OleFattBlogg

Road to hell is paved with good intentions

2010-09-26T21:44:00.002+02:00

I haven't really lived up to my last promis, but I'll try again...

Back again

2010-07-27T12:45:00.002+02:00

First of all my apologies to any reader that may be left here. It has been an unforgivably long time since I last posted anything here.
I will not try and excuse myself with anything, I have simply been neglecting this. The drive has not been enough though there has been no shortage of article ideas.
I will make an honest attempt to make up for this, and will try to publish all new pipes and tobaccos that have been bought or received as gifts for the last six months.
Again, I beg your pardon for having neglected you, the potential reader of OleFattBlog.

Meer carving

2010-01-21T13:49:00.004+01:00

Bought a REALLY cheap meerschaum pipe on eBay.

It is a clumsy rendition of a hand holding a rose, but the clumsiness of the execution leaves a lot of raw material left to try and improve!
I intended to make the petals of the rose thinner and more curled and even try and improve on the fingers and wrist of the hand. The sleeve leaves room to carve out a bracelet or even a watch.
Another project awaiting fulfilment...

Last Stanwell - from Denmark

2010-01-09T16:46:00.003+01:00

As Stanwell decided to move their factory to Italy in 2010, I decided to buy a "pre-transition" pipe before that. It came last week and I have been holding of lighting it up until I decided what to smoke in it.
Today I made my mind up to dedicate this Featherweight 242 Pot to Rattray's Red Raparree, and opened a very old tin of said weed.

Memorial Birth Year pipe from PeterWD

2009-10-17T14:12:00.002+02:00

One of the really good guys over at Smokers forums, PeterWD, went and died. Sad but true... It came as quite a shock since it was sudden, and I had an ongoing conversation with Peter about tobacco blending and so-called birth year(BY) pipes.

For those not already in the know a BY pipe is a pipe made the same year you was born. For some makers this is a piece of cake to know, since they stamp their pipes accordingly, with others you just have to know, by asking the former owner, the re-seller or the maker.

Anyway, Peter passed away and another of the SF members helped sell some of the pipes Peter had left behind. I browsed through the albums of pictures of pipes for sale, and found a BY pipe, an Old Master London Made Twin Bore Bulldog which was mint, unsmoked and in its original box!

I immediately sprung to action and bought it. It came a week or so later, and in addition to the pipe the kind seller/helper had put a generous sample of Cornell&Diehl Epiphany, a blend which is said to imitate Revelation, which in turn is said to have been Einstein's favourite tobacco of choice.

The pipe, as said before, is unsmoked, and has been laying in wait for me ever since I was born, and Peter had kept it for me, unsmoked and in mint condition. Tonight I will pack it carefully with the gifted Epiphany and light up a bowl in remembrance of a good man, and fellow SF'er.

Rest in peace Peter.

Handmade Pipe #5 - J.M. Boswell

2009-05-20T10:56:00.002+02:00

Here's a fine example of a modern American pipe carver. J.M.Boswell sells his handmade pipes on his site www.boswellpipes.com. They are extremely popular and fly off the shelves as soon as he publishes them for most of the time - and no wonder! The prices are extremely inexpensive for a very well engineered pipe.I use this "Long Prince" or semi-churchwarden for Balkans mostly, and it soon became a favourite for smoking on the balcony. A small narrow bowl, a long slender stem and weighs less than an ounce, IMHO a perfect pipe!

Handmade pipes - Dunhills

2009-04-20T10:26:00.003+02:00

Dunhill is the "Rolls-Royce of pipes" or at least so do many think. It has been something for a newbie smoker to aspire for - on of those unobtainable pipes. These days, or rather a few years ago, it was possible to get "estate" (fancier word for "used") Dunhills on eBay at a fraction of the cost they once carried.

I managed to buy a couple of varying quality.

Here's my Group 1 (smallest size bowl there is) Dunhill Billiard Root Briar. It is from 1968 (Dunhill started stamping their pipes early on with patent no:s and other no:s, and adopted a very easy system in 1960 which was year Zero, marked accordingly with a "0" after the "Made in England" stamp), obvious from the "8" stamp.

Tobacco jar in cast iron

2009-03-20T12:42:00.002+01:00

It weighs about 3 kg I have been told! It has an inner lid to press down the contents and thereby preserve moisture. It has a Latin sentence on it:
Inter bibendum large fumandum.

Inter -- preposition: "among, during, while"
bibendum -- verbal noun (gerund) formed from bibo bibere, to drink: "drinking"
large -- adverb: "largely, plentifully, abundantly"
fumandum (est) -- verbal adjective used in the so-called passive periphrastic, formed from fumo fumare, to smoke: "you should smoke, it is necessary to smoke"

There are no conjugations per se in this quotation. Est is left out at the end, but understood to be there, as is typical of Roman style. Whoever made this phrase knew his Latin.

Can't wait to get it in my ManCave!

Man Cave developing

2009-03-03T00:05:00.003+01:00

I have made some new arrangements to my Man Cave where I sit and smoke my pipes.
In the larger room, I cleared out all the boxes and whatnot that were just occupying precious space, and instead installed my new pool table!

Yup, it is a dinky one and the balls do not roll and bounce like on a tournament table, but STILL! I now have set up a little "cosy corner" (seen in the picture) with two chairs, some pipes and tobacco, my fly tying stuff (even a "guest" vice) and my little fridge stuffed with beer... Let the pool games begin!

