1---
  2title: "Part of my cellar"
  3description: "Quick tour of my pipes and accessories"
  4author: Amolith
  5date: 2020-04-17T20:18:01-04:00
  6cover: /assets/jpgs/porch.jpg
  7draft: false
  8categories:
  9  - Pipe Smoking
 10tags:
 11  - Nørding
 12  - Churchwarden
 13  - Cellar
 14  - Pipes
 15  - Missouri Meerschaum
 16  - Mauro Armellini
 17---
 18
 19Continuing with my journey into the world of pipe smoking, I thought I
 20would show what my *cellar*[^1] looks like. It's not much—just some jars
 21and a pipe stand on my dresser—but it's more than what I've seen some
 22other people have[^2]. I'll talk about tobacco in another post; this one
 23is just about what's on the left of the picture below. The paper is
 24something I saw in a YouTube video and I thought it was a really cool
 25idea; rather than pinching your tobacco out of the jar, sprinkling it
 26into the bowl, and inevitably spilling some, simply dump it onto a sheet
 27of paper. From there, you can pull apart any clumps that may have
 28formed, fill the bowl, then fold the paper in half lengthwise and pour
 29what's left back into to the jar.
 30
 31![Picture of my dresser with some pipes, accessories, and tobacco. To
 32the right, there are 12 big jars of tobacco along with a smaller one. On
 33the left is my half-full pipe stand with three pipes in it, my lighter,
 34a pipe tool, a wind cap, a smaller single stand to the right, and a
 35sheet of paper in the front.](/assets/jpgs/dresser.jpg)
 36
 37The small stand to the right of the big one is the [Single Pipe Stand
 38from
 39SmokingPipes](https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe%20accessories/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=120415).
 40I do like it but it's really only suitable for pipes with straight[^3]
 41stems; with bent stems, the mouthpiece ends up resting on the table. I
 42haven't tried it but I would recommend going with the [solid
 43version](https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe%20accessories/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=120414)
 44if you're wanting a stand for a single pipe because it's more versatile.
 45The larger one, below, is the [Woodmere 6 Pipe
 46Stand](https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/pipe%20accessories/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=120414)
 47from the same website. It has the same problem as the first but it's not
 48as pronounced; pipes with bent stems need to be pushed forward in the
 49divot in the base so they can lean back against the bar. Otherwise, the
 50weight of the stem and shank[^4] will cause them to fall forward.
 51
 52Pipes will be described further down so the next thing is the metal
 53object that looks like a sink drain. It's a [wind cap from The Country
 54Squire](https://www.thecountrysquireonline.com/product/wind-cap/) (which
 55also has [a great
 56podcast](https://www.podastery.com/podcast-country-squire-radio)). I've
 57found it to be very handy at my university when it's windy. The next
 58item is just a simple "Czech pipe tool" that can be purchased from
 59pretty much any store that sells pipes, both brick-and-mortar and online
 60retailers. The last thing is a Zippo *pipe* lighter. These are entirely
 61different from normal Zippo lighters because they're meant to be held
 62sideways over the bowl of a pipe. This design lets you put the flame
 63directly to the tobacco rather than drawing it over the side of the bowl
 64and scorching the rim. I ordered mine from Amazon a year or so ago but
 65have since stopped using Amazon due to ethical and privacy concerns. I
 66can't find the same product on [Zippo's
 67website](https://www.zippo.com/collections/pipe-lighters) so here's a
 68link to it from
 69[Wal-mart.](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zippo-Red-Pipe-High-Polished-Brass-Windproof-Lighter-28322-NEW-L-K/628527710)
 70I also dislike using Wal-mart but it's marginally better than Amazon.
 71
 72![This picture is pretty much the same as the earlier one but without
 73the tobacco and paper.](/assets/jpgs/pipes.jpg)
 74
 75Now the fun part :wink: The first pipe I got was the [Missouri Pride from
 76Missouri
 77Meerschaum.](https://corncobpipe.com/missouri-pride-corncob-pipe.html)
 78An *excellent* starter pipe, I ended up giving it to my room mate after
 79he showed an interest in the hobby. However, a close friend of mine had
 80given me one of his old pipes and I fell in love with it. Unfortunately,
 81I know absolutely *nothing* about it other than it was made by [Mauro
 82Armellini](https://pipedia.org/wiki/Armellini), an Italian craftsman who
 83died several years ago. I'm considering sending an email to the company
 84and seeing if they can tell me anything about it. On one side of the
 85shank is the name *Mauro Armellini*, the bottom has the number *705*,
 86and the other side says *Verona* with the word *ARCOBALENO* below it. If
 87anyone reading this knows something about the pipe, please let me know.
