Glossary
A
Acorn: A pipe shape characterized by a conical shape sometimes extending to a point or near point below the shank or else with a bent shank flowing into the "point" of the acorn shape. Distinguishable from a dublin by a wider and more rounded rim in most cases.
Acrylic: In pipe parlance, acrylic stems are those made of polymers of acrylic acid or acrylates, most often polymethyl methacrylate, also called acrylic glass. Some prefer this material for pipe stems due to the lack of oxidation, while others prefer a traditional vulcanite stem due to softness.
Aging: The term used to describe the tendency of pipe tobacco to improve over time through either aerobic or anaerobic fermentation. The term is used interchangeably to describe increased sweetness on the part of Virginias, mellowing on the part of Latakia, or a generally more complete melding of the blend. The effect is often simulated through the use of heat or pressure.
Air-cured: Air-cured tobacco is hung in well-ventilated barns immediately after plants are cut or leaves pulled from the field and allowed to dry for a period of one to two months. During this process the yellow colors of the leaf turn to varying shades of brown, until they are ready to be fermented and processed. Burley is an air-cured tobacco.
Amber: Prior to the wide adoption of vulcanite, first invented in 1844 by Charles Goodyear, as a substance for pipe stem making, by far the most common form of pipe stem was one carved from amber. The stems were carved by hand from fossilized tree resin, at which point they could be bent only after heating in oil and over an alcohol flame. While amber is a beautiful natural material which comes in a large variety of colors, the stems are exceedingly brittle and hard on the teeth. Amber stems are still made only in very rare cases.
Apple: According to the A.S.P. Pipe Parts Charts by Bill Burney, the classic apple shape is a rounded version of the billiard, and may be had in either bent or straight shanked and tapered and saddle stemmed versions. Popular variations of this shape include the Prince and Author.
Aromatic: A type of tobacco which is either cased or top flavored in order to produce a taste and room note other than the tobacco's natural smell, whether simply sugar or molasses, whiskey or other alcohols, or many other flavorings. Used as a major category for pipe tobaccos, along with non-aromatic and latakia based blends.
Army Mount: Also called a "military bit", a pipe with an army mount stem is designed to permit the stem to be removed from the pipe while hot by inclusion of a shank cap, often made of silver, to reinforce the briar. A more elaborate variation of the army mount is the spigot. According to most likely mythological history, the first army mount was invented when a World War One soldier fixed a broken pipe shank by inserting a spent rifle casing into it and piercing a hole for the stem.
Author: According to the A.S.P. Pipe Parts Charts by Bill Burney, the Author is a beefed-up prince, featuring a flattened ball-shaped bowl and a heavy 1/8 to 1/4 bent stem.
B
Ball: The ball shape, also referred to as a tomato, is described by the A.S.P. Pipe Parts Charts by Bill Burney, is very similar to an author but with a spherical bowl and thinner shank. According to Mr. Burney the ball generally features a tapered stem with a 1/4 to 1/2 bent.
Bent Pipe: A generic term used to refer to any pipe where the shank is not a straight horizontal line, regardless of the nature or amount of the shank bend.
Billiard: The A.S.P. Pipe Parts Charts by Bill Burney describe a billiard as a pipe shape having a cylindrical bowl and tobacco chamber with a shank about the same length as the height of the bowl. Variations on the billiard shape include the pot and chimney.
Bit: A less than precise term, usually used to refer to the entirety of the stem or mouthpiece on a pipe, but occasionally also used to refer to the bite zone.
Bite Zone: The last approximately three quarters of an inch of the mouthpiece or stem of a tobacco pipe, including the button.
Bloom: Also referred to as plume, bloom is a fine white powder which appears on well aged tobacco on occasion, and despite the tendency to confuse it with mold is actually a good sign that the leaf is maturing well. Bloom is caused by the crystallization of sugars on the surface of the tobacco leaf.