Forerunners of spring

2009-02-27T12:00:00.002+01:00

I don't know what they are called in English but a straight translation from Swedish would be "snowdrops". They carry the happy message that soon, really soon now the winter is over, and spring is coming.

I spotted this little bunch today on my daily walk with Rufus, the Swedish vallhund, and had to share it with you!

After the walk I made a cuppa and went out on our south-facing balcony. Brought out a wicker chair and stuffed my Boswell Prince with a Balkan (which one it is in my little tin can, I have now forgotten, but I am guessing it is Erinmore...) and sat down with Rufus happy by my side.

I had almost forgotten how lovely it is to just sit in the sun, drink some hot coffee and smoke a bowl as an hour passes by - bliss!

Handmade pipe #4 - Bjarne Nielsen

2009-02-25T01:49:00.003+01:00

This pipe I bought at my B&M when Bjarne was there on a visit to show his pipes and tobaccos - and to meet his customers! I had a nice chat with him and bought this pipe from him because of the shape and the grain which I think is extraordinary!

It is a Prince (of sorts) and apart from the lovely grain it also has a partial rustication underneath, at the heel of the bowl. It is a great smoker even though the bowl is about as big as I can stand them. I use it for Balkans and Englishs.

I don't think that Bjarne has done this pipe himself (in his last years he didn't do too many pipes from what I have heard) but rather he has designed it - in principal - and let someone from his team of excellent pipemakers and -designers do it. That's OK by me - it is still a handmade...

Handmade pipe #3 - Mastro de Paja

2009-02-23T10:35:00.003+01:00

This pipe I found in a candy store that had just changed owners. The pipe had been on display in a three-pipe stand for quite some time and no-one had bought it from the former owner. He had probably sighed, shrugged his shoulders and stowed it away, and over time forgotten about its existence until it was time to sell the store. The chaps that bought the store didn't intend to continue selling pipes, at least not expensive ones.

It had been sun bleached on one side of the rim and there was a small nick in the rim so I got it quite cheap. I dusted it off, cleaned it and gave it a good rub with some Carnauba wax before I smoked it the first time. These actions all restored it to its former glory (apart from the nick in the rim).

It is a very typical MdeP in shape, and it is a 3C with a Sun stamp. It has a golden spot in the stem and a gold ring. It is one of the straightest grains that I own (together with the Burak below).

Handmade pipe #2 - Ed Burak

2009-02-23T10:07:00.002+01:00

This pipe I bought straight from the man himself, in Ed Burak's Connoisseur Shop in New York, on my birthday, as a gift to myself. I spent a good two hours chatting with this very knowledgeable and charming man, about pipes, shapes, making, tools and later about tobacco blending (came out of his shop carrying not only the pipe but 2 lbs of different bulk tobaccos of his own blending).

Mr Buraks pipes are well known in the pipe community and he is also represented in art museums etc with his work. One thing that does set him apart from other makers (other than his extraordinary craftsmanship) is the fact that he never stains his pipes, and that he does not care about sand pits and other "flaws" in the wood as long as they don't disturb the smoking qualities.

That is not the same as to say that ALL his pipes have pits etc, but it does give the more "ordinary" collector (such as myself) a chance of smoking a really well-engineered pipe from a truly great pipe maker at a fraction of the price his "flawless" pipes demand.

My pipe is a Prince made of really old and hard briar, so hard in fact that the end of the tenon turned black when Ed was drilling it. It also has a colour shift from light to dark on the outside of the bowl which Ed explained came from the briar being so old. He also pointed out certain features that made the Prince shape such a beautiful shape, things I hadn't thought of before but which I now collate on every Prince pipe I stumble upon...

Handmade Pipe #1 - Ronny Thunér

2009-02-23T09:43:00.002+01:00

This pipe I acquired in a trade with a fellow member on Smokers Forums. It is an early pipe from Ronny, and I have discussed it briefly with him by mail after I got it.

As any artisan looking at his early work, Ronny said that he wasn't totally pleased with the way it came out, if he had done it today he would hav made it different etc, but to me it is a real beauty.

Ronny also offered to "spiff it up" at no extra cost, as the real gentleman he is, if I would send it to him but I declined. I think it looks just great the way it is, and as with any work of art, you shouldn't really mess with it once it is finished, even if it is the artisan himself who does the "messing" ;)

Handmade pipes Pt1

2009-02-23T09:26:00.002+01:00

I just wanted to show you some of the handmade pipes I have in my collection. Very few pipes are actually 100% handmade, depending on what you put into that definition. Most makers do use a drill, sander, and some other macines, some use a lathe, others again use milling machines etc etc.

I think of handmades as opposed to machine-made pipes, where NC or other computerised/mechanic machines form a pipe out of a piece of briar wood, disregarding the wood's structure, grain etc.

Instead my handmades are made by a person, the maker, who has chosen a shape for that specific piece of briar, worked it to find flaws, oddities like sand pits etc and maybe had to discard one or more pieces until a pipe bowl appeared as the maker had intended it from that piece of wood.

Probably the maker also made the stem, maybe from a rod of some plastic material that was formed using whatever tools/machinery necessary to create just the stem to fit that stummel that would then cohese into a truly handmade pipe.

There is a lot more work involved in creating a handmade pipe, such as staining, sanding, possibly sandblasting and/or rusticating etc etc, but these are the basics that go into what I call a handmade pipe.

