Welcome to Pappy’s Porch! Pour yourself a drink or a cup of coffee, pull up a chair and light your pipe. Sure, go ahead and ask me questions. I’ll answer them the best I can, but remember, these are my answers and opinions. Other pipe smokers may have different answers and opinions.
The truth about Stanwell Danish Star Pipes is elusive. If I was to have a nightmare about pipes, it would be me sitting at a table and a famous carver, like Sixteen Ivarsson, sitting there yelling, “You can’t handle the truth!” like Jack Nicholson did in “A Few Good Men.”
Take, for example, the three Danish Star pipes I just finished cleaning for resell. According to the shape chart I located on pipedia.com (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers), all three were shapes created by Sixteen Ivarsson – created, not carved. With the exception of the individual pipes he carved and handed to Poul Nielsen, Ivarsson may not have carved another of these shapes.
Again, according to pipedia.com and other sources, Ivarsson lived in Denmark during World War II. When his pipe stem broke, Ivarsson went to Suhr’s Pibereparation to get it repaired and wound up working as a repairman. Story is, he also starting carving pipes and soon became locally known as a pipe carver. Then, Nielsen, who was managing (or owner of) Kyringe (another wood working factory) visited Suhr, he became enamored with the pipe shapes being carved by Ivarsson. This led to Ivarsson creating pipe shapes for Nielsen. Nielsen changed the name of his factory to Stanwell (and later changed his name to Stanwell, as well). That cooperation between Ivarsson and Stanwell lasted for decades.
The problem, for me so far, is that I haven’t been able to pinpoint the date when Stanwell created its Danish Star line of pipes or when the dropped the line. Ivarsson died in 2001 and that meant no new shapes were possible from him, but that doesn’t mean Stanwell had to stop using those shapes.
I’m making a supposition here (a pure guess, is more like it), but I think the Danish Star pipes were above average in quality – not a mid-range pipe, but not a top line pipe for Stanwell either. The pipe shapes were created by legendary carvers like Ivarsson, Anne Julie and Tom Eltang. (Anne Julie, by the way, was the wife of Poul Rasmussen. She started carving pipes are Rasmussen died at the age of 47). To me, it looks like Stanwell wanted to capitalize on the name of the carvers who created the shapes.
The Danish Star 30 and 127 are smaller pipes with thinner stems. The 30 is a
strawberry shape, bent pipe. The Stanwell logo is present on both stems, but the white paint is missing.
A “strongly bent” pipe, the 127 shank is more than 3/4-bent. A little more bend and it would be close to an Oom Paul shape. While some consider the bowl as “egg shape”, I think it is closer to an acorn shape.
My favorite shape of the three, is the Danish Star 124. The bowl is a freehand but looks like an egg. What grabs my attention is the long, conical shape of the shank and the short saddle stem. I see an elegance about this pipe.
Anyone interested in more photos or information can contact me by leaving a message using the contact form on the Greetings page.
© J. Gibson Creative Services. March 3, 2020
Searching antique shops & malls has always been a hit or miss situation. You go hoping to find something worthwhile and you get nothing. Or, you walk in not looking and you find treasure. Last week was definitely a “finding treasure when not looking” one for me – mostly, anyway.
My wife collects salt & pepper shakers and pie birds, and I while every place we go seem to have them, not all are ones she wants.
https://pappyjoesblog.com/collecting-estates-what-i-look-for/
About two weeks ago, we visited The Pink Elephant in Baton Rouge and I looked at several pipes in a couple of display cases. The rough condition made the asking prices too high for no-name basket pipes. In explaining this to the lady helping me, she mentioned that she had just purchased a number of pipes in an estate sale and but hadn’t put them in her booths yet. I made a note to stop back in on the drive to Texas the following week.
She had added 10 pipes and while most weren’t of interest to me at the prices she was asking, I did find a Savinelli 614 for $34. The stamping – Bayou Tobacco over Savinelli Product – caught my eye though. This made it a house pipe for Bayou Tobacco, a Baton Rouge brick & mortar store that closed down in 2018. Even with the heavy charring on the rim, the pipe was in good condition. A new 614 retails around $100.
