Pipe Weight

[NathanA]

Does anybody use any guidelines on weight for a pipe? I am a big guy so I tend to make bigger pipes, but I have noticed that the last couple might hang off the face a little too heavy. Are there any rules on this or is it just what feels comfortable?

[KurtHuhn]

Definitely no rules. Some folks like big, heavy pipes, others like very lightweight pipes. An "average" pipe, if such a thing existed, might weigh in somewhere between 2 and 3 ounces. However, I have made pipes that weight far less - and some that weigh 3 times that. It all depends on the shape and size of your pipe, and the customers that you have.

[Sasquatch]

I think a guy has to put a little thought into the shape and balance, but if you do so, you can make a very large, very heavy pipe that is still perfectly comfortable. For example, I recently purchased two very large bent billiards, a kaywoodie and a Radice. The button on the Radice is pretty large, larger than I would make. And yet, the pipe hangs effortlessly in my teeth. The 'woodie has a very slim button, and on a straight pipe or a very light pipe, this would be preferred to the huge chunk on the Radice, but on this particular pipe, it doesn't work well to allow you to clench the pipe.

But I am also of the "bigger is better" crowd and most of my pipes are huge, and if a customer wants a tiny pipe, he has to ask, cuz there's none in stock!

[NathanA]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I asked because before I started making pipes all I bought were bents. Now that I am making them I have been drawn towards straights and the two hang very differently off your face. The weight of a straight is a little more noticeable than a bent. Thanks again guys for responding to my endless silly questions.

[mathias65]

Thanks again guys for responding to my endless silly questions.

In my opinion, no question is silly provided you learn from the answers given.

[Sasquatch]

Nathan, if you care, I just did an absolutely enormous straight dublin, and I used the Tuscan briar from pipe makers emporium.... that stuff is light as a feather. The pipe is perfectly comfortable, much to my surprise.

[Tyler]

I remember vividly my first Chicago show. The big surprise for me at that show was the size of the pipes made by the "big dogs." They were TINY! The only high-grade pipes I had seen before were a large stash of Barbi's that my local B&M. I now know those Barbi's were unusually large because the shop ordered them that way. Their pipe advisor was a fan of larger pipes so that is what he recommended they stock. I didn't realize how much larger they were until I saw all the pipes at Chicago, and especially more of Barbi's work there.

After seeing the smaller pipes, I developed an appreciation for them. It made sense to make pipes that were comfortable to clench, and they were quite elegant without being feminine. Since then, my pipes have tended toward the smaller and smaller. There are two reasons I prefer the smaller pipes. First, and to the topic of this thread, is the weight. I want to have the option to comfortably clench, and it is much nicer to clench a 0.8 oz. pipe. I can always hold it if I want to, but I have the option to clench comfortably. And after all, when do I need a two hour smoke? I don't find reloading the bowl a nuisance, and rather enjoy the opportunity to load up another blend for a change of pace. I can still smoke my under-one-ounce pipes for upwards of an hour, and that is plenty for me. The second reason I prefer smaller pipes is sort of a bonus preference. (My first reason is all the reason I need.) The second reason has to do with an appreciation of the skill of the carver. A beautiful pipe that is on the smaller side is all the more attractive to me because I appreciate the skill of the maker. I, as a maker, appreciate the minuscule margin of error on a small pipe, and I am all the more enthralled by its beauty.

So having said all of that, no, certainly there are no hard and fast rules for weight, but I do think good carving practice results in the minimum weight for a given shape and size of pipe. There is no "extra" wood. For some pipes that might make them 4 ounces, and for some that might be less than an ounce.

Personally, I think of any pipe over two ounces as heavy. My favorite pipes are right around the one ounce mark.

Tyler

[NathanA]

Tyler, that's great advice. I like the idea of no "extra wood" on a pipe. In going back and weighing some of my pipes I see that although they are not small pipes they still only weigh around one and a half ounces. I think it was mostly that I wasn't used to straights and that weight farther out in front of me. You have inspired me to try some smaller shapes, with less margin of error to really hone my shaping skills. Appreciate the feedback.