a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  4074 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Who else here smokes a pipe?

That's right. Most of the time, pipe tobacco is much lower in nicotine than other tobacco products, but there are quite a few nicotine-heavy blends out there (Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake, for example).





user-inactivated  ·  4074 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That's interesting! I forgot to mention that he carved his own set of pipes as well, which I found to be the coolest part of the whole business. Does the material used to smoke change the taste of the tobacco? To elaborate, is there a difference between smoking in a plastic pipe versus a wooden one?

user-inactivated  ·  4074 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That's pretty neat that he carved his own pipes. Pipes are most commonly carved from briar wood (root wood from the heath tree). This wood works particularly well because it does a good job of insulating and absorbing moisture which helps keep a dry smoke. There are a few other materials that are used for pipes (clay, corn cobs, meerschaum), but, to be honest, I don't know a great deal about them, and I don't really know which woods are suitable to carve a pipe out of. Anyway, to answer your question: yes, the material does make a difference in the quality of the smoke. Also, I wouldn't recommend smoking out of a plastic pipe; that could end badly.

user-inactivated  ·  4074 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That is all very interesting! What's the side-effect of a plastic pipe, if I may ask?

user-inactivated  ·  4074 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Since you would be taking a flame to it, the plastic would likely melt/deform/burn and would release toxic fumes from heating. I also think that you would be hard-pressed to actually find a plastic pipe.