Paraphernalia aquisition

2009-02-17T16:05:00.003+01:00

I bid on this Laguiole pipe lighter and won it. It came in a belt holster (which I find too geeky to use) and it is absolutely gorgeous!
I have some problems keeping the gas in (the lighter, that is), and it tends to leak a little bit from the bottom every time I light it up, but what the heck, I'll live with that now that I got such a stately lighter to adorn the pipe desk in my ManCave!

Back by popular demand

2009-02-16T09:12:00.002+01:00

Sorry if I haven't been blogging lately, life tends to have a way of getting in between me and my pipe blogging.
I have made a few new aqusitions, a Pete Meer (more with pix later), a bunch of tobaccos ffom different sources (l8r) and some other stuff.
Today though this is just a life sign and a few random pipe shots for your enjoyment...

The Chacom is dead - long live the Chacom!

2008-12-10T11:16:00.005+01:00

Went out to get a Christmas tree and brought the dog. On my way home carrying a potted Juniper, I let him run loose. As we approached home I decided to put him back on the leash. Balancing the pot and tree I bent over sideways to reach down to my little Swedish Vallhund´s collar I more felt than heard something snap in my pocket.

Drat! I thought but of course forgot about it 'til it was time for another bowl. As I pulled out my Chacom Superflamme from the small pen case I use for my pipes, I remembered that snapping sensation, but it looked as if it had lasted OK.

As soon as I touched the stem though, the shank crumbled and two smallish pieces of briar fell into the high, dry grass surrounding the log where I had sat down to smoke. Blast! I managed to shove the stem tenon into what was left of the mortise enough to smoke it one last time as I wept (metaphorically) over its demise.

A few days later I was out with my daughter hunting Xmas presents (havent bouhgt more than one yet) we entered the arcade/shopping mall where Brobergs, my B&M of choice is located in Gothenburg. Daughter wanted to go into a store for posters and other knick-knack so I suggested that she could decide the first store then I could choose the second (cunning little sneak I am;)).

She agreed, and for the next half hour I was looking at Simpsons posters and mugs, Manga, cute little fur balls and whatnot with the absent mind of a prisoner on the day he is about to be released. After that she said: "OK, let's go to Brobergs and get it over with"!

I shouldn't be surprised - I am transparent to her, and this one was probably TOO obvious. We went there and I spoke to the fluff bearded youth behind the counter who smilingly helped me choose a new Chacom. At first he wanted to sell me a pipe from the slightly more expensive line, but I soon found a nice Chacom Match Prince. I even found two specimens and was quick to get the one with the nicer grain!

At 30 grams, and the nice natural finish it almost reminds me of the Superflamme which I have put away in the ManCave, awaiting inspiration for its repair...

SF POY 08 Rad Davis Pt II (Pix)

2008-11-11T17:10:00.002+01:00

Rad Davis SF POY 2008

2008-11-10T10:38:00.002+01:00

I was lucky enough to be one of the 62 (?) members of Smokers' Forums who managed to order one of the Pipes of the Year 2008 by Rad Davis before they ran out!
It was by far the most expensive pie I have ever bought and the fact that the Swedish customs intercepted the package and demanded a ridiculous VAT/Toll of app $55 didn't help cheapen it :(

When I got it I soon forgot about the petty cash trivia however, since this is a BEAUTIFUL pipe! Rad is famous for his sandblasts (among other things), and this was a great example of his work. Haven't had the time to photograph MY specimen yet, so the picture is of a "generic" SF POY (if the expression may be allowed). Might return with close-ups of my great swirling ringblast when time permits...

Air purifier - new age stuff that works?

2008-09-30T23:48:00.006+02:00

Check this out. What is it? A bug? A sex toy? No, it is the XJ-800 Silent Ionic Air Purifier For Vehicle.
I was becoming desperate for a solution to get rid of the "OleGeezer" stench in the ManCave. Not that it bothered ME, hell no, but SWMBO hated it with a vengeance. We were almost on the brink of getting into a fight over my right to smoke in my ManCave!

I had pondered aromatic candles but naah, a bit to girly for my tastes and then there was also the risk for a fire accident.

I checked out air purifiers, and was chocked at the kind of money they were asking even for the portable solutions. As I stumbled upon the XJ-800 I first just laughed at the spin:
"The XJ-800 needlepoints produce optimal negative ion levels. Your car can be among the most polluted atmospheres. You and other passengers can spend hours breathing the irritating and polluted air filled with smog, exhaust, pollen, dust, bacteria and other contaminants. With our XJ-800 you can breath air as clean and fresh as waterfall air even in your car. "

Yeah. And a tape recorder with whale song and a crystal mobile swinging from the ceiling I would probably soon be in touch with the inner leprechaun. Something about the pseudo(?)-scientific tone did ring a bell inside my befuddled mind. Ionizing?

I read on:
"Better air improves your health, energy, and mood. At Yosemite Falls, you’ll experience over 100,000 negative Ions per cubic centimeter. On the other hand, the level is far below 100 per cubic centimeter on the Los Angeles freeways during rush hour. With the XJ-800, you can experience air in Yosemite Fall while driving on a rush hour."

Well. I absolutely L-U-R-V running water in a stream, and a waterfall is even better. Might be that the Ions actually are playing a part in that?

"The XJ-800’s uniquely designed electrostatic charged rings efficiently absorb airborne dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander and cigarette smoke near around."

