New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Jimmy PP

Well I went looking for pipes this weekend with a friend... I'm not too familiar with the town, I just go down to Missouri to see my girlfriend on the weekends. Anyways, I asked said friend about places that sell pipes, so we go to this shop that turns out to be more of a headshop. The only wooden bowled 'tobacco pipes' they had, the owner said were made out of cherry wood, and the bowls were quite rough. I've never used a tobacco pipe before, and was wondering... A. would a cherry wood pipe be alright, as I see most pipes are made from briar, and B. are the pipes supposed to have rough bowls like that?... It almost looked like it should be sanded down or something... But then again I've never used/owned a tobacco pipe.

I appreciate any help.

-Jimmy PP

Yo JimmyPP! A. I think you will do much much better getting a Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipe from an actual tobacconist and, B. all kinds of pipes have all kinds of finishes from smooth to rough to deeply sandblasted and, C. you really want to get a cob and D. a pouch of Carter Hall or Prince Albert.

Thanks for the quick reply, but I think I made myself unclear. It was the inside of the bowl I was referring to. It almost looked like it was just drilled out, and left all rough on the inside. The outside was a very nice red finish. But I'll check out a few smoke shops and see what they have. However, this 'headshop' had a small selection of pipe tobacco, including a Black Cavendish which I was eyeballing... at $4 an ounce. Which from what I've seen online is quite a steep price?

-Jimmy PP

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Jimmy PP

Thanks for the quick reply, but I think I made myself unclear. It was the inside of the bowl I was referring to. It almost looked like it was just drilled out, and left all rough on the inside... ...Black Cavendish which I was eyeballing... at $4 an ounce.

$4.00/ounce isn't crazy-wild-high; tins are two-ounces and they usually sell for $7-$12/ea. Bulk is usually $2.50-ounce and up, depending.

Rough finish inside the bowl? Maybe it was coated with something a little raggedy to protect the wood from burning - that's not unusual. I never saw a new pipe with a drilled out chamber that was rough raw wood, though.

Black cavendish... it'd go well with a cob.