How to Smoke a Clay Pipe

Clay pipes are still produced but are not nearly as popular as they once were.

Clay pipes have been used to smoke tobacco for hundreds of years. While currently not as popular as briar or meerschaum pipes, clay pipes were once the most common smoking pipe in Europe. Both cheap and easy to mass produce, the long stems of clay pipes could be broken off by the smoker to fit the individual's preference. Smoking a clay pipe is similar to smoking other pipes, but clay pipes are considerably more fragile and can get very hot when smoked.

Things You'll Need

• Tobacco
• Pipe tool with scoop and tamper
• Matches

Instructions

1. Scoop the bowl of the pipe into the tobacco pouch or tin and fill the bowl to the top. Shake the pipe to settle the tobacco in the bowl. Lightly tamp the tobacco in the bowl. The tobacco should be very springy to the touch.

2. Fill the empty space at the top of the bowl with more loose tobacco. Tamp down the tobacco with a little more force. The tobacco should be slightly less springy to the touch. Repeat filling and tamping until the pipe is completely full. Make a test draw on the pipe through the mouthpiece. If the airway is blocked or too difficult to draw, empty out the pipe and refill it, but don't tamp as hard.

3. Light a match and move it in a circular motion over the top of the bowl while taking short, shallow draws through the pipe. Evenly light the top of the bowl. This is the priming light, which evens out the tobacco on the top of the bowl and makes it easier to fully light. Lightly tamp the burnt tobacco at the top of the bowl to an even level. This will help maintain an even light in the bowl.

4. Use a match to relight the tobacco. Move the match in a circular motion over the bowl to make an even light. Smoke the pipe. Hold the pipe by the stem near the bowl, but not by the bowl. The bowls of clay pipes have very little insulation and can get very hot. Unlike briar pipes, clay pipes do not need to "rest," or completely dry out, before being refilled with tobacco and smoked again.

5. Empty the bowl using a pipe tool and run pipe cleaners through the stem to remove any moisture from the stem. Unlike many modern pipes, clay pipes are usually one piece, sometimes requiring extra long pipe cleaners to reach all the way through the stem.

Tips & Warnings

• Clay pipes are extremely fragile. Do not empty out the pipe by knocking it against anything, even cork pipe knockers. Use a pipe tool to remove any ash or unsmoked tobacco from the pipe after smoking.

• Smoking causes health problems.

References

• Peterson Pipes: How to Enjoy your Pipe
• Dawnmist Studios: Clay Tobacco Pipes: Heather Coleman