Smoking pipe

A smoking pipe is a device used for smoking combustible substances such as tobacco and cannabis. The smoking pipe typically consists of a small chamber (the bowl) for the combustion of the substance to be smoked and a thin stem (shank) that ends in a mouthpiece (also called a bit). More recently, a smokeless design called the Ubie became available.

Pipes are made from a variety of materials, the most common being (in order of use): briar, corncob, meerschaum, African block meerschaum, clay, cherry, wood, glass, gourd, and various other materials, such as morta. Glass pipes in particular have become an art form.

Tobaccos used for smoking pipes are often carefully treated and blended to achieve flavour nuances not available in other tobacco products. Many of these are blends using staple ingredients of variously cured Burley and Virginia tobaccos which are enhanced by spice tobaccos, among them many Oriental or Balkan varietals, Latakia (a fire-cured spice tobacco of Cypriot or Syrian origin), Perique (uniquely grown in St. James Parish, Louisiana) or blends of Virginia and Burley tobaccos of African, Indian, or South American origins. Traditionally, many U.S. blends are made of American Burley flavoured with aromatic ingredients to produce sweeter smokes whereas English-style blends are based on natural Virginia tobaccos enhanced only by Oriental varietals. There is a growing tendency towards natural tobaccos which derive their aromas from artful blending with selected spice tobaccos only and careful, often historic, curing processes. Pipes can range from the very simple machine-made briar pipe to highly-prized handmade and artful implements by renowned pipemakers which are priced as very expensive collectors items.

Materials and Construction

The material and shape of a pipe has a profound influence upon the aesthetic of a smoke.

Briar

The majority of pipes sold today, whether hand made or machine made, are fashioned from briar. Briar is cut from the root burl of the Tree heath (Erica arborea), which is native to the rocky and sandy soils of the Mediterranean region. While briar is the most widely used -- and perhaps best known -- pipe making material, pipes of other woods and other materials are also available.

Meerschaum

Meerschaum (hydrated magnesium silicate), a mineral found in small shallow deposits mainly around the city of Eskisehir in central Turkey, is prized for its plasticity which allows it to be carved into many decorative and figural shapes. 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. The word meerschaum means sea foam in German, alluding to its natural white color. However, meerschaum is a very porous mineral that absorbs elements of the tobacco during the smoking process, and gradually changes color to a golden brown. Old, well-smoked meerschaum pipes are prized for their distinctive coloring.

Clay

Clay in this case is almost always a very fine white clay. Low-quality clay pipes are actually made from porcelain slip poured into a mold. These are porous, of very low quality, and impart unwanted flavors to a smoke. Top-notch clays, on the other hand are made in a labor-intensive process that requires beating all air out of the clay, hand-rolling each pipe before molding it, piercing with a fine wire, and careful firing. Traditionally, clay pipes are un-glazed. 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 flavor addition from the pipe bowl. In addition to afficianados, reproduction of historical clay styles are used by some re-enactors.

Calabash
 
Sherlock Holmes depicted with a pipeCalabash gourds (usually with meerschaum or porcelain bowls set inside them) have long made prized pipes, but they are labour-intensive and nowadays quite expensive.

The construction of a Calabash pipe generally consists of a downward curve that ends with an upcurve where the tobacco is held. This low center of gravity allows for the user to easily hold the pipe by the mouth alone, leaving his hands free. This advantage was often used by actors who wanted to depict their character smoking while permitting them to do other business simultaneously. That is why the character Sherlock Holmes, who never used this kind of pipe in the stories, is stereotypically depicted as favoring it because early dramatic productions, especially those starring William Gillette made this artistic decision.

Corncob

On the other end of the scale, corncob pipes made from maize cobs are cheap and effective, even if some regard them as inelegant. The cobs are first dried for two years. Then they are hollowed out to make a bowl shape. The bowls are dipped in a plaster-based mixture and varnished or laquered on the outside. Shanks made from Pine wood are then inserted into the bowls. The first and largest manufacturer of corncob pipes is Missouri Meerschaum, located in Washington, Missouri in the USA. Missouri Meerschaum has produced the pipes since 1869. General Douglas MacArthur was perhaps the most famous smoker of this type of pipe, along with the cartoon character Popeye.

Corncob pipes remain popular today because they are inexpensive and require no break-in period like briar pipes. For these two reasons, corncob pipes are often recommended as a Beginners pipe. But, their enjoyment is by no means limited to beginners. Corncob pipes are equally valued by both learners, and experienced smokers who simply desire a cool, clean smoke. Pipesmokers who wish to sample a wide variety of different tobaccos and blends also might keep a stock of corncobs on hand to permit them to try new flavors without carryover from an already-used pipe.

Metal

Metal pipes are are more generally associated with cannabis than tobacco use, especially among law enforcement. Though steel was a common material, aluminum and brass and more common materials now. The advantages of a metal pipe generally include a removable cap (with or without a lighter hole) and the fact that they are unbreakable. Their retention of heat can be a problem but most bowls have rubber or plastic grips on the of the pipe.

Metal bowls are usually overlooked by tobacco smokers because metal bowls require a break-in period of resination. During that time, smoke passing though the piece has an aftertaste when used with tobacco. Cannabis smoke usually does not have an odd after-taste and resinates the piece faster. A type of metal pipe usually associated with Marijuana is the chamber pipe, which has an accessable central chamber, usually with Marijuana packed in there to resinate, adding extra THC content when smoked. Also, loose bits of the Marijuana falls down into the chamber and also resinates, speeding up the process of resination. When clogged, the resin can be cleaned easily and then smoked as an alternative to cannabis.

Glass

Hand-blown glass pipes are one of the most common kinds of hand-blown glass today. They can be quite elaborate. One reason for their appeal is that since the glass is completely inert, it does not affect the flavor of the smoke. Colors can seem to become more intense, especially if the color is translucent. As the pipe is used black tar build-up provides for a more contrasted background. They tend to have a small hole on the side called a carb. Due to their lack of porosity and tendency to retain heat, glass pipes are usually used to smoke cannabis and other substances besides tobacco.

Hookas

Hookas are a pipe that cools the smoke by filtering it through water. Traditionally, the tobacco is mixed with a  weetener, such as honey or molasses, although fruit flavors have also become popular.

Health concerns for tobacco smokers

While tobacco smoke from pipes contains less of the carcinogenic substances found in cigarette smoke, it is nonetheless a health hazard, leading more often to cancers of the mouth and throat rather than the lungs. It is believed that addiction to nicotine is rarely involved unless the smoke is inhaled at a consumption rate comparable to heavy cigarette smoking. However pipe smoke (with the exception of the Ubie) is more alkaline than cigarette smoke and dissolves more easily in saliva thus reducing the need to inhale. Pipes are capable of providing high levels of nicotine at a rate fast enough to produce clear dependence. Therefore the desired dose of nicotine is achieved without the need to inhale the smoke into the lungs. A 1964 study once showed that pipe smokers on average lived marginally longer than the general population, but that study failed to control for social factors and did not include an adequate representation of pipe smokers to be considered sound. Pipe smokers are inclined to attribute this to the calming, contemplative mindset promoted by the ritualistic character of pipe use.

A recent American Cancer Society study finds pipe smoking confers a significantly lower risk of cancer and other similar disease as compared to cigarette smoking, though the risks are still considerably higher than for non-smokers, and similar to that of cigar smokers.

S. Jane Henley, Michael J. Thun, Ann Chao, and Eugenia E. Calle. (2004). Association Between Exclusive Pipe Smoking and Mortality From Cancer and Other Diseases. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 96, 853–861.

Copyrights

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Smoking pipe.