{{Short description|Gadget for use with a tobacco pipe}} thumb|250px|From left: pipe knife, tamper with pick, tamper with reamer in the form of a sword, Czech tool, tamper
A '''pipe tool''' is a small gadget designed to aid in packing, smoking, and emptying a tobacco pipe.
There are three principal pipe tools: the tamper, the reamer, and the pick:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bespokeunit.com/pipes/packing/ |title=How To Properly Pack A Tobacco Pipe: Best Pipe Tools & Loading Techniques |author=Charles-Philippe |date=2020 |website=Bespoke Unit |publisher=Bespoke Unit, LLC |accessdate=9 June 2022 }}</ref>
*The ''tamper'' is a blunt instrument, either a simple dowel or shaped like the head of a nail. The flat end is used to tamp down the tobacco while packing the pipe, and to crush the ash together during smoking or relighting. Tampers are often made with a notch or small holes to permit airflow so that tamping the tobacco does not extinguish the flame. *The ''reamer'' or ''scoop'' is a flat instrument shaped like a dull knife blade or a flattened spoon, used to scrape ash and unburned tobacco (dottle) off the sides and bottom of a pipe. *The ''pick'' or ''poker'' is a narrow rod or pin that can be used to clear the shank of debris or aerate tightly packed tobacco. Because it is sharp, it may scratch the bowl of a pipe and so should not be used for scraping.
These three tools can be combined in different ways. Most common is the three-in-one ''Czech tool'', which consists of a tamper, reamer and pick joined together. A ''pipe knife'' is another three-in-one tool: the reamer and pick fold into the casing in the same fashion as a pocketknife, while the blunt end is used as a tamper. A ''pipe nail'' is a nail-shaped tool with a tamper at one end and a reamer at the other. Tampers and reamers are also made as separate tools.
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Pipe tool.jpg|Czech tool showing from left to right a pick, reamer, and tamper File:Pipe nail.jpg|Aluminum pipe nail File:Post Medieval-Modern pipe tamper, hand clenching scroll (FindID 183926).jpg|Early modern pipe tamper in the form of an arm File:Post medieval pipe tamper (FindID 33962).jpg|Early twentieth-century pipe tamper depicting a soldier in uniform smoking </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pipe tool}} Category:Pipe smoking Category:Tobacciana Category:Tools Category:Tobacco accessories