Among the complex world of pipe-tobacco blending, artisanal pipe making, and so much more, our Daily Reader is the hub for all things pipes, pipe tobacco, cigars, and all their accouterments. For seasoned veterans, our language is second nature at this point. But if you're new to this hobby, you've probably already noticed we have some pretty unique and specialized jargon. When we write our pipe descriptions, blog posts, and newsletters, we try to describe the pipes as accurately as possible. This often means employing specific terminology recognized by the pipe community to convey very particular characteristics. That reality can be intimidating at first, but it doesn't have to be. To help you ease your journey, we've compiled a list of some key pipe terms from our glossary to get you started.

Where To Begin: The Pipe

Let's start by breaking down the pipe itself.

Stummel

If you've read any descriptions on the site, you've probably seen the word stummel used. It refers to the main body of the pipe itself. On a traditional pipe shape, it typically consists of three distinctive sub-parts:

• • The bowl - the part of the pipe that houses the tobacco chamber.
• • The shank - the part of the pipe that joins the bowl and the stem.
• The transition - the junction between the bowl and the shank of a pipe.

The stummel is basically everything excluding the stem and any additional parts (accents, mounts, windcaps, etc.).

With more complex Freehand designs, the difference between the above sub-parts can become a bit ambiguous — in these cases, having "stummel" in your vocabulary can prove quite useful.

Chamber

Simply put, the chamber is the place where tobacco is put into the bowl for smoking.

Stem/Bit

The stem connects the shank with the bit, and the bit is the part of the pipe that goes in your mouth (typically the final inch of the pipe, including the button and slot). Stem materials vary widely, including acrylic, vulcanite, amber, boxwood, briar, ebonite, cumberland, and lucite.

The P-Lip from Peterson, for example, features a hole positioned at the top of the button, rather than the traditional "Fishtail" which has a slot at the very end. The stem was designed by Charles Peterson specifically to reduce tongue bite — the uncomfortable burning sensation on the smoker's tongue — by directing the smoke to the roof of the mouth rather than the tip of the tongue.

Mortise/Tenon

The mortise is an integral part of any pipe. It's the hole at the shank's end that connects the stummel to the stem. It works with the tenon, which is the projection at the end of the mouthpiece that fits into the mortise.

Together, the tenon (male) and mortise (female) form a joint, typically the most vulnerable part of the pipe. Care must be taken when separating the tenon from the mortise, and avoided when the pipe is still hot and the mortise may have expanded.

Mount (Army/Spigot)

Army and spigot mounts address the issue of mortise/tenon joints being weak by reinforcing the mortise with a metal band or cap, and by using a stem that doesn't include a traditional tenon, but instead tapers to a point where it fits into the mortise. We refer to this style of mouthpiece as a tapered-tenon or a push-style tenon.

A spigot mount follows that same approach, with a reinforcing band around the mortise and a tapered tenon design, but it adds a little something extra: in spigot mounts, the tapered tenon is also wrapped in some sort of metal, typically sterling silver.

Army mounts originated during World War I when (according to popular legend) a soldier fixed a broken shank by fitting a spent shell casing over the mortise of his pipe. This addition prevented the crack from expanding and thus secured the mortise-tenon fit.

Today, Army and spigot mounts rank among the most practical pipe designs, eliminating the traditional weak point. The tapered tenon design reduces the surface area in contact with the mortise, thereby reducing the amount of grip and allowing the stem to be removed easily. During smoking, the mortise swells and grips the stem so the stem won't fall out of the mount.

Button/Slot

If you've ever placed a pipe in your mouth, you've already taken note of the button. Essentially, the button corresponds to the raised lip at the very end of the stem, and often incorporates the slot, or opening at the end of the stem that serves as the terminus for the airway, where the smoke leaves the pipe and enters the mouth.

Many pipe smokers and pipe makers pay quite a lot of attention to buttons and slots, as this is the area that the smoker is most often in contact with. This leads to a lot of variation and individuality between pipes from different makers and marques; in fact, buttons and slots are probably the most individualized area in terms of a maker's signature.