Brandy: Also referred to as a bent brandy or brandyglass, a pipe shape which resembles the glassware for which it is named. According to the A.S.P. Pipe Parts Charts by Bill Burney, the pipe is characterized by a rounded base tapering up to a smaller rim, often in a 1/4 bent pipe.
Briar: Actually a mistranslation of the French bruyère, briar among pipe smokers refers to the wood of the erica arborea, a species of flowering plant in the heather family. After 30 to 60 years of growing time, the football sized plants are harvested, cooked, dried for several months, and further processed before they are made into pipes.
Burley: A tobacco of light-colored variety grown primarily in Kentucky and Tennessee, the bulk of burley tobacco produced in the United States is used for cigarette production. All burley today is of the white burley variety, and is often sweetened due to the low natural sugars present in the leaf. Most aromatics use a base of burley due to its ready ability to absorb flavors. While some claim burley does not age, it does improve with time. However, this takes time measured in the several decades at least.
Button: The button is the raised portion at the end of a pipe mouthpiece or stem intended to permit the teeth purchase to hold the pipe.
C
Cake: Cake refers to the buildup of residual carbon that forms in the bowl of a pipe. Most recommend trimming back the buildup to keep it at roughly the width of a dime in a briar pipe in order to create a protective layer which cools the pipe and reduces moisture. Cake is frowned upon in meerschaums, and the subject of much debate among corn cob pipe smokers.
D
Dottle: The leftover plug of unburnt tobacco and ash left in the heel of a pipe bowl after smoking. Dottle is avoided by smokers as a waste of tobacco and occasionally souring of the bowl, but is sometimes unavoidable.
Drama: A sweet type of tobacco with a natural olive oil fragrance grown on the Southern slopes and foothills of the Rhodope Mountains in Greek Eastern Macedonia.
E
English: Aside from the obvious geographical uses, the word "English" is often used among pipe smokers to refer to blends with latakia in them. In reality, however, the term only developed to differentiate blends made in the United Kingdom, especially in the days of the now defunct Tobacco Purity Laws, which prohibited humectants and most flavorings from being added to the tobacco. A more precise term is "latakia based".
F
Flake: Flake tobacco is made by slicing thin sheets off of a cube, which in turn is formed by pressing whole tobacco leaves into a compressed form, usually under significant pressure for long periods of time. Flake tobacco may be sold in slices, or fully or partially broken or rubbed out.
G
Ghost: A ghost is the taste or smell of a previously smoked tobacco remaining in a pipe and coloring the taste of a different blend smoked in the same pipe. Generally the cause of tar in the shank, but usually blamed on cake.
H
Hand: A hand is a bundle of tobacco tied at the end and hung from the knot for curing purposes.
I
Izmir: A type of Turkish tobacco with rich flavor, low nicotine, and cool smoke. It has a very aromatic nature and is often blended with Latakia to somewhat subdue this property. Primarily used as a condiment with pipe tobacco, but occasionally offered by itself.
J
Jar: Tobacco jars have been used for nearly three hundred years as the predominant method for storage of pipe tobacco, whether made from tin, wood, pewter, porcelain, majolica or bisque. By far the most common choice is the simple Ball jar or Mason jar.
K
Kentucky: Dark-Fired Kentucky is a type of pipe tobacco made from burley which is cured over a fire and flavored by its smoke.
L
Latakia: Named for the principal port city of Syria, latakia is a form of tobacco which is cured over a stone pine or oak wood fire, giving it a smoky flavor. Most latakia, despite the name, is now grown in Cyprus, not Syria, and camel dung has nothing to do with the process of its creation.
M
Meerschaum: A mineral hydrous magnesium silicate called sepiolite, primarily found in Turkey near Eskisehr, which is used in the making of tobacco pipes. The word means "seafoam".
N
Nail: The simplest form of pipe tool is the venerable Pipe Nail, which generally looks much like its namesake, one end flat to tamp with and another coming to a point or spoon for clearing ash and tar.
