Pipe FAQ

• What components make up a pipe?
In their simplest form, a pipe is made up of a bowl and stem. The bowl is the chamber where the tobacco is burned, and the stem draws the smoke from the bowl to the mouth. The shank is the part of the pipe that extends out from the bowl and connects to the stem. The stem fits into the shank by means of a tenon and mortise.

• What are pipes made from?
Most modern pipes are made of briar, which comes from the root of the heath plant, or more specifically the white, or tree, heath (Erica arborea). This particular type of heath grows around the Mediterranean region and its root is cultivated for use in pipes. Briarwood is heat-resistant, making it ideal for use in pipes.

Other pipes are made from meerschaum, which is German for "sea foam", is also known as sepiolite. It is a white/cream colored mineral made up of hydrated magnesium silicate. The material is mined primarily in the plain of Eskişehir, Turkey. Meerschaum is very porous and absorbs the moisture and oils from the tobacco, slowly changing the color of the pipe from white to yellow, orange, red, even green, depending on the type of tobacco smoked.

Corncob pipes are also popular. They are made from hollowed out corn cobs and are very absorbent. They will eventually burn through as they are not nearly as hard as briar, but their price point is low enough that being disposable is not a problem.

• What are the stems made from?
Stems are typically either vulcanite or acrylic. Vulcanite is a type of India rubber that has undergone the vulcanization process, i.e. it has been subjected to heat and the infusion of sulfur to make it hard. Other common products using this process are hockey pucks, tires, and bowling balls. Vulcanite stems are softer but less durable than acrylic. Acrylic stems are plastic stems (trade name Lucite) and are harder and more durable than vulcanite. Vulcanite stems have a tendency to oxidize and require more maintenance than acrylic stems. Some pipe smokers prefer vulcanite stems, feeling that they are more comfortable in the mouth.

• What equipment do I need to begin smoking a pipe?
Ideally, in addition to the pipe itself of course, you should have some pipe cleaners, a lighter or matches, and a pipe tool. A pipe tool typically consists of a tamper used to tamp down the tobacco and ashes, a pick to clear debris from the shank, and a reamer which is used to scrape out the inside of the bowl. The lighter should be a specific pipe lighter, where the flame comes out the side instead of a traditional lighter where the flame is emitted from the top. A pipe lighter makes it easy to light the pipe without burning your fingers. Under no circumstances should a torch lighter be used to light a pipe. While the briar is heat-resistant, it is not fireproof. Torch lighters burn too hot to be used on a pipe - they should be used for cigars only. Pipe cleaners are used to clean the inside of the stem and shank after smoking. They can also be used during the smoke to absorb some of the moisture if necessary.

• How do I load the pipe?
There are many methods, but I have found the best way is a combination of gravity and gentle pressure. Hold the pipe in one hand and in your other, gather up a pinch of tobacco between your fingers. Simply drop the tobacco into the bowl and repeat this until the tobacco reaches the top of the bowl. Then, with your finger tip or tamper, gently press the tobacco into the bowl until it's about half filled. Take a few more inches of tobacco and gravity feed them into the bowl until it's again filled to the top. Again press down until it's now about two-thirds filled, and repeat this procedure until the bowl is completely filled.

Ideally, you want the tobacco to be loose at the bottom of the bowl and tight at the top. The loose tobacco at the bottom has enough air around it to allow combustion to take place. If the bowl is too tightly filled with tobacco, it will go out frequently and need constant re-lighting, which results in a hot, wet smoke and tongue-bite.

How do I light the pipe?
It might appear on the surface that you simply light the tobacco and puff away, but there is actually a technique to it. Once the pipe is loaded with tobacco, strike a wooden match (versus a paper match; wooden matches are longer and in length and burn slower) or a pipe lighter and hold the flame over the bowl roughly a quarter-inch from the surface of the tobacco. Similar to sucking liquid through a straw, draw from the stem good quantities of smoke, pausing to blow the smoke out. Repeat until the entire surface of tobacco is glowing. Make sure to move the flame around in a small, circular motion to burn the tobacco evenly. Get the tobacco nice and hot, drawing deeply, generating a lot of smoke. Then...let it go out. This is called the "false light" or "charring light". It acts kind of like priming the pump. Once the fire is out, use your tamper to gently tap down the top layer of tobacco and ash. Don't push it down - instead use the weight of the tamper to lightly compress the upper layer of tobacco. You can now take fire to pipe again, moving the flame around the top of the bowl, drawing in the smoke and blowing it back out as you did in the false light. At this point, you should settle down to a more rhythmic, slower frequency of puffs. The key now is not to generate large volumes of smoke, but to take small "sips" from the pipe, just enough to keep it lit. In this way, you'll begin to taste the nuances and subtleties of the tobacco. If you have to re-light it, no worries. Keep your pipe lighter or matches handy and re-light as needed. As you smoke the pipe, use your tamper - gently - to push down the resulting ashes. As you near the bottom of the bowl, you may find that you need to tap out some of the ashes into an ashtray as not enough air is reaching the unlit tobacco to allow combustion to take place. Coming up next...cleaning your pipe!

More FAQ's to come - comments and questions welcome!