The Danish master carvers are renowned for their production of stunning Horn pipes, but today the Horn has been adopted by carvers from all over the world. What we know for certain about the Dublin is that it is much like a Billiard in proportions and measurements, but with walls that taper gently and evenly from a wider rim down to a narrow heel. Up top, the rim is usually flat, but Dublins can be found with a beveled rim as well. Smooth finishes are by far the most common, since the vertical walls of this pipe make a wonderful showcase for straight grain, as does the relatively wide rim for birdseye.
However, the majority of modern Cuttys now sport a tapered stem, and come in many finishes. Wildly popular today, thanks to the Lord of the Rings series of films, the Churchwarden’s actual origin dates back to well before Tolkien’s masterpiece was scribed. Churchwarden pipes had their debut in Europe thanks to the Austrian light cavalry who brought them to England and France during the Napoleonic Wars. One of the primary advantages (and indeed the Filling cut tobacco defining feature) of the Churchwarden is the distance between the bowl and the bit.
A bigger brother to the Prince shape, the Author features the same flattened ball shape, but is quite a bit larger than its smaller sibling. The Author’s hefty bowl sits at the end of a burly shank that almost always has a 1/8 – 1/4 bend. Its thick walls help keep the bowl from heating up and make for a comfortable hold. Some of them are in production, but you need either a source in the UK, or to be lightning fast to grab before it evaporates. For the discontinued tobacco there are numerous options, which require some combination of time, patience, and money.
A second entirely original shape attributed to the legendary Bo Nordh is the Ramses. Together, they have the appearance of a gently cupped hand holding the bowl. The grain must be oriented in a very precise manner to achieve a beautiful result, much like Bo’s other original shape, the Elephant’s Foot.
It suggested that today’s generation should go out and purchase a pipe and some good tobacco. Over the past several years, we have seen a concerted effort to curtail, if not eliminate smoking. The Surgeon General’s 1964 report raised the concerns regarding the dangers of smoking, yet people, young and old, male and female, continue to smoke.