Playing the Piper

The Pipe! It is a great soother, a pleasant comforter! Blue devils fly before its honest breath! It ripens the brain; it opens the heart; and the man who smokes thinks like a sage and acts like a Samaritan."

Flying blue devils, open hearts and sagacious thinking aside, we might add to the venerable Lord Lytton's paean to the pipe, penned in 1851, that the smoker also gets a lot of plain old pleasure out of it. For there has not come into the world since his time a more enjoyable way to take tobacco, nor a more prestigious, masculine symbol (few women have taken to the pleasures of the pipe, though many have doted on cheroots). Long steeped in legend and lore, the pipe today is enjoying a renaissance as never before, along with all other styles of smoking. In fact, the hip (continued on page 80) contemporary man realizes that merely one method of taking his tobacco is not enough, that all three popular forms -- pipe, cigarette and cigar -- have their places in his scheme of things. But of all three forms of smoking, pipes have shot up the fastest in popularity of late, perhaps as part of a growing appreciation of the good things of the days of yore, like the Edwardian touch in men's clothing and the returning popularity of the beard. Today, whether he's tooling his sports car along in a rallye, skiing, golfing, yachting, or just enjoying a tête-à-tête at his apartment, the man of sophisticated activity boasts a pipe for every occasion, and he finds a fine pipe filled with his favorite blend of tobacco to be an occasion in itself.

The number of men in the world today who smoke pipes is close to 60 million and their pipes have been -- and are -- made of just about anything you can think of (and some things, like lobster claws, that might not readily pop into your mind): all the metals -- including gold, silver, platinum, iron and brass -- plus bone, ivory, clay, gourds, nut shells, tortoise shells, jade, pottery, corncobs, porcelain, horn, and all woods that will tolerate the heat.

But when all is said and done, the best all-round pipe material for today's lively living is still briar.

Briar boasts unique qualities that set it above most other pipe materials, and if it didn't already exist as a shrub (Erica arborea), it would be necessary to invent it. It's a small, scraggly bush that grows in the hot countries along the shores of the Mediterranean and the material from which the pipes are made is taken from its root, the process of growth being somewhat analagous to the means whereby goose livers are turned into pâté de foie gras. Instead of being force-fed, as the goose is, Erica arborea is mercilessly trimmed and pruned above the ground so that its roots will grow huge. When they're big enough -- two hundred years will produce a nice size, three to four feet in diameter -- the roots are dug up, cut into convenient-sized chunks, boiled in water for 12 hours to kill any life in the wood, and buried under straw to season for six months. They are then delivered to the pipe-maker, whose life is full of surprises.

Because the grain of the wood varies greatly, he cannot tell, when he begins to turn a pipe, whether it will finish out as a beautifully grained premium-special or a two-dollar dog with imperfections that must be filled with putty and stain. A perfect straight-grain pipe -- the grain running vertically to the body of the bowl, hard, dense, close and clear -- may easily sell for $100 or more. Generally, though, its cost is justified more by esthetic considerations than by the quality of the smoking it provides -- which would in all likelihood be equaled by a less perfect-looking $20 job. The special virtues of briar -- good, bad or indifferent briar; straight-grained, wavy or bird's-eye briar -- lie in its lightness and its ability to withstand heat and absorb tobacco juices. It's tops for all-round use, and, of course, briar pipes will comprise the bulk of your collection. What you should watch for in a bit is tastelessness and comfort when the pipe is clamped between your own jaws. The best bits around are made from compressed vulcanite, though amber (especially on meerschaums), horn, tortoise shell, ivory and a myriad of plastics are also used. The question of metal filters, or "plumbing," in a pipe has assumed the breast-beating proportions of the cigarette filter battle. Purists of the pipe will have nothing to do with plumbing of any sort, while others swear that it helps screen tars and other irritants, ensures a smooth, gentle draw.

