Spoon pipes (glass pipes or glass bowl pipes) have become increasingly common with the rise of cannabis or other narcotics smoking. Spoon pipes are normally made of borosilicate glass to withstand repeated exposure to high temperatures. They consist of a bowl for packing material into, stem for inhaling, and a carburettor (carb) for controlling suction and airflow into the pipe. First, the user inhales while lighting the smoking material and holding down the carb, allowing smoke to fill the stem.
Pipes that used tobacco have a history that spans most of recorded human history. This singular style churchwarden pipe is made from real cherry wood with a polished finish. This isn’t an aesthetic choice, nor an activity I undertake outside the house. No one is more attractive with a 150mm briar-wood appendage sticking out of their mouths – apart possibly from Sherlock Holmes, Tony Benn or Gunther Grass, and I don’t want to look like I think I’m any of them.
Pipe smoking is the practice of tasting (or, less commonly, inhaling) the smoke produced by burning a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, in a pipe. The ash and the last bits of unburned tobacco, known as dottle, should be cleaned out with a suitable pipe tool. A soft or bristle pipe cleaner, which may be moistened with strong spirits, is then run through the airways of the stem and shank to remove any moisture, ash, and other residue before the pipe is allowed to dry.
The added “squashing” leads to a very thickly walled bowl, which helps maintain a comfortable temperature in hand while smoking. Light to medium bends are often seen in the shank, and it is quite commonplace to spot one with a white or black bamboo shank extension. Bowl sizes tend to vary on this one, as do the stems, which can range from tapered to saddle to fancy. Being that their shanks are almost always round or oval, however, you really wouldn’t see any with diamond shaped stems. You’d also be hard-pressed to find a factory made Squat Tomato, as they are not practical to cut on a machine.
A Chimney is perfect for those nights after a long, bad day at the shop or office, when you need a good hour or more to regain your sanity and composure. Not too commonly found, Chimneys are usually produced by artisans, not factories, since they are in short demand. Nature is often emulated in human craft, and pipe making is no exception.
The stem needs a long channel of constant position and diameter running through it for a proper draw, although filter pipes have varying diameters and can be successfully smoked even without Filling cut tobacco filters or adapters. Because it is molded rather than carved, clay may make up the entire pipe or just the bowl; pipes made of most other materials have stems constructed separately and detachable. Stems and bits of tobacco pipes are usually made of moldable materials like Ebonite, Lucite, Bakelite, or soft plastic.