Tag Archives: smoking pipes

Erik Nording Rustic Pipe

by Woodsbum

For many years I was a cigar smoker. Although I love the taste, feel, and aroma of a good cigar the price really put a damper on the various types and amount that I could afford. Even with the lowered price of bundles or seconds it was way too expensive of a vice for me to really partake that often. That was when a friend of mine gave me an old Savinelli pipe that he no longer used. From then on I found that the price of pipe tobaccos gave me the variety that I craved with the lowered costs that I required.

As years went by and more and more pipes found their way into my collection, I stumbled across a very nice looking Erik Nording. Although I am anything but a pipe snob, I was actually quite proud to have this beautiful piece in my collection. Between the draw, the way the heat maintains an even tobacco burn, and the lack of moisture that builds up this has become my favorite pipe by far.

Erik Nording Rustic finish

Erik Nording Rustic finish

As you can see, the stem comes apart quite easily for storage and transport. This makes it the perfect pipe for taking with you on outings. The tobacco shop where I bought this actually has extra stems for sale in case you break one. This also is a nice feature of this pipe.

Erik Nording Rustic pipe

Erik Nording Rustic pipe

Over the years I have become quite fond of the up swept pipe shape. It cuts down on the amount of “juice” that travels up the stem when you get fresh tobacco. I am sure that there are all sorts of techniques to keep this phenomenon from taking place, but I sure have not been able to keep it from happening with any regularity. This is why I only make churchwarden style pipes for myself and am really fussy about the pipes I purchase. If I could find a pipe that had a “juice” bypass valve, I would be all over it.

Nording pipe

Nording pipe

The other thing I have discovered is that I like pipes that are big and bulky. I am not too fond of the smaller, dainty models. Maybe it is because I have bear paws for hands, but the actual smoke and draw just seem to be that much more pleasant with a larger pipe.

Again, I am not a pipe expert and am self taught via trial and error. There are many things that I am sure that I am doing wrong, but I don’t care. Smoking a pipe isn’t a status thing for me nor is it something to make me “look cool.” It would take much more than a pipe to make me even remotely close to “cool.” I enjoy the different flavors, aromas, tastes, and relaxation that smoking a pipe provides.

If you are debating on moving over to a pipe my main recommendations for you are as follows:

  1. Spend some money on a good pipe. A $40 pipe will not give you the experience that a $200 pipe will. I don’t know the physics of it all, but I know from personal experience that any cheap pipes that I have purchased have either been intentionally “lost” or given away. The most expensive pipes give a much more pleasant smoking experience.
  2. Making your own pipe is a close second to an expensive pipe purchase. Just make sure you make the stem long enough to cool the smoke properly. Otherwise you get a burned taste from the smoke and the flavors of the tobacco are lost.
  3. Get good tobacco. DON’T BUY PREPACKAGED TOBACCO. Go to a cigar shop and look at the glass containers for your tobacco. It is 200x better tasting and burning.
  4. Get a good pipe lighter. The cheap Bic lighters seem to be only capable of successfully burning my fingers and can barely light the bowl. Some can make it work, but I can’t. I doubt new pipe smokers can either.
  5. Don’t think of it as a cigarette. It is more like a cigar. Don’t inhale the smoke. Play with it and taste it. This also adds to the relaxation and enjoyment of the pipe smoking experience.

I hope this helps you out if you decide to try pipe smoking or have been thinking about getting a Nording pipe. Both are highly recommended by me.

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DIY Tobacco Pipes

By Woodsbum

For a long time I was very partial to cigars, but was not pleased with the incredible price that a premium cigar would command. Eventually, I picked up smoking a pipe instead of a cigar while out in the bush. Not only are pipes easier to carry without crushing everything, but more important to my wallet is the price for tobacco. It means that I can smoke just as much as I want without wasting an entire cigar if it just doesn’t hit the taste buds properly.

Now a good pipe can cost in excess of $100 and can just skyrocket from there. Because I have something wrong with my cranial wiring, I always think that I can figure out a way to do as good or better……   Enter a post on BushcraftUSA that discusses building your own pipe.

In the post, the guy “SkogKniv” who now is known by his real name of Leif, there is a method of drilling out the center pith of a tree branch so that it can be used as a pipe stem. Once I started playing around, I figured out how to drill out some very long tree branches to make myself a homemade pipe.

Getting the right materials and tools together is always a chore. Knowing that the hardest part was going to be drilling the stem, I decided to start with that part first. The first hurdle was to find the right wire for drilling. I went through several types to include coat hangers, tie wire, hanging wire for pictures, gardening wire, and several others. What I found to work best is 16 gauge stainless steel wire that is sold at Ace Hardware and Home Depot near all the fasteners. It is the perfect combination of flexibility and durability so that it won’t bend or break off during the drilling process. The next thing you will need is one of those cable, survival saws. They have the key rings on either end that you put your fingers through and it is made of a rough wire material. Lastly, you will need a good drill.

What I did was just like the post describes. I rounded out the end of the wire, chucked down the other end, and then started drilling through the center of the stem. It took a little bit, but wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I then cut the end off the survival saw and used that to clean out the inside of the stem I drilled. It worked just like sandpaper. With a little maneuvering and manipulation of the saw, I was also able to taper the ends of the stem so that it looked cleaner as well.

Here are a couple things that I learned:

  1. Don’t pick a dry stick. It needs to be green.
  2. Don’t pick a stick that has any twigs growing out of it. Those cause a knot in the stem that you will not be able to drill through very well.
  3. Make sure you hold and guide the wire as you drill. Otherwise it will bend in the middle and slap your finger nail completely off….  Don’t ask.
  4. Trying to do it all with a wire as opposed to sanding with the saw will only get you a mouth full of sawdust.

Once you get the stem drilled and ready, all the rest consists of is:

  1. Drilling the bowl. Use a drill press and some decent bits. I like the 3/4 inch bits from Harbor Freight.
  2. Drill the hole for the stem to press into. Measure it out and pick the right sized bit from there. Make sure you drill so that it will be just below the hole you drilled for the bowl.
  3. Dremel out a small hole to attach the bowl to the stem hole. This is called the draw hole. I like using the wood carving bit in my Dremel and making a little channel as well as the hole. It makes the pipe smoke better.
  4. Sand and wax with carnuba wax, then polish.

It really is almost too simple once you get your stem drilled. Here are a couple pipes I have made.

Homemade pipe

Homemade pipe


Homemade pipe

Homemade pipe

Homemade pipe

Homemade pipe

Homemade pipe

Homemade pipe

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