 88
 89![A picture of my pipe from Mauro Armellini. It's sitting on my porch
 90rail with the yard in the background; the grass is a light green and the
 91leaves of the woods further on are darker. The pipe is a rich brown with
 92a cream-coloured opalescent stem. There is a mother-of-pearl inlay on
 93top of the stem.](/assets/jpgs/armellini.jpg)
 94
 95The first "real" pipe I bought myself was a churchwarden[^5] from
 96[Nørding Pipes.](https://www.nordingpipes.com/) If you're curious about
 97the company or the founder, Erik Nørding, listen to this episode of the
 98[Country Squire Radio.](https://countrysquireradio.fireside.fm/341)
 99After I heard it, I decided to make one of their pipes my first
100purchase. What I ended up getting was a Partially Rusticated[^6]
101Churchwarden from
102[SmokingPipes.](https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/Nording/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=363601)
103I've been using it for a month or so now and absolutely love it,
104especially when I'm sitting on the porch reading or going lunting[^7].
105
106![This is also a picture of a pipe on my porch rail. It is significantly
107longer at about 10.5 inches or 265 millimetres. The stem has a gentle
108curve. The bowl is the same deep brown as the Armellini pipe but the
109finish is newer so it shines more. The rustication will be hard to
110describe. The rest of the pipe is brown but the rusticated part is
111black. The texture is rough but smooth—the edges that might have been
112jagged were sanded down. The bottom of the bowl is what's rusticated;
113the top is normal. When held upside down, it almost looks as if the
114rusticated part is dripping onto the normal part and the same for the
115stem.](/assets/jpgs/churchwarden-nording.jpg)
116
117My latest acquisition is [The
118Emerald](https://corncobpipe.com/the-emerald-corn-cob-pipe) from
119[Missouri Meerschaum.](https://corncobpipe.com) It is a corn cob pipe
120but not like the Missouri Pride; this model has very obviously been
121sanded smooth and sealed so that it *almost* feels like finished wood.
122The stem is a higher quality acrylic than their other models and much
123more pleasant to look at as well. This is the model they released for
124Saint Patrick's Day in 2019 but, due to popular demand, they started
125producing it again. I'm hoping to purchase this year's as well and start
126building a collection.
127
128![This pipe is a light cream colour. The bowl looks like the cob of an
129ear of corn (that's what it is) with a short wooden tube sticking out of
130it. The bent stem is a deep marbled green.](/assets/jpgs/emerald.jpg)
131
132This last picture is of me sitting on my porch with a book, my
133churchwarden, my lighter, and my pipe tool. It was a warm and peaceful
134afternoon and I had a strong urge to capture the moment because this is
135one of the *big* reasons I enjoy smoking a pipe. In the rigorous life of
136a university student, musician, and systems administrator, this is my
137rare chance to just slow down and simply be in the moment without
138worrying over anything else.
139
140![In this picture, you can see the top edge of the book I'm reading, my
141crossed legs resting on the porch rail, my churchwarden to the left, and
142my light and pipe tool to the right. This is the same "warm" scene as
143described in the picture of Armellini's pipe; it's very
144peaceful](/assets/jpgs/porch.jpg)
145
146[^1]: In this context, a cellar is simply a place to store pipes and
147    pipe tobacco. When someone says they're going to *cellar* their
148    tobacco, they mean they're going to prepare it for long-term
149    storage.
150[^2]: One was literally just a cardboard box with some jars inside and a
151    few pipes laying on top. There's nothing wrong with that but I
152    prefer to have a little more space.
153[^3]: The stem is the part of the pipe where the mouthpiece is. In these
154    pictures, it's opalescent for the first, marbled for the second, and
155    solid black for the third.
156[^4]: The shank is where the stem is inserted; it's in between that and
157    the bowl and made from the same material as the bowl.
158[^5]: *Churchwarden* refers to the length of the pipe. There are many
159    theories about why it's named so but one I find interesting is that
160    it's after real
161    [churchwardens.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchwarden) They
162    would have to stay up all night guarding the church and couldn't be
163    expected to go that long without smoking. However, the smoke from a
164    traditional pipe would often obscure their vision because it was so
165    close to their face. The churchwarden was invented so the bowl was
166    significantly further away and wouldn't get in their line of sight.
167[^6]: Rustication is the process of adding texture to the bowl (or
168    shank) of a pipe. Generally, this is done to hide imperfections in
169    the briar so the pipe still looks good. Personally, I stay away from
170    *fully* rusticated pipes not just because I don't like the
171    aesthetics but because the wood is likely poor quality. This is
172    certainly not *always* the case, however.
173[^7]: Lunting is *the act of taking a leisurely stroll whilst smoking a
174    tobacco pipe ([Lunting.org](https://www.lunting.org/)).* When I go
175    hiking, I'll often take my pipe with me; it's a calm and
176    contemplative time to simply think and enjoy a good tobacco.