pipemakersforum.com

Hello there ,

I am new to this wellspring of wonderful information and although I have read through quite a few shared thoughts and topics, I haven't come across any mention of a specific pipe shape that would be the most hardy. In the sense of taking it traveling and backpacking etc? I guess I know that an immediate answer would be a well made briar pipe, but I am wondering about a shape rather than a material or craftsman.

Any thoughts ??

I would think you'd want a shape that had a fairly thick walls on the bowl and shank, especially around the mortise as the pipe would be more likely to take a fall or be tucked into a bag. You might think about one like a military mount that has some reinforcement to the mortise as well. There are plenty of shapes that can meet this but I would consider a pot or apple shape as a start. Straight or bent is your preference and kind of depends if you'll be smoking it on the trail or just when you are stopped. Hope this helps.

I agree with Wayne. My first pipes were cobs. Still have'em and still smoke'em, they're cheap, and whenever I leave on a trip I take them along! Good call Wayne

Strangely enough I've pondered this question deeply Lemon, as I like taking pipes backpacking too.

Obviously you don't want pencil shanked/thin walled pipes. You want something durable, but that isn't really a big limit. You Probably would like a sandblast too, cus' you're bound to badly ding a smooth at some point unless you store and handle it with care. I personally think it depends on how you smoke while you pack? Are you like me? I like to find a rocky vantage to crouch out of the wind.

A fire and a pipe at dawn or dusk is awesome.

I should make myself a churchwarden and travel cloak so I can pretend to be Aragorn....

Jthompson1995 :

To be honest my mind was sitting square (round?) on a pot shape just with a thicker shank i would guess, would this then be an Author shape? I do enjoy the Author shape. I have seen a military mount but am unfamiliar with its mechanics, does it just increase the strength of the joint? I will be smoking it on the go and when stopped so would that require a bent stem?

RDPowell :

Functionally this pipe ticks all columns but aesthetically i enjoy swooping curves and the feeling of a pipe bowl in my hand (: .

wdteipen & kamkiel :

My first pipes were 20rand(2dollar?) gypsy pipes held together by glue and found at farmers markets, they were great but if im traveling for a few months at a time i doubt that i would be able to keep them alive till the end of my journey /: . I would like to have something that i could bring back and keep till i am an old man.

The Smoking Yeti :

Which pipes do you take with you when you are wandering fellow Dunadan (: ??

My tobacco pouch is large enough to fit a 14-15 cm pipe, a bit more if its bent i think, so no Churchwardens this time around, not until i get a proper way to store said warden. How would one achieve a rough finish without a sandblast ?.

I do like those things (: . Strangely enough though i enjoy a warm orange glow on my face late at night, when its pitch black and i can only see the stars. As well as during midday when hills roll off to either side of me and there is a pale blue sky dotted with white clouds .

Also ,i checked your tumblr page, some of the finishes you've achieved astound me .

Thanks everyone for the help and please excuse my ignorance, at least for a while longer, i should have my first sketches done by the end of the weekend .

I was partially joking about the cob although it's a great choice for backpacking because it's cheap, very light, and provides a decent smoke.

That being said, the two pipes I carried most often when backpacking were a Stanwell Featherweight Vario 243 and a Peterson 303. The 243 is nice and light, smokes well and has a durable finish but the stem is acrylic and the shank is a bit on the fragile side so I had to pack it carefully. The 303 is super durable and has the military mount stem but Peterson smoke like shit, IMHO.

If I were going to make myself the perfect pipe to take backpacking it would be a group 3 sized half bent tomato or apple with a short fat shank and 3/8" Delrin tenon. I would make the overall length no more than 4". Short compact yet stout.

I too was only joking when I posted the photo of the pipe in question. Although it was made by a top pipe maker in my opinion esthetically it's Ghastly and reminds me of a toilet paper tube pipe.

Honestly, i take a pipe with me pretty much everywhere. its a little dublin with a nasty flaw in the top. Its been sat on and dropped and tossed around. As long as its not a pencil shank or something like that, briar is a bit more durable than youd think. That being said i wouldnt Just toss a 300 dollar pipe in a bag without a second thought. But if your making them youll be bound to have a shop pipe and if not you can just use an estate.