The next day, while visiting a sister in Lumberton, Texas, we decided to check out a few antique malls in the area. For a pipe collector, the pickings were slim, but I did find a small Scottie Dog pipe rest. I passed on a six-pipe rack with a ceramic jar because the jar just didn’t seem to fit the rack and there were no markings on the jar.
Remember I said I often find treasures when not expecting too? That was the results on Saturday in the little town of Vidor, Texas where my other three sisters and their families live. A small “antique” shop had opened since our last visit there and we decided to see what they had. Usually finding flea market quality items, the shop had a good mix of antique and vintage items. I found a small Brighton #3 tobacco cutter priced at $99 first. I considered it too high for a reproduction piece.
The cutter looks like one made by Wrightsville Hardware Co. of Wrightsville, PA in the early 1900s and re-issued by John Wright Co. in the 1970s. Originally unpainted cast iron with tobacco leaf designs on the handle, the paint was added in the re-issue.
Tabak Jar
Next, I found a ceramic tobacco jar with a surprising price of $15. I’ve tobacco jars priced in the $50 – $75 range but with cracks. (This doesn’t include porcelain jars I’ve seen priced over $100.) Since this one was in good shape and the word “Tabak” on it, I decided to bring it home with me.
Here’s where I got a good deal. I mentioned the cutter to the shop owner, and he said he would look at it and see if he could reduce the price. He dropped it to $60 and I took it. He also cut the price on the jar to $8. That was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
I mentioned that Bayou Tobacco had closed last summer earlier. A few weeks ago, I received a notification from their Facebook page that the phone number was updated. I sent them a message and found out the owner was in the process of re-opening. Anytime a tobacco shop opens – or, in this case, reopens – is good news. Unfortunately for pipe smokers in Baton Rouge, the shop is being moved to Tylertown, Mississippi, about a two-hour drive.
Pipe smokers keep asking me how I keep finding good pipes at antique shops, malls and junk shops. My answer is always, “Just dumb, blind luck,” and that is the Truth. I’ve come to the conclusion, that I go looking for a pipe, I don’t find one. For some reason, I seem to have more success just going into a shop without expectation of finding anything.
That’s how I found a motherlode of estate pipes (relatively speaking) the last week in April while in northeast Tennessee. We were in Johnson City, staying with our teenage grandsons while our son and daughter-in-law were out of town. With the boys in school, we visited antique shops and malls in the area. On Thursday, we drove the 23 miles to Kingsport to look around.
Our first stop was P&J Antiques (204 Broad Street) https://www.facebook.com/pandjantiqueskingsport/.
This place is very big and antique hunters can easily spend three or four hours wandering around the two-floor shop. Less than five minutes and maybe 50 steps from the entrance I found a display case with about 20 pipes. Another 30 feet down the aisle and another booth had a case with another 20 pipes. I also saw another five or six pipes in other booths.
As usual, some of the pipes were Medico’s, Grabows and Kaywoodies, but there were enough other pipes to warrant having the shop manager open the cases. The first pipe I picked up was a big, old Nording freehand priced at $99. The case also had a Barling, a Peterson and a Savinelli with $39 or $49 price tags. I then picked up a pipe with a Vulcanite stem. It was a Dunhill Red Bark 415 and the asking price was $59. I told the shop worker I would have to think about it, and she said, “I’ll give you a discount…”
Without a doubt, I bought the Dunhill. I guess that’s why I didn’t look at the rest of the pipes more carefully and didn’t see the Comoy or the Sasieni 4 Dot pipes in the next case. The Sasieni and another pipe was purchased the next day by a New Orleans Pipe Club member who lives between Kingsport and Johnson City.
P&J’s isn’t the only antique shop in Kingsport or in that area, but it did have the best selection of “estate” pipes I’ve ever seen outside of a cigar & pipe shop. The Tri-City area of Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City has a goodly number of antique shops, malls and flea markets and many of them have some type of tobacciana collectibles. One shop, in Bristol, had two nice, wooden tobacco stands with copper-lined humidors, for example. I also saw a number of vintage tobacco tins and some pipe stands with tobacco jars. My only other purchase was a 3-pipe stand with a marble base though.
