How many Pipes should I have?

[TheClassicGentleman]

Personally myself I would suggest you have atleast 12-pipes. You smoke 4 times a day if I read correctly and with 12-pipes your pipes will have a chance to rest and dry between smokes. So for example take 2-pipes to work to have your 2-smokes and have 2-pipes ready for when you get home to have your 2-smokes. The 2nd day use 4 more pipes to do the same thing as the 1st day, and on the 3rd day 4 more pipes doing the same as you did on the 1st and 2nd day. When the 4th day rolls around use the 4-pipes you used on the 1st day.

This will essencially give your pipes 48-hours to dry and rest between smokes and allow your pipes; including your cobs, to last longer and smoke better.

I don't know what your taste is according to pipes but if you like cobs Missouri Meerschaum makes some very nice cobs for a descent price. If you are more a fan of briar pipes Dr. Grabow makes very descent pipes that are an excellent bargain. Both companies have been around for many years and they have a huge reputation backing them up. I have several Dr. Grabow and Missouri Meerschaum pipes in my modest collection and they are excellent smokers.

But getting back to your situation I think 12-pipes is a good place to start; 2-pipes for work and 2-pipes for home per day, rotate the 4-pipes each day and by the time you get to the 4th day you will be back to the first 4-pipes you started with giving your pipes 48-hours to rest and dry before smoking them again.

Does that make sense?

[COHunter]

There's a lot of advice on resting briars, and it's a good idea to let them dry out and recover from the smokes. What hasn't been touched on much is tending to the cake that builds up on briars that can often be the culprit in what makes a pipe fail. You can have only a couple of pipes that you rotate through and smoke consistently if you take care of them. When you're done smoking, dump out the ash and remaining dottle in the bottom and run a pipe cleaner through it. Take a look at the cake and scrape your pipe to maintain a light even coating because if cake is allowed to build too thick the rate of expansion and contraction varies greatly cmpared to that of the briar and will crack your pipe. I only own 6 pipes and I smoke an average of 2 bowls per day and have yet to burn out or crack any of my pipes.

+1 for sure on the cobs though, you really can dish out the punishment to those and they come back for more.

[bnalley]

There's a lot of advice on resting briars, and it's a good idea to let them dry out and recover from the smokes. What hasn't been touched on much is tending to the cake that builds up on briars that can often be the culprit in what makes a pipe fail. You can have only a couple of pipes that you rotate through and smoke consistently if you take care of them. When you're done smoking, dump out the ash and remaining dottle in the bottom and run a pipe cleaner through it. Take a look at the cake and scrape your pipe to maintain a light even coating because if cake is allowed to build too thick the rate of expansion and contraction varies greatly cmpared to that of the briar and will crack your pipe. I only own 6 pipes and I smoke an average of 2 bowls per day and have yet to burn out or crack any of my pipes.

+1 for sure on the cobs though, you really can dish out the punishment to those and they come back for more.

+1. I touched on the proper cake in another thread. You want to maintain it at about 1/16th of an inch or so. this will protect the briar from the cherry, and will not be thick enough to crack the pipe due to thermal expansion. If you have a local tobaconist let him show you how to ream your bowl with a reamer. For Gods sake, do not use your pocket knife to do this delicate job, you will only succeed on damaging your pipe. A pipe reamer is cheap and will save you the heartache of a burn out in the foot or heel because your trusty old knife dug into the briar and set it up to burn.

[TheClassicGentleman]

+1. I touched on the proper cake in another thread. You want to maintain it at about 1/16th of an inch or so. this will protect the briar from the cherry, and will not be thick enough to crack the pipe due to thermal expansion. If you have a local tobaconist let him show you how to ream your bowl with a reamer. For Gods sake, do not use your pocket knife to do this delicate job, you will only succeed on damaging your pipe. A pipe reamer is cheap and will save you the heartache of a burn out in the foot or heel because your trusty old knife dug into the briar and set it up to burn.

