Thread: Pipe of the Day

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Here is another Castello Old Antiquari in the same shape. I got this off the bay about a year after the one I posted yesterday. Was really looking forward to it because the other one smoked so well right off the bat. Well ......... this one was the complete opposite. It took me a couple of years of careful smoking to break this one in. Once broken in it comes close to the other one, but doesn't equal it. Good pipe though.

Attachment 274946

A couple years? What did it do in those couple years that made you consider it not broken in? I am curious because I have heard this statement before but I have never understood what it means. Also, what is the difference today between the two?

Originally Posted by Steel

A couple years? What did it do in those couple years that made you consider it not broken in? I am curious because I have heard this statement before but I have never understood what it means. Also, what is the difference today between the two?

Hmm ...... ..... well, seemed like 'a couple of years' in retrospect. Maybe I was exaggerating a bit. It took a lot of bowls before the pipe began to come around. IME some, more than others, require a break in period. Some would say that all do, but I've had pipes that smoked great from jump street. One Ashton Old Church dublin for example tasted horrible for many smokes when I first bought it. As if the briar had not been cured at all.

I bought it new and once smoked it was mine for sure, so no point in trying to return it saying it didn't 'taste' right. I soldiered on and that pipe came to be a favorite, but it took many many smokes. The first Castello I mentioned that smoked so well gave a cool, dry smoke, to the very bottom of the bowl. A friend once told me he had a Castello that tasted like a Snickers bar. Kind of like that.

The one that I bought hoping it would be like it was a hot and wet smoke for many bowls of careful smoking until it finally began to come around. John Eells, a great American pipemaker, until disability ended his career, said that when he was turning a bowl, or drilling the mortise he could tell if it was going to be a 'sweet' smoke by the smell of the wood. The late John Loring, a Dunhill pipe expert , wrote some about the different characteristics of the Algerian, Corsican, Grecian, and other briar roots used in their production that each had distinct smoking characteristics.

So I guess that is the short answer ...........

A half kilo of Bogie and my Charatan Jumbo Distinction.
The tobacco rather looks like something you would buy at a novelty store.

Originally Posted by rolodave

A half kilo of Bogie and my Charatan Jumbo Distinction.
The tobacco rather looks like something you would buy at a novelty store.

Now that is some potent stuff there !

Originally Posted by rolodave

A half kilo of Bogie and my Charatan Jumbo Distinction.
The tobacco rather looks like something you would buy at a novelty store.

Looks a bit like some Cumberland sausage I had in England years back.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...AA&FORM=IARRTH

Bob

If it smokes as good as the Cumberland sausage tasted your laughing.

Originally Posted by rolodave

A half kilo of Bogie and my Charatan Jumbo Distinction.
The tobacco rather looks like something you would buy at a novelty store.

I usually prefer the black, but I'm thinking I might pick up some of the brown next time I'm in the UK.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Hmm ...... ..... well, seemed like 'a couple of years' in retrospect. Maybe I was exaggerating a bit. It took a lot of bowls before the pipe began to come around. IME some, more than others, require a break in period. Some would say that all do, but I've had pipes that smoked great from jump street. One Ashton Old Church dublin for example tasted horrible for many smokes when I first bought it. As if the briar had not been cured at all.

I bought it new and once smoked it was mine for sure, so no point in trying to return it saying it didn't 'taste' right. I soldiered on and that pipe came to be a favorite, but it took many many smokes. The first Castello I mentioned that smoked so well gave a cool, dry smoke, to the very bottom of the bowl. A friend once told me he had a Castello that tasted like a Snickers bar. Kind of like that.

The one that I bought hoping it would be like it was a hot and wet smoke for many bowls of careful smoking until it finally began to come around. John Eells, a great American pipemaker, until disability ended his career, said that when he was turning a bowl, or drilling the mortise he could tell if it was going to be a 'sweet' smoke by the smell of the wood. The late John Loring, a Dunhill pipe expert , wrote some about the different characteristics of the Algerian, Corsican, Grecian, and other briar roots used in their production that each had distinct smoking characteristics.

