Pipe & Tobacco “Trivia”

"I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgement in all human affairs."  -Albert Einstein, 1950

The South West Pipe Club (UK)

World Record

According to the CIPC a new world pipe-smoking record has been created. Gianfranco Ruscalla, from Italy, kept his pipe alight for 3hrs.  18. mins, 15 secs. A remarkable feat on 3 grammes of tobacco. Well done Gianfranco!

 Inhalation problems

Are you new to pipe-smoking? Are you making the transition from cigarettes to a pipe and finding yourself still inhaling? This may help you to get your "smoking style" right and to enjoy the tobacco for what it is rather than just gratifying a need. 

Bear in mind before reading any further that this could be an effective means of stopping smoking altogether, and certainly one that should get you off cigarettes for life.......

Most 'stop-smoking' treatments advocate complete abstinence once the decision to stop has been made. This method is different. Stage One is to increase the consumption of cigarettes - saturate yourself - smoke, smoke and smoke. Whilst you're doing this, remember that there are times when that first cigarette of the day tastes like you're smoking smouldering rags, but you persist knowing that the taste you love so much will return.  Wait for this special day and tell yourself that when it comes, that's the time to stop. When it does and when that cigarette tastes vile, stub it out.

Stage Two takes place while you're working through Stage One. While you're saturating yourself with nicotine, gather all the information you can on how bad cigarette-smoking is to your health (plenty of that around!). For example, did you know that roiling sound when you cough is a rising, dark leather-coloured foam similar in consistency to the yellow froth that rolls in with the tide? Did you know that when a surgeon opens a lung he has to turn away from the horrid stench when the patient breathes? Keep this in mind and exhale sharply from time to time and contemplate the death rising deep in your chest. Then when the day comes, quit.

With thanks to "Albatross", member of the Smokers' Forums; a regular pipe-smoker who quit from smoking 5 packs of Camel cigarettes a day by using this method.

 What’s yours made of?

We tend to take for granted that pipes are made from Briar (Erica Arborea), Meerschaum or Corn Cob ("Missouri Meerschaum").  But what other wood could pipes be made from? Perhaps this piece posted by Mike Leverette, member and moderator of the Smokers' Forums, can shed some light and encourage any budding pipe crafters that there are a number of options available.

"On several of the forum’s post, pipes of different woods have been mentioned, applewood, rosewood, ebony, etc. Among the many woods I have used for making pipes, besides the ever popular Briar wood (Erica arborea), are various tree woods, such as:
1. Maple (Acer) – Maple has been used for many years here in the States and I have used both Sugar and Red Maples. Some of these get pretty hard for my hand tools but still makes a nice pipe.
2. Cherry (Prunus) – Well everyone is familiar with Cherrywood pipes, so I will just say that Cherry allows one to carve some great figurals.
3. Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) – Other than briar, this is the wood I like to work with for its workability and excellent finishes one can achieve. Black Walnut does have rather large pores that allows tobacco juices to reach the exterior fairly rapid.
4. Oak (Quercus) – Most American oaks are what I call brittle, they split to easily when making a cut and like Black Walnut, but only more so, it has large pores. Thus I am not to crazy about it for pipes.
5. Olive (Olea) – Great wood for pipes. Back in the early seventies, I decided to go into the pipe making business and looked around for an unusual wood to catch peoples interest until I could build up a stock of my briars. I thought of Olive wood and checked many tobacconists but none who I was familiar with had never heard of Olive wood pipes. Yes this could be it so I wrote several countries for suppliers of Olive wood, Greece, Israel, etc and never received an answer. Two years later all of the tobacconists, whom I had check with before, were carrying Olive wood pipes from both Greece and Israel. Oh well, At least I gave them some ideas.
6. Rosewood (Dalbergia) – I think this is a good wood for pipes.
7. Manzanita (Arctostaphylia manzanita) - Here in the States this wood was used during the Second World War. I have ordered this wood from two different suppliers and as of yet I have not received one that did not have many drying cracks, certainly not a piece large enough for a pipe.
8. Hickory (Carya) – It is okay but I do not like to use it.
9. Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) – Since their leaves are poisonous, I am leery of making pipes from this one though it like Manzanita was used quite a bit for pipes during the war years.
10. Mahogany (Swietenia mahogani) – Mahogany is a rapid growing tree and as such sucks up many gallons of water a day along with a quantity of silica particles, so though I have made pipes from Mahogany I am leery of it as well, you know silicosis. Of course if you do not inhale ---!
I have never used bog oak simply because I have never tried obtaining any. I do like Trever's Morta (bog oak) pipes.
Well how about it pipe makers, what are some of the woods you use?"

 Estate Pipes

Having seen that there are alternative woods available, the briar is still the most popular due to its "hard-wearing" properties. This is starting to create the problem of supply unable to fulfil demand. The root of the briar has to be dried and cured over a very long period -  the longer the better to produce top-quality pipes. It also takes the briar a very long time to grow to a size where the burl is large enough to be considered suitable for pipe production. The steady demand for pipes over the years means that the older, well-cured burls are now in short supply. As a result, pipe manufacturers are looking to younger, less well-cured burls while waiting for replacement plantings to mature. Even within the realms of pipesmoking, it seems that conservation is becoming an issue.