Cigarette smoke, huh? Might just work on pipe smoke to, no? It cost a ridiculously low sum to order so I went ahead and did it. It arrived only a few days later with an extra Adaptor for a wall outlet, so I plugged it in. There was a slight buzz and I could se some iridescent sparks inside of it! Apparently it was shooting out Ions.

Let it sit in the ManCave over night and went down the next evening. What a shocking difference! It felt the same way it does after lightning has struck in an area and the rain has stopped! Fresh, yay invigorating almost! and the stale smell of old smoke was almost all gone! I could still feel those subtle aromas from the tobacco stored in the man cave but none of that "old geezer" smell!

I rang the guy who ran the website that had sold me the XJ-800 up, and told him. He giggled like a little school girl and said in a ridicoulusly high-pitched voice "Yes, they are quite effective!"
He must have inhaled Ions for a bit too long.

Necessity is the mother of invention

2008-09-30T23:07:00.002+02:00

Even though I have sealed off my man cave thoroughly with rubber sealing in the doorway, bought a cataclysmic air purifier and everything, I STILL got complaints from SWMBO about the smell when I had been down there, smoking.
"It reeks as of an old geezer down there" she whined. Well, I thought, but kept my trap shut.

So I decided to do something about it. I had already bought a cheap table top fan, there was a ventilation hole in the wall so all I needed to do was to bring the two together, but how?

On my way bicycling home from work the skies opened and rain poured down so I went into one of those big flowershops just to look around and dry up a bit. Something circular and green in plastic caught my eye. It was a funnel for filling up garden watering cans. The narrow end was split in two so that you could fit the handle in between and still pour water into it.

It was just what I needed to build my new table fan holder ventilation funnel shaft thingamajiggy. I bought it and went home.

In my man cave I cut out a baffle plate from an old cardboard box and fitted it to the split funnel. I then showed the entire contraption into the ventilation hole where I had rigged up some wiring to keep it all in place.

I took a step back and checked it out. It looked like something a speed freak would have dreamt up in a blizzard heatwave. I strapped the fan to it, plugged it in and got most of the air straight back in the face. No good.

I took the whole contraption down again, but changed my mind and put it back up. What this thing needed was some constriction. I took the plastic bag that I had carried the funnel back home in and teared open a bit between the handles so that I could fit it around the fan and funnel without blocking the air intake. Instant success!

Only thing now was that it changed the look into something that had mated with a jellyfish. The plastic bag was immediately blown up and helping constrict the airflow down back into the funnel and it looked really cheap-o.

But it works! Function before form...

One step forward, two steps back

2008-09-29T12:56:00.002+02:00

Made an investment in a power file from Black&Decker, hoping it would solve my sanding needs in pipe making. Full of excitement I went ahead with the latest perfectly drilled briar block, a 20 yrs old piece.

I was really happy with the way the drilling had turned out dead center bottom line with this one. I clamped the file in a vice and turned it on. It made a hell of a racket to tell the truth but I strapped on my goggles and started filing away.

Whoosh! there went a good piece of the superfluous wood to the left and Whoosh! to the right. Darned powerful action there, and the Cyclon DID seem to pick up at least 75-80% of the dust.

I did a few more Whoosh!es and too soon i was back to hand filing and sanding to finish off the bowl. I sat for a good hour fixing it up and then decided to take of a bit more of the stem "cause it looked so clunky". Big mistake.

I did a bit of the stem on the bottom and a bit on the top and before I knew it, the tip of the file ate into the wall of the bowl with a very satisfied Whoosh!

I held the bowl to the light and immediately spotted where it had eaten itself in. The area was now glowing with light from the top of the smoking chamber revealing the paper-thin wall that was left...

Ah, well. There's plenty more briar where that came from. I then lifted my eyes to the rest of the ManCave and discovered that 10% of the dust NOT taken care of by the cyclone were hanging in the air or silently setting on every somewhat horizontal plane that existed.

Red briar dust. On the clock, on the lamp, on the carpet, on the drawer, well simply put EVERYWHERE. I sighed.

Sanding problem solved but a bit of practice will be needed. Dust problem remains, at least 10% which is bad enough I found out. Pipe embryo sacrificed, and a new briar needed to start all over again...

Finally got a bamboo!

2008-09-28T15:21:00.003+02:00

Scouring eBay for affordable 3-knuckle bamboos I finally struck gold! Mario Grandi must have picked up on my brainwaves when he gave up his usually wild designs to fulfil my search dreams with this virgin bamboo Dublin (or by any means "close" to a Dublin). I made the initial bid and won it!
Wohoo!
It even came with box, a bag and an extra stem! As a fellow SF:er put it, I can now decide "to boo, or not to boo" ;)

New (mini) pipe stand and tobacco jars

2008-09-10T15:07:00.002+02:00

Found this on eBay didn't cost a fortune but shipping cost $20 :(

Re-decorating the ManCave

2008-08-28T17:50:00.003+02:00

Well summer's almost gone and it's time to start to plan ahead for the days when you don't wanna sit on the balcony nomore to enjoy your daily pipe.
I got to a fair start this spring before summer hit with full force and vacation and travelling and puppys and whatnot.
I just threw everythin in down there and left enough room to sit down somewhere - but now I feel like it is being a bit helter-skelter.
There needs to be at least three, maybe four stations;
1. The smoke station
2. The fly-tying station (these two could probably be combined)
3. The workshop (for making pipes and all sorts of small work)
4. The guest corner (this is something that might not be prioritized, haven't had that many guests yet...)

