Some say potato, some say potauto, some like it hot, some like it cold, and some say cigar, while others say smoking pipe. Yes, it’s true: no matter how much this notion affects the cigar lover’s ego - as connoisseurs everywhere calmly tell their Henry Clays that it’s going to be alright - some people prefer their tobacco packed different ways.

It’s a bit of a misconception, the popularity of smoking pipes. With cigarettes and cigars inundating the tobacco market, many of us unfairly equate a pipe with Sherlock Holmes. But, to do so is a little too elementary. Smoking pipes actually have a colorful history and a prevalent present.

Appearing on the party scene during ancient times, pipes were used as far back as 500 BC when they were packed full of leaves so smokers could inhale their fumes. The Romans, the Greeks, and those of German, Celtic, and Nordic ancestry used a smoking pipe at one time or another. In the 16th century, tobacco was introduced to Europe and the Americas and with that, came the smoking pipe. Prior to the arrival of Europeans to the Old World, Native Americans packed a pipe to pack a punch. From here, tobacco use and tobacco pipes filtered out to all kinds of place.

Pipe smoking can be a bit of a high maintenance smoke when compared to cigars and cigarettes. Not only does it require more accessories – a pipe, a pipe tool, pipe cleaners, and, occasionally, a brooch - but it also requires more technique. Like a cigar, the smoke isn’t actually inhaled, but unlike a cigar, pipes typically have to be relit quite a bit, this is particularly true when the smoker goes too slow. On the flip side, smoking too quickly can cause too much moisture and an unpleasant sensation on the smoker’s tongue, an affliction known as pipe tongue.

The types of smoking pipe vary greatly: some are simple and some are exquisite, purchased more as a collector’s item than a tobacco tool. The most common types include the following:

Briar Pipe: Most of the pipes on today’s market are made from briar wood. A multitalented wood, briar has both a natural resistance to fire and a keen ability to absorb moisture. Reigning from the Mediterranean region, briar is often cut into two different blocks: ebauchon and plateaux. While both are used to make wonderful pipes, some people prefer plateaux, believing that it has superior graining.