Pipes

[zeus36]

Visit Pipes.org for lots of info on cleaning estate pipes and stems. I use boiling 99% ethyl alcohol and some high school chem lab equipment to flush them out.

Glassware brushes take care of the residue in the tenon and bit area, and a nice vintage adjustable bowl scraper cuts the cake down to size. I usually remove the cake completely due to the drugstore aromatics that most folks smoke. These remind me of burnt syrup, so I stick to traditional English tobaccos.

Seems that regular bleach (strong alkaline) will get the oxidation off the stems. This oxidation is caused by the sulfur content in the hard rubber (vulcanization) reacting with ozone, UV, saliva, etc...
I have a buffer and rouge for plastic that gets them nice and black again. You need a large wheel and a low RPM motor for buffing. Don't just throw a buffing wheel on your grinder motor or you'll ruin the stem.

A good pipe shop should be able to buff your pipe for free on the spot, but these are getting tougher to find. I usually go to Gus' Pipe shop on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, CA for estate pipes and a free buffing. They have a website as well.

Stick with house blends if the owner knows what he's talking about. They will let you fill your bowl for free and try different tobaccos.

You can also check out Tobacco Reviews.com with ratings on the brands. There are LOTS of them! I'm currently playing with some blends by G.L. Pease and a very old company named L.J. Peretti. Peretti's will sell you sampler packs and I ordered their top seven rated blends by Tobacco Reviews.com right over the phone.

Back in the days when I used to go to the library, I found several books on pipes and tobacco (or requested them). Tons of info on a seemingly simple pleasure!
One good book for starters is called The Ultimate Pipe Book by Richard Carlton Hacker.



Enjoy

 

[Nick Charles]

Just got me a new one

Just won this on Ebay looks really nice. Rare Vintage 1940?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Briarcraft Custom Smokemaster Pipe

James you can actually buy something at the tobacco shop called pipe sweetener that is a cleaner you use with a rag and with pipe cleaners.

here's a link to a page http://www.pipesandcigars.com/cleanetc.html

 

[Veronica Parra]

Have you seen the "Art Deco pipes" thread?

You're in store for a treat. Take a look at the "Display Case" forum here in the Fedora Lounge. Open up the "Art Deco pipes" thread and see what you think! I posted a lot of photos there of aluminum, bakelite, briar and meerschaum pipes ... including the so-called "trylon & perisphere" pipe from the 1939 New York World's Fair.

 

[Chad Sanborn]

I am a regular cigar smoker. But my local tobaccanist is pushing the pipe on me. He smokes one regularly, and the aroma is unbelievable. Where should someone start when turning to the pipe?

Chad

 

[Brad Bowers]

I'm looking for a really inexpensive briar, but am not sure what makes a good pipe and what makes a bad one. My dad has a bunch of pipes that he hasn't used since the '80s, when he gave up smoking. I tried to talk him out of them last Christmas, and he said he'd give them to me, but didn't think I should take up smoking. And then he forgot about them, so I dropped it. I'm still hoping to get them someday, but until then, I want to make this as cheap as possible.

Brad

 

[Nick Charles]

Great for starters

Chad if you want to smoke a pipe I reccommend this book

its wonderfull, describes the types of pipes, tobaccos, and techniques, and even great quotes from historic pipe smokers.If asked I always reccommend Peterson.

heres a link for both you and Brad http://secure.thompsoncigar.com/def...jqbnlmezm&uid=1029&CategoryID=51&page=product

I prefer their pipes with the P-lip because it draws the smoke into your mouth upwards to the roof instead of onto you tounge. Hitting your tounge sometimes can cause a bitter taste or "bite" never happens to me with the p-lip.

 

[Veronica Parra]

Art Deco pipes photos restored to the Lounge

Sorry about that! Last night, most of the Art Deco pipe photos were accidentally eliminated from the hosting site. I put them all back up today, so please try again and take a look at the "Display Case" forum here in the Fedora Lounge. Open up the "Art Deco pipes" thread and see what you think! I posted a lot of photos there of aluminum, bakelite, briar and meerschaum pipes ... including the so-called "trylon & perisphere" pipe from the 1939 New York World's Fair.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Thanks Nick! That's a nice combo with which to get started. What exactly is a p-lip? Is it specific to Peterson?

Brad

 

[Nick Charles]

The p-lip is a Peterson lip in which the mouth piece has the hole in the top and the smoke is forced up, the traditional slit in the mouth piece they refer to as a fishtail lip.

 

[Quigley Brown]

What exactly is an 'estate' pipe? Is it just a nice way to say it rather than it be referred to as a 'used' one?

 

[shamus]

yes, it's like a pre-owned car.

But usually they're better quality because they're older.

