I've been off aromatics for quite some time, but I'm beginning to like semi-aromatics. What I thought was allergy induced asthma 3 weeks ago or more turned out to be a low level but fairly hard to shake respiratory infection. Just cleared up this week.
Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture, courtesy of a fellow piper here, in a Stefano Santambrogio. This is the second pipe I've had since recovering from the respiratory infection, but didn't get a pic up. It was Dunhill Ye Olde Sign in my Skip Elliot handmade. That is one sweet pipe. It virtually smokes itself!
How are you liking the Cavicchi? Those are among the best pipes on the planet. If I'm not mistaken, Claudio also uses a 4mm drill bit.
The Cavicchi is one of my top four pipes. I don't find the stem quite as comfortable as my Tinsky pipe or my two Castello's, but they are all excellent smokers. I smoked the Castello Canadian this morning, and if I had to rank them it would probably be at the top. I bought it as a slightly used estate from smokingpipes.com. I sold them most of the eBay estate pipes I had accumulated and built up a considerable store credit balance. The Tinsky is the only artisan pipe I got new. His pipes are a good deal for the money, especially since my favorite finish is a sandblast and those are cheaper then the smooth pipes. I also have an old Castello Sea Rock that has a bit tighter draw then the others, but it smokes well and I like the army mount. I have heard that the new Castello's quality is not as consistent, but don't have any direct experience. They have multiple pipemakers and produce about 6000 pipes a year, and Carlo Scotti turned the business over to his son-in-law in the 80's.
I got the Erin Go Bragh and two other pouches (Ciest La Vie and something I don't remember) as part of a special some time ago. The Ciest La Vie was a gooper and not too good as a vanilla aromatic. The Erin Go Bragh isn't too bad as a simple smoke and smokes well right out of the pouch. It's not good enough to put on my list of tobaccos to buy again though. The smoke got interrupted by the rain, but that's okay because we needed it.
I took a tin of the new McClelland 40th Anniversary to local club picnic/meeting last night to crack open and share. Trying some now in my T. Christano Metamorforosi. IMO excellent Smoke now, can't wait to see what this does with some age.
Haven't been taking photos, but I do enjoy on a regular basis. I'm developing an attachment for Peter Stokkebye's Toasted Burley #312. A question for the room - To maintain the exterior of briar pipes do you have a particular product that keeps them shiny and clean? Is cleaning one step, & shining another?
If you have any Lemon Pledge Furniture Polish spray, you can use that. To use: Spray on a soft rag until damp. Allow Pledge to dry on the rag until scent has largely dissipated. The wax will remain on the cloth. Store in a ziplock and refresh with Pledge as needed.
That's one of the reasons I prefer sandblast or rusticated finishes. I've see silicone impregnated pipe polishing cloths recommended and I think they are the same as the gun cleaning cloths, just sold at a higher price to pipe enthusiasts. Some report buying the silicone spray and just spraying on felt to make their own.