At one time or another in their careers, pipe buffs are usually smitten hard by meerschaum, and with good reason. The word, in German, means sea foam, and you can still come across some knuckleheads who believe that a meerschaum pipe is carved from miraculously hardened and compressed sea foam. Of course it's not, even though chunks of its material -- hydrous magnesium silicate -- are sometimes found bobbing around the Black Sea. It's a lightweight, porous substance not unlike coral in that it is composed of the fossilized and compressed remains of small sea animals. Most of it comes from Asia Minor, where it's dug out of the ground at a depth of about 250 feet, and when turned into a pipe, the stuff smokes like a dream, thanks to its high absorptive capacity.

When new, a meerschaum pipe is beautifully white and waxy smooth. It's soft, light and as sweet-tasting as you could wish for. After considerable smoking, it turns ivory, tan, then brown, and finally almost black -- if it lasts that long. But it has its drawbacks too. A meerschaum is as fragile as a hand-blown champagne glass and will usually not survive even a short fall; raindrops will spot it, and so will your fingertips. During the breaking-in period, some Jean Hersholt types do nothing but sit by the fire, read Silas Marner and smoke their meerschaums only while wearing gloves; others make little chamois jackets for theirs. Both procedures are totally unnecessary, and a little silly to boot, since you can hold your pipe by the bit during the coloration process. If you don't want to go to the trouble meerschaum requires, we suggest you pick up a pipe with a briar bowl but lined with the swell-smoking meerschaum.

An item of exotica in the realm of pipe smokery is the hookah, or narghile, the water-pipe of the Middle East. Its primary attraction, aside from its romantic association with harems, is the fact that it delivers as cool a smoke as you might wish, since the smoke is drawn through water. Until such time as an enterprising inventor finds a way to make it fit the hand or pocket, however, the hookah cannot seriously be considered as a suitable companion for the modern man on the move.

There is nothing whatever mysterious, arcane or esoteric about the happy pleasures of smoking a pipe. But like any of the other niceties of life that man may savor -- choosing wines, assembling a stereo rig -- it's best to know what's what so that you extract the last measure of enjoyment from it.

The basics are these: when breaking in a briar, smoke a dozen short pipefuls, evenly lit and slowly. Fill the pipe progressively more each time so that it will cake evenly from bottom to top. Some sages, though, say this is hogwash: they claim a first-rate, hard-grained briar requires no breaking in whatever, that it should give you jim-dandy results from the first pipeful, filled all the way to the top. A neat way out of the dilemma is to try one of the pre-smoked pipes on the market. Never smoke it so fast that it gets unpleasantly warm to the hand. Never refill a hot pipe -- put it aside until it's completely cool. Clean it daily and don't let the coating of carbon which lines the bowl get any thicker than a penny. When you put a pipe away to rest, stand it up in a rack, don't lay it down; it's a good idea to stick a pipe cleaner into the shank and down into the bowl. Don't bonk your pipe against hard surfaces to get the ashes out -- you'll scratch it or chip the briar. (A clod, and likewise a connoisseur, can be spotted by the way he empties his pipe.) Instead, dig the ashes out with a pipe tool or give it a knock against the heel of your hand. Buy only those pipes with a good thick side-wall. You can, if you wish, rub the bowl of the pipe with water, honey-water, molasses, port wine or rum: this helps the carbon to form.

Of shapes and styles of pipes available there is a fascinating variety derived from 12 basic shapes which are identified by an ancient nomenclature: apple, billiard, bulldog and so on. Many of them have been designed with a specific function in mind, and here's what you'll want in your collection, and why:

For indoor reading, lounging by the fire, digging the sounds on the hi-fi or just plain watching TV, there's the "half-hour" fist-sized bowl pipe with the curved stem and bit, like the calabash. For active sports out of doors -- golfing, fishing or sailing -- the stubby, medium-sized bowl is recommended, in either bulldog or apple shapes. For driving or for windy days, you'll want a pipe with (continued on page 97)Playing the Piper(continued from page 80) a hinged lid to prevent flying ashes; a long-shanked pipe is a good idea here, so that the smoke doesn't blow into your face. For office or evening use, a medium or small pipe is called for, or a folding pipe for easy storage in the pocket, or a flat-bottomed pipe that can be set on a table without tipping over.

