pipemakersforum.com

I may be letting my "newb" show a bit here, but I've got a question on my mind that I know you all will have answers to. I've heard people say how well particular pipes stay lit, even if they put them down for a while. I have some very weak theories as to why this could be true, but I wanted to get you guy's input.

Does the make of the pipe have anything to do with how well it stays lit, or is it really more about the tobacco properties and packing?

Brian.

Lots of factors.

I certainly have had experiences where I've needed to pop into a store and put a pipe in my pocket for a few minutes, bought something, pulled the pipe out, and just puffed a few times and it's like it had been stoked and tended the whole time.

Some tobaccos burn a hell of a lot easier than others, some cuts burn easier than others. I mean, grab a flake of Navy Flake from Mac Baren, ram it in any old way, light it up, and it'll burn to dust. Pease's Abingdon is big chunks of stuff and rubbery bits of other stuff... I can't get that shit to burn right basically no matter what I do to it.

All mysticism aside, combustion comes down to airflow and a reaction point (something hot enough to burn). Some of the "magic pipe" stories occur on windy days (Newcombe for example) and a tiny breeze is enough via Bernoulli's laws to keep a pipe burning.... just a subtle pressure differential will move air through the pipe.

Contrary to what a lot of guys will say, I prefer briar that is hard and dense. I think it smokes better, and I think it does so by acting as a better insulator - more heat is returned to the tobacco, kept in the chamber, and in a sense, you need less "new heat", less of a cherry, to keep the burn going. Could be bullshit, but that's my experience.

Some of this comes down to how and what a guy smokes too.

What Sas said. I think of it as a, "Who knows?" proposition.

I would add that when this conversation about staying lit comes up it is usually centered around a pipe being drilled with a big air-hole diameter. In the parlance, how "open" the pipe is. The customary theory offered is that the openness promotes an increased air flow that keep the tobacco lit "by itself". Makes some sense, as outlined by Sas, but there are a ton of variable involved.

So, who knows?

Tyler wrote:
So, who knows?

I do.

Unfortunately for you all, I'm not willing to share this piece of critical information yet. My vast stores of esoteric pipe knowledge are currently off limits. Sorry. Throwing obscene quantities of money or no-longer-produced tobacco my way would probably sway me. Just something to think about.

I'll send ya $3.85 (Cdn) and a pipeful of Mixture 79.

Sasquatch wrote:I'll send ya $3.85 (Cdn) and a pipeful of Mixture 79.

SOLD!

Oops just got an email from a client, apparently I don't need the Markle Magic:

This guy bought a pipe I had labelled the Bad Ass Billiard. It was un ultra-high density grain pipe.

"I cannot define exactly why--is it the grain, engineering---I don't know. I still believe the grain, and engineering in this pipe is the why factor. I have pipes now that I can only wish did what the Bad Ass Billy does. It stays lit, transfers heat, and moisture in a manor that other pipes I have DO NOT-----yes I wish they did---but they do not."

Now that's a happy boy. Can I guarantee his next pipe is that good? I think I can, but not with a random grab out of the briar bag.

I think it's entirely luck. Oh, and a well engineered pipe. Oh, yeah...and the right tobacco. And, of course, good smoking techniques. And don't forget atmospheric pressure. But other than that, it's just luck and nothing else.

I forgot briar fairies. Luck and briar fairies.

Our chief weapon is luck.

Luck and Briar Fairies.

Our two chief weapons are Luck and Briar Fairies. And Engineering.


Oh shoot. I'll come in again, shall I?

Sasquatch wrote:Our chief weapon is luck.

Luck and Briar Fairies.

Our two chief weapons are Luck and Briar Fairies. And Engineering.

Oh shoot. I'll come in again, shall I?

NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!

BRING IN THE COMFY CHAIR!!!

DA DA DAAAAAHHHHH