So I guess that is the short answer ...........

Thanks for the explanation. I have heard statements like this and have often wondered what the individual meant. Another one is “this or that pipe is a good smoker”. I think everyone means something a little different. Some may be referring to the ease of keeping it lit whereas others might be meaning that it doesn’t collect spittle and gurgle , whereas others may mean that it doesn’t get warm/hot. Or maybe all of the above. Of course a lot of things factor into these “great smokers” personal preference, a shape that lends to their particular technique of packing, cake, no cake, tobacco smoked in it previously, clean stem or dirty. Of course quality of briar and the drilling of the pipe also play a part. So it is hard for someone like me to decipher what is meant by a broad statement and I often wonder what they are referring to. So, again, thanks for explaining it to me.

@Steel

i think it is a personal thing taking into account all the factors you listed. I have some pipes (a Peterson and a Charatan) that I really like and they always seem to give a most satisfying smoke.

I have some other pipes that don't always give a good smoke.

Sometimes it may just depend on the phase if the moon.

Originally Posted by Steel

Thanks for the explanation. I have heard statements like this and have often wondered what the individual meant. Another one is “this or that pipe is a good smoker”. I think everyone means something a little different. Some may be referring to the ease of keeping it lit whereas others might be meaning that it doesn’t collect spittle and gurgle , whereas others may mean that it doesn’t get warm/hot. Or maybe all of the above. Of course a lot of things factor into these “great smokers” personal preference, a shape that lends to their particular technique of packing, cake, no cake, tobacco smoked in it previously, clean stem or dirty. Of course quality of briar and the drilling of the pipe also play a part. So it is hard for someone like me to decipher what is meant by a broad statement and I often wonder what they are referring to. So, again, thanks for explaining it to me.

It is all of the above AFAIC. Taking it to razors, they are all basically the same, but some just shave better than others, even of the same brand and model. I guess you could say the same for a pair of shoes that just feel better than the others, or whatever. Taking into account the mechanics of the pipe, as you mentioned, the draught hole, the drilling being in the 'right' place at the bottom of the bowl, not too high, or too low, the diameter of the draught.

Jimmy Cooke, a noted pipe maker once told me, when I got one of his very early pipes on the used market, that I would probably have a wet smoke because of the way he drilled the stem in his early days. So there are a lot of variables. If you get older Castellos you find the shank is drilled larger than the stem. To where a large fluffy pipe cleaner will easily go in the shank, but never through the stem. You have to use a regular pipe cleaner on the stem. Castello eventually began drilling both the same diameter.

The biggest thing, IMHO, is the briar. I couldn't tell them apart blindfolded, but I know there is a difference in the smoking characteristics of different briars. Talking about where they are sourced from. For example, Dunhill on their Shells (sandblasts) used Algerian briar up until the late '60s or early '70s. This was a slightly softer briar and not only gave a deeper blast, but a drier smoke because the softness contributed to the absorption of the moisture generated by the burning tobacco, and the spittle that inevitably runs into the stem.

Political developments precluded the access of Algerian briar so Dunhill moved over to Grecian briar for their shells, and everything else AFAIK, which was much harder. This changed the smoking qualities of the pipes, and the blasts were never deep. According to the late John Loring, a Dunhill pipe collector and expert, who wrote quite a bit on the subject, He said that Dunhill used Corsican briar for their 'Root' finish, Calabrian for the Bruyere, and the aforementioned Algerian for the Shell, until the '70s when all was switched to Grecian, and perhaps other sources depending on availability.

Anyway, I've got a lot of pipes, and have had many more come and go. I've never left a pipe I've gotten go unsmoked, and I can guarantee they don't all smoke the same, some are better than others.

Tonight a solid helping of Bayou Morning in my Rattrays Kyloe. Not just for breakfast anymore.