Ferrule

A ferrule refers to an accent at the end of a pipe's shank, either crafted from one solid piece of material or a combination of materials bonded together. Ferrules do not actually surround the mortise but rather have the mortise actually drilled into the accent material itself. You can find a variety of these types of accents on-site, crafted from diverse materials like horn, acrylic, or even various hardwoods.

Band

Widely used for decorative purposes, a band of nickel, silver, gold, acrylic, or other materials can be found at the very end of the shank, just before the transition from shank to stem. Originally these were used to reinforce the mortise or as aftermarket repairs to a broken mortise or shank.

Accent

A decorative addition to the design of a pipe, utilizing anything from gold and silver to zebra wood and bamboo.

Common Pipe Materials

Now that we have a better understanding of the pipe itself, let's discuss the different materials that pipes can be crafted from.

Briar

This is the most traditional and common pipe material used today. Briarwood is a hard, heat-resistant wood that is naturally porous and offers a neutral smoking flavor. The name Briar derives from the French word, "bruyere," or heath tree, which is found around Europe, mainly around the Mediterranean. The burl of the tree, erica arborea, is the dense mass of wood at the center of the root system, which is what briar pipes are carved from.

Corn Cob

This is an affordable option made from, you guessed it, corn cobs. Corn cobs are made from the interior cob of an ear of corn, which are grown and harvested, stored to be shelled and aged, and are dried and hollowed out to make the bowl. Then they are sawed into particular sizes and sorted to become pipes, fitted with a simple reed stem or a wooden chank with an acrylic stem.

Meerschaum

Prior to briar's popularity in pipe making, meerschaum was a popular pipe material, with the oldest meerschaums dating back to the early 18th century. Turkey is the mecca of meerschaum pipe making, and many of these designs result in figural creations that embrace imagination.

Meerschaum, translating to "sea foam" from German, is a clay-like substance that is pliable when wet and sturdy when dry, and is immune to ghosting — when traces of a tobacco mixture's flavor is left over from a previous smoke. These pipes typically possess a pale-white hue, which slowly patinates into rich browns and blacks after extensive smoking, deepening the bond between the smoker and the pipe with distinctive patination based on use.

Clay

Clay pipes were the most popular material used in pipe making prior to briar's popularity in the mid-19th century. These pipes were more economical and readily available to many at the time. Today, clay pipes are still around and offer a distinct aesthetic and what many consider a neutral flavor, making it a popular choice for determining tasting notes during a smoking session.

Clay is more delicate, yet they're incredibly heat-resistant and immune to burnout, making them perfect workhorse smokers. There are two main varieties: hand-rolled and slip-cast. Hand-rolled clay is rolled into the shape of the pipe by hand, and a wire is inserted into it before firing to create a draw-hole. A slip-cast pipe is one made with a more liquid clay poured into a mold.

Other Types

Beyond these common materials, pipe makers use other woods, such as cherry wood, olive wood, pear wood, morta, and so forth, as well as other types, like gourd or synthetic materials.

For more on common pipe-making materials, check out this informative piece.

Pipe Shapes

Beyond the materials utilized to create the pipe itself, pipes can be rendered in a variety of shapes and sizes, from Billiard and Bulldog shapes to pipes that are small, such as Junior pipes at Peterson, or larger, like Ropp's Gargantua selections.

Here are a few of the most common shape names and some identifying characteristics to help guide your selections. For more information on common shapes, be sure to check out this comprehensive article.

Billiard

Possibly the most ubiquitous of the pipe shapes, the Billiard features a cylindrical bowl and a shank that is equal in length to the height of the bowl and can wear any stem type while still maintaining its Billiard classification. Variants include the longer-shanked Lumberman, Lovat, Canadian, and Liverpool, as well as the taller-bowled Stack or Chimney.

Apple

The Apple is a rounded version of the Billiard. The bowl is curved on both sides, much like the fruit it's named for, and typically boasts a rounded shank.

