Pipe Packing and Smoking techniques: Difference between revisions

{{Main|Materials and Construction}}

For your first pipe, you'd do well to select one made of [[briar]], the [[Pipe Making|pipe-making]] material most commonly used due to its durability, heat resistance, and pleasing appearance. Other materials such as [[clay]], [[meerschaum]] and [[porcelain]] are also used to make pipes, but these materials are fragile and lack the smoking characteristics and ease of use of briar. [[Materials_and_Construction#Corncob|Corncob]] pipes are the least expensive option for a first pipe, and they are a viable alternative to briar that offers a predictable smoking experience whereas briar pipes very considerably. Potential disadvantages to cobs are they often have very small bowls—the part of the pipe that holds the tobacco—and brittle plastic stems that are quite easy to bite through, although replacement stems are available, and extremely inexpensive.