Ageing without hoarding

[steveclarkus]

I have had confirmation that both my orders are on the way. The samples, and the two new pipes. Hopefully I will see both by the weekend.

I'm fairly confident that I'll be aborting on the clays. To be honest, I only wanted the satisfaction of solving their riddle, not keep them long term. Aside from possibly being useful while I work through the samples, they're not much use to me. They don't sit, are awkward to hold, and the unglazed stem can stick to my lip if I don't keep them wet. If the next smoke isn't satisfactory, they're of no use to me for exploring the samples and will be thrown away.

Moving forward, I already have a dedicated pipe each for English, aromatic, and lakeland. I also have two pipes that I'm happy to smoke anything in, and a 9mm filter pipe for toning down overwhelming flavours. That leaves me three that are as yet unsmoked. I believe the only other family I ought to dedicate a pipe to is Virginias/Periques, but if anyone thinks there's another family of blends I should keep separate, please let me know.

I had a clay at one time and had the same experience. You can put some petroleum jelly on the stem to keep it from sticking to your lips. Back in the day, they painted the mouthpiece area.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I had a clay at one time and had the same experience. You can put some petroleum jelly on the stem to keep it from sticking to your lips. Back in the day, they painted the mouthpiece area.

I have heard about the Vaseline trick. It doesn't fix the fact they're awkward to hold (by stem not bowl), and I can't set them down without a stand. All my other pipes (once I've replaced a couple when my order comes in) are sitters. I can plonk them down anywhere, resting the stem on my matches/lighter if necessary, and if I'm not stood in the same place when I next put it down, I'm not having to try and prop it up somehow.

 

[steveclarkus]

I have heard about the Vaseline trick. It doesn't fix the fact they're awkward to hold (by stem not bowl), and I can't set them down without a stand. All my other pipes (once I've replaced a couple when my order comes in) are sitters. I can plonk them down anywhere, resting the stem on my matches/lighter if necessary, and if I'm not stood in the same place when I next put it down, I'm not having to try and prop it up somehow.

Basically, clay pipes suck but they are cute.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Clays are just kind of particular. Most of them are very small. The first thing to check is I’m how it draws when there’s no tobacco in the chamber. Feel ok? If it’s too tight try sticking a guitar string (preferable a wound one) down the shank to bore it out a bit.

If it draws ok, then your issue might be with the tobacco or the pack. I find clays prefer dry tobacco and the finer the cut the better. So, a relatively dry shag cut is perfect for a clay. Examples would be 5 Brothers for a Burley, GL Pease Pennyfarthing for a VaPer, Robert McConnell Special London Fine Cut for a Virginia, or Vincent Manil Le Petit Robin for a VaBur. Back a shag fairly tight (might tighter than ribbon or flake—if you pack shag too loose it’s burn too quickly and you’ll get a ton of harsh smoke).


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Mission accomplished! Thanks H.

I dried some shag out, to the point of almost being crispy, and packed it firmly. It failed to stay lit for the first quarter bowl as usual, then suddenly started to behave, and stayed lit right to the end.

The sad part, was that I'd have enjoyed that smoke better, in any of my other pipes. I might keep one just in case one of the samples is a real honker/ghoster, but they won't be long term companions for me. I just prefer my briars, cobs, and hardwoods a lot more.

Glad I managed to finally get a proper smoke with one though. Thanks again

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Basically, clay pipes suck but they are cute.

You're not wrong, Steve

 

[brandaves]

I have had confirmation that both my orders are on the way. The samples, and the two new pipes. Hopefully I will see both by the weekend.

I'm fairly confident that I'll be aborting on the clays. To be honest, I only wanted the satisfaction of solving their riddle, not keep them long term. Aside from possibly being useful while I work through the samples, they're not much use to me. They don't sit, are awkward to hold, and the unglazed stem can stick to my lip if I don't keep them wet. If the next smoke isn't satisfactory, they're of no use to me for exploring the samples and will be thrown away.

Moving forward, I already have a dedicated pipe each for English, aromatic, and lakeland. I also have two pipes that I'm happy to smoke anything in, and a 9mm filter pipe for toning down overwhelming flavours. That leaves me three that are as yet unsmoked. I believe the only other family I ought to dedicate a pipe to is Virginias/Periques, but if anyone thinks there's another family of blends I should keep separate, please let me know.

You might consider having a straight Virginia pipe. It is such a light flavor that almost any outside flavor influence might be detectable. Not absolutely necessary, just a thought.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

You might consider having a straight Virginia pipe. It is such a light flavor that almost any outside flavor influence might be detectable. Not absolutely necessary, just a thought.

So having plain Virginias separate to those with Perique? I'm not sure I've actually smoked much of either (if any) in the seven years that I've been an occasional pipe wielder I think some of the shag tobaccos I've smoked might have been plain virginia, but that's about it!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Also, would perique blends still need a separate pipe too?

 

[Hirsute]

Mission accomplished! Thanks H.

I dried some shag out, to the point of almost being crispy, and packed it firmly. It failed to stay lit for the first quarter bowl as usual, then suddenly started to behave, and stayed lit right to the end.

The sad part, was that I'd have enjoyed that smoke better, in any of my other pipes. I might keep one just in case one of the samples is a real honker/ghoster, but they won't be long term companions for me. I just prefer my briars, cobs, and hardwoods a lot more.

Glad I managed to finally get a proper smoke with one though. Thanks again

Excellent! Glad you were able to coax a decent smoke out of it.


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[brandaves]

Also, would perique blends still need a separate pipe too?

Perique is a strong condimental flavor, I would think a VaPer bowl would be fine.

Straight Virginia would be like SG Full Virginia Flake and the like. Again, a dedicated VA pipe isn't necessary but I know users here who have them because Virginia tobaccos can take on the flavor of about anything. They have subtle flavor and any strong flavor will stand out. I have a straight VA pipe and I'm pretty sure that @Price also has perhaps a few straight VA pipes. Not a necessity, but if you are only setting back five blends and one is a straight Virginia then I'd dedicate a pipe.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Perique is a strong condimental flavor, I would think a VaPer bowl would be fine.

Straight Virginia would be like SG Full Virginia Flake and the like. Again, a dedicated VA pipe isn't necessary but I know users here who have them because Virginia tobaccos can take on the flavor of about anything. They have subtle flavor and any strong flavor will stand out. I have a straight VA pipe and I'm pretty sure that @Price also has perhaps a few straight VA pipes. Not a necessity, but if you are only setting back five blends and one is a straight Virginia then I'd dedicate a pipe.

Gotcha! Thanks, Brandon.

When my orders come in, I'll upload piccies of the full array (9 pipes), and say what I currently use them for. Dedicating a bowl to virginias, and a bowl for virginia periques should be quite doable, because I have one unsmoked pipe already here, and another two on the way (I only buy new). It's then just a matter of determining which pipe of the three might be best for each of those two blends.

 

[steveclarkus]

So having plain Virginias separate to those with Perique? I'm not sure I've actually smoked much of either (if any) in the seven years that I've been an occasional pipe wielder I think some of the shag tobaccos I've smoked might have been plain virginia, but that's about it!

I’ve never had pipes dedicated to a particular tobacco but it is an interesting idea. However, I’m a bit late to the game as I have smoked everything in my pipes for years and I don’t believe my taste is adequately refined to worry over it. I’ll have to pay more attention I suppose

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I’ve never had pipes dedicated to a particular tobacco but it is an interesting idea. However, I’m a bit late to the game as I have smoked everything in my pipes for years and I don’t believe my taste is adequately refined to worry over it. I’ll have to pay more attention I suppose

I've not exactly got a refined palate either, Steve. However, I have enough pipes to do it, so I may as well. If I dedicate a pipe each for virginia and for perique, that's five dedicated pipes I'll have, plus three "wild cards" for smoking anything, one of which is the 9mm filtered for muting things down a bit, AND still have one unsmoked as a reminder that I have enough pipes

 

[steveclarkus]

I've not exactly got a refined palate either, Steve. However, I have enough pipes to do it, so I may as well. If I dedicate a pipe each for virginia and for perique, that's five dedicated pipes I'll have, plus three "wild cards" for smoking anything, one of which is the 9mm filtered for muting things down a bit, AND still have one unsmoked as a reminder that I have enough pipes

Let me know how it works out. I just won a SMS Meerschaum on eBay for a really good price. It is old nicely stained already. Ill dedicate it to VA/Perique as it is my fav and I have tins of Orlik and Edgemore on the way and will be getting ESCUDO soon.

 

[brandaves]

Let me know how it works out. I just won a SMS Meerschaum on eBay for a really good price. It is old nicely stained already. Ill dedicate it to VA/Perique as it is my fav and I have tins of Orlik and Edgemore on the way and will be getting ESCUDO soon.

No need to dedicate a Meerschaum unless you really want to, they don't ghost!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Let me know how it works out. I just won a SMS Meerschaum on eBay for a really good price. It is old nicely stained already. Ill dedicate it to VA/Perique as it is my fav and I have tins of Orlik and Edgemore on the way and will be getting ESCUDO soon.

I like the idea of a meer, but the cheapest way of me getting a sitter, is a block meer bowl on a Falcon, and with my neurological issues, I'd probably wreck it too quickly

 

[steveclarkus]

I like the idea of a meer, but the cheapest way of me getting a sitter, is a block meer bowl on a Falcon, and with my neurological issues, I'd probably wreck it too quickly

I had a sitter and had no problem but could have been lu

No need to dedicate a Meerschaum unless you really want to, they don't ghost!

That is good to know. I may just dedicate a couple of pipes to burley and I may not dedicate anything at all. Latikia is the bad boy though and I love the stuff.

 

[steveclarkus]

I like the idea of a meer, but the cheapest way of me getting a sitter, is a block meer bowl on a Falcon, and with my neurological issues, I'd probably wreck it too quickly

I had a meer poker that was a great smoke but I seem to recall the screw thing that attached the stem went wonky in some way. They are much lighter than briers and more fragile but not too fragile.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

First delivery is here!

Some of these samples look like they might only give me one bowl full. Others look like they might give two. So these samples won't last as long as I originally thought. I'll make a note of how many bowls I get as I go along too, as that might sway the choice between a couple of favourites.

Judging by the waft of tobacco scent when I first opened the parcel, I'd say that if these are going to ghost each other, it's probably already happened, so I'm not going to fuss over sorting them and sealing/jarring separately.

My order also had one of those hydrostone thingies (plus pipe cleaners and filters) so I'm not overly concerned about them drying out either. Popping that stone in the sample bag overnight should bring back any which have dried out

 

[steveclarkus]

First delivery is here!

View attachment 1105491

View attachment 1105493

Some of these samples look like they might only give me one bowl full. Others look like they might give two. So these samples won't last as long as I originally thought. I'll make a note of how many bowls I get as I go along too, as that might sway the choice between a couple of favourites.

Judging by the waft of tobacco scent when I first opened the parcel, I'd say that if these are going to ghost each other, it's probably already happened, so I'm not going to fuss over sorting them and sealing/jarring separately.

My order also had one of those hydrostone thingies (plus pipe cleaners and filters) so I'm not overly concerned about them drying out either. Popping that stone in the sample bag overnight should bring back any which have dried out

Looks like a tasty start Al.