3 Different Clay Pipe Reviews

3 Different Clay Pipe Reviews
I’ll start by saying that I purchased all of these from Penn Valley Pipes & Tobacco Company . The prices were good, the service was great, and the selection was solid. I highly recommend them if you’re in the market for clay smoking pieces. In addition to all the above, they also provided cool informational cards with each pipe. I have photographed them to share rather than simply typing them up verbatim. Now… onto the reviews

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The Shakespearean Sonnet
This little guy is unique in how tiny it is. While many of us think about tavern pipes that are a foot or longer when we consider older clay pipes, apparently this was the standard size in Shakespearean England because of the price and availability of tobacco. In our modern world, where pipe tobacco is the cheaper alternative to cigarettes and cigars, it’s hard to imagine not being able to load up at least a 30 minute bowl when we feel like a smoke. I could smoke this think 8 or nine times with the same tobacco I typically burn in 2 pipes each day. I will say that while the bowl diameter will not even accommodate a Czech tool tamper, it is deceptively deep. The draw is nice and open, even after jamming a decent sized pinch of Chelsea Morning in there. Obviously it burns hot, and so you learn to grasp the stem rather than the bowl. Other than that, the smoke was quite enjoyable. The medium gives you very straightforward flavors, and I was able to get 5 minutes of continuous smoking out of one pack. Considering these are around $3-4, I can see having a handful to use as “one-hitters” on lunch breaks. They would certainly be excellent for taking to the local B&M for bulk sampling. Overall, these are a niche product that performs well for what they are and offer a bit of historic fun to your smoking experience.

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The Caribbean Pirate Pipe
Also known as a “Gouda” pipe, I was halfway tempted to don my son’s eyepatch and bandana from Halloween when I lit this one up :lol: I have to admit that I thought it was quite fun to smoke something that was basically identical to what sailors used to burn rope baccy a few hundred years ago. The stem was notably longer on this one, so I didn’t worry about scorching my nose when lighting it. The bowl was much more generous in its proportions and held about a 25 minute smoke. Even when packed pretty firmly I discovered the draw remained wide open and so you have to puff a bit more frequently in order to keep it lit. The smoke remained cool in spite of this, but I wonder how hard it would be to keep lit if you adding strong sea winds J The little “nub” of sorts that is fashioned at the bottom of the bowl allows you to grasp the pipe somewhere other than the stem- though the bowl itself gets too hot to palm. I would say that this one is more to my liking than the short versions, and easier to manage than a full-length tavern pipe. If someone was in the market for a single clay pipe, I would say something in this size range (7”-8”) is the most versatile.

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Markus Fohr Style #4
I was really excited about this pipe because it isn’t simply a mass-produced clay replica. Markus Fohr is making pipes with molds that are a couple centuries old, and using clay native to his home in Germany. The first thing I noticed was the heft of the pipe- I would estimate it to be twice as heavy as the Gouda style pipe which is almost as long. The clay gives off a distinct odor that is very similar to freshly shaved block meerschaum. The bowl is plenty deep and easily holds a 40 minute smoke. It is also constructed with thicker walls- so much so that I was able to hold the pipe by the bowl almost the entire time I was smoking it. The draw is still pretty wide open, but with tamping I was able to smoke this one a bit slower. Overall, I was very impressed with the piece and am seriously considering buying another one or two of his pipes. He offers some that are cast with more decorative embellishments and some in darker grey coloring if I recall.