pipe education
pipe education
[Ask the Pipe Doc is a regular column comprised of questions and answers provided as a way of educating pipe smokers. Answers are provided by our resident 'Pipe Doc,' Marty Pulvers.]
AT A GLANCE...
Q#1: Pipe Bowl Size and Flavor
Q#2: Brass Humidors
Q#3: Companies that specialize in small bowl pipes.


Photo: Does large bowl size influence flavors?

Again, when it comes to something this ephemeral, or changeable, there is no way of doing a test with a control, so nobody will ever know the answer, but I am almost 100% certain the following answer is correct... it does not matter. Smoke the size pipe you like. It will give you the best possible smoke.
As for the issue of draw that you bring up, that is strictly a matter of proper engineering, and one can mess up the engineering in a large pipe just as easily as he can in a small one. And one can get the engineering correct in a large pipe with the same attention to detail as he would have to use in a smaller pipe. If you said that good construction, in any size pipe, is the key to a good smoke (all other things being equal), I would not disagree.
Enjoy your pipe. From a guy who does not think size matters (although that may be self-incriminating),
Marty, The Pipe Doc



I hope that helps a little. If you are determined to keep the humidor just brass, I don't think anything terrible will happen.
Best wishes,
Marty, The Scientifically Challenged Pipe Doc


In general, I find Italian pipes tend to be large and English and Danish pipes smaller, although that is, again, only a generalization. Remember, pipes are just like people... not because they let others govern for them, but because each one is an individual. So, even if a pipe maker tends to make small pipes, he will make a large pipe if the piece of briar he is working on is large and looks like it will have great grain and make the pipe maker a lot of money. In that situation, he will not make a small pipe.
I wish I could give a brand name, like Jurgen Moritz, of Germany who makes some nice small pipes... but they are expensive. The best advice is to check out some pipe web sites and look at the sizes of the individual pipes. But, if you feel it will help to have a bit of guide, pay more attention to the Danish pipes and the old English pipes, like Comoy's, GBD and Sasieni. The English smoked small pipes because the tax on tobacco was very high. The Danish smoke pipes because pipes are the least expensive way to smoke. Those factors inspire the manufacture of smaller pipes.
I know that was kind of thin, but I do hope it was slightly helpful.
Best Wishes,
Marty, The Pipe Doc
Have you visited...

Other credentials include his being named a Doctor of Pipes by the Chicagoland Pipe Club and a Certified Kapnismologist (don't ask) by Pipe Collector's International... now defunct (don't ask). He is also a Certified Beer Judge, which he concedes has nothing to do with the subject at hand, but might help explain, in advance, the quality and tenor of some of his answers to your pipe questions.
Marty began his pipe voyage in abject ignorance of pipes and tobacco, and over the 45-plus years of pipe smoking, he claims to have experienced and learned a lot. Alas, he's willing to admit that it is possible he has been at it so long that this journey may have resulted in a complete circle.
"I smoke pipes the size of what is referred to as Dunhill Group 3 or 4. Dunhill gives its standard sized pipes numbers from 1-6, number 1 being the smallest."
Ask the Pipe Doc: Q and A
Tuesday, December 15, 2009