What's new

confused by pipe filters?

could somone explain how these work i have seen three diffrent varities

1 the cylinder similar looking to a cigg filter. do they fit all pipes? and is there any point? (i dont want anything to ruin the flavour)

2 the sort of thick wire wool style ball that i think goes in the bottom of the bowl. this really confuses me as i imagine it would get very hot

3 the sort of wire mesh that i have seen in certin shops that sell drug smoking equipment. i doubt this applies to pipes but any advice is welcome.

as a novice i am happy just keeping it simple for now until i get my method down but it is nice to have all the info.
 
The cylinders fit in filter pipes like Dr. Grabow, medico, cob, and some Peterson pipes among others they come in carbon and paper, some like them I'm not a fan. The wooly asbestos looking ones and screens fit in the bottom of a bowl and are messy to deal with and I don't like putting anything in my pipe but tobacco, although I have used screens in the bottom of some cobs that had a poorly fitting shank in the bowl until enough carbon builds up to even out the bottom of the bowl. Sevinelli makes a solid balsa filter shaped like a triangular prism, instead of a tube think of that shape with a triangle instead of a circle. Those come in sizes that fit most pipes that take a paper filter and I use them in all my cobs. They don't interfere with the draw or flavor, absorb much moisture, and can be reused more often.
 

Commander Quan

Commander Yellow Pantyhose
I do know that filtered pipes are more prevalent in Europe than they are in N. America, so the chances are that you will run into filtered pipes more than a lot of the guys on here. I know Peterson's have the shanks designed to be able to drill them to accept the 9mm filters, but most of the ones we get in the US have the straight push in tenon.
 
The stem insert type isn't really a filter at all, but does help to trap excess moisture. It will get black but after all the smoke is passing over it not through it. From what I've heard from other smokers most throw them away (myself included). If find that you don't like how the pipe draws, you can go back to them, or just use a piece of pipe cleaner.
 
two of my peterson,s are 9mm filters & there is no difference in taste or draw, if i have no filters i've got a plastic insert that makes the airway smaller
 
I've always removed them if they were intact, and have never used one in my life, save for a cheap pipe I had for testing baccy blends, which had a filter already installed, ended up collapsing and blocking the pipe (what happens when you buy a $5 pipe).

I prefer not to have anything obstructing the draw of a pipe either, I am not experienced in any way, but I prefer the feel of an un-filtered draw.
 
I have a paper filter in my Dr. Gabow and in my corncob too. I find that they draw the same as my pipes without a filter. When I look at the filter after I smoke a bowl, it's nice knowing that much tar stayed out of my system. I don't feel it effects the taste or my enjoyment of the pipe.
 
Top Bottom