Pipe Line

Five Tips For Beginner Pipe Smokers

July 27, 2023 by Zachary Podl

1 Comment

Getting into pipe smoking can be intimidating; any pipe smoker will tell you that mastering the art takes time. Considering there are countless techniques for packing a bowl, lighting said bowl, drawing smoke, and exhaling, it's unsurprising that no one smokes a pipe perfectly the first time. However, learning one's way ... Read More

Introducing Small Batch: Sun Bear Tupelo, The Latest Iteration of C&D's Most Popular Summertime Blend

July 21, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

16 Comments

What often differentiates good tobaccos from great tobaccos is nuance. It's the subtle alterations that commend a particular mixture, perhaps through a well-aged component, the minimalist addition of a proprietary top note, or the application of long-term pressure. It doesn't take much to modify a blend in interesting and ... Read More

9th Annual American Pipe-Making Exposition

July 14, 2023 by Shane Ireland

2 Comments

It's time for our American Pipe Making Exposition 2023. The American Pipe Making Exposition is an annual event where we ask for submissions from some of our American carvers, submissions designed to push the limits of their comfort zones and the limits of pipe design in general, and all of this is tied together ... Read More

America's First Artisan Pipe Makers

July 13, 2023 by Gabriel Bass

7 Comments

When we think of artisan pipe makers these days, the image conjured is likely of a craftsman painstakingly shaping a block of briar amid a panoramic scene of lathes and belt sanders. The prevailing narrative is that pipe making was largely an industrial process prior to the mid-20th century, when Sixten Ivarsson ... Read More

Common Tobacco Pipe Materials: Briar, Meerschaum, and More

July 7, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

26 Comments

Modern pipes are made from a number of materials: briar, meerschaum, clay, various woods like cherrywood and olivewood, corn cobs, morta (also called bog-oak), and gourds are the most popular. They've withstood generations of use and have proven to be good performers. For someone just deciding to explore pipe ... Read More

Enhanced Pipe-Smoking Flavor and Comfort with Breath Smoking

July 6, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

11 Comments

Many of the challenges encountered by pipe smokers can be minimized or terminated through the practice of breath smoking. Breath smoking, when mastered, dispenses with excessive moisture and gurgle, tongue bite, frequent relights, and flavor compromised by the inordinate generation of heat. ... Read More

Smokingpipes' Own Shane Ireland Has Joined The Confrérie des Maîtres Pipiers De Saint-Claude

June 30, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

22 Comments

The discovery of briarwood as a medium for pipes was perhaps the most important technological advancement in pipe-making history. Before briar, fragile clay and meerschaum pipes dominated the choices of pipe smokers, supplemented by pipes of various kinds of wood: boxwood, cherry, beech, maple ... Read More

Pipe Smoking Desktop Backgrounds: July 2023

June 28, 2023 by Andrew Wike

It's time for another round of beautiful pipe-smoking desktop backgrounds for you to enjoy. As in previous months, the set includes some of our favorite shots and artwork, including nine unique images, split between desktop and mobile orientations and available for download in two high-resolution formats. ... Read More

Tobacco and Book Pairings

June 15, 2023 by Gabriel Bass

12 Comments

Everyone knows there's nothing quite like a good book to accompany a bowl of good tobacco — even better when accompanied by a nice beverage of some sort. But what about specific combinations of literature and tobacco? I think there are a few pairings that work especially well together, both to heighten ... Read More

Cornell & Diehl's The Old Ones: A Series of Lovecraftian Pipe Tobaccos

June 9, 2023 by Davin Hylton

6 Comments

Cornell and Diehl's The Old Ones collection pays tribute to an icon of American letters and the father of Cosmicism — Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Though not the first series in C&D's vast portfolio to pay tribute to the work of an esteemed American writer, The Old Ones is distinct in both its artwork and naming conventions, which draw directly from Lovecraft's stories of terror and dread. ... Read More