Sherlock Holmes' Pipe - Or Was It?
Author: Chris Haycock

I'm sure we've all seen the famous calabash pipe, favoured
by Sherlock Holmes. You know, the curly calabash with it's
distinctive shape? It's just as much a part of Sherlock
Holmes as his deerstalker hat and magnifying glass.

The original calabash pipes are made from the calabash
gourd. The African variety is regarded as the best to use,
as the European (usually Greek) calabash gourds rarely have
the right shape favoured by the pipe makers.

The main part of the calabash pipe is the top, bent stem of
the African calabash gourd. The actual bowl, in which the
tobacco is smoked, is an insert, often of meerschaum or
porcelain. Which is inserted into the hollowed out gourd
stem, with the aid of a cork gasket.

A ferrule, of wood, or plastic, or other suitable material,
is inserted into the narrow part of the gourd stem. This is
to take the bent vulcanite pipe stem which is the part
which goes into the mouth of the smoker. If that stem were
to be inserted directly into the gourd there would be a
good chance of cracking or breaking it.

Some calabash pipes are decorated with silver bands, even a
silver cover around the top of the bowl. So we can see that
these pipes are pretty labour-intensive. Making them
expensive these days.

Calabash pipes smoke cooler and drier than many other types
of pipe, because it's construction means that the smoke
passes from the bottom of the actual smoking bowl into the
empty space of the gourd beneath, which takes away a lot of
the heat and strength of the smoke.

Now, where Sherlock Holmes comes in. The construction of
the calabash pipe gives it a low centre of gravity. This
allows the smoker to easily hold the pipe in the mouth
alone. Actors would take advantage of this property, as it
allowed them to depict their character smoking a pipe while
leaving the hands free for other "business". Think of Basil
Rathbone and William Gillette, who both played Sherlock
Holmes.

In fact Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never actually wrote of
Sherlock Holmes smoking a calabash pipe, and Sidney Paget
in his illustrations usually had Holmes smoking a
long-stemmed (churchwarden) pipe.

We know that Sherlock Holmes himself preferred very strong,
harsh tobacco, and would probably never have given the
calabash the time of day, due to it's mellowing effect upon
the smoking mixture.


About the Author:

Chris Haycock is a real fanatic about early detective
fiction. Having been hooked as a young boy. He has amassed
a large collection of early detective/mystery novels. A
particular favourite is Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle. If you are also a fan, or just want to know what the
fascination is, why not go now to
http://www.sherlockandwatson.com