Corncob Pipe: Yes, it’s hard to hear this term without breaking out into a verse of “a button nose and two eyes made out of coal” but corncob pipes go well beyond Frosty the Snowman. Made of maize, these types of pipes are generally inexpensive, but they still get the job done. Unlike briar pipes, corncob pipes do not require a break-in period. This make this ideal for beginners. They are also ideal for people who enjoy a variety of different tasting tobacco: using a different corn cob pipe to smoke different tobacco prevents the carryover of flavor from a pipe that has already been used.

Meerchaum: A mineral that hails from Turkey, Merrchaum is good for pipe making because of its plasticity. Known as flexible, it certainly doesn’t mind being carved into odd and decorative shapes. Prior to briar wood pipes making their way into the spotlight, meerchaum pipes were highly popular. The pipes are light in tint and in weight, absorbent, and ever changing in color: as they are used they go from white to golden. These factors allow them to be the most unique of smoking pipes.

Hookah: As Alice in Wonderland will attest, these types of pipes are a favorite among caterpillars. Hookahs are water pipes of middle Eastern origin. They are often used to smoke both cannabis (naughty, naughty) and shisha tobacco. With Hookah’s, the water filters the smoke and cools it in the process. Lemon juice, milk, and ice are sometimes added to the water while honey, and fruit flavors are often added to the tobacco. This makes for a flavorful smoke.

Clay: Move over Play-do, the clay used for making smoking pipes is fine and white. Clay smoking pipes can be of low and high quality. The low quality ones often bring unsolicited flavors into the smoke while the high quality ones are hand made and provide the only truly pure smoke. Clay pipes burn extremely hot, so they are hard for beginners to use…at least not without wearing oven mitts.

So, there you have it: the basics. Whether cigar and cigarette lovers like it or not, this type of smoke is here to stay: there’s simply no point in asking it to pipe down.