The joys of pipe-collecting are many and varied, an attendant kick to one of the most satisfying forms of smoking on earth. You'll want at the very least seven pipes, one for each day of the week, though anything less than a dozen pipes, selected in accord with your tastes and activities, is frowned upon as the mark of a tyro. (You should allow each of your pipes from two to three days' rest after prolonged use; this protects the flavor of the smoke and prevents a soggy pipe.) You can trot right out and pick up a nice matched set of 28 pipes for $2500, all cut from the same piece of briar, and you'll be the envy of your friends, but most guys prefer to amass their own favorites one at a time, and so do we.

Trappings and accessories with which the pipesman can keep his gear in first-class shape are also available in happy profusion. To establish the proper pipe-smoking atmosphere, there is a rich variety of pipe racks, humidors, pocket pouches, cleaners, reamers, tampers, lighters, travel cases, carbon cutters, ashtrays, and so forth. Make sure the lighter you choose is specifically designed for pipes; there are two types, cylindrical and jet, both tops for speed and convenience of operation. The tools you purchase should be used often enough to keep your pipes in tiptop working condition, and the important thing to watch for in your humidor and pocket pouches is that they are designed to keep your tobacco moist and fresh. Humidors are available in a rich variety of fine woods, glass and earthenware; while pocket pouches come in all kinds of elegant materials that make them both good-looking and functional.

It is axiomatic that women like the appearance of a man with a pipe clamped in his mouth -- so axiomatic, in fact, that there exists a group of male gentry who habitually carry a handsome pipe in their manly jaws, yet never bother to light it. Let us dismiss these pipish poseurs as unworthy of consideration. The genuine pipesman smokes his pipe.

His choice of what to smoke is well-nigh infinite. There are six basic types of tobacco: Burley, Maryland, Virginia, Turkish, Latakia and perique. There are also many, many sub-types, including rarities grown, if one can believe their adherents, in one-acre patches high in the Himalayas, which are plucked by blue-eyed virgins, and only during years in which a total eclipse occurs. Strong enough to make the eyes smart, a straight pipeful of any one of the basic or sub-basic types might drive you to snuff-dipping in a hurry. They must be artfully blended to be fully palatable to most smokers. In general, Burley and Maryland are used to supply body to a blend, bring out the flavor of the other tobaccos, and also help them burn slower. Virginia is a light, quick-burning and mild tobacco used to make the blend stay lit and burn easier. Turkish tobacco is wonderfully aromatic, fast burning and light. Latakia cools and flavors a smoke, adds a delightful aroma and rich flavor. Perique also cools and flavors, but is more pungent and heavier than Latakia, adds body and strength to a blend.

Nothing in the smoker's world is quite so creative as the blending of his own tobacco; but few are competent to undertake it, and it's most rewarding to shop around for prepared blends at first. If you'd like to try your hand at it, though, a simple way is to buy one of the sampler blending kits put out by several companies. These give you small amounts of a variety of tobaccos which you can try in various proportions and combinations -- until you hit on a blending that suits your personal taste. On the other hand, Dunhill's can now make up for you any one of 18,000-odd blends, so you needn't hasten to experiment in blending, at least not at first.

What you will want to know is that, in general, there are three types of blends: mild, medium and full. Contrary to what you might expect, the mild blends -- especially if they're finely cut and rapidly smoked -- can burn hot and bite the tongue, but they do possess a soft, delicate flavor. Medium or full blends will usually provide you with a smoother smoke, since they burn with a slow combustion, are known for their exotic, rich flavor, are fine for outdoor use or after-dinner savoring. The cut of a tobacco is also important, and four are in general use: granulated, shredded, flaked and plugged. Granulated blends are the most popular in the U.S.

Depending on your point of view, you can either adulterate or enhance your blend by adding bits of fruits, herbs, spices or liquors. Commonly used are apples, oranges, vanilla, molasses, honey, rum, cognac and suchlike. Each will add its own particular flavor to your tobacco, and often will help restore dry tobacco to the proper degree of moistness. Aromatic blends, with various forms of sugar, glucose and molasses added, boast increased moisture-holding qualities, give off a sweetish aroma that most practiced pipesmen frown on.

