Between then, the duo would earn medals at six World’s Fairs, five of them gold. Vauen’s history of innovation and imagination quickly spread, and their quality tobacco pipes became very popular. Pipe smoking requires thought, dedication and patience for loading the pipe, lighting and tamping to produce a wonderful experience. Others find it much easier to take a quick trip to the convenience store to pick up a pack of cigarettes. During my young adult and college years, there were large numbers of pipe smokers. An article by Marcus Jones titled “Why Don’t People Smoke Pipes Any More,” appeared in the June 19, 2014 EA Carey (Europe) Ltd newsletter and provided some insight into pipe smoking back then and its decline today.
Unusual pipe materials include gourds (as in the famous calabash pipe) and pyrolytic graphite. Metal and glass, seldom used for tobacco pipes, are common for pipes intended for other substances, such as cannabis. Inside the bowl is an inner chamber (2) space holding tobacco pressed into it. This draught hole (3), is for air flow where air has travelled through the tobacco in the chamber, taking the smoke with it, up the shank (4). According to popular legend, A local farmer contacted Tibbe to improve on his handmade corn cob pipe.
What differentiates the Lumberman from other pipes in the Canadian family is that the Lumberman has an oval shank with an oval saddle stem. As with other members of the Canadian family, a slender shank graces the bowl carrying about twice the length of the bowl’s height to its Filling cut tobacco end. With its slim and simple profile, it would hardly look at home in a massive calloused hand. Perhaps Canadian lumbermen are slender and gentle, and we’ve had the wrong idea all this time. Matches, or separately lit slivers of wood are often considered preferable to lighters because of lower burning temperature.
With easy-flowing lines and elegant proportions, the Brandy has been aesthetically groomed over the course of many decades to resemble its namesake, the brandy glass. While the shape of the bowl can vary considerably, Brandys are recognizable by their wide, rounded base, which tapers sharply to meet the comparatively narrow mouth of the chamber. More often than not, you’ll find them in a smooth finish since the shape flaunts the straight grain of a briar block extremely well. Acorns are usually made with round shanks to compliment their natural bowls, and shanks can be bent or straight, though bent shanks are the mode. It has been used since the 17th century and, with clay pipes, represented the most common medium for pipes before the introduction of briar as the material of choice in the 19th century.
Some cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas smoke tobacco in ceremonial pipes, and have done so since long before the arrival of Europeans. For instance the Lakota people use a ceremonial pipe called čhaŋnúŋpa. Other cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas smoke tobacco socially.2 The tobacco plant is native to South America but spread into North America long before Europeans arrived.
The Blowfish takes the appearance of a squished ball, having a wide, bulging profile, and a Fashion tobacco pipe more narrow face. The carver orients the Blowfish so that the cross grain exits on the broad-sided profile of the pipe, resulting in a stunning manifestation of birdseye on one or both sides. Naturally, straight or flame grain will then flow across the narrower width of the pipe. The shank of a Blowfish should exit fluidly at the bottom of the bowl, having no interrupted or abrupt lines. The stem then exits the shank in a similar fashion, but bends gently in the opposite direction.
This peculiar and seemingly nonsensical irregularity is what gives the Hawkbill its uniqueness, and not the shaping of its bowl. The Hawkbill’s bowl is usually shaped like a Brandy, Tomato, Author, or something in between. It can be made in a variety of finishes, and is usually accompanied by a short round tapered stem. Once significantly more popular than it is today, the Hawkbill has fallen from the limelight, but there are still some who nurture an admiration for the odd.