# How can I make a Clay Pipe such that a Hobbit would smoke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-clay-pipe-such-that-a-hobbit-would-smoke/258468 "2004-08-05T16:04:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-clay-pipe-such-that-a-hobbit-would-smoke/258468/1 "2004-08-05T16:04:32Z")
Well I’ve made the Hobbit hole and a medieval long bow all with the help of the SDMB. Now I would like to try and make a clay pipe, a long clay pipe, like the hobbit’s smoked in LOTR. Can anyone advise on this? I’m not a smoker, but with the recent resurgence of ‘things movies make you do etc…etc…’ and a general longing for the EE of ROTK…I want to create some memorabilia on my own of LOTR… Any help would be wondrous. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-clay-pipe-such-that-a-hobbit-would-smoke/258468/2 "2004-08-05T16:20:22Z")
I don’t know how to make one, but I remember buying long clay pipes as a kid at Williamsburg, VA. You probably could buy them somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-clay-pipe-such-that-a-hobbit-would-smoke/258468/3 "2004-08-05T16:33:23Z")
I don’t know how to make them, but [this site](http://vegassmokes.com/pipes/england/ClayPipes/Gallery/clay_pipes.htm) has a variety of clay pipes for sale for reasonable prices. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-clay-pipe-such-that-a-hobbit-would-smoke/258468/4 "2004-08-05T16:40:08Z")
[Clay](http://www.fact-index.com/s/sm/smoking_pipe.html) > [@](#): > > Clay in this case is almost always a very fine white clay. Low-quality “clay” pipes are actually made from porcelain slip poured into a mold. These are porous, of very low quality, and impart unwanted flavors to a smoke. Top-notch clays, on the other hand are made in a labor-intensive process that requires beating all air out of the clay, hand-rolling each pipe before molding it, piercing with a fine wire, and careful firing. Traditionally, clay pipes are un-glazed. Clays burn “hot” in comparison to other types of pipes, so they are often difficult for most pipe-smokers to use. Their proponents claim that, unlike other materials, a well-made clay pipe gives a “pure” smoke, with no flavor addition from the pipe bowl. [http://users.lmi.net/~drewid/claypipes.htm](http://users.lmi.net/~drewid/claypipes.htm) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-clay-pipe-such-that-a-hobbit-would-smoke/258468/5 "2004-08-05T18:16:10Z")
One more nugget; the reason for the long, long stems on clay tavern pipes was that each succeeding guest who used the pipe could break off the little section of the stem, where the previous customer had put his lips. After 10 or 20 customers broke off their pieces, the pipe was thrown away. This is from American colonial history, not Middle Earth history. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-clay-pipe-such-that-a-hobbit-would-smoke/258468/6 "2004-08-05T18:39:47Z")
Thanks for all the help. I appreicate it. My summer is ending soon, and I like to take on a project that tends toward the unique…I may end up doing something else, but I certainly learned a thing or two… 🙂