Proposed 775% Pipe Tobacco Tax Increase!

Well, we can’t say we didn’t see it coming. The greedy US government wants to bring pipe tobacco into the already insane taxation of cigarettes, cigars, and roll your own tobacco, in order to waste more taxpayer money on bailouts, wars, and general idiocy. Two Democrats from Texas and Tennessee  have introduced Bill H.R. 4439 to raise the federal pipe tobacco tax from $2.8311 to $24.78 per pound. Here’s how that works out for us:

$2.43 increase per 50gr
$2.74 increase per 2oz
$4.86 increase per 100gr
$10.98 increase per 8oz
$21.95 increase per 16oz
$24.15 increase per 500gr

We have to do something to fight this, in this so-called democracy we live in where we are being increasingly controlled every day. Please visit Pipes Magazine in order to send an automated email or letter to your congressman and senator. Additionally, here is an online petition.

Dogs smoking pipes

I couldn’t resist…

PPC and Thomas James Pipes

Check out the updated Thomas James Pipes website. Not only is there a photo of John and Homer on the front page, but there’s also some gorgeous new pipes available. I’m continually amazed by Tom’s fantastic work. Perhaps a PPC commissioned club pipe is in order? Hmm?

John’s latest Hawkbill

Castello GG-84 Trademark Hawkbill (donkeynut)

This Photograph shows the latest addition to my collection of hawkbills.  It is a Castello GG-84 hawkbill AKA ‘donkeynut’ shape pipe.  It comes all the way to Pittsburgh from Eufaula, Alabama and the collection of Mike H. Davis, the noted collector of the donkeynut shape.

Vintage Pipe Ads

I found a pretty cool vintage advertisement search engine (via Seth Godin).  A search for pipes has some amazing results.  Some of my favorites so far: Half and Half, Radiator Pipe, Honey Pipe??.  I’m guessing you either are not allowed to or its no longer profitable to advertise pipes, so this is a glimpse at Pipe heyday.

First meetup of the new year!

I just wanted to get out a “happy new years” to everyone, and believe it or not it’s already time to meet up again! The holidays sped by quickly, and sadly I’m assuming we’re all back to work at this point. I can’t think of a better cure for the winter work blues than a cozy smoke filled Saturday morning with tasty pastries at Allegheny Smokeworks.

We’ll be meeting this Saturday from 10-12 in Blawnox, so c’mon down!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all the Pittsburgh Pipe Club pipe smokers.

I must have been VERY good this year as Santa brought me a Castello GG-84 Hawkbill (donkeynut) pipe.  After a dozen or so bowls, it is breaking in very nicely.  I am using McC #5100, a mature Virginia, to break in the pipe.

Castello GG-84 Old Antiquari

 I also received a copy of the 1890 George Zorn & Sons Catalog (Market ST., Philadelphia).  They were a company that supplied pipe shops with all of their needs.  It is one of the earliest catalogs available as a reprint.  This catalog has pictures of some of the first of the hawkbill-ish shaped pipes.  In looking at some of the old clay pipes found in the catalog, I think that the hawkbill shape is based on some of the old clay pipes with severe curves in the shanks.

This is a scan of an illustration from the Zorn Catalog.  Note the amount of wood on the shank of the pipe and the curvature of the shank and size of the bit. 

The following is another scan of a hawkbill shape pipe from the Zorn Catalog.

hawkbill pipe from Zorn Catalog

Note that the pipe shown in this illustration is in a fitted case.  It is one of the earliest illustrations of a hawkbill shape pipe.

At next year’s Conclave Of Richmond Pipe Smokers (CORPS) show, the plan is to show my collection of hawkbill pipes (43 pipes currentlyof which 11 are Castello) between Mike Davis’ collection of KKKK-sized Castello 84s (approximately 60 pipes), and Mike McCain’s collection of GG-sized 84s (approximately 44 pipes).  It should be a case of SHOCK and AWE.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone some Christmas Cheer this holiday.

Sherlock Holmes

Upon reading CNN this morning and finding an article on the various film portrayals of Sherlock Holmes throughout the history of cinema, my interest has peaked in seeing the new film. It opens on Christmas day, and obviously there will have to be pipe smoking involved in the viewing of this film somehow… The problem is we can no longer smoke nearly anywhere, so my suggestion would be to possibly form a Saturday meetup at the smokeworks in Blawnox, followed up by a viewing at the Waterworks Cinema?

Who’s interested?

hard to find: esoterica’s penzance

Esoterica Penzance, a krumble kake made by J.F. Germain & Son, is undoubtedly one of the most popular pipe tobaccos in production. If you needed any proof, just sit down in front of your computer and try to find some at any of the myriad online tobacconists. It’s no easy task, but several weeks ago I set out to do just that, and believe it or not I found some. A little bit. And then I bought it.

Described as “a wonderful complex secret recipe of the finest Virginia, choice Turkish and Orientals and Cyprian Latakia, all hand blended together, hard pressed and broad cut into thick flakes,” Penzance is every bit as impressive as I expected it to be, and so I set out to find more, but not just for me. So with other’s in mind, I’ve found a few online retailers who still have some on their shelves and others who are making every attempt to restock it in the face of difficulty.

Without further ado, you can purchase 2oz tins of Esoterica Penzance here:

Pipe Tobacco Place (10 tins available)

McCranie’s (several tins still available)

And though Iwan Ries & Co of Chicago is currently out of Penzance, you can request they email you when it becomes available, which will hopefully result in you obtaining some before it’s all gone again.