The Dunhill Red Bark I bought, had me doing some research at first because the stamping on the bottom didn’t completely match my expectations. It is stamped Dunhill over Made in England16 and the numbers 415, but there are no other marks. I expected it to have ODA and F/T also stamped on the bowl, but it didn’t. That being said, I had it confirmed as being a Group 4, Tapered Stem, Dublin.
The restoration of the pipe to smoking condition went quickly with most of the time spent waiting for the two bowl treatments to do their thing. After a good reaming to remove the rough cake in the bowl, I used cotton balls soaked in alcohol for almost 24 hours. I followed that with packing the bowl with damp coffee grounds for another 12 hours. This left the bowl with a slight coffee smell but no old tobacco odor.
In the meantime, I soaked the stem in a warm Oxyclean solution to soften the oxidation. My method of removing the oxidation started with 600-grit wet sandpaper and working my way up to 12,000 grit micro-mesh pads. The final step was applying Walker Briar Works Pipe Stem Deoxidizer/Cleaner and Carnauba Wax Polish/Sealer.
I thought it was only fitting to open my tin of Dunhill Apertif for my initial smoke in the pipe.
© J. Gibson Creative Services. May 5, 2019
Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional acorn. That’s how I feel sometimes when I walk into a junktique shop (the signs usually say “Antique & Collectibles) and finding something worth adding to my collection. A recent Saturday expedition to one of these shops uncovered 15 or 16 usual Medicos, Dr. Grabow’s and Kaywoodie’s damaged beyond consideration.
I found the acorn – or in this case, a bent Dublin Ascorti KS – laying next to a cigar box. Carved before 1984 according to Roberto Silvana Ascorti, the pipe was in good condition. The stem only had some light tooth chatter and no oxidation. The bowl had a thin cake build-up and still smelled of tobacco. Priced at $38, I decided I couldn’t pass it up. (I did get a 10% discount on it though.)
The next day I started working on the bowl with a light reaming with my pipe knife. I then used strips of sand paper around my index finger until the cake was just barely visible. After a quick rinse, I worked on removing old smells from the bowl. I dipped two cotton balls in some vodka and stuffed them into the bowl for 24 hours. I left the stem in place to keep the vodka from leaking out of the shank.
A good sign was the next day when I pulled out the cotton, it was just a light tan color. I took this to mean that the pipe itself had never been heavily smoked. After a quick rinse, I packed wet coffee ground in the bowl and the mortise and set aside for eight hours.
To clean the stem, I mixed about a tablespoon of Oxyclean with warm water in a pint mason jar. I dropped both the
stem for the Ascorti and a stem from a small Peterson in the solution. (One of my sons recently found a Peterson System Premium 314 at an antique shop.) I set the timer for one hour. Soaking in the Oxyclean does not remove the oxidation on the stem but it does bring it more to the surface and soften it.
I use micromesh pads (starting with a wet 3200 grit pad) to remove the oxidation. It takes time and effort but by working up to the 12000-grit pad, I can remove most of the oxidation. I then rinse the stem under warm running water for several minutes before working on the airway.
What works for me is wetting a bristle pipe cleaner and then applying toothpaste to at least a third of the pipe cleaner. After working the cleaner through the stem four or five times, I repeat with a soft pipe cleaner and then rinse thoroughly again. Be sure you rinse thoroughly and run a dry pipe cleaner through the airway otherwise you will taste toothpaste the first time you smoke the pipe.
I head to the buffer for the next two steps. My buffer has two wheels and I use one for applying green buffing compound (purchased from Mark Tinsky at American Pipes) to remove any remaining oxidation. I use the second buffing wheel for applying carnauba wax. These steps may sound simple, but it takes practice to get the technique down right. You can easily send the stem flying out of your hand if you apply too much pressure.
After applying the wax, I do a final polish with a clean terry cloth rag to bring out more of the shine. Did I say final polish? I have one more step for the stem. I rub the stem with a couple of drops of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before buffing with a soft cloth. It may be a little overkill and I may have a few unnecessary steps in my method, but I like the results.
