Pipe and tobacco

[Crewdawg445]

I carry mine in my buckskin split pouch. I also carry my tobacco in modern day plastic bags. hehe.

Haven't broken a pipe yet and I carry it everywhere. One of my favorite things to do after a shoot and dinner is sit around the fire and enjoy a good smoke.

 

[Tallswife]

Thank you for all the great information Gentlemen!

Crewdawg, a plastic bag??? For shame!!! :nono: :rotf:

 

[crockett]

At a site of one of the western fur trading posts- I think it was the "Portuguese Houses" in Wyoming- they found a lot of artifacts. All the clay pipes had the stems broken off- just bowls. In any event this problem of the stems breaking off clay pipes is nothing new. When Lewis & Clark and others first went west and gave away peace metals- many showed the images of a reed pipe so reed pipes are very pc and were common.
According to David Thompson, high brush cranberry had a soft pith for making a hole and its exterior took a good shine and was used for the reed if a local reed source was sought.
and.....I think a lot of what we think of as mountain man pipes comes from the art work of Miller who went to the 1837 Rendezvous but the painting might not represent things correctly because all the clay pipes in the paintings- they might have just arrived with all the trade goods and were used by the mountain men right then and there but they could have quickly broken and been thrown away.
The Delaware Mountain Man Black Beaver with reed pipe. https://chiefholton.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/blackbeaver-1850.jpg

 

[tenngun]

several of millers paintings show reed stem pipes, digs at rendezvous sites show clay stemed :idunno: Reed stemed pipes were known at least back to 1740, most pipe parts are broken stem and clay stemed pipes...I am brought to mind of preator traps.

 

[satx78247]

For those of you who like corncob pipes, a length of turkey bone makes a TOUGH stem.

yours, satx

 

[Darkgael]

a length of turkey bone makes a TOUGH stem.

Thanks for that. Gonna give it a try. What bone do you prefer....leg or wing?

Pete

 

[Tallswife]

Neat idea!! C'mon Thanksgiving!

 

[satx78247]

PROBABLY either would work, though I usually use the wing-bone.

A "pulley-bone" can make TWO pipe-stems off of a BIG turkey. = Like 25-30 pounds.

I've found that a boiling session in DAWN dishwashing liquid followed by a piece of wire coat-hanger works well for a degreaser & "cleaner-outer".

yours, satx

 

[Nativearizonan]

I've used elderberry for a pipestem. It has a pith that can be removed to make a strong hollow pipe.

 

[Black Hand]

Dogwood makes a tough stem. But alas, I've given up smoking...

 

[Billnpatti]

Now, I don't know if this is truly HC but I have seen guys carrying their pipes in a pouch hug around their necks similar to a neck knife.

An even better idea is to throw the tobacco away. That stuff is as deadly as a fish net parachute.

 

[Black Hand]

Now, I don't know if this is truly HC but I have seen guys carrying their pipes in a pouch hug around their necks similar to a neck knife.

They are called a Gage d'amor (Fur Trade period) and they are HC. There is also an image of a native that has used an entire muskrat (IIRC) as a neck pouch for pipe and tobacco.

 

[satx78247]

Actually, NATURAL tobacco, smoked in a pipe has FEW risks. = There is little/no evidence that organically-grown tobacco causes any disease.

The REAL problem with "processed tobacco" is the chemicals that are added to it to make it taste differently (some of the flavorings are KNOWN cancer-causing agents) & burn better/more evenly.

Fyi, I buy my pipe tobacco off a NA reservation.

yours, satx

 

[Nativearizonan]

You don't have to smoke just tobacco in the pipe, either, to be PC. The Lakota Medicine Man Black Elk, was said by Neihardt to smoke "red willow", rather than tobacco, and he used it rather extensively. I tried to figure out what red willow it was exactly they were talking about, and found it was most likely red osier dogwood, which is not a willow at all. He lived to be 86 years old and as far as I know never had cancer.