O
Oriental: Used interchangeably with "Turkish" to refer to sun cured condimental tobaccos grown in the Eastern Mediterranean. This category of tobaccos includes Yenidje, Smyrna, Samsun, Izmir, Drama, Xanthe, and often Basma, which is not a particular leaf but a generic Turkish blend, and all that pipe tobacco blenders are often able to find due to the purchase of most oriental varietals by cigarette manufacturers.
P
Pipe: A tube with a small bowl at one end used for the smoking of tobacco.
P-Lip: A type of pipe mouthpiece invented by Peterson of Dublin and relying on a small hole on the top of a stem rather than a hole at its end. Meant to reduce tongue bite by directing the flow of smoke away from the tongue.
Q
Quaint: A pipe shape hallmarked, generally, by more than four panels, especially with a paneled shank as well.
R
Reaming: Trimming back cake from the bowl of a tobacco pipe.
Reamer: A tool used to trim pipe cake back to an acceptable level. These have been made in countless different forms, adjustable and non-adjustable, for well over a century. Some simply use a pipe knife or sandpaper to accomplish the same task.
Rhodesian: A subject of great dispute. Unlikely to have been named for Cecil Rhodes, and more likely to have taken its name from Rhodesian tobacco, a Rhodesian is considered by some to be any bent bulldog, by others to be any bulldog with a round shank, and by others any bulldog shape with a greater bowl width than height. For each accepted definition of the word there is a pipe sold which contradicts it, and no consensus is likely.
S
Slot: A slot is the wide opening at the end of the mouthpiece tapering into the airway of the pipe. Generally seen only on vulcanite and acrylic stems from the last century, the slot is funneled both to make the insertion of a pipe cleaner easier and to make for a smoother flow for the smoke.
T
Tamp: Using a tool or finger to compress the contents of the pipe bowl so as to bring unburnt tobacco into contact with the ember.
Tamper: A tool used to tamp a pipe, generally with a flat end designed for that purpose and a handle. A tamper can be as simple as a piece of dowel or as ornate as the buyer may wish. While it seems inconsequential, tamping is important both for the care of the pipe and the coolness of the smoke.
Twist: A form of tobacco, also known as rope tobacco, which is spun into a roll, largely by hand, rather than being pressed into flakes. One of the oldest forms of smoking tobacco.
U
Ukulele: A pipe shape first designed by Sixten Ivarsson for the Pibe-Dan shop in the 1950s and named ukulele, some credit Ed Burak for the design which he considered a bulldog. A ukulele is characterized by a domed, wide bowl and a wide oval shank with a flat bowl bottom.
V
Virginia: More appropriately called Brightleaf tobacco, Virginia is used to refer to milder tobacco leaf, lighter in color, which is grown in infertile, sandy soil, largely in North Carolina and Virginia, and which was first grown in approximately 1839.
Volcano: A pipe shape characterized by a conical bowl narrowing towards the top, usually with a rounded base and a bent shank and saddle stem, according to the A.S.P. Pipe Parts Charts.
W
White Burley: First grown in Brown County, Ohio in 1865 by George Webb, White Burley is the result of planting Red Burley seeds purchased from Kentucky in the different soil of Ohio, which resulted in a mutation of whitish, sickly looking plants. White Burley soon became the chief ingredient in chewing tobacco, American pipe tobacco, and American-style cigarettes. As Red Burley no longer exists, White Burley is simply referred to as Burley today.
X
Xanthi: Sometimes spelled Xanthe, this grade of Basma tobacco is named for a city in the Thrace region of northeastern Greece, first led into prosperity around 1715 due to the quality of its highly aromatic tobacco. The scientific name of the leaf is Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Xanthi.
Y
Yacht: Another name for the Zulu pipe shape, with a canted dublin bowl, oval shank and 1/8 bent stem. Among others, Kaywoodie used the term Yacht for pipes of this shape.
Z
Zulu: A shape of smoking pipe hallmarked by a canted dublin style bowl, an oval shank and a 1/8th bent stem. Also referred to as a Woodstock or a Yacht.