To top it off I would want to set upp a small writer's corner (could be the same as 1/2 above) with a computer and possibly a flat wall-screen, and this COULD also develop into a small studio... Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, there is some stuff that I need to cram in there - I took some pictures today to help me plan.

Sample praise

2008-08-28T17:41:00.002+02:00

Sent some samples of the "old" OleFattBalkan and OleFattEnglish to P, a fellow member of Smokers' Forums. To my delight he really liked them!!
Now I am waiting for Greg Pease or Craig Tarler to get in touch ;)

Home Blending

2008-08-11T19:14:00.002+02:00

I have recently started to interest myself in the why's and how's of tobacco blending. I have even started out on a really small scale to do my own blends that I jokularly have branded "OleFatt[blendName goes here]".
So far I have made OleFattBalkan (a mix that focuses on Orientals/VA/Latakia) and OleFattEnglish (a mixture that focuses on VA/Latakia/Oriental/SecretCondiments).

The two little tins have been cellaring over the summer and I have tried (Oh how I have tried) not to open them and smoke. I have failed miserably. I HAD to try the two at least a couple of times on the way (thereby spoiling any chance of anaerobic ageing, but well, you can't please'em all).

They taste really good IMHO, but then again I am fairly biased. Will send of a few small samples to people for reviews really soon now...

Anyway, I have ordered and recieved more blending tobacco and will make up slightly bigger batches and also introduce the OleFattVaPer and the OleFattOriental.

Meer coloring - that's it!

2008-08-05T17:02:00.002+02:00

The question about the proper way of coloring your Meerschaum pipe has been around for a while :D

Long vacation - little smoke

2008-07-30T21:22:00.002+02:00

Summing it up :
Bought a Dr Grabow Duke in Pisa, Italy together with a couple of baccys.
Ordered a Paronelli pipe on eBay and got no less than four (4!) pipes for the price of one.
Ordered more blending tobacco from 4noggins to continue my home blending adventure (so far both my English and my Balkan homeblends are doing just fine).

My B-day present from E!

2008-04-26T18:16:00.004+02:00

Well. It seems I must have been doing SOMETHING right. This Friday, as I was sitting on the balcony revving down after a tiresome week, E came out with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. She was obviously holding something that was to be a surprise - and it sure was!
It turns out that she had been working hard in wood working class in school, trying to get something finished in time for my birthday, but missed the deadline... Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense, here it was, and it was a beautiful little pipe stand made of copper and wood, and with a clever 360-degrees swivelling design!
Thanks a lot E, that is possibly the finest present I have gotten so far!! I will treasure it just as much as I treasure your other wood/metalworking present - the bottle opener!
*The girl obviously knows her dad's interest :D *

Meer coloring finished

2008-04-17T13:20:00.002+02:00

I decided to interrupt the Meer coloring experiment that I have had going for about a year now.
The Dragon Claw is beginning to look fine now, and I decided that it should get its remaining color potential by "ordinary" means (i.e. smoking it).
Here's what it looks like now (the one in the middle, doh. The other two are all but unsmoked).

Pete 313 Refurb complete(?)

2008-04-11T23:34:00.002+02:00

Well I changed the old P-Lip that I couldn't get right on the Pete 313 (see further below). Instead I fitted the bowl with the shiny new fishtail that I had ordered from Angela at Peterson's of Sallynoggin. I am quite pleased with the result:
Before and after.

Pete Stem found!

2008-04-11T23:33:00.001+02:00

Well, today I found the parcel from Petersons on top of the shelf in the hallway, put there by my daughter last Tuesday.
- Oh, that's right, dad, it's for you.
Ah, well. Inside was not only a fresh F/T stem for my 313, but also four foil packs with samples:
- Irish Whiskey
- Old Dublin
- Irish Oak
- University Flake

Seems this weekend will be a Pete weekend!

Oh, and I will add pix of the 313 with the stem attached ASAP.

2008-04-06T19:27:00.003+02:00

Had a great time sorting my pipes and considering where and how to display them - I need more racks!
Added a small radio to the setup for starters, I have plans of getting a computer and speakers and Wi-Fi down there in due time - just not right now :D

Finally - a Man Cave worthy of the name

2008-04-06T19:00:00.003+02:00

At long last I managed to get in the time window to have my man cave cleared out (sacrificed the sea trout premiere, but the weather was really rotten so I didn't mind).

Pulled out all the old garbage and redistributed it to the other rooms ;) so I could do the first sweeping out of the room. Found some old floor planks that I could fit into the inner compartment ("the smoke room") but decided to mop the floor first. It was dirty. After that the floor planks went on, and a rug in the work shop. SWMBO inspected to make sure it was clean enough.

Found an old table that will serve well as workbench for making pipes, and a smaller piece of furniture that will serve well in the smoke room for fly tying business.

Unpacked the pipes and put the on a big drawer desk after having sorted them out...

Salt treatment - picture

2008-04-06T18:57:00.003+02:00

Here it is easy to see that the salt+spirit works. The Pete bowl had a lot of gunk in it...

Stem mishap on the Ole Pete

2008-04-05T18:16:00.000+02:00

Well when you look at the pictures of the stem (se earlier "Refurb" post below) you might think to yourself:
- No way is that gonna come back to its earlier glory!
And you are right.

