Cheap Smoking Pipe

Getting Started In Pipe Smoking
Products should be economical. You may not like smoking a pipe so don't spend a lot of money to find out. The products must be widely available. Your smoking products must be durable or cheap. Pipe smoking takes some practice to get right even under the best conditions.

Briar Pipes
Most people smoke briar pipes at one time or another, but it might not be the best place to start. There are more things to worry about

with this type of pipe and many more types. Briar takes more care than other types since you have to keep the pipe clean and break it in properly. Briar pipes also need to be rotated, so you need more than one if you plan on smoking more often than once every couple of days. 

• Have at least two pipes
  
• Two types of pipe surfaces, smooth - rough. The smooth is just that and the rough can be sandblasted or perhaps carved. Sometimes pipes are roughed up to hide imperfections in the wood that might be noticeable in a smooth pipe. Some think rough pipes dissipate heat better.
  
• Two types of finishes on most pipes, varnish - wax. Some think a waxed finish allows the pipe to 'breathe' better. It is a matter of opinion and varies from pipe to pipe.
  
• Try a pipe with a straight stem and a curved stem to see which you prefer
  
• Pipes with thick walls generally smoke better than pipes with thin walls.
  

Lighting Your Pipe
Wooden matches. Least expensive and easiest to use.
Paper matches taste bad. Let the chemicals to burn off the end of the match before lighting your pipe.
Zippo pipe lighter. Nice, simple and work well outside. Allow the flame to burn for a second or two to remove the chemical taste. Zippos and matches are both kind to the rim of briar pipes as they burn cooler than butane lighters.

Pipe Cleaning Tool
You'll need one of these to lightly tamp the burning tobacco from time to time and to loosen the left-over ash at the end. Until you get one you can use a nail with a large head.

Pipe Cleaners
The bristle kind are better at cleaning the stem. After each smoke run a cleaner down the stem. Don't remove the stem from a briar pipe until after the wood is completely cool or you will loosen the stem. Don't get alcohol on a waxed briar pipe or you will damage the finish. The alcohol can also remove the shine on a vulcanite stem.

.
.