Absolutely, you really want to use a pipe reemer to clean the cake that builds up in the pip. Try to find a Kleen Reem Pipe Tool like this one



They are adjustable and will acomodate many pipe sizes. They work like a dream and keep your pipes in excellent smoking condition.

[SweetOne69]

Absolutely, you really want to use a pipe reemer to clean the cake that builds up in the pip. Try to find a Kleen Reem Pipe Tool like this one



They are adjustable and will acomodate many pipe sizes. They work like a dream and keep your pipes in excellent smoking condition.

The Kleen Reem Pipe tool seems to be the same as the Senior Reamer.

[jwhite]

The Kleen Reem Pipe tool seems to be the same as the Senior Reamer.

Yep they're pretty much the same thing.

[cb91710]

Same here.

I have a full 7 day set.

Correction.

I now have an 8-day set.

I forgot to grab the Pete on the way out the door this morning, so when I stopped at CVS for a Gatorade at morning break, I grabbed a bent-stem MM cob for $7.


I'll just leave it in the glove box for the days I forget the briar.

I'm just wondering how it will smoke without the filter.... I didn't even think about the filter and tried to shove a pipe cleaner through it. Munged it up pretty badly and it draws "hard" now so I binned it.
I don't care for filters anyways.

[Uncle Jackie]

I'm just wondering how it will smoke without the filter....

It will smoke just fine. I don't use a filter in any of my pipes and they all smoke fine without.

[nrdoty]

...I'm just wondering how it will smoke without the filter.... I didn't even think about the filter and tried to shove a pipe cleaner through it. Munged it up pretty badly and it draws "hard" now so I binned it.
I don't care for filters anyways.

I generally dislike filters also. I smoke my cobs without them. The draw is a bit more open than a normal non-filtered pipe, but I think it's just fine. Of course you do want to be careful at the last of the bowl & not draw too quick; while trying to relight I have accidentally sucked a hot ember through one before...ouch.

[Slash McCoy]

My suggestion is smoke two pipes in one day. Smoke one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening. Set them aside to recover. Smoke another pair the next day. If you have 6 pipes you will have a pretty good rotation that way. You pipes will get a nice break.

I wouldn't mess with filters. To me, they just collect gucky stuff and give you a bad taste. If you choose to use filters, change them often. Don't let all the tobacco juice get all rancid in the filter.

[cb91710]

I generally dislike filters also. I smoke my cobs without them. The draw is a bit more open than a normal non-filtered pipe, but I think it's just fine. Of course you do want to be careful at the last of the bowl & not draw too quick; while trying to relight I have accidentally sucked a hot ember through one before...ouch.

Heck, I've done that with my Petes!

Just gotta' be quick on the quench like a fire eater.

[nrdoty]

Heck, I've done that with my Petes!

Just gotta' be quick on the quench like a fire eater.

I was walking at the time so there was no quench happening, more like sputter & cuss. This does give me an additional excuse for having a beer handy though!

[cb91710]

I was walking at the time so there was no quench happening, more like sputter & cuss. This does give me an additional excuse for having a beer handy though!

Nahh.. just slam it into the roof of your mouth with your tongue.
That's how carnival fire-eaters do it.

[COHunter]

+1 on keeping a beer handy. That should just be a general rule regardless of risk of hot embers.

[TheClassicGentleman]

My suggestion is smoke two pipes in one day. Smoke one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening. Set them aside to recover. Smoke another pair the next day. If you have 6 pipes you will have a pretty good rotation that way. You pipes will get a nice break.

I wouldn't mess with filters. To me, they just collect gucky stuff and give you a bad taste. If you choose to use filters, change them often. Don't let all the tobacco juice get all rancid in the filter.

No don't do that.

When I use filters in my cobs I change the filters after each smoke, this keeps the pipe cleaner longer and provides a better smoking experience.

[conroygc]

I suggest you get on eBay/Craigslist/etc and buy the largest pipe rack you can find. The kind that hangs on your wall and has three or four shelves. Then fill it!

That's how many pipes you should have

[du52]

This thread makes me want to buy more pipes.