Pipes made from alternative types of wood may provide an answer, giving the briar supply time to recover. Also the estate pipe market can "do its bit" perhaps. Estate pipes for the uninitiated is a polite term for used pipes, although it has to be said that the term is used mainly in connection with collecting top-quality pipes. These can be handed down from generation to generation, supplied by tobacconists or specialist dealers,  bought from online auctions such as eBay. com, and often found at antiques fairs and the like. Many of these pipes were carved from the older, longer-cured briars and as such can represent a worthwhile investment at a reasonable cost to the buyer. Keeping estate pipes in circulation rather than destroying them because their owners may have died or given up smoking does help towards keeping some pressure off the beleaguered briar. 

There are, however, drawbacks. Smoking a second-hand pipe does not appeal to everyone; someone else's teeth marks on the bit? What kind of condition is the pipe in? Sci-Fi author E. E. (Doc) Smith wrote often of one of his heroes "...he pulled out his battered and reeking briar.... "; perhaps not a pleasant prospect cleaning up a pipe chock-full of gunk! But, stems can be replaced at relatively low costs. Cleaning out the gunk is not a difficult task, nor is sterilising the pipe - the tools to do the job are usually readily available and cheap to buy, and there's plenty of online guidance on how it should be done. There are also dealers around who specialise in selling estate pipes that have been returned to pristine condition, in some cases as good as new. 

So, go on, give an estate pipe a try - who knows, underneath all that grime and gunk there could be that rare Dunhill lurking!

The Pipesmokers’ Council

The Pipesmokers' Council, online source of some very interesting and useful information for UK and international pipesmokers alike, has been compelled to shut its doors to the pipesmoking "public" due to recent UK anti-tobacco legislation. On logging on to their site, you will see the following message:-  "The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002, banning tobacco advertising and promotion has directly impacted on consumer contact from tobacco manufacturers. As a consequence, we, as an association, have had to re-align our approach.
Our association (formerly The Pipesmokers' Council) has been renamed The Pipe & Pipe Tobacco Trade Association (PPTTA). All future activities will be focused towards the pipe and pipe tobacco Trade within the British Isles. 
Consequently, the site will be for use by bona fide pipe and pipe tobacco trade individuals only. Registration will be required, and access will be through a designated password."           

Where will it end?

A level playing field?

For some years, pipesmoking competitions have been regulated by the CIPC. The norm for competitions is a pipe, a measured amount of tobacco (usually 3 grammes) and two matches supplied by the competition organisers and sponsors. All competitors have the opportunity to inspect the pipe they have been given and to exchange it if they are not satisfied. They are required to open their tobacco containers at a given time, have a specified period to pack the pipe and a specified period in which to light the pipe; the competition begins in earnest the moment the lighting-up period is completed. 

Regulation ensures that all competitors start from a "level playing field". No one individual has an advantage over another, unless it is their superior skill, borne of practice, as a competitor; and even that can still be overturned by chance. However, regulation can also be blind to the desires and needs of the individual.

 

A case in point is the CIPC regulation about competition pipes. The current requirement is as follows: "The pipes will be made of briar, straight and classical in shape, with or without a removable filter and will be able to hold at least three (3) grams of tobacco. They will be supplied by the pipe club organising the competition". Why only a "straight and classical shape"? Why not a range of shapes? Provided that every competitor is supplied with the same shape pipe, which will have been supplied by the same manufacturer (perhaps part of a job lot that have been specially stamped), what difference does it make whether it's straight or bent? We should also consider the pipesmoker who attends competitions. We are looking at someone who clearly enjoys pipe smoking. We are looking perhaps at someone who also is a pipe collector. One of the benefits of competing is that at the end of the competition, you get to keep the pipe you were smoking (you have after all paid for it with your entry fee). For the smoker who has a preference for smoking bent rather than straight pipes, this will turn out to something of a disappointment. They can of course place it in a trophy cabinet where it will sit with a number of other, very similar looking pipes, gathering dust. It can be dropped into a drawer and forgotten about. It could be sold at an online auction or it could be given to a friend. One thing is fairly likely - it may not get smoked again - something of a wasted investment. 

 

Perhaps the CIPC should reconsider this rule and amend it to one that allows alternation between various pipe shapes. For example, one year a straight pipe, the next a quarter-bent, the next a half-bent and so on..... everyone who competes then gets value for money; they take away a pipe they can use in future times.

If you compete at pipesmoking competitions and you feel that there is justification in changing this particular rule, why not contact the CIPC and let them know.

 

Change happens when the voice advocating change is united.

Some issues and information, outside of the mainstream, that may be of interest to pipesmokers. If there is something you would like to see published here, contact The Club Secretary

© The South-West Pipe Club (UK) - 2007. All rights reserved

To contact us, email:

 

The Club Secretary (bewm@fsmail.net)