Pipemaking 107 – it’s gettin there..

Well, I picked the damn pipe up today and went back to work on it, after a bit of a hiatus. I decided I needed to do something drastic, since it just wasn’t looking right. I decided to take about 1/2″ off of the shank, and also shape the stem (something I never planned on doing on my first go at pipemaking). Additionally, I had to drill the mortise a little deeper by hand with a power drill, which I though I was seriously going to mess up.

In the end, things have definitely moved in a position direction, and I think I’m pretty close to bringing out the finer grains for sanding. Then, I’ll just need to find some dye and pretty soon I’ll be smoking this thing!

The case of the dirt cheap books

I was out looking for some Sherlock Holmes books yesterday to take on my upcoming business trip, and I found these great old paperbacks from the 60’s at half price books. All three came in at a grand total of $1.11. I’ll definitely be stopping back from time to time to see what I can find.

My hawkbill display

At our little club meeting in washington county on Friday, I displayed my collection of 41 hawkbills. Hopefully, the attached photo will work.

me pete

here’s me pete…still unsmoked I might add…

Impromptu PPC Meetup Tomorrow!

Sometimes once a month just isn’t enough… so I just wanted to inform everyone (with incredibly late notice) that a few of us are planning on going to good ol’ Allegheny Smokeworks tomorrow AM from 10-12. This isn’t a full scale meetup, but with all the work stress I’ve been going through lately, I figure this is a great way to unwind. Shawn #2 will be bringing along some new blends and hopefully his new estate Caminetto for show & tell.  I’ll bring my latest catch – an estate Stanwell model 70 volcano – also.

If I’m feeling crazy maybe I’ll even show up with some tasty treats from Oakmont Bakery!

The New Pete and Muncie, Indiana

Ya it took me 9 hours today to get from Pittsburgh to Muncie, IN and no I was not driving. So I get to my hotel and guess what, no smoking rooms, a real bummer. I brought along my new Pete to try out on this business trip. It’s a mid-range Pete that I picked-up on Cup O Joes. I was inspired to add a Pete to my collection after reading the article, “Pilgrimage To Peterson’s of Dublin”, in the October 09 issue of The Pipe Collector. I was also motivated to buy my first rusticated pipe after meeting with John Seiler and Bill Kotyk and reading their article, “We Like Them Rough”, also in the above mentioned publication and issue.

So after overindulging in Shrimp Scampi and Guiness at Red Lobster, I thought perhaps I could smoke a bowl outside of the hotel. Well by the time I get to the hotel it’s raining and blowing and I am just exhausted. I guess that Pete will have to wait until tomorrow.

Good Night Pipers…

Gary

Boswell Paradise Review

I sat down in the game room the other night, out of the frigid cold outside, to enjoy (half of) a bowl of Boswell Paradise. I went for a half bowl because I’m still breaking in my Radice O that I bought way back when. I’ve smoked three vanilla black cavendishes in this pipe – Nat Sherman 509, McClelland VBC, and now Boswell’s Paradise. It’s a very chunky cut, IMO a bit too chunky to pack and burn properly. I’m going to try to rip apart some pieces by hand next time I try a bowl.

It was incredibly smooth in flavor, and is *very* similar to McClelland’s VBC, which as you may know is a PPC favorite amongst many. The flavor stayed true for a good long while, and broke down to being a tad harsh at the bottom, as most aromatics (hell… most pipe tobacco) does.  I’d like to give it another try in my actual Boswell pipe, which was basically broken in from the first smoke, to give it a proper review in the future.

Are you kidding me?

Moviemakers are getting reprimanded for portraying people smoking pipes in movies…. What a joke. Here’s the link.

Pipemaking 106

It’s time to decide… I don’t think I can really make the true volcano with the sharp edge along the bottom of the briar, and I think I’m going to have to round it out. The block came pre-bored and the shank was already round, which is throwing a wrench into my plans. I don’t plan to make it a bent billiard; I’ll still go for a volcano, but it will just have curved edges instead of sharp. I’ll give myself some time to decide though.

Pipemaking progress

I put in some time last night on the pipe, and things are now pretty symmetrical, and I’ve cut more of the shank out trying to make that look better. I also heated and bent the stem upwards a bit more which is looking better.  I’m getting to the point now where small details are starting to matter, and it’s definitely getting more complicated. Sadly I’ve come to the realization that the bowl was drilled a bit too deep for the shape I’m trying to create, so compromises will have to be made.

I’m going to sand out some more of the bottom of the pipe, but can’t take as much off as I want. I’m also going to take out more of the shank area cuz it’s still not looking right. Overall I think I’m doing a pretty good job with the materials I have, but am realizing the pre-drilling of the block itself is what’s screwing me over. Hopefully I won’t have to ditch the volcano like shaping completely…