The way in which a particular tobacco will burn -- and how much enjoyment it affords you -- will depend directly on its quality, cut, the amount of moisture it contains and how you pack it in the bowl. If you pack it too tightly, the pipe will draw poorly and keep going out. If you pack it too loosely, you'll get a fast, hot smoke. We recommend that you pack it in layers; that is, put in a little tobacco, tamp it down, add more and do the same until the pipe is full.

Whatever the blend, whatever the cut, whatever the style or type of bowl you choose, pipe-smoking is full of little extra rewards. It will make you feel cooler on a hot day and warm you in the winter. You can develop an affection for it, as for an old friend. A good pipeful, as British physician William Vaughan said in 1626, "... is a most singular and sudden remedy against the Migraine, the Toothache, the fits of the Mother, the Falling-Sickness, the Dropsy, the Gout and against all such diseases as are caused by windy, cold or waterish humours. And for them that have moist brains, and cannot sleep, they must take the fume at their going to bed... ." Moist-brained or no, a present-day gentleman will readily recognize that this form of taking tobacco can become an exciting pipeline to smoking enjoyment.

Left, 10 basic pipe shapes, from bottom to top: billiard full bent by Iwan Ries, $4.95; billiard straight grain by Comoy, $30; apple silver banded by Keyser, $12.50; poker by Dunhill, $20; Canadian by Barling, $10; Dublin by Kaywoodie, $6; Prince of Wales by Dunhill, $22.50; large pot with saddle bit by Marxman, $5; yachtsman by Barling, $10; bulldog banded, Kaywoodie, $20.

Below, an assortment of necessities and accessories for the care and feeding of your pipes. Front to back, left row: pipe cleaners, $.10; vulcanite polish and pipe preservative, $.25 each; absorbent Kaoloid pellets, $.50; Kleen Reem cleaner and reamer, $6; black leather pouch with one snap, $4.50, combination pouch and pipe case in peccary, $6.50, and Rotator pouch in regimental stripes, $3, are all from Dunhill. In the middle row, from back to front: two-pipe case from Dunhill, $7.50; one-pound-capacity pouch by Iwan Ries, $5. The tools: three-pronged is by Duncan of England, $1, and is sitting on Dunhill's gold-encased combination tool, $12.50; below that, from left to right, are a traditionally-shaped reamer from Denmark, $1; a reamer by Cook, $.49; a combination tool, $12.50, and a standard tool, $3.50, both from Dunhill. Far right row, pouches front to back are: leather Rotator from Dunhill, $5; two-snap pouch by Comoy, $3.50; Rogers' combination pipe case and tobacco pouch in alligator, $20; and Comoy's buckled pouch, $3.50.

Right, leaves from the blender's book, bottom to top: Latakia adds aroma; coarse cut and bright Virginia are mild; Burley, base of most blends, lends body and mellowness; perique adds strength; Turkish imparts fragrance. Orange, apple and brandy give flavor and moisture. Two small cans hold: Havana leaf for body; deer's tongue, an herb which, like boxed honeycomb, adds sweetness.

Left, holders and humidors, moving clockwise from sixish: the cork-centered ashtrays, with holder $22.50, without $10, are by Dunhill; suede-covered humidor is imported from France by Marshall Field, $14.50; the earthenware humidor, $7.50, sterling silver humidor, $35, and mahogany veneer humidor and rack, $45, are all from Dunhill; the 36-holder walnut rack, $20, and the leather-covered rack and humidor, $35, are from VL&A; and the walnut rack for 24 pipes, $15, is by Dunhill.

Above, a collection of the unusual in pipery. Across the top, left to right; white briar by Kaywoodie, $5; calabash from Iwan Ries, $15; Pioneer meerschaum from VL&A, $33. Directly below are blond Pipo, Iwan Ries, $7.95; Medico's pigskin-covered briar, $7.50; folding swivel pipe, Dunhill, $22.50; Canadian-shaped peel by Loewe & Co., $10; Airograte Icepack, Yello-Bole pipe with three interchangeable bowls, $5.95. The four remaining, left to right; Kaywoodie campus, $3.95; Sasieni Fantail Sandblast, $10.95; windproof pipe from Mastercraft, $3.50; hand-carved heavy-weight from Iwan Ries, $17.95.