I’ve tried them and couldn’t get used to them.
Brown Leaf Newbie Check-In & General Chat
- Thread starter Boro62
- Start date
Congrats!
It looks like the member who originally acquired it has not signed on since 2018.
B&B LE Pipe Lottery
3/28 here. For those of you that haven't received yours yet it is well worth the wait. Beautiful pipe! Regards, Roger
www.badgerandblade.com
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They are quite a change in feel when you first try them. They're not for everyone.
I came to adore them, because I clench hard at times, especially when moving. I've been known to even distort an acrylic stem without one.
P.S. Not exaggerating. Pro Tip: When you leave a white mark on your acrylic stem, it's time to try a bite. In the end, I do get a better purchase with them, and don't chomp down quite so hard. Win-win.
As we'll eventually see on the coffee table on the other thread, Kaywoodie came out with a special bite-proof bit in the early 40s for stem choppers like me.
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I almost always use a zippo with a pipe insert. Tough to go wrong with that combo.Being relatively new to pipe smoking I must confess that one aspect of my new hobby I find most frustrating is dealing with matches. I am curious to hear what other methods pipe smokers use to light their favorite tobacco. How are the plasma lighters I have come across?
Tim
Congrats on your success. SWR aro is a good tobacco and a decent choice for moving forward IMHO.
Well, after a short period of use I became disillusioned with the slim cased Vertigo single torch butane lighter I picked up. I felt it was still a little too powerful and was concerned about scorching the top rim of my pipes. Also, because of the slim body design the lighter holds very little butane.
So, I went back to my local tobacco shop and swapped if for a Vertigo Governor soft flame butane lighter. Much happier now and looking for to using it with my recently acquired Oom Paul Algerian Briar bent stem pipe made in France.
Tim
So, I went back to my local tobacco shop and swapped if for a Vertigo Governor soft flame butane lighter. Much happier now and looking for to using it with my recently acquired Oom Paul Algerian Briar bent stem pipe made in France.
Tim
Thanks for digging that one out of the dirt.Congrats!
It looks like the member who originally acquired it has not signed on since 2018.
B&B LE Pipe Lottery
3/28 here. For those of you that haven't received yours yet it is well worth the wait. Beautiful pipe! Regards, Roger
Looks to me like there are some incredible bargains to be found on The Famous Auction Site: Petersons, Savinellis, and lesser-known brands. I've usually had good luck with my purchases there (vintage razors and fedoras mostly), sticking to sellers with 100% ratings, and asking questions where need be. Are there any major risks to purchasing an estate pipe there?
When someone mentions Famous and auctions, my first thought is Cigar Auctioneer, but I think you’re referring to the Bay?
I’ve bought a couple of estates and NOS off the latter over the years. The majority were fine, but one was not. You need to scour the sellers feedback to gauge, and that is more to see how they handle issues. Estates are great, but just don’t expect perfection.
FWIW, you can also have issues with new pipes there, too. I just finished up a bad transaction on a new pipe from Germany that required manufacturer involvement, and I still don’t have the pipe yet — going into month FIVE. And the vendor had a 99.7 positive rating across hundreds of sales.
If you’re into firesticks, the other website (CA) used to have some great deals on AFs years ago, if you stayed abreast of their listings.
Yes, La Bay (I don't know if there is a prohibition against saying the name here -- I've known sites that did). No, I don't expect cosmetic perfection for a used pipe. As long as it looks attractive to me in the pictures, and the seller sounds like somebody who cares about this stuff -- and is in the U.S. to keep things simple -- that's the big thing.
I too have picked up a few estate pipes from the 'site' and have generally been pleased. The only challenge is getting a handle on the aesthetics of a pipe from photographs. Some fills/repairs are easier to see in a photo than others. But, of course, these minor defects don't impact functionality.
Searching online affords you a much greater variety of pipes to choose from than most local tobacco shops can offer. A case in point, I have been looking for a deep-bowled pipe and came across this nice Oom Paul made in France with Algerian Briar.
Beautiful wood bowl and nice green stem (not sure what it is made of), but it does have a spot where it required a repair. The pipe also came with a nice amount of cake -
Though I do wonder whether this is too much cake and perhaps I should scrape it back a little? It is about 2 mm thick. I defer to those puffers more experienced than me for some guidance.
Regardless, I did enjoy a wonderful pipeful of Sutliff Vanilla Custard with this morning's coffee.
