Handmade Tobacco Pipe
Also simply called “cobs”, they are actual dried corn cobs crafted into pipe bowls and inserted with a wood shank affixed with usually a plastic or acrylic stem. Often used by tobacco blenders to judge new blends, they do not affect tobacco taste and are inexpensive enough to be tossed when they begin to burn out. Corn cob pipes remain popular despite the fact that they’re a bit, well, kitschy. Corn cob pipes are extremely inexpensive because they are literally constructed from hollowed out, dried out corn cobs. Surprisingly, however, they are great in terms of providing you with a quality smoke.
The better artisan pipe makers consider this attention to airflow requisite. That is not to say you cannot find a factory or high volume maker’s pipe that smokes well, only that a highly skilled artisan’s work is more likely to yield a good smoke. The uniquely American pipes made from corncobs are cheap Filling cut tobacco and effective, although regarded by some as inelegant. After being dried for two years, the cobs are hollowed out to form a bowl shape, then either dipped in a plaster-based mixture or varnished or lacquered on the outside. Inside the bowl is an inner chamber (2) space holding tobacco pressed into it.
Later low-quality clay pipes were made by slip casting in a mould. Higher quality pipes are made in a labour-intensive hand shaping process.[12] Traditionally, clay pipes are unglazed. Clays burn “hot” in comparison to other types of pipes, so they are often difficult for most pipe-smokers to use. Their proponents claim that, unlike other materials, a well-made clay pipe gives a “pure” smoke with no flavour addition from the pipe bowl. In addition to aficionados, reproductions of historical clay styles are used by some historical re-enactors.
Pipe bowls are sometimes decorated by carving, and moulded clay pipes often had simple decoration in the mould. We bring the two together to give you an absolutely divine tobacco smoking experience. Churchwarden pipes in particular provide an awesome experience for tobacco pipe lovers. Churchwarden pipes produce a cooler smoke, and keep the user’s face at a distance from the heat and smoke product in the bowl of the churchwarden tobacco pipe.
One of the best aspects of the pipe smoking community is that it is made up of some very fine, friendly and discerning folks and they like nothing better than to get together at a pipe show. A good reputation is vital to these vendors so they pay careful attention to provide good service and often go above and beyond the usual return privileges one can expect from any good retailer. Of tobacco made it’s way from the banks of the James River in Virginia across the Atlantic and up the Thames to London docks. Much of this tobacco was consumed by “drinking” the smoke from a pipe. So, some four hundred years ago pipe smoking was taking England and Europe by storm. This is generally considered desirable for controlling overall heat.
Metal and glass, seldom used for tobacco pipes, are common for pipes intended for other substances, such as cannabis. Pipe makers are creative and innovative in their pursuit to make the best pipes for an exquisite smoking experience and for practical cleaning and storage. The craftsmanship put into creating every pipe is bound on precision and the potential of the materials. Most pipe makers have their favorite materials and ways of working, which makes every pipe maker, and every pipe, unique and of the highest quality. It is unfortunate these days that such knowledgeable counsel is difficult to find in most smoke shops, as their primary focus is so often on cigars.