The Calabash - Sex Appeal with a Catch

[Mister Moo]

What's the deal with a calabash? Why does the appeal of this antique oddity persist? Simple. Cool factor.

Born in colonial Africa from an absence of briar, our British brothers worked with what they had and turned the calabash gourd, some cork and a hunk of clay into a classic.



Big? You bet. Look how it compares to a good sized bulldog.

Heavy? Not recommended for clenching unless you already have TMJ syndrome.

Fragile? One drop and it's probably wasted?

Convenient? Not exactly a travel pipe and useless in the car. It demands a bit of attention beyond a normal pipe and, unless you have a stand, you can't put it down just anywhere.

Maintenance? Nothing special but minding the cake (as with any meer) and keeping the cork supple. If/when the cork goes dryrot then you need to have a bit of the craftsman in you or find a pro.

Pricey? Not nuts. Nice ones can be had for under $100.

Quality? There are some losers out there I suppose but all the calabash gourd pipes I've seen (all four or five of them) were well made and quite handsome. Some ofthe older Austrian versions are darn well works of art and highly smokeable.

Speaking of smoking - yes, they smoke cool and dry on the upside. On the downside they normally have pretty large bowls and if you don't like scads of smoke then they might choke you out. I guess you can fill a bowl 1/3 full and take your time but I never found that possible. I love to load my calabash with heavy english smoke (or Stonehaven- yes!) and fire it up. A proper light across the top of that large group-whatever-it-is bowl will make enough smoke to declare a Class IV EPA disaster. Yes - they make smoke - lots of cool dry smoke.

So, big, heavy, cumbersome, fragile... and classically beautiful. While it's hard to find the right time and place to give a big gourd your full attention, they do make for an enjoyable puff. They do well with private time, which is good. You can smoke away, pretending you're in a gentlemans club somewhere on a sidestreet in Capetown - 1898.

If you really think you want one, study the breed before buying and shop carefully. My Pioneer is garden variety but well made and well shaped. There are scads of pipes out there from no-names to Kaywoodies. The older Kaywoodies, in my estimation, are med-high end pipes - many are spectacular. The Austrian Bauers (and some no-name Austrians) can be top end museum pieces.

I am not a calabash expert or a curator so take this intro for what it's worth.

[Mad Hatter]

Another good post Moo. Got me thinking about buying one now.

[Bent Stem]

Nice post. I've been considering the Gourd Calabash since some folks have recommended them as very cool smoking pipes. I'll continue looking at them for now and may dive in on one in the future. Do you smoke yours often?

[andrew]

I was shown one today that was in excellent shape. The owner said that he might be able to part with it with some deliberation.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Bent Stem

Nice post. I've been considering the Gourd Calabash since some folks have recommended them as very cool smoking pipes. I'll continue looking at them for now and may dive in on one in the future. Do you smoke yours often?

I got it when I was new to pipe smoking and found everything about it difficult. It sat ignored for a long time.

Lately I pick it up maybe once or twice a month - more/less depending on the weather. It's a nice (warm) Sunday evening back porch puffer. Very nice with Stonehaven or english tobak.

[Big D KC]

Very interesting! I can honestly say they just do not apeal to me really as far as something I would smoke from on a normal basis. But as something neat and interesting to have sitting on its stand on a shelf of my library/den/smoking lounge in a future home some day, definitely!

Thanks for sharing and getting me to take a closer look!

[Phlegmatic]

I just wrote my tobacconist a few days ago and asked the price for a new Calabash made by Big Ben, they have 3 sizes. I got a sick craving for a calabash pipe, it suits my safari hunt dreaming I do at eveings (acctually all day if no one stops me)

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Phlegmatic

I just wrote my tobacconist a few days ago and asked the price for a new Calabash made by Big Ben, they have 3 sizes. I got a sick craving for a calabash pipe, it suits my safari hunt dreaming I do at eveings (acctually all day if no one stops me)

Gourd or mahogany?

[Phlegmatic]

Im not sure, now that u mention it, but I want a gourd calabash!

This vid is of interest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uFpK...eature=related

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Phlegmatic

Im not sure, now that u mention it, but I want a gourd calabash!

This vid is of interest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uFpK...eature=related

The wooden versions are surprisingly light and smoke fine, by the way. I'm not knocking them. A well bent gourd is hard to find these days.

[Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

The wooden versions are surprisingly light and smoke fine, by the way. I'm not knocking them. A well bent gourd is hard to find these days.

I found a couple sites on gourd calabashes last night. It seems that they were grown almost exclusively in South Africa and require daily attention. Now that South Africa has a new government or new governments growing gourds falls under the heading of jobs South Africans and Zimbabweans don't want to do. However there is a strain of those gourds that were bred to a north american climate and the owner of one of those webpages I found plans on experimenting with growing them and maybe reviving the old calabash popularity.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Mad Hatter

I found a couple sites on gourd calabashes last night. It seems that they were grown almost exclusively in South Africa and require daily attention. Now that South Africa has a new government or new governments growing gourds falls under the heading of jobs South Africans and Zimbabweans don't want to do. However there is a strain of those gourds that were bred to a north american climate and the owner of one of those webpages I found plans on experimenting with growing them and maybe reviving the old calabash popularity.

If the idea craps out I'm sure they'll still be very nice with some butter and brown sugar.