I appreciate everyone's advice in my original post. I was eagerly anticipating Saturday morning so I could devote some time to trying this pipe out. I made sure to eat some breakfast and feed the cats so I wouldn't be interrupted, then. I gathered everything together and came out to the garage.

I loaded it up with Trafalgar's Mix, from Davis & Sons, my local tobacconist. He won't say exactly what's in the blend, but it's a very mellow English, smells slightly reminiscent of early morning pipe.

Loading the bowl was a little different from a briar pipe since it is porcelain, with the draft hole in the middle at the bottom. The first thing I noticed is that the tobacco wanted to slide around in the chamber a bit as I packed it in. I tried the trick with a pipe cleaner in the draft hole to keep it clear as I packed the tobacco, but then when I pulled the pipe cleaner out the tobacco just wanted to come out with it and cover up the hole. I settled on the method of just lightly tamping the tobacco and then using the poker on my tool to make a hole through the middle and that worked very well.

The pipe itself smokes very well. Despite reading things about porcelain bowls getting very hot, I'm not really detecting any heat in the smoke at all. I can feel very slight amounts of warmth around the top edge of the gourd, but much less than a briar that I've been puffing on steadily.

As far as taste goes, I probably should have used a tobacco that I smoked more recently. I haven't had this blend in about a year, but it seems to taste similar to my memory from what I recall. The stem on this pipe could use some polishing up though, and I think that's imparting a small amount of taste.

All in all I am very pleased with this pipe. And now I'm afraid it's going to lead to other Calabash purchases, and I'll have to find the room to store them.

Hello! New pipe smoker. Bought a 28€ pipe at a tabakshop (which was probably a mistake, the varnish is bubbling on the rim after 4 smokes). However I found some pipes being sold by an old Dutch lady (96) apparently they were her grandfathers! I acquired 2 pipes: one that is quite used/worn and the other is in better condition. Any advice on care or if there is anything to do before smoking out of them would be greatly appreciated.
Both have stingers (though it is stuck in the shank of the smaller, no airflow problems though). The smaller stem looks to be of bone. Any info on the pipes would be appreciated also! Thank you!

OD2611 Rusticated Reverse Calabash
Mat: Briar(Plateau), Arcrylic
Filter: Unfiltered
Lenght: 11,5 cm
Bowl Height: 5,1 cm
Chamber Depth: 4,0 cm
Chamber ∅: 20 mm

It happens a few times when I'm lighting up and smoking. Suddenly the tobacco pops up and spills out of the pipe. Do you guys have any idea why that happens and how to prevent it? My tobacco is pretty dry. It's not too wet or anything like that so I'm rolling out the water vapor problem here but I'm still interested to hear back from anyone who has similar experience.

Just picked up this Missouri Meerschaum cherry stained cob. Loving it so far

I picked this estate pipe up recently from eBay and could use a couple pointers.

It's not a high end pipe, the bowl is porcelain and the stem is plastic. It is, however, in excellent shape. The bowl had some staining but I managed to wipe nearly all of that out with a wet paper towel. The gourd is clean inside, the cork gasket is intact and there are no tooth marks on the stem. Unfortunately the stem is either stuck or glued in place, but I can insert a pipe cleaner all the way to the bend in the pipe and it comes out clean.

I plan on loading this up Saturday morning and giving it a whirl. I wish I could remove the stem, possibly even find a replacement one made from vulcanite.

Information on how these smoke with porcelain bowls is sparse online, as meerschaum seems preferred. But the only information I can find is that meerschaum absorbs moisture better and colors over time, whereas porcelain would tend to be hotter. I'm thinking the large gourd will cool the smoke and offset the hotter bowl.

Anyone have any similar experience with such a pipe?

Was going through what i still had and thought I'd share. I downsized a few years ago and this is what i kept. Ive got a mix of brands and most were picked up as estate pipes. I bought the boswell in the cork for my birthday in 2019. Some of my meerschaum are super old and i feel lucky to own them.

Mac Baren Vanilla Cream in the bowl.

Figured I’d allow myself some nice scotch and some 5-year Capstan Gold that’s been jarred and rarely opened in my Kaywoodie 76B Liverpool. Cheers!

Cowboy coffee with pendleton midnight might be my

Goto for a perfect night. No idea on the pipe found it in a antique store sure smokes good though.

I have 3 calabashes and i know i’m going to buy at least 4-6 more. I just love them! Im looking for some sort of calabash pipe stand that fits on a shelf, does anyone have any suggestions? They are going to be displayed on a 80x22 cm bookshelf

I recently visited Cape Spear as part of a trip to Newfoundland. Cool and breezy but still enjoyed a couple of oceanside pipes. The first pipe's a Danish freehand (no makers mark). Second is a La Scala Canadian. Mac Baren Vanilla Cream in the bowl.

So about a year ago I received my first ever pipe from my father and I've been slowly getting deeper into pipe smoking as a hobby and relaxation.

Recently I've been wondering about making my own pipe, I have a few split cherry logs with sealed ends drying in my home but other than that I don't know much about actually making a pipe.

Are there any good guides/tutorials etc about making a pipe at home ? I have only basic tools available but I have access to a bench drill and belt sander,

Thanks a bunch

Nothing like an audiobook and an old friend after a long day.

I recently bought a cigar, but it was packed too loose and I can't smoke it. I didn't want it to go to waste, as it's one of my favorite cigars. What do you guys think about tearing it apart and smoking it in a pipe?