Function and Form

While dimensions of quality seem patently obvious to me, I’m amazed by the number of pipe-smoking friends who can’t describe in functional terms what they want from a pipe nor why they like what they like. It is as if they buy what they think is attractive to them then stop there.

Certainly, we all buy pipes that we think are beautiful or that attract our eye. But, there is more to enjoying the pipe-smoking experience than looking at and appreciating the pipe as an object. There is using it and coming to love it for its usefulness. Many of the old-timers I know among pipe-smokers appreciate pipes like they they appreciate women; looks take a back seat to likability and compatibility.

Standing Apple by Viktor YashtylovThe longer I smoke a pipe, the more I care about the quality of the experience the pipe offers me. A wonderful smoker that is also easy to use and amenable to one’s smoking habits becomes a treasure. When such a pipe is beautiful, it is certainly a bonus. But, I would never trade away a great smoker for a mediocre smoker that just happened to please my eye. Function matters to me.

One of the times I most enjoy smoking my pipe is when I write. My pipes help me concentrate while simultaneously relaxing me.

I’ve yet to meet the writer for whom writing is easy. There are times when the words seem to spill onto the screen, but most of the time there is some struggle, however small, between economy in the expression of ideas and making a passage expressive and vivid. Because my pipe softens the cantankerous editor inside me, the writing experience is more pleasant in the moment.

As a pipe-smoking writer, or a writing pipe-smoker, I’m fond of sitters, especially those with big capacities that stay lit when I put them down. It seems like such pipes would not be all that hard to find, but I also relish a pipe with a friendly hand that is not too heavy when I clench it for awhile.

The Yashtylov you see at the top of this post – a pipe I have named “the standing apple” – is the latest acquisition I’ve made in a series of pipes that have been bought with writing in mind.

This standing apple is about as stable a sitter as one could imagine. It also has a generous capacity, given its 21mm (.82”) chamber diameter and 36mm (1.4”) depth. A bowl of ribbon cut tobacco lasts me an hour or so in this pipe. A folded and stuffed flake burns nearly an hour and a half. My only wish is that the pipe were slightly lighter in weight; at 71 grams it is a bit on the heft side for clenching, but I find I set it down anyway so it’s not really too much a problem for me.

Friendly by Michael LindnerI have a number of writing pipes. The Michael Lindner friendly you see depicted here is a particular favorite of mine. A bowl of tobacco lasts nearly two hours in this pipe. It never goes out and, what’s more, it delivers a particularly cool smoke.

Cherrywood by S. BangMy S. Bang cherrywood is also a particular favorite writing pipe. Like the Lindner, a bowl lasts a very long time. However, unlike the Lindner, this is a pipe particularly suited to folded and stuffed Virginia flakes. I love to smoke Sam’s Flake in this pipe; the sweet, treacly flavor never seems to develop harsh notes later in the bowl.

Friendly (morta) by Paolo BeckerWhen it comes to pipes that are amenable to English and Balkan blends, I am very fond of my Paolo Becker morta. While it is a beefy looking pipe with a large capacity, the lightness of the material makes it an extremely good clencher. I can plop it down on its broad, flat bottom without even looking; it never tips nor wobbles.

Most of the observations in this post will seem sophomorically obvious to those experienced pipe smokers reading this post, but for those of you who are newer to pipe smoking, I hope this post is helpful. Give some consideration to those times and places you enjoy your pipes. Think about making your choices to enhance your experience during those times and in those places. You’ll be glad you did.

Comments

[Hunter Small]

I love the "Standing Apple" (the others aren't to shabby, either). What a unique shape.

[Scott Stultz]

This is terrific, Neill. It's fun sometimes to just ramble a little about what we like and why, in conversational terms. And your anecdotal notes are wonderfully descriptive. I have a Rad Davis standing Dublin and a Paolo Becker cherrywood that are good in the way that you describe as pipes that I can easily put down when I need to use both hands at my worktable or computer keyboard. I also really enjoy some of my pipes that maybe are best called rockers, as they don't have a distinct flat plane on the bottom of the bowl keeping them upright, but balance easily because of where their center of gravity is. A Larry Roush rusticated Rhodesian and a vicious looking Trever Talbert custom pug, both of which have big, heavy bowls that could kill the neighbor's dog with one well aimed throw are great examples. A pair of Rad's short squashed apples and a nice long tanblast prince are also in my workday group, and I can clench them a little longer because they're less massive. And of course, they're all very good smokers that stay pretty dry for me, so I don't need to stop and run a pipe cleaner often before I've finished a load of tobacco, an annoyance that for me interrupts my focus if I'm working.

[Jack]

This is probably why I like my Heeschen bamboo apple so much. It's not a sitter, but it won't ever tip over, and it weighs less than an ounce. I think a good writing/work pipe should also be effortlessly clenchable, a property that I would rank higher than whether it sits up when you put it down.

[Jimbo44]

Never really occurred to me to choose a sitter because of function; generally I think the flat bit spoils the flow of the look (your Yashtylov and Bang cause me to re-evaluate that opinion though!).

My functional solution is to have individual pipe stands everywhere I'm likely to sit, read or work; Dunhill pewter, novelty ceramic or the ubiqitous pipe ashtray with 4 stands and a central cork.

Am I suffering from Stand Acquisition Disorder (SAD)?

[Jimbo44]

This one made me change my mind!

[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/808/gcharatanfooted1w37.jpg/][IMG]http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/3481/gcharatanfooted1w37.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]