I did my best on this stem, but the end results were so-so, so I decided to order a replacement stem(since all Pete System pipes have a push fit, sometimes referred to as a Military you don't have to send in your pipe to get a stem that fits) directly from Peterson. I have sent them a mail explaining my situation, and that I really don't want a P-lip but rather a fishtail mouthpiece. Now I don't now if there even exists a system replacement stem without the P-lip, but if I get a P-lip I will "mod" it like I have previously done on my Pete Tankard.

Cleaning out the bowl

2008-03-23T16:16:00.002+01:00

The "Bonus" 313 Pete (see below) was rather yucky on the inside, so I had to ream it down a bit, but that still didn't help so I decided to try the old salt-and-liquor trick.

It is done by filling the bowl with salt and wetting it with the strongest neutral liquor you got available. Well, I had bought a small flask of 60% (120 proof) Explorer Vodka on the boat from Norway for just this kind of stuff!

I balanced the bowl without the stem in a small Alessi ashtray that was just made for the purpose, it seemed. I then filled the bowl with rough salt and topped it with finer salt that I vibrated down in between the coarser grains until both the sump and the tobacco chamber both were packed with salt.

I used a shot glass and a straw to dispense just about the right amount to thoroughly moisten the salt so as to not let the bowl run over.

I then sat it to the side for about five hours. I had a bit of a chore getting all the salt out as some of it had staled and hardened in the smoke channel between the chamber and the sump (after all, the 313 IS a system pipe, right?).

I had to pour some more vodka down into it and splosh it a round a bit as I poked into the black mess with a pipe cleaner. Finally it broke lose and I could rinse the bowl once more with vodka which came out looking more like rum...

Attempt to refurb

2008-03-23T16:06:00.003+01:00

In an eBay strike of gold the other week I purchased a pipe rack. As a bonus, I received all the six pipes that were in it. They were all fairly worn and dirty, but one shape caught my eye. Could it be...? Yes, indeed a Peterson System 313!

It was smooth and bleached with lots of paled bird's eye to one side and a metal ring reading "K&P PETERSON'S" and three hallmarks that are kinda vague but could resemble a pentagram or a shamrock, a cat or fox lying down and a lighthouse or a mushroom on it.
On the wood there is "Peterson" in an arch over "...YSTEM" in an arch over "...ANDARD". Parts of the text are gone.

On the other side it says "MADE IN THE" over "REPUBLIC" over "OF IRELAND" over "313".

The P-lip stem is heavily oxidised and a cafe-au-lait light brown color, and has some indentations close to the button.

I'll make an attempt to bring this pipe back to life as soon as possible - keep an eye out for a report...

Bornholm pipemaker

2008-03-17T08:10:00.002+01:00

Went to Bornholm, Denmark, for a late winter/early spring sea trout fishing trip with my brother and two friends. Had a great time though the conditions were tricky. Windy and cold weather made casting and fishing a chore. Water held only 4,6 C which means the fish were sluggish to say the least.
We got along pretty well anyway in our rented cottage cooking food, drinking beer and having a good time in the evenings, accompanied by many pipes. three out of four smokes a pipe so we decided to try and find time to see the famous pipe maker on the island, and check out his lovely little combined workshop/shop in Svaneke on the NE of Bornholm.

The days passed by as we fished blank, and suddenly it was Saturday lunch. Let's go to Thurmann's! It was closed. We left on Sunday.

The pipes looked great though, and I got to see Björn's famous Fly Fisherman's Pipe which includes a stem made of a piece of a split-cane (bamboo) fly rod and some feathers from the famous (but now very rare and therefore protected as wild, the feathers can be gotten at a high price from farms specialising in) jungle cock.
Just my cup of tea! but a tad pricey for my budget...

Last Bjarne pipe

2008-02-29T16:03:00.001+01:00

A new pipe is always a thing of joy.
I must admit though that yesterday I was going through some mixed emotions buying one.

I started out on Wednesday when I walked into Brobergs - just looking - while i was waiting for my family. The guy behind the desk greeted me with "I've just the pipe for you" and waved towards the wall cupboard as he kept selling stuff to some of the other guys. I walked up and almost immediately knew which one he meant. A smallish freehand of a certain kind - I think the shape is sometimes referred to as a Whale(?) which had a really nice grain, shape and tint.
I still looked at it as my family came to pick me up. "You're right" I called back leaving the store, "it IS beautiful!". "Yeah, I knew you got good taste!" was the answer from behind the counter.

Yesterday lunch I came back to the B&M with a friend who bought some cigars, and had to check out the pipe again. "No" I told myself, "you've promised yourself not to..." as another clerk asked me "A new pipe today maybe?". I smiled and shrugged turning my pockets inside out to indicate my current financial situation after I moved into a new place.

I went back to the office and worked away the whole afternoon til I got a break in the evening, when I surfed to SF, only to be greated by the sad news that Bjarne Nielsen had passed away!

I stood right up, went down to the B&M, picked up my credit card and bought the Bjarne I had been admiring for the last two days. I also bought a 100g tin of Bjarne's The special one Flake.

After a late evening meeting I went home, kissed the daughter goodnight and sat out on the late winter balcony to stuff the pipe with the tobacco. I raised it to Bjarne and smoked in silence. What a pipe. What a baccy. What a shame.

