YES, there are.  ;-) Actually I am a big fan of the long-stemmed pipes, usually known as “churchwarden” or “Lesepfeife” (“reading pipe” in German), nowadays also often referred to as “Lord of the Rings Pipes”, thanks to the wonderfully carved long pipes everybody is smoking in the LotR-movies (LOVE the “Strider” pipe, btw.)

First of all, lets look at the disadvantages. Two of them come to mind:

  • you need long pipe cleaners. And most tobacconists don’t have them. Cleaning a long stem with normal pipe cleaners is possible, but cumbersome.
  • long stems are more difficult to carry. Many of them are also rather thin, so they tend to break unless you have them tugged away in a secure pouch.

On the other hand, there are the advantages, besides the pleasant look.

  • the long stem allows the smoke to cool down a bit more, which leads to a very pleasant smoking experience and less “biting”
  • form and length of the stem usually reduce the risk to take a very unpleasant sip of condensend water / cake / tobacco mixture, when you draw on your pipe a bit stronger…
  • depending on your smoking habits and the form of your favorite couch/sofa/armchair the long stem allows you to rest the bowl on your chest or your arm while comfortably reading a book or dozing off… ;-)

Enjoy your churchwarden, I certainly do (have several, current favorite is a rather tiny and thin Peterson “Dublin”)

My long-stemmed Peterson Churchwarden, type

P.S.: make sure you check out the churchwarden category on our auction site, where you can find current listings of long-stemmed pipes on Ebay!

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