The smoking pipe, while it may be fading quickly from popularity, is still out there and has been for a long time. And while it has faded from a position of public domain to a place of distinctiveness, almost seen as pretentious as the cane, there are devoted lovers of this simple pleasure who give it the merit and artistic touch it’s deserved all these years. Over this span of time the pipe artisans have created a long list of shapes, sizes and textures for the avid pipe smoker to choose from. The interesting thing about this is that not only are there a plethora of aesthetic shapes that are interesting to the eye, the names of these shapes are often more interesting than the shape itself. Indeed, virtually everything surrounding the uncomplicated gratification of pipe smoking has become an art form. This is true from the methods of performing the act of smoking, all the way back to the creation of the pipe itself. For the purposes of our read today, we will give focus on the choices of shapes seen on the market today and their inspired titles.
To offer a quick point most would quickly picture in the mind, the pipe we often see Sherlock Holmes smoking was a full bent Calabash, but sometimes there were versions of Holmes seen with him smoking what appeared to be a quarter-bent Bulldog. One of the most intriguing Holmes pipes was one called ‘Le Strade’, which is uniquely shaped with a near Oom Paul design but with a squat apple bowl. Le Strade was a character from Doyle’s stories and, as you can imagine, these pipes are almost as dramatic in their monikers. To explain the ‘Oom Paul’ label, it was a designation given because a 19th century South African politician named Paul Kruger, sometimes called Uncle Paul for whatever reason, smoked a pipe shaped similar to what’s called the Oom Paul or Hungarian today. ‘Oom’ in Afrikaner, means uncle. Many prefer the term Hungarian over Oom Paul, since the pipe’s history is more appealing than the history of the man.
Bing Crosby’s pipe was almost surely a Canadian shape, with the stem being short but the shank (the wooden aspect of the stem) being quite long, finished with a smooth billiard bowl. Then of course, there was the General MacArthur corncob pipe, which was unusual from most corncob pipes in that it looked as if it was made from half of the ear of corn, being so tall and large. That peculiar shape is now known as the MacArthur shape, but the corncob pipe itself is commonly known today as the Missouri Meerschaum.
For those who don’t know, the true meerschaum pipes, which often feature intricate carvings of a turban-wearing, bearded man or perhaps a dragon’s claw, appear to be made of ivory, but they are not. The ivory-colored material is a soft, clay-like stone called meerschaum and, because of its malleable nature when wet, is easily carved. With that being pointed out, the most common material for pipes to be carved from is Briar wood, or the Heath tree.
There are general shapes, and one of the most obvious is whether the shank is bent or straight, and then how much the shank is bent. There are full-bent, half and then quarter-bent shanks, and then one virtually folded back on itself with the shank almost parallel with the bowl, which is the Oom Paul or Hungarian shape. The cavalier, seen as a separate bowl attached to a vertical shank, is quite interesting to see, because it appears at first glance to be Hungarian in appearance, but is in fact two pieces. The bowl may be a briar bowl and the stem and shank a completely different material, such as brass. Dunhill (the Rolls Royce of pipe manufacturers) proudly displays lustrous Cavalier designs.
Among the most widely recognized pipe shapes (although few know the proper name) is the Churchwarden shape, characterized by a very long but slender shank and stem ended to a very small bowl. We see these enjoyed by the wizards of lore in the movies and such. They’re not commonly seen among the pipe smokers we see in public since these pipes are not convenient to carry and appear highly pretentious, but they’re enjoyed because the long stem cools the smoke and they’re really enjoyable to smoke and hold. If the author may interject, any devoted pipe smoker that does not own a Churchwarden is missing out and should make time to correct the error.
Attached to the various shanks, be they straight or bent, are uniquely named chimneys or bowls. This is where the tobacco is placed, and how the chimney is constructed makes a difference. The Billiard is recognized by being a bit taller than around. If the chimney isn’t quite so tall, the pipe bowl may be called pot-shaped, much like a pot on the stove. A broader, squat bowl (depending on the artistic design) is sometimes called the Bulldog, but there are other variations. There is an egg shape and an apple shape, which are quite self-descriptive, with the apple shape being almost spherical in appearance. While sometimes difficult to describe, there are Dublin shaped pipes, the Prince, the Chubby, the Minaret, and so many other variations. Pipes that have been hand-carved and appear unique are often just called the Freehand. To describe many of these in words could not do the artistry justice; anyone intrigued should seek to see these and then, the more you’ll see the more you’ll want to see. This is particularly true with freehand pipes, since the work of many artists is nothing less than sculpture illustrating the unlimited capacity of human imagination.
While this is a distraction from the subject of shape, the finish should be mentioned since how the shape is finished accentuates many pipe shapes. The Smooth finish looks smooth, with the briar or other material polished and smooth, giving voice to the beauty of the wood or the meerschaum. A brilliant carnauba wax may be the final touch to demonstrate the beauty of the wood grain, which is among the most beautiful aspects of Briar. A Flamed grain may be emphasized when found to demonstrate the fluid nature of the grain, or a Birdseye grain may be emphasized, called this because the grain may be seen from the end, as if looking straight down the grain, giving a sense of seeing the grain disappear into the depth of the wood. Because of the unique nature of grain, each piece is unique and appealing grain or a Birdseye appearance can add appeal and value. Briar is favored for pipes because it is a very hard wood, but the grain of Briar may just be more beautiful than the grain of any other wood, providing the pipe that visual flair. Further, Briar is more a shrub than tree, offering little wood to use. There will be no planks of this wood; it offers little material for use than items the small size of a pipe.
The Rusticated finish appears pitted, but is an intentional finish done by hand, giving a great texture to see and hold. The Rusticated texture is usually finished in a very dark and uniform color rather, such as black. There is a Sandblasted finish, which removes much of the softer wood from around the tougher grain, giving a unique appearance to a pipe with something appealing to both hand and eye. A lattice design is common for many meerschaum pipes. Since the meerschaum is so easy to carve, the faces and other shapes are too tempting to pass up by most sculptors of the material, but the lattice texture accentuates the beauty of the pipe shape in ways briar cannot allow. Indeed, a meerschaum calabash or Oom Paul finished with lattice exterior is captivating to the eye and begs to be held. Further, the lattice texture gives such personality to one’s pipe when smoked over a span of time, since the tobacco infuses into the meerschaum over time and this rich color can be seen rising into the depths of the latticework design, creating a work of art in progress.
The pipe is fading from ordinariness; no longer seen virtually everywhere as it once was. But when it was, there were pipe shapes so commonly seen, as to prompt one to think there were but two basic shapes, which were either bent or straight. Sure, the corncob was out there; seen as too humble for those in an urban setting, whereas that sort is seen as nostalgic today. When the pipe was popular and common, it was a means to an end; the desire to enjoy a good smoke in a society that favored the perceived benefits of tobacco. Today, tobacco has been vilified by a society bent on immortality, with things such as cigars seen as a guilty indulgence or a dare against prudence. But the pipe has gone from being as popular as a pocketknife (talk about vilified…) to an item of nostalgia, given to the artist’s eye, much like the thimble, the fountain pen, or the door knocker. Blessings to those of you who keep the art alive.