 

[zeus36]

The pipe briar is made from the root (called the burl) of the Heath tree. The best pipe briar came from the narly trees that lined the windy Mediterranean coast. Those trees were hundreds of years old making for a dense, beautiful grain structure and more importantly allowed the wood to "breathe" during the burning the tobacco (for a cooler smoke).
Although these trees are a renewable source of briar and have been replanted, the old growth is gone, outstripped by demand. Pipes from the 20's to the 60's benefited from this old growth and are the ones I prefer. New pipes may claim over fifty year old briar, but that's not hing compared to older estate pipes.

 

[shamus]

well if you wanted to stop by Gus's smoke shop on ventura... they closed 2 years ago.

 

[zeus36]

Gus' is closed !

Wow, it has been a couple of years since I've visited.... mainly due to the internet, I'm afraid. They were in business since 1927!
For now, there's Smoker's Castle up here in Ventura. I usualy hit that once a month.

 

[shamus]

I was actually going to stop by today, and let my fingers do the walking... good thing too.

I'm trying to find a nice pipe/cigar place near burbank... any thoughts?

 

[Bebop]

I am a pipe collector and have about 75 pipes currently. I like everything from Kirstens to Dunhills to corn cob pipes. I think that if you are just getting started with pipes, you should try a corn cob pipe. They smoke great, they let the taste of the tobacco come through and they are really cheap. They may not look as nice as briar but they do smoke great. Once you find that you do like this pipe thing, you can spend more money on pipes that are better made, more artisticly designed and have the small details that would be lost on a novice smoker. Also, keep in mind that those really sweet smelling tobaccos do not smoke as nice as they smell. At least not to me. They tend to smoke hot and make your pipe sticky and bitter after a few smokes. The english blends are easier to smoke, keep your pipes dry and acutally taste like tobacco, not like pie or cherries or anything else that should remain in the kitchen not my pipes. I don't like my coffee flavored and I don't like my tobacco flavored either. Mainly, smoke slowly and don't worry about having to relight often. Most people that come from cigars are impatient because they are not used to having to relight their smokes. Remember, it's supposed to be a relaxing experience. Enjoy! :cheers1:

 

[Barry]

Ok, so I just wanted to show off a pipe, .

It's a Colm Magner. I bought it on sale. I haven't even smoked it yet.

This pipe is called the "wide ball." I really like it. Can't wait to break it in.

Barry

 

[Forrestal]

How a tobacco blend smells in the tin or pouch can be very different than the way it smells when smoked. Aromatic blends are sometimes heavily cased with all sorts of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìgoop?¢‚Ǩ? to give them that cherry or vanilla or what ever smell. The casing is what tends to make the pipe sticky.

Some times propylene glycol is sprayed on the leaf to keep it from drying out while it sits on the store shelf. This will also cause tobacco to be goopy when smoked.

I have found that price is not always a factor in how well a pipe blend smokes.
I have smoked ?¢‚Ǩ?ìdrugstore?¢‚Ǩ? tobacco that was better than high-end name brand tinned stuff.

In addition, the grain pattern of the briar is not a guarantee that a pipe will smoke well. A straight grain pipe is more esthetically pleasing and highly collectable, but will smoke no better than a flame grain, cross grain or birds eye.
How the pipe is drilled and constructed is of top importance.

Be careful when buying estate pipes. I only buy brand manes I know or shapes that interest me. Check the steam for bite marks and the bowl for cracks or burnouts. Run a pipe cleaner through to see if the draft hole has been drilled to the very bottom of the bowl.

Find out if there is a pipe club in your area. Many times they have pipe shows. This is the place where you can pick up some good pipes and a reasonable price.

Just my $0.02.

Regards,
Forrestal

 

[Twitch]

I worked in the tobacco industry for many years and once smoked a pipe. I would recommend a very easily found Captain Black in the white package. It has a very pleasant vanilla aroma that never offends anyone. It smokes mild to the taste also. If you get tobacconist blend there are many similar mild aromatics you will like out there. Tobacco shops will give you small amounts to sample and see what you like too.

Finding old used pipes can be a problem in that it can be a chore to replace a mouth stem with a new one as it has to be custom made. Do you want to chew on one another guy did? If nothing else there are rubber sleeves you can get to slip over the chewed part.

I found a larger bowl made for better control of air draft. They seem to stay lit better. If you get going a small bowl can be smoked up fast and you need to fuss through all the cleaning and preparation again.

A pipe doesn't have to be expensive to function well. But do picture yourself with a style before you buy it. It's the same as a hat. Does this look right on ME?

 

[Eric]

It's funny that I stumbled on this thread today. I just won an imported LL Bean Briar pipe on eBay for about $28. I'll see if I can post pictures.