Brandy

Popular among Danish carvers, this shape showcases a wide base and tapers inward towards a more narrow chamber, and traditionally features a tapered stem and around a quarter bend, with variations determined by the pipe maker.

Bulldog

The classic Bulldog shape has a slightly forward-tilting bowl, beveled at its upper portion and tapered toward the bottom, paired with a diamond-shaped shank. Traditionally there are one or two small grooves, called bead-lines, encircling the bowl.

Churchwarden

This shape is distinctive in that it is defined by its extra-long stem, making the Churchwarden easily recognizable. This style is often paired with a smaller bowl than average to accommodate the lengthy stem visually.

Dublin

Dublins often have a tapered chamber and a bowl that tapers down from the rim, and any shank or stem that is bent or straight in design.

Freehand

Generally speaking, a Freehand pipe could be any shape that the bowl and/or shank could not be turned on a lathe, leaving room for plenty of creativity and artistry. "Freehand" also refers to a pipe in which the carver shapes first and drills afterward.

Additionally, most pipes made outside of a factory could be considered Freehand designs, which is why many of their names have become common designs of their own.

Bent

A "bent" pipe is simply an umbrella term for a pipe with some degree of curvature in the transition, shank, and/or stem. The bowl varies in form, and most classic shapes can be found in both bent and straight variants. As an example, a pipe listed as a Billiard versus a pipe listed as a bent Billiard denotes the distinct difference between the two on-site.

Grade

A briar pipe's grade, simply put, is determined by the overall quality of the grain, the construction and craftsmanship employed, and the finish, with natural pipes often earning a pipe maker's highest grade for their rarity and nearly perfect design, free of blemishes.

Finish

Finish refers to the techniques, stains, and waxes applied to a pipe's exterior. Common finishes are smooth, rusticated, sandblasted, carved, and natural.

Birdseye

Birdseye describes the burl's grain and is named because it looks like a grouping of small eyes. Depending on the orientation of the briar, birdseye can appear on any part of the pipe.

Flame Grain

This name is applied to grain on a pipe that is almost "straight grain" but displays some variation in the direction of the grain.

Straight Grain

Straight grain is so densely packed together that it runs in straight lines, contrasting with the wavy appearance of a flame grain.

Panel/Panelling

Most commonly and originally a simple flat surface shaped along the sides of the bowl, or the underside of the bowl and/or shank. The Blowfish is a common example of modern pipe design where these more complex panel styles are a standard shape feature.

Additional Key Terms To Know

Tamper

A tamper is a pipe tool used to tamp or gently pack down the burning tobacco in a lit pipe, keeping the smoldering tobacco in contact with the unlit tobacco and also preventing your pipe from going out.

Reamer

A reamer is a tool for smoothing out the cake and trimming it to a desired thickness. Reamers come in a variety of shapes and functionalities.

Dottle

Dottle refers to the small amount of unburned tobacco left in the bottom of your pipe's chamber after a smoke. Most pipe smokers discard it with their ashes once the bowl is finished, but you may come across references to some folks who save their dottle, such as Sherlock Holmes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales, who was known to dry out his dottle and save it for a later smoke — though in that context, it seems Conan Doyle was emphasizing Holmes' desperation more than anything else.

Pipe Rotation

A rotation is a system by which a pipe smoker keeps his/her pipes in good working order by varying when each pipe is smoked. A rotation allows you to give each pipe the opportunity to rest for a period between smokes, drying its moisture accumulation and preserving the pipe for long-term use.

More Words In Our Glossary

There are an array of other terms we use frequently on the site regarding pipes, pipe tobacco, cigars, and accessories. Check out my previous post on Terms Every Cigar Smoker Should Know, and stay tuned for future educational articles to assist in equipping you with the knowledge you need to fully immerse yourself into this intriguing hobby.

Did we miss anything worth sharing with newcomers? Let us know in the comments section. As always, happy smokes!