Tomorrow is the International Pipesmoking Day

2008-02-19T15:59:00.001+01:00

Check out the website here...

2008-02-08T16:37:00.000+01:00

There is a new web site up!
Do check it out!

International Pipe-Smoking Day 20 Feb

2008-01-23T09:47:00.000+01:00

As a way of increasing awareness around responsible use of tobacco by informed adults, the International Pipe-Smoking Day has been declared to take place on the 20th of February!

Celebrate the day by smoking a pipe (or indeed several) in public on that day! I sure will!

Bought a Boswell

2008-01-15T17:20:00.001+01:00

Having heard so much good stuff about the handmade Boswells on smokersforums.org, I went over to the site (http://www.boswellpipes.com)only to find this lovely prince at a really reasonable price.

Brother where art thou

2008-01-15T09:17:00.000+01:00

Finally managed to take the pictures of my Yello-Bole pair:

New-old finding

2007-12-27T15:17:00.000+01:00

I went to this farm this year again, to take care of three horses, two dogs, one cat and one goat(!).

When I packed I decided to bring the hood cap sweater my S.O had given me a month or two ago, but which I had only worn once. As I got to the farm I put it on and there was a small bulge in one of the pockets. I reached in to pull out - my long since missing brand-new estate honey-cured Yello-Bole Prince! I had been missing it ever since I bought it off of eBay!

The funny thing is that I already have an exact miniature of this pipe, also an unsmoked honey-cured Yello-Bole prince. I have been planning to take a picture of them both in pristine state. side-by-side with their remarcably yellow innards of the bowls and until then I cannot bring myself to smoke it (if indeed even then).

I shall take a picture as soon as I get back home so that you will be able to see them. Can't wait.

Oh, and I had to buy another pipe. A Dollar "Singel Lyx", a Swedish-made pipe with a construction not unlike the Falcon only no aluminium stem, but rather a nylon one. The only metal on the pipe is a ring under the bowl which helps give a more secure seal to the stem/dome of it. It's a nice, very strict classic Billiard with some nice flame grain, and at app. $20 price a fabulous smoker!
I do recommend it to anyone who enjoys smoking metal pipes like Falcon, Alco, Kirsten and what have you...

'Tis a season to be jolly...

2007-11-26T09:53:00.000+01:00

Had to bring you a couple of Santa pix to use for your X-Mas cards:

New Northern Briars (Smoker's Forum) pipe I

2007-11-07T21:13:00.000+01:00

I had ordered a smooth regal cut Lovat with a silver ring, when the 2007 SF pipes were up for ordering in maybe April this year. Well, today I got it!
It is a smidgen larger than I had expected which is a bit of a disappointment but - on the other hand maybe this pipe will be the one that shows me why the classic English Latakia mixtures always were smoked in larger (wider) bowls as they used to be. And this one is a classic though I am not sure it is exactly a Lovat - more of a chubby Billiard is the general opinion on the forums.

New Northern Briars (Smoker's Forum) pipe II

2007-11-07T21:08:00.000+01:00

And here's what was hiding inside the wrapper, box, bag and paper:

New Package from USA

2007-10-16T13:01:00.000+02:00

This morning I went to the post office to collect a cute little parcel, which contained 2 Yello-boles ("Imperial") Princes and 2 Medicos (1 Apollo kinda Zulu, one Medalist Rhodesian).

Both Yello-Boles were unsmoked, one of them had a little sticker covering the bowl that said Cured with honey Guaranteed not to burn through, or something to that effect. Its bowl had this little decoration rusticated lines swirling along its walls.

I gave that one away to a colleague (spreading the wealth) who was quite happy as he only owned one pipe previously! He said he would smoke it tonight.

Oh and some images. I forgot to take them before I gave one away, so here are the three remaining.

The Medico Apollo does not appear to be made of briar(?) but rather some Bakelite or something so, even though it has a nice appearance I am a little wary of smoking it.

The Yello-Bole Prince is a deadringer of the miniature one I got in an earlier buy, though I wasn't aware I was buying a miniature then. This one I don't wanna smoke (just yet) until I get a picture of them both side by side.

Leaves me with the Rhodesian from Medico. This I might just smoke as soon as I get out to lunch!

My royal ancestry...

2007-10-12T09:52:00.000+02:00

Can't let go of this!

%1

Bizarre huh?

Modded the P-lip of my Pete Tankard

2007-10-07T17:17:00.000+02:00

Have never liked the Peterson invention, the P-lip, designed to aim the smoke away from your tongue (and unfortunately right up in your palate or the ridge behind your front teeth, scolding it to blisters).
That is a reason that I haven't smoked my otherwise lovely Tankard as much as I should.
Another reason is that the dipping stain they do gives the smoke a weird extra taste for AT LEAST the first ten bowls.
WEll anyway, I went to work with my trusty old pockey knife and soon the smoke stream had changed direction, without me destroying the overall crescent profile of the P-lip stem! Happy happy, Joy joy!

Straight Grain all round (even inside)!

2007-09-11T22:46:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to show the straight grain inside the bowl before I put a flame to the first tobacco in it, hiding it for ever (or at least until next rough reaming)...
And also an overall image showing it in profile.

New Chacom!

2007-09-11T22:36:00.001+02:00

I won this little beauty (Chacom Superflamme 305) on eBay last week.
It is pretty petite (check out the Bic pen for comparison)but with thick walls proportionally. It will (hopefully) be a grand replacement for the Chacom Prince I have been mourning since I lost it last X-mas (Santa must have stole it!).
The pipe is a straight grain in a natural stain, and there's even straight grain inside the bowl (pretty natural, but ...)!