Remember the bowl? After the coffee grounds have set in the bowl for 8 hours, I dump them into the sink and give the pipe another good rinse under warm water. Occasionally I use a pipe cleaner in the mortise to get all the grounds out, but it’s worth the effort. Don’t worry about any residual coffee taste in the pipe as it will disappear after a puff or two.
Now, you can’t immediately smoke the pipe after a cleaning like this. I recommend letting the pipe dry out for at least 24 hours before smoking.
© J. Gibson Creative Services. May 2018
The topic keeps resurfacing on pipe smoking forums. Do the higher priced, premium pipes really smoke better than less expensive pipes?
There are some pipe smoking snobs who claim the more expensive pipes do smoke better. But how does that explain the thousands of pipe smokers who collect and swear by the smoking qualities of Kaywoodies and Dr. Grabow’s for example?
I decided to test some of my pipes to see if I found a difference. My one Dunhill is a 3/4 bent billiard made in 1926, so I chose bent pipes for this test. I smoked the following for the test: Dunhill 151 Inner Tube, Rinaldo Triade YYY 1, Stefano Santambrogio (not a full 3/4 bend, but close), Stanwell Hans Christian Anderson Smooth Dublin, a Savinelli Dry System 2622, an Italian briar with the only stamping being Christmas 1988 and a Borkum Riff pipe.
The tobacco for the test? Dunhill My Mixture 965 so there was no variance because of the tobacco blend. I measured out 2 grams for each bowl, straight from the tin without any additional drying time. I packed and smoked each bowl using the same technique.
Four of the pipes were new when I received them (One purchased, two contest prizes, one included in an on-line tobacco purchase deal). Two pipes I rescued and the last was a gift to me. All seven are in good smoking condition.
Part of the premise that more expensive pipes smoke better, is that the engineering and quality of workmanship makes a difference. I settled for examining the drilling of each pipe and stem as a comparison in engineering. A perfectly drilled pipe should smoke better than a poorly drilled pipe, in my opinion. To check this, I performed a “pass a pipe cleaner” test on each pipe. By “pass a pipe cleaner,” I mean I can insert a Dill’s pipe cleaner through the bit and it goes all the way into the bowl.
In my opinion, a perfectly drilled pipe has three things: 1. Draught hole dead center in the mortise, 2. Hole and airway in the stem perfectly aligned (will pass a pipe cleaner), and, 3. Draught hole and airway the same diameter.
If the draught hole is not perfectly center in the mortise, then the airway in the stem will not line up properly. It won’t necessarily prevent the pipe from being a decent smoker, but it won’t be a great pipe until you get it re-drilled. If the airway in the stem is larger than the draught hole, you may hit briar when inserting the pipe cleaner and must wiggle the cleaner to get it into the draft hole of the bowl. Conversely, if the draught hole is bigger than the airway, it should pass the pipe cleaner more easily.
When setting up for my test, I shined a bright LED light into the mortise of each pipe I used. Surprisingly, none of my pipes were what I would call perfectly drilled. The drilling on my Savinelli Dry System 2622 looks more like the drilling on a Cavalier. For example, the draught hole is drilled into the top of the airway and there is a space at the bottom of the mortise where moisture can collect. This is part of the engineering design of a Dry System pipe. It’s a very good smoker and I’ve never notice it gurgle.
On the other hand, the Borkum Riff bent pipe is just badly drilled. An cleaner inserted into the mortise bottoms out in briar. Shine a light in the mortise and you don’t see the draught hole. Run the cleaner along the top of the mortise and it does slide into the draught hole. Of all the bent pipes I tested, this was the worst in my opinion.
My unscientific method of measuring the size of the airway and draught hole was equally as simple. A single pipe cleaner fits into the draught hole and the stem airway. Five of the pipes did this. The Savinelli and the Dunhill have larger bores. The Savinelli is a balsa filter pipe and the Dunhill originally came with an aluminum inner tube (hence the name, Inner Tube). I don’t use either. I can easily insert 2 pipe cleaners at one time in both pipes.
