Felt like I needed to be outside for a bit yesterday and today. I got these pipes at a flea market 6 years ago. I'm not entirely sure what they are but they smoke really well. They are both just bigger then What I like but my bargin bin pipe that is smaller must be hiding with my pipe tool. I used the screwdriver in the picture as a tamp. Yesterday's pipe Tonight's Pipe
The white one looks a lot like a Kaywoodie 07C bulldog, but if it was it should have Kaywoodie on it.
It is a Kaywoodie actually. I didn't notice the club marking on it when I first looked. You can barely notice it from the angle it's at.
the white one says Kaywoodie White briar 07C the brown one has a spade marking alot like the club on the kaywoodie it also says Dr.Grabow Supreme and 9401 There's something written on the side with the numbers but its so faint I can't make it out. Pie is all I can make out but its 2 lines and pie is only the first half of the top one. I could hardly see any of the markings and I had to rub it with pencil lead and wipe off the outside to fill the markings before I could read them. I never thought to look until just a bit ago. For $2 a piece I never cared what they were. They smoke really well after I cleaned them up some. My only problem is that they both feel too big for me. My kaywoodie look different then that one but the markings match did they change the design during its run? Mine stem straighter and the bowl looks slimmer and taller.
Thats really close. I think the bowl of mine is still slimmer. I'll get a better picture at some point.
Have I mentioned I love Petersons? There's actually a fourth that's not pictured because it's MIA. It's the only system pipe I own but a favorite smoker anyway. The little guy in front is not a Peterson but is my smoke of the day so to stay on topic...
Late night pipe, H&H Lousiana Red in a Stefano pipe. This has been a very enjoyable smoke. First, the Stefano is finally getting broken in, and I think a few months in a jar has helped the Lousiana Red. Another observation on La.Red, I believe the wider bowl of this pipe vs some of my taller and narrower bowl pipes may have contributed to a sweeter smoke with less spice from the Perique. It was very sweet from the red Virginias at first light up, and that was maintained most of the way through. Winter has arrived in Alabama, so I'm in my basement. It's pretty messy right now. The left hand shelf in the background has part of my tobacco stash on the top shelf.
Nice looking pipe. New briar takes a bit to get going. I'm a big believer in a first few bowls brandy rinse. Don't know if that's a thing on the forum.
I've heard various things through the years, such as very lightly wetting or dampening the inside of a bowl with water prior to smoking, and doing the same thing with a very light coating of honey. I've just stuck with smoking them until they finally begin to build some cake. I'm not familiar with using brandy for that. How do you do it, just wet the inside of the bowl with it? Will any spirits accomplish the task?
I think any spirits would probably work but you have to think what you want those early undertones to be. I wouldn't think either scotch or peppermint schnapps to be very good choices for instance. The key component I think is the sugar content which hastens the build up but more importantly acts like something of a permeable glue for that early cake. Similar theory as the honey I'd guess. And yes, I just dip a finger in my snifter, wipe the inside of the bowl, and then dispose of the remainder in a very environmentally friendly manner shall we say?
I read an article by Russ Oullette (I follow a lot of his advice and it works GREAT!), about break in. He says to use what he calls the "Common Sense" method. No coating the bowl with anything, and no need to smoke 1/4 or 1/2 bowls. Just fill the bowl and smoke it slow and easy like you normally would. This will eventually build a good, solid, even cake down through the bowl. He says using coatings like honey, saliva, etc; will cause a crumbly cake and is much worse for the pipe. I started following this method and haven't had any problems with it. But this of course can be viewed also as one of those ymmv deals. In the end, do what works for you. Smoke whatcha like, and like whatcha smoke! (I stole that from Russ as well, lol.)