Tim
If I'm looking at a pipe that, say, was produced around 1950, I'm going to expect some nicks in the briar and toothmarks in the stem. Character, you know -- a testimonial of its long service to someone.
Presuming that’s a square on photo, that pipe needs some reaming. Also, check it for a ridge or a top heavy cake. If it has either, then you need to exercise a little extra care. A rough rule of thumb is that once it gets thicker than about the thickness of a dime, you should bring it down a little.
Depending on what was smoked in it, you can either bring it down to workable (about 1/2 the thickness of a dime), or take it down all the way. The latter requires more skill, as briar peaks are not desired.
Once you get really old at this, you can usually keep up with cake with your spoon every so often. Steer clear of the knives unless you really know what you are doing, or are willing to learn on an inexpensive one.
Just a side observation, but that chamber looks like it has an irregular wall dimension. The ‘green‘ stem looks like a very weathered vulcanite one to me. If you search the site, there are plenty of tips on reviving them. Once cleaned up, it should more approach its original black.
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I've used there for work a few times. It's at its best if you know what you're looking for. When you can identify a crack or out of round, if you can see if it's worth it to you to polish up and how much polish it'll take. Ask questions, buy from people who sound like they know what they're talking about. If you're unsure, I'm sure you can find a group of pipe smokers to bounce his answers off. Yes our greatest common pastime is enabling, but we all stop short all before seeing anyone make a bad purchase. (Instead, we'll enable you in a different direction.)
Nobody has posted in this thread for 9 months??!!! Who *are* you people???
Well! Today marks 1 year since I first returned to the pipe, digging out one of my pipes from the '80s and some leaf from prior to 2004, packing, and lighting up. It went well: A lot of the old moves came back to me immediately. Since then I have bought several vintage and new pipes, traded in some old ones, tried the codger blends and some Virginia blends too (and loved both), and been PIF'd some good stuff. Also I've learned to dry my tobacco and to use the breath method of smoking. Those 2 things have made this pastime much more enjoyable than it was decades ago.
Thanks to all of you for the encouragement, entertainment, and guidance!
(Now to decide which pipe and blend to put together to commemorate the anniversary!)
Well! Today marks 1 year since I first returned to the pipe, digging out one of my pipes from the '80s and some leaf from prior to 2004, packing, and lighting up. It went well: A lot of the old moves came back to me immediately. Since then I have bought several vintage and new pipes, traded in some old ones, tried the codger blends and some Virginia blends too (and loved both), and been PIF'd some good stuff. Also I've learned to dry my tobacco and to use the breath method of smoking. Those 2 things have made this pastime much more enjoyable than it was decades ago.
Thanks to all of you for the encouragement, entertainment, and guidance!
(Now to decide which pipe and blend to put together to commemorate the anniversary!)
9 months? ok ok, I'll post as well. Hmmmm lets see there was a conversation about lighters, I use a zippo with the pipe insert. Love using that, when I grab a disposable when I am lazy I am reminded how much I appreciate the pipe insert lol
I bought a pipe-lighter Zippo when I was in Birmingham in September. The hotel insisted we smoke out in their designated area, and it was too breezy to light anything with matches. Now that I'm back home I've hardly used the lighter except to refill with lighter fluid periodically and test it. Still, it's nice to know I have it.
Is this seat taken?
Howdy gents, just found out I have razor acquisition disorder which is great because my wife only sees my pipe cabinet and doesn’t enter my bathroom lol. What a fun forum.
I like my zippos and have moved to a firebird butane insert for pipes. This works pretty decent.
Howdy gents, just found out I have razor acquisition disorder which is great because my wife only sees my pipe cabinet and doesn’t enter my bathroom lol. What a fun forum.
I like my zippos and have moved to a firebird butane insert for pipes. This works pretty decent.
Welcome aboard, everyone, to the cool kids spot!
I'm tempted by a couple of pipes, which I clearly don't need, on Etsy. If I'm going to get them, I need to sell a couple of the old ones I don't smoke or care for any more to SP or Blue Room Briars. I just hate the process of packing the pipes up and mailing them, and waiting to see what I can get for them.
If this is not the place, please delete or tell me and I’ll delete. If anyone wants some MacBaren Roll Cake (not the dark) I’ll send gratis. It’s very burley forward and doesn’t ring my bell. I have maybe a couple ounces.