Next: The testing…
(© J. Gibson Creative, April 19, 2018)
For the testing I loaded two grams of Dunhill My Mixture 965 in each pipe. I weighed the tobacco on my kitchen scale.
Passes a pipe cleaner with some wiggling. Draft hole off center high. Avg. size airway in stem.
Good, easy draught – like sipping a fountain drink through a plastic straw. Bowl was warm but comfortable to hold. Session lasted 55 minutes with no relights. Ash and minimal tobacco bits left at the end of smoke. Good flavor from the tobacco throughout the smoke. (Acquired as a prize give-away from This Pipe Life pipe forum. MSRP listed as $250. The pipe came with both a regular stem and a churchwarden stem.)
Does not pass a pipe cleaner. Draft hole drilled high and the airway in the stem seems smaller than Stanwell.
Decent draught, open and unrestricted (probably because of gap between the tenon and bottom of mortise. The bowl got warm but not hot. Session lasted just over 50 minutes with some dottle in the bottom. Relit once around the 41-minute mark. Good flavor from the tobacco throughout the smoke. (Used pipe found at antique/collectible shop for $15. Probably sold by Tinderbox originally)
Doesn’t pass a pipe cleaner. Even with the draught hole drilled high of center it’s very good smoker.
I have won two long smoke competitions with this pipe. My record is 1 hr. 27 minutes with this pipe. The bowl got warm but still comfortable to hold. Session lasted 67 minutes with no relights. Good flavor to the end with a minimal amount of dottle remaining. (Bought new, unsmoked off eBay for $80.)
– Does not pass a pipe cleaner. Draught hole drilled into the top of the airway. Gurgles. Smoked the worst of the pipes tested. To my eye, the airway seems smaller than the rest and the draught feels more restricted, like sipping a drink through a cocktail straw. Bowl gets hot while smoking. Session lasted 43 minutes and required 3 relights. Approximately 1/8th of a bowl left at the end. Flavor didn’t seem as developed in the other pipes. (Acquired new as part of a package special from an only retailer) I find myself wondering why I still have this pipe.
Smoked without the Savinelli Balsa Filter. Draught hole drilled into the top of the airway, probably by design.
Because of the design, the airways in the stem and the mortise are large enough to fit two pipe cleaners at the same time. However, the pipe cleaner does not go through the bit because it is a P-lip design. As I smoke it with no filter, the draught is wide open (like using a jumbo drink straw). The session lasted 49 minutes with only ash left. It seemed to produce more smoke than the rest. The bowl got warm but doesn’t get hot. From a flavor standpoint, the tobacco started tasting “ashy” just before it went out. (Used pipe found at an antique/collectible store. Paid about $20 for it.)
Produced in 1926 according to the markings, this pipe originally came with an aluminum “Inner Tube.” Mine doesn’t have the tube. The airways and draught hole are big enough to fit 3 pipe cleaners into them at one time. It passes a single pipe cleaner from the lip or button into the bowl with no effort.
With the openness of the airway and draught hole the draught was like drinking through a jumbo size straw. I expected this pipe to smoke faster, but I found myself smoking slower. Flavor was good, tobacco burned evenly and required less tamping than I expected. Bowl gets warm but not as warm as some of the other pipes. Session lasted 71 minutes with no relights and just ashes left. Unlike the Savinelli Dry System, I did not get the ashy taste at the end though. (Used. A gift from a friend after he learned I didn’t have a Dunhill.)
Easily passes a pipe cleaner. Instead of a perfect circle, the draught hole is elongated and reaches from the top of the mortice to the bottom.
Good, even draw like a plastic fountain straw. Bowl gets warm but not as warm as some of the other pipes. Session lasted 59 minutes without a relight. Very minimal dottle at the bottom of the bowl and good flavor throughout. (New. Won in a long smoke competition.)
Produced between 1938 – 1943. Threaded stinger but looks like the end of the tip of the stinger cut off. Easily passes a pipe cleaner to bowl.
