I cant help but comment and be astonished!

Good Luck with the Pipe Journey Guys!

Brandon: I’m pretty much a pipe noob myself. In fact, based on the age of your post, I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that you’ve been smoking much longer than I have. However, on the off chance that this is still a pressing matter for you a year and a half later I would say in my limited experience, it’s a matter of preference and context. My billiard is by far the easiest to clean, but it’s harder on the teeth to hold a pipe where the center of gravity is so far away. Also, the Billiard, if I’m holding it in my teeth tightly is prone to sit in my field of vision too much unless I’ve got it sitting -waaay- far off to the side of my mouth. Plus, having a pipe that sticks so far out of your mouth straight ahead is just not as “cool” and “sophisticated” looking (IMO). In terms of which one I like best, I’m gonna say “jury’s still out” but preliminarily, I’m thinking that “Billiard” comes in last, and “Brandy” comes in first. The shallower, but wider bowl of the brandy is easier to light, burns better, and the bend of the stem is a nice compromise between the very hard to clean “deep bend” of the “Bent Billiard” and the awkward to hold “Billiard” I think in terms of looks, the deep bend of the “Bent Billiard” is the coolest looking, but again, it has it’s own hassles that the middling “Brandy” in my experience, manages to avoid. Again, I realize full well that I’m almost certainly answering a question that no longer needs to be answered, but just in case the question is still hanging, or perhaps if it’s been made freshly relevant by you being in the market for adding another pipe to the collection, I hope you find it helpful. Ultimately, the best thing you can do is to try a bunch of them out and see what best suits you. All we can do is give you ideas, ideas that your personal experience and personal preference may not in away way accord with.

Best Wishes!

-J