 

[tenngun]

And my favorite finding of our surgen General was pipe smokers out live non smokers by about three years.
I don't think it is the smoke, I think it's that most pipe smokers are type B personalities. How ever I always tell folks I'm smoking for my health

 

[Gene L]

You don't have to smoke just tobacco in the pipe, either, to be PC. The Lakota Medicine Man Black Elk, was said by Neihardt to smoke "red willow", rather than tobacco, and he used it rather extensively. I tried to figure out what red willow it was exactly they were talking about, and found it was most likely red osier dogwood, which is not a willow at all. He lived to be 86 years old and as far as I know never had cancer.

I read in a book by Jere Wheelwright (Kentucky Stand) that red osier dogwood was mixed with tobacco by NAs, called kinickinick. (sp?) Looked it up, and yes, it's accurate. Wheelwright was a pretty darn good researcher...book was written about 1953, way before the Internet.

 

[Black Hand]

Kinnikinnick also refers to Bear Berry whose leaves can be dried and smoked alone or mixed with tobacco as an extender (or other bark & leaves). It is a very mild smoke, though can be a little harsh if inhaled too aggressively.
http://www.gardenguides.com/taxonomy/kinnikinnick-arctostaphylos-uva-ursi/

The berries are edible (taste like apple, though they are mealy and have large seeds) and also eaten by Grouse in MT. The leaves are high in tannins and have been used to as a tonic and to tan hides.
http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/Bearberry.html

 

[Billnpatti]

Well, I guess life as a whole is a risk acceptance experience. To each, his own. You pick your experiences and either knowingly accept the risks or explain them away. For me, personally, smoking is like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. You either knowingly accept the risk or make up reasons why you are completely safe or better off without a helmet. Me, I choose to wear a helmet.........and I quit smoking long ago. I guess I am the proverbial "reformed whore". :haha: I am not without sin, I am overweight and am sitting here snacking on a couple of chocolate doughnuts. Maybe I'll die sooner than a smoker. :idunno: When I go is The Lord's choice, not mine. :thumbsup: Yep, see there just how easy it is to explain away a health hazard. :grin:

 

[Billnpatti]

Not to belabor a point but because of the importance of people understanding the truth about pure tobacco hazards, here is an article for the amazement and amusement of all.
http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/publications/healthy-living-vie-saine/carcinogens-smoke-cancerogenes-fumee/index-eng.php
Note that it says "A wide variety of chemicals such as nicotine, sugars, minerals and proteins, are naturally-occurring in tobacco leaves. During the burning of a cigarette (combustion), both the chemicals which exist naturally in the tobacco and the new chemicals which are formed during the combustion are released into the tobacco smoke. To date, over 4,000 chemicals, comprising a combination of gases, liquids and breathable particles, have been identified in tobacco smoke. Of the 4000 chemicals, more than 70 chemicals are known to cause, initiate or promote cancer."
You need to know the true risks and then you decide what level of risk you are willing to accept. It is not prudent nor wise to deny a risk in order to make it more acceptable to you.

Thus endeth the refrain.

 

[tenngun]

There ain't much in the world you can't get a cancer from. Nor should we forget the Other nasties that make up our world. Cyinide in apples, mercury in fish and lead in the water make up our world.
I take care of a lot of boozers, but enjoy a bit of the creature on my days off. Moderation is a the key. Food is good for you, you can't live to long without it, but to much will kill you still in your youth. A glass of wine or two is good for your heart a couple bottles a day not so much. Your fresh meat off the grill? Contains a few of the tobacco nasties. Wood fire in your house, you get you some second hand smoke. I've smoked a pipe most every day of the last fourty one years, I'll put my pulmonary function test with men half my age. It won't be the best, but far from the worst. I ran a half marathon in May this year. My knee suffers to this day from it but my lungs be fine. Had a pipe with in an hour of the finished, and a black beer too :wink: