Whats in your bowl?

[Kip]

More Presbyterian Mixture, in my favorite Kaywoodie shank-logo SG. Watching old Twilight Zone episodes since the wee hours because I couldn't sleep.

Those who turn up a nose at estate pipes miss a lot, especially in a line like Kaywoodie. Since the late 50s/early 60s, they've had a pretty inferior reputation. But the old makes from the 20s and 30s smoke amazingly well. Let me encourage y'all to experiment with some old pipes, with the following caveats:

1. Research your quarry. Just being old doesn't automatically equate to being better. Read up on which brands are preferable and why. Also research the values. You do stumble across gems on eBay or yard sales, but there are also plenty of hucksters trying to make an undeserved buck.

2. Don't be afraid to buy a grungy pipe. *Almost* anything short of a burnout can be fixed. However, know those values again (see #1). A pipe's value, like everything, depends on condition. Look for good 'bones'. If the structure and fit is sound, cleanup can be performed for the dirtiest of pipes. In the same way a hidden flaw can make a pipe unusable, a horribly grungy one can often be brought back to looking new and smoking great. There are lots of tricks to this, with retorts, alcohol treatment, buffing wheels, sanitization, and elbow grease. If you're not comfortable with that, there are guys out there who'll do it for you for a few bucks. Stems can even be replaced if you can't clean it up (or it's broken). This ranges from a generic stem fitted to the pipe just to smoke it, to the full-on recreation of inlays, etc.

As I've been getting back passionately into my pipes, I've been refreshed at how great almost all my pipes are. It occurs to me that I'm not particularly lucky....I just spent 20 years refining my collection. Underperformers were resold, so only my favorites remain (although my wife may say it's hard to call so many "favorites"). Sort of a Darwinian evolutionary process. Only the fittest survived over those years, so that almost everything I have post-international move thinning is a winner. I know the history of each of these pipes - at least it's history with me. I know the blood, sweat, and tears that went into restoring every one of them. I know how they smoke with various types of blends. This endears them to me, and drives me to get back into properly caring for them. I have a lot of stem cleanup to do because I've let them oxidize a good bit.

I've let the daily grind wear me down at times. It's good to have an old flame rekindled.

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[Kip]

Up next.... MacBaren Old Dark Fired in a Nording signature. Still watching Twilight Zone. This pipe was originally the color of bright khaki and unfinished. A lot of years have gone into coloring it to its current state (this isn't a "thing" like coloring a meerschaum; it just happens). The autograph on the shank is all but obscured now.

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[BowhuntnHoosier]

ODF has such a unique flavor to me. Really enjoy it with coffee. Very cool looking pipe. So with all the pipes you been smoking recently I am curious which one is your favorite goto? And do you have a favorite tobacco blend that is still available? Do you smoke specific tobacco in certain pipes or just whatever you grab? I hear a lot about ghosting but have never noticed it before. I do try to keep aromatic out of my english/virginia blend pipes.

[Kip]

ODF has such a unique flavor to me. Really enjoy it with coffee. Very cool looking pipe. So with all the pipes you been smoking recently I am curious which one is your favorite goto? And do you have a favorite tobacco blend that is still available? Do you smoke specific tobacco in certain pipes or just whatever you grab? I hear a lot about ghosting but have never noticed it before. I do try to keep aromatic out of my english/virginia blend pipes.

Favorite pipe: Hard to say, but I have a AA grade Barbi that would be far, far beyond my means now. It has the most superb straight grain around its entirety and lovely birdseye on its bottom side. It smokes perfectly every time, with proper tobacco. Other pipes can produce a perfect smoke; the Barbi does it as if there's no other option. I'm a little sheepish to admit it, but even after my mass sell-off for the move, I still have somewhere around 100 pipes so it's hard to say. Don't even ask how much tobacco I have ratholed in Florida. My past indiscretion pays off now in leaner times

Favorite blend: Oof. That's like picking a favorite child. I'm a huge fan boy of Greg Pease. If I had to choose from current production, I'd probably go with GLP Abingdon when I want hard-hitting latakia punch; Westminster or Charing Cross for something lighter but still with an English profile. Another beloved English is MacBaren's HH Vintage Syrian. My favorite VA would be Marlin Flake (Rattray). Favorite VA/Perique = Escudo. Favorite Burley is MacBaren's Navy Flake, although it has other stuff in it. Burley alone doesn't do much for me. I'm not a huge aromatic guy, but C&D's Crooner and C&D Autumn Evening are favorites when the mood hits. There are dozens more blends I enjoy as well. These are just what I'd pick first for a desert island experience.

I have dedicated pipes to specific blends, but generally just stick to a blend 'family'....broadly speaking, I sort pipes into groups like Virginia or VA/Per, English, Burley and associated blends, and aromatics. A few are slightly more specific (i.e. *milder* English blends only, etc.) Ghosting, in my mind, is possible; but it won't happen from an occasional bout with something different. Constantly smoking a heavy English then switching to a light VA will make the VA taste weird. A good ream, scrub, and alcohol treatment will take out pretty much any ghosts of tobacco past if you ever want to change up a pipe. Even if you just persist in smoking something new, eventually the new cake in the bowl will cover up the past. You're right about aromatics. If something is going to taint the flavor of a pipe, it's heavily cased aromatics. I've had a few pipes that required major work to exorcise the ghost of Mixture 79, which is favored by old codgers that smoke all day and enjoy the taste of anisette. Yes, it happens. No, it's not as bad as most people pretend. People act as if their palates are attuned to individual molecules when they talk about ghosting. Much of it is in their imaginations.

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[BowhuntnHoosier]

Very nice day. Until just now. Idiots setting off fireworks disturbing my relaxation on the back deck. I may need to grab the AR and make some real noise soon. Not sure about this combo.



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[Kip]

Having some Bill Bailey's Balkan Blend in a GBD. This is the pipe I described on the show as defying all known laws of physics.

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[BowhuntnHoosier]

A nice blend. Doesnt knock my socks off. Reminds me of PS's #52 Proper English.


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[Kip]

With the exception of Old Dublin, I had trouble with all Peterson blends. They always bit me ferociously, and many seemed to be topped with some flavor I never could put my finger on. Very light, but giving them a peculiarity that seemed odd to my palate. Old Dublin was truly enjoyable for me, though.

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[815DC]

More Labrador blend and Brylon this evening on the porch. When its gone, its gone.

[BowhuntnHoosier]

Morning pipe puffers. Hot one today. Ok so this is my absolute favorite Petersons blend so far. Going to need a few more bowls to confirm. Its just really good.



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