancer a few years ago. Nor did her sister in law and brother who also died of cancer a few years back.
As an adult of 55 years I don't need a lecture on what lifestyle I choose to partake in. Thanks for the advice but I've seen many people die who lived such healthy lifestyles. When it's your time to go, you'll go regardless of what you eat, smoke or do. Smoking a pipe or cigar is not like smoking a cigarette. The pipe and cigar are puffed and the smoke isn't drawn into the lungs. It's held in the mouth and then expelled. A cigarette is drawn into the lungs. While it's not a healthy habit, I can't see it as any worse than my drinking good sour mash or Irish whiskey.

Next I'll probably get told that riding my motorcycle is dangerous to my health too.

Don't live in such fear. We all die in the end.

 

[Rick Boylan]

Thanks for the advice. The woman who was waiting on me at the tobacco shop sold me the tool to maintain my pipe. I've been reading up on proper pipe care. I must admit that it's smoother smoking than a cigar. And I can take a small amount and smoke it in a shorter period than it takes to smoke a cigar. The tobacco is a smooth blend. No heat, not bite, just good flavor. I think smoking cigars has toughed me for smoking a pipe. I'm really enjoying it.

One thing, the stem of my pipe doesn't seem to be removable. The pipe is about 5 inches overall and the stem seems built in. I'm not wanting to force it for fear of breaking it. So I'll just clean it with the proper tools and pipe cleaners.

My wife and son have both said that I don't reek of tobacco after puffing on my pipe. They didn't care for the smell of my stogies. LOL

I've already decided to not go for the Meercham pipe. I don't want to deal with something I can't use outside or needs a lot of special care.

I've found a couple of clay pipes on ebay though. One has a long reed stem and the other is a smaller clay with a clay stem. I'm more interested in the reed stem one.

 

[LongrifleDoc]

I've never heard of a built in stem on a briar. Better check with the shop. You're right, though. You don't want to break it. But as I said, if it's just tight you can put the pipe in the freezer for about a half hour and it should twist free easily. It's hard to keep a pipe clean if you can't separate the stem and briars are made so the stems can be replaced as they wear out over the years. Also, a pipe borer is different from a pipe tool. Again, check with the shop. Enjoy.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Some briar pipe stems are friction held.... some are actually threaded into the bowl...so best to ask the lady who sold it to you.

The longer the stem on the clay pipe... the cooler the smoke. Just be careful of the clay bowl... they can get plenty hot, and be mindful of where you set it down to cool. Wives tend to get agitated when you scorch a table top next to the front door when you come inside from smoking and lay your clay pipe down. :shocked2:

LD

 

[Alden]

I have quite a few pipes spanning a few centuries... The one(s) I carry tend to be those related to the period I am reenacting, however...

The reed stem clay pipes are a pleasure and robust enough that I have never broken one in my haversack. Somehow I've not managed to break the little Elizabethan ones either or larger but still small early colonial ones. A tavern pipe or Dutch gouda? Forget about it!

 

[Katahdin]

Yep !! folks going to die of Bleeding Ulcers worrying about how I live my life ,,
We're all leaving just like we showed up ,, cold,naked and being given a bath and dressed by a stranger,,,
See you at Point a la Barbe,,if you get there first,,start a fire,,put on the coffee,,,