Lumberman

Lumberman is a straight pipe shape formed by joining a long, oval-sectioned shank (shank) with a short saddle mouthpiece (saddle stem). It's part of the four-member group known as the Canadian family; like the other members, it inherits its bowl proportions from the classic Billiard shape, differing only in the form of its shank and mouthpiece. It's regarded in the community as one of the family's rarest combinations.

Two Criteria That Define the Shape

The four members of the Canadian family diverge at the intersection of two simple criteria: whether the shank cross-section is oval or round, and whether the mouthpiece is tapered or saddle-type. Lumberman falls into the "oval shank + saddle mouthpiece" cell of this chart. Canadian, which uses the same oval shank cross-section with a tapered mouthpiece, is Lumberman's closest relative; when the two shapes are set side by side, the only difference is whether the mouthpiece has a shoulder or tapers continuously end to end. When that same saddle mouthpiece is paired with a round-sectioned shank instead, the shape is called Lovat.

The commonly cited criterion for shank length is that the shank exceeds twice the bowl height. The short saddle mouthpiece balances the pipe against this long shank; if the proportion is thrown off by lengthening the mouthpiece, the shape is considered to lose its character. For the naming of parts such as shank, bowl, and mouthpiece, see the pipe anatomy entry.

Smoking Character and Construction

A shared trait of long-shanked shapes is that they put more briar between the burning tobacco and the lip. Because smoke gets the chance to cool and shed moisture over that distance, Lumberman, like the rest of the family, is known for a cool, dry smoke. In this respect no significant difference in smoking character is drawn out within the family; the distinction lies largely in silhouette and hand-feel.

On the production side, because the long shank needs to be cut from the same block as the body in one piece, it calls for a large, flawless block. Smoothly joining the saddle mouthpiece's shoulder to the oval shank also requires separate craftsmanship; the smallest misalignment at the shank-mouthpiece join stands out faster on an oval cross-section than it would on a round one. These two difficulties together are used to explain why the shape appears so rarely in mass-production catalogs.

Catalog History and Naming

This four-member classification has become established largely through Bill Burney's widely circulated shape charts. Manufacturers, though, don't follow the chart to the letter. For example, in Peterson records, Lumberman is defined among the long-shanked shapes but doesn't appear as a model listed under its own name in catalog pages; pipes of similar dimensions have most often appeared under the Canadian or Lovat heading. This is why name and dimension often conflict in the classification of old pipes; classification is done based more on shank cross-section and mouthpiece type than on the stamped name.

The name's origin is undocumented. There's no solid record of how the word — meaning "woodcutter" — came to be attached to the shape; the origins of the family's Canadian and Lovat names are similarly unclear. The shape is evaluated on the straight wing of the classic pipe shapes lineup, among the Billiard derivatives.