Sherlock And the Calabash

The image of a man smoking a pipe always gives the impression that he is thinking, pondering or churning something in his mind. And the bigger the bowl, the deeper these men seem to go into their thoughts. The man that most comes to mind is Sherlock Holmes. One of the deepest thinkers of the 19th century. And even though he was a figment of Conan Doyle’s imagination, we always have a hard time believing that the detective is imaginary. He is so real.


Many of Sherlock’s habits are reputed to have been emulated from Mr. Doyle’s own habits. Most illustrations of the period show the famous detective and Mr. Doyle puffing away on a long stemmed clay pipe, with his tobacco at his side, kept in an old Persian slipper. In those days, Holmes’ habits of smoking cigars, cigarettes, and pipes were not considered a vice. Holmes always described his habits as bohemian. Why then, has the Calabash pipe always been related to the famous detective? Because at the time, it was used by actors who portrayed characters that smoked pipes. The Calabash pipe not only can be seen from very far, it is also a great hand prop for delivering poignant lines.

The calabash, or “a calabash” is a vegetable, a form of squash. When ripe, it is used in Asia, Africa and Central America as a culinary delicacy. When mature, or dried, it’s gourd is used as a musical instrument, to transport water or to smoke tobacco. An old style Calabash pipe is made of a part of the calabash gourd resembling a horn. Inside the wide end of the gourd is inserted a detachable bowl, in the shape of an upside-down bowler hat. A cork gasket keeps the bowl firmly in place. The bowl is usually made of Meerschaum stone, but sometimes we can find the bowl made of porcelain or briar wood.
Some of the older Calabash pipes would have a silver cover, but not today. On the narrow end of the gourd, a briar cylinder is inserted, many times covered with a silver band. This is the actual shank, where the tenon of the stem is inserted. This is necessary because the gourd’s material is too fragile to sustain so many insertions and removals of the stem when the pipe needs cleaning. The stem is usually bent, made of vulcanite or lucite.

Calabash pipes smokes cool, dry and mellow, more so than a briar pipe, as the smoke passes through an empty chamber inside the gourd, it loses most of its heat, moisture and strength.

Presently, most Calabash pipes are either made of briar or mahogany with their Meerschaum bowls.
Of the most famous actors who portrayed the great detective were: John Barrymore, Peter Cushing, Michael Cane, Jeremy Brett and Roopert Everet. But it was Basil Rathbone who was it’s most memorable and prolific Sherlock. Having stared in 14 episodes during the late 1930s and up to 1945. It was Mr. Rathbone who introduced the Calabash as the detectives prop for the next 70 years.
Today Mr. Holmes enjoys his pipe puffs in his original Belgium made, long clay pipe, just as Conan Doyle had designed for him.

Jim Bennington