After the Dunhill, this is the oldest pipe I own, so I decided to include it in the test. The bowl gets hotter at the bottom than I expected but it can still be held. Bowl is deep, and 2 grams only fills about half of it. Very open draught. Tobacco burns evenly and I noticed more flavor at the start. Where the tobacco was medium strength in previous test, it was stronger at the end of this bowl. Session lasted 50 minutes. (Used. Acquired at antique/collectible shop for $25.)
Next: My conclusions…
(© J. Gibson Creative, April 19, 2018)
After conducting my smoking test and talking to several expert pipe carvers and restorers, I decided the answer is so subjective for a yes or no answer. What makes a pipe a quality smoker depends on the definition of a quality smoker by each pipe smoker. I have several hypotheses and a theory.
The reason more expensive pipes are considered to be better smokers is because more time, money and effort go into producing the pipe and the quality control is better. In other words, high-end manufacturers usually have strict quality control guidelines. If at the end of the manufacturing process, the pipe doesn’t meet those guidelines, it is either destroyed or sold as a second or basket pipe. This doesn’t mean that every high-end pipe is perfect but the chance of it being a bad smoker is less.
This also apply to Artisan pipes carved by people like Mark Tinsky, Walt Cannoy, Ryan Alden, Rad Davis, et al. Artisan pipes are more likely to be great smokers because they are going to make sure it is a perfect pipe before selling. If for some reason, the pipe has problems, they tend to stand behind their work and fix it.
After the engineering, the most important part is the quality of the briar itself. I believe artisans and companies always buy the best briar blocks that they can afford. They don’t call up a dealer and send me 1,000 lbs. of whatever is on the shelf. They ask about the aging, curing and grading.
After harvesting, cutting, boiling and air drying for two years minimum, the briar is ready to sell. The longer the briar is aged, the more it’s worth. In some cases, the blocks are aged for decades before selling. Briar dealers inspect each block and assign it a quality grade. Carvers and manufacturers make their purchases based on the length of aging and the grading. The more money they spend, the chances of better blocks increases.
Conversely, there is the old saying that “even a blind squirrel occasionally finds an acorn.” By that I mean even carvers/manufacturers on the lower end of the pay scale can and do occasionally find and produce a pipe worth more than what the end user pays.
Wait! What about Kaywoodie, Dr. Grabow, Wally Frank and other mass-produced pipes from the mid-20th century? My hypothesis is there weren’t as many high-end artisan carvers back then, so it was easier for them to get better grade briar. Also, despite not being “hand-made” the engineering on the pipes was very good. Large collecting communities for Kaywoodie and Dr. Grabow will attest to this.
While pipe smokers will continue to argue this question no matter what I say, I want to turn to one I consider an expert – Dr. Fred J. Hanna. His book, “The Perfect Smoke” published in 2012, is a collection of his essays about pipe smoking
I recommend the essays in Chapter Three of his book. “Choosing the Great Briar Pipe: Factors to Consider (Pages 91-102) discusses the 24 factors Hanna considers important for choosing a great briar pipe. These include the draught hole location and the size, the length of the tenon, the thickness of the bowl wall, etc.
The third essay in the book, “The Myth of Brand and Maker in Pipe Smoke and Tasting” (pages 111 – 124) is also very enlightening as he explains that “a great-smoking pipe is not the same as a great-tasting pipe.” (page 112) I also found his comment that, “The brand myth has the potential to harm our hobby. It can lead us to believe that only the wealthy collectors of high- and ultra-high-grade pipes can enjoy the truly sublime, superlative smoking and taste experience.” (page 124)
(© J. Gibson Creative, April 2018)
Here’s the question. When shopping at antique/collectible/flea market/junk shops, how much is too much to pay for a pipe? Of course, the final answer is, “It depends on how much the buyer is willing to spend.” But other than that, how do you determine if the pipe you’re looking at is a good value?
