If you are professional pipe smoker, you need to choose many pipes because each pipe need rest after smoke.
It is very important that how you select pipe to enjoy your smoking and your collection.
When you enjoy from your pipe collection?
When you can understand about finish, model and design of your pipe then you can explain these matters to others. Like explain painting or music.
So, different pipes and shapes and complete understanding about details is enjoyable for you or who watch your pipe collection.
You must pay attention to bellow matters:
1- FINISH
Ambra, Noce (smooth), Sandblast, Rustic, Selected and Pura are different types of finishing pipe.
Sandblast and rustic are cheapest and selected, pura and smooth are most expensive.
When briar block has many grains, pipe maker prefer to make sandblast or rustic and when block is transparent with no grain (less grain), they make ambra or selected.
Noce (smooth) is middle finish and color comes to walnut or dark walnut.
Transparent finishes (ambra, selected, walnut) are more vulnerable about heat or strike but sandblast and rustic will suffer less damage.
I recommend collecting different finishes in your collection.
2- PIPE MAKER
Pipe makers have different standards because of experience or market. Many of them make general models but small quantity can make specials like Calabash, Volcano, Oom Paul and etc.
3- SHAPE
The most important thing in making pipe is finish because it is depending to experience of pipe maker and block quality. Experienced top pipe makers prefer to make special shapes and of course more expensive pipes but business pipe makers prefer to get bigger market and they make general shapes.
This is very important that you have information about shapes and smoke quality of each if you like to collect best pipes in your collection.
BILLIARD:
Common model in pipe making industry is billiard.
All pipe makers make billiard. Bent, straight or half bent.
All pipe smokers have many billiards in collection.
If you choose straight models you have more control to smoke and if you choose bent, it is better to smoke freehand!
The bowl and tobacco chamber are cylindrial and the shank is about the same lenght as the height of the bowl.
APPLE:
Second common model is apple. Like billiard you can find apple in all brands.
Apple is more thickness than billiard but chamber (bowl) is smaller. For long time pipe smoking billiard is better, when you select apple pipe, you must have light puffs and short smoke.
POKER:
Poker is one of popular pipes in pipe world.
Shank hole is located above end of bowl. Smoke is cooler but important difference is standing on the table. So, tobacco will not outpour when you want put your pipe on table.
The poker is a straight pipe with a cylindrical, flat bottomed bowl designed so that the pipe will stand.
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