I'll go into it a little bit, present some arguments that some will have seen before, but that many may not have considered. I do so because I think that the concepts here are so central to enjoying and understanding pipes that they should be foremost on the pipesmoker's and pipe maker's mind.
So.
What is smoke? Smoke is particulate matter, molecules of stuff that is jumping apart because you are burning it. It contains all kinds of crappy stuff from CO and CO2 to good old water. It also contains (for our purposes) oils and sugars and all kinds of stuff that we can taste, which is why we smoke a pipe.
But all that stuff, those fragrant oils, the yummy sugars, the added essence of marmot vomit or whatever it is you like on your aromatic blend.... all that stuff can be rendered further, down to CO2 and H2O. How? By burning. Oh No! (And this is why a pipe gets wet if you smoke hot - you render too much material into water, too quickly for the pipe to absorb or dissipate).
Wood stoves, modern fancy ones, have a secondary burn zone, where a little air is added to the already once-burned stuff (the smoke) and that stuff is further reduced. This is what we DON'T want in a pipe - we want smoke that is heavily pregnant with flavor-stuffs, not smoke that has been rendered down to "hot air".
The answer is simple. Smoke slower. Smoke your pipe right on the edge of needing another match. If your pipe bowl is above lukewarm - it's too hot. Period. And when you manage this, because you are driving, or typing or some other thing than concentrating on "smoking" your pipe - when you manage it.... one of those magic smokes, where it doesn't gurgle, it doesn't go out, and it tastes great, because you aren't sucking on the thing hunting for the flavor.
If you suck on a pipe to get more flavor, you will get hot air. Good old fashioned tongue bite. Steam! If you sip at a pipe and burn as wide and slow a swath as you can through the tobacco, you will find that there is no tongue bite, and that elusive "honey on toast" flavor will present in your Mac Baren Mixture, and that "fresh cut grass" taste will come out in the Best Brown.
I swear.
Now. What does this have to do with building pipes?
Bigger is better. It's as simple as that (almost). A big honking pipe with a bowl around 7/8" wide and at least an inch deep, and better if it's 2" deep. Thick walls. Once you get a pipe like this up to operating temperature (lukewarm), which takes about 10 minutes or so, then this magical transformation occurs - it will basically cruise along at this incredibly slow pace, and the laziest of puffing will keep it not just lit but lit in that perfect zone.
For the record, I am not saying that big pipes are advantageous in every way, as regards flavor - the 2nd hour of some light delicately topped virginia is NOT the same as the first hour! Nor am I really trying to say that small pipes cannot be maximized by an experienced user. I am merely trying to relate my own personal experience as a pipe smoker. My enjoyment went from casual to utter when I mastered Mac Baren Mixture, which bit me like hell. Took my new, ultra slow smoking techniques to other blends, and lo and behold, they tasted totally different.
There are downsides to "bunker" type monster pipes. It is actually easier to smoke hot with a thick walled pipe and not know it because you do not feel it in hand right away. A thinner, smaller pipe is a better, more immediate indicator of your burn temperature. But in my experience, the very best pure smokers are pipes with substantial briar on the bowl walls. It's as though the whole system is at play - the briar returns or maintains the right amount of heat for the ideal slow burn.
Anyway, that's my double-edged pipe thought for this Saturday night. Discuss, abuse, use or disuse these notions as you see fit. But please don't come to me with a "I have a small pipe that does all that." anecdote/argument. Good for you! That pleases me no end. I don't want it, I don't want to try it, and frankly, I think you're full of crap.
although I wouldn't mind rehashing it with you guys, since we all are more or less informed.