I look at different factors when I find a pipe in one of these shops. First, if it says “Made in China” I don’t buy it. Period. Second is the brand name because there are some pipes I don’t personally collect – Dr. Grabow, Medico, Yello Bole and most Kaywoodie. (In an effort to be honest, I do have four Kaywoodies, 1 Yello Bole Spartan (It was my grandfathers.) and a Linkman Hollycourt Special made before the name changed to Dr. Grabow.) Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with these pipes and many pipe smokers collect them. With some exceptions, I don’t.
I also don’t normally collect pipes to sit on display. I own five pipe designated as display pipes. Two are Meerschaums which displayed cracks after the
bowl got hot. One is a gourd Calabash with a cracked Meerschaum bowl. The last display Meerschaum I bought specifically because of the intricate carving and the size. Two Bavarian Hunter style briar pipes round out my “display only” pipes. Eventually I may clean and smoke them as well.
For the most part, I look for pipes European made pipes like Savinelli, Jobey, Chacom, Peterson, etc. My personal holy grail would be to find a Dunhill that I could afford to buy and restore. While I have had luck finding a few Savinelli’s and other Italian made pipes, the rest have eluded my efforts. So far.
The next thing I look for is the condition of the pipe bowl and stem. I only buy pipes that are in such a condition that I can either clean and restore it myself or it would be worth the cost to send it to a professional. Having the work done by professional pipe restorers can range from very reasonable to the cost of a new pipe. Whether it’s worth it or not, is again, a personal choice.
Here are some things I consider when hunting for a rescue pipe as I call them.
As I mentioned above, I don’t necessarily collect every pipe I see. I like looking for higher quality names. One exception is Kaywoodies. I learned the difference between 2, 3 and 4-digit Kaywoodies. If I find one with 2 or 4 digits, I generally will look at it more closely. If it’s a 3-digit pipe, it was made after 1972 or so and I am less interested. This generally doesn’t apply to Meerschaum because most I find are not signed.
Obviously, I check for cracks and burnouts. After that I look at whether the smoker took care of the pipe or abused it. The amount of cake in the bowl is one indicator I look at. For example, I passed on several pipes recently because I couldn’t fit my little finger into the bowl. The cake in each of them was thick and old. In two pipes, the cake was separating from the wall in spots. These pipes included a Dunhill, a Savinelli, a Jobey, a Butz-Choquin and a Wally Frank. They also had other condition problems.
I also look at the stem condition. If I can’t remove the stem of the pipe from the stummel I will usually pass on the pipe. The stems on three of pipes I mentioned above were stuck so bad I couldn’t remove them. I did remove the stem from the Savinelli but there was about a 1/4-inch gap between the stem and the ferrule. It just wouldn’t go in all the way.
The stems on these pipes were all heavily oxidized and severally chewed on, also. The Dunhill, for example, looked like a weathered orange ball used as a chew toy for a large dog. The deep tooth marks extended for almost an inch down the stem. Again, it was a matter of my personal choice, to not buy any of these pipes because I felt the stems were not repairable.
In addition to the amount of cake in the bowl, I smell the pipe. If it smells like tobacco, I consider buying it. If it smells like mothballs, mold, ammonia or anything else, I pass. This is especially important when it comes to Meerschaum pipes. I have come to learn that if an unsmoked Meerschaum in one of these shops smells like acetone or chemicals, then it’s been broken and glued back together.
A lot of shops I visit are not one-owner businesses but consist of numerous vendors. That makes haggling over the price of an item difficult because the person at the register must track down the vendor and discuss offers over the phone. Sometimes it’s worthwhile, other times it’s not worth the effort. Here’s where personal choice comes into play, again. I look at a pipe, estimate what it would cost to restore (time, effort & money) and add that to the asking price. Then I consider the cost of a similar pipe either new or from a reputable estate pipe vendor.
(© J. Gibson Creative, April 2018)
As a general rule, if the critics hate it, it’s probably something I’m going to like. Doesn’t matter if it’s a movie, a TV show, booze, coffee or food – 90 percent of the time I find myself disagreeing with supposed “experts” who write reviews professionally. I have read reviews on something and said, “Someone paid good money for that review.” Or, “That reviewer didn’t get paid enough and slammed that hard.” And sometimes, I feel the reviewers just miss the boat.
Take Irish Whiskey for example. I appreciate a good Irish Whiskey and have a few favorites – Jameson Blended Irish Whiskey (especially the Cask Mates Stout), Knappogue Castle 12-Year-old Single Malt and Tullamore Dew Original, for example. But you may note that Bushmills is not on that list. Can’t say why, but I’ve never been a fan of Bushmills.
Which leads me to my latest adventure in Irish Whiskey, The Sexton. I will admit buying The Sexton for two reasons – the bottle and the price point. The bottle is a black, six-sided, with great choices in typography and graphics (in other words, it looks great). The price point was $26.95.
The Sexton, (http://thesexton.com/) a Single Malt Irish Whiskey triple distilled and aged for four years in sherry casks is distilled in County Antrim in Ireland. From my understanding of Irish Whiskey, this means it’s distilled in the same building as Bushmills. Is it possible that it’s a less expensive version of Bushmill? Not really. For example, Budweiser owns and brews different brands of beer in its facilities around the U.S. and they are all different than Bud. Proximo owns the distillery and Bushmills. They also own other Irish Whiskey blends and each is different.
On opening, I smell dried fruit like raisins and cranberries, warm spices and orange marmalade and an underlying astringency. Initially I thought rubbing alcohol or iodine but that was just a fleeting impression. The more I sniffed it in my glass, the more I liked it.
I poured about two ounces into a Scotch Whisky glass containing two ice cubes. The addition of water a small amount of water opens up the notes of the whiskey. The first sip was of honey and dried fruit with a hint of dark chocolate. The finish was salty, woodsy and with an almost winey sherry aftertaste.
After drinking it for a few days, I decided to read some of the reviews on The Sexton and came to the conclusion that a few of the reviewers were expecting something more than the whiskey was presenting. It is a single malt, for example, but a couple of reviewers were criticizing the blending. It’s not a blended Irish Whiskey. I think one or two of them have a problem because it’s less expensive and only aged for four years.
Is this the perfect or best Irish Whiskey available? No. In fact, what I find is a good, drinkable Irish Whiskey that reminds me of a decent Speyside Scotch. It has the same honeyed notes and sweetness that I enjoy in a Scotch without the heavy peat of an Islay. I will probably buy this again.
I paired The Sexton with another “Irish” product – Two Friends Celtic Mist by Cornell & Diehl. The “Two Friends” are blender Craig Tarler & Gregory Pease who created seven different blends for C&D. Celtic Mist is a Cavendish based aromatic with a bit of burley and Virginia tobaccos. They flavor it with Irish Mist, a liqueur made from Irish Whiskey, heather and clover honey and spices. I received a 50-gram tin for Christmas (dated 4/15/17) but waited until St. Patrick’s Day before I smoked it.
My first impression is of Bailey’s Irish Cream instead of Irish Mist over a sweet, nutty tobacco base. The moisture level was almost perfect to my standards and it was easy to light with two matches and I only had to relight the first bowl once. After a few days, the tobacco dried out a little and I could smoke it without any relights.
To compare my experience with other pipe smokers, I went to tobaccoreviews.com to see how others rated Celtic Mist. I was a bit disappointed to see that it wasn’t highly rated. Then I noticed something interesting in the reviews, most of them mentioned pouches instead of tins for example. Then I saw that for the from 2001 & 2002, it received 3-star ratings and from 2003 – mid-2005, Celtic Mist received 1 and 2-star ratings. After May 2005 the ratings went back up to 3 and 4-star ratings. Since then it’s been up and down.
The question is, “Is the production that inconsistent or is it a matter of taste trending?” I have noticed that some blends seem to get popular and receive high reviews and then fall out of popularity and get negative reviews only to be rediscovered a few years later. Interesting thought anyway.
As for the pairing of Celtic Mist with The Sexton, I found it to work for me. I found a sip of The Sexton brought out the creamy, fruity flavoring of the Celtic Mist while the Celtic Mist added a subtle smokiness to the Irish whiskey.
(© J. Gibson Creative Services, March 2018)
Comments
Another great write up PappyJoe! Cheers, OddJob27 (TPL)