Meer colouration

2007-09-09T15:41:00.001+02:00

I have had my DragonClaw Meerschaum in a tin can, using this method to colourize it faster, than by merely smoking it (which can take forever). When I first started the colouring I had smoked the pipe maybe some twenty times and it had only turned a slight pinkish hue as in the first picture.
By now it has stayed in the tin for almost half a year, and I may have smoked it up to another fifty times (not sure),but more importantly, I have filled the tin with smoke from my other pipes every time I have remembered to do so when lighting up and seeing the tin: "Yeah, that's right, the Meer colouring in the tin" (second picture). I have taken a deep sip, and gently twisting the lid open by a fraction of an inch, filled the tin with smoke and closed it again. Sometimes I have even ended the smoke session by repeating this.
Well, now it seems my hard work ;) has payed off (third and fourth picture). The Meer is a nice "old bone" yellow overall and some of the carvings are starting to turn brown, especially in the shank. I have re-waxed the pipe once in this period and this seemed to help the colouring a lot, even though it soon paled back to where it is now. The only concern I have now, is the fact that the saturation of the colouring seems "inverted" so to speak as to what one would have expected if the pipe had coloured form the inside out. The crevices and cuttings are lighter then the ridges of the carving!

"Cheapness ... "

2007-09-06T16:22:00.000+02:00

"... in the case of a monster movie has nothing to do with the budget of the film, although it helps!" as Frank Zappa stated.
I started dreaming up plans of having my Friend Simon build me a tailor-made pipe cabinet, only to realize that IKEA have ruined my perception of furniture prices forever.
I am too cheap to have him make it for me... and it saddens me.

Bought a copy

2007-08-29T10:33:00.001+02:00

Yesterday I did a first. I bought a pipe exactly the same as one I had previously.
I have tried to find a good picture on the Internet but to no avail.
I did find some old pictures I had taken with my cell phone cam so you'll have to excuse the quality.

Baccy disapointments

2007-08-20T11:55:00.000+02:00

Don't know if it is the current weather, my pipe hygiene or body chemistry, but lately, the last three-four weeks I haven't been able to enjoy a good bowl of smoke.
Nothing works.
I have tried a variety of blends from overtly sweet X-mas mixes to heavy Latakia blends such as GLP Abingdon but none seem to please my palate in the long run. First puffs are OK, mid bowl I start to get a strong burning sensation and I haven't been able to finish a bowl in weeks.
Yesterday I had a bit of luck with Balkan Sasieni of which I had ONE bowlful left in my sampler pack, but afterwards my gums were all "cottony" and I had to resort to ice cream to dampen the tingling sensation somewhat.
Bummer.

New Tobacco

2007-08-17T16:22:00.001+02:00

Sauda revisited (En flygtning krydser sit spor)

2007-08-12T16:26:00.000+02:00

This year we finally, finally managed to get away to Norway for that fishing trip which used to be an annual event in the 90's until family, work and other grown-up stuff stopped us from going.
The title of this posting allures to the Aksel Sandemose novel which describes the Jante law, which probably could just as well have been written in Sauda... or Trollhättan or any Scandinavian small town for that matter.
Anyway, this will mostly be a photo blog posting, suffice it to say that I got the most and largest fish this time which only goes to tell that lick can change, and hopefully, one gets better at doing something if one persistently keeps on doing it for ten years.
I lost in poker and Yatzy though.

Comoy turned Dunhill

2007-07-18T14:33:00.000+02:00

Remember the Comoy I told you about that I was gonna get from a member of the SF?
Well it turned out that it was too good to be true. Somehow the package of three Comoys for me to choose from never turned up.
The guys who were after me in turn to get the package started worrying and I tried to get hold of the first receiver of the package, but to no avail. I told them, and the original donor this, and he replied by letting us choose from a bunch of spanking new Dunhills to make up for our "loss" (now I mean we didn't PAY to get the pipes or anything so it doesn't really qualify as a loss does it?)!
What a swell guy!
I chose a Bulldog as my very first brand spanking new Dunhill!

Meer carving

2007-07-18T14:14:00.000+02:00

Bought a Meer carving kit off eBay. It came with a small practice block so I thought I'd give it a go. It had to soak in water for an hour which made the block slimy, and then it had to dry back to a manageable state for almost 24 hours.
I sat down an thought about what to make of it. Then it struck me! I would carve a "oculus draconis" talisman for my eleven-year-old daughter who loves everything about dragons.
I started out using a Dremel with some filing and drilling bits but it turned out that the scalpel-like knife that was supplied in the kit was actually easier to work with. The Meer itself was in its soaked state resembling soap or old cheese to cut in. it didn't offer much resistance so the difficulty lay in being really careful not to slice off too much.
I carved the eye and all the ridges around it and then I used the Dremel again to make something that resembles (at least close) scales. I drilled a hole through it and manufactured some kind of hanging contraption using steel wire.
I think it came out rather nice and now it's just gotta dry out for 24 hrs to retain its shiny whiteness and then it must be waxed.

BlingBling in TransGender buy

2007-05-14T17:49:00.000+02:00

I like small bowls. In fact my best smoking pipe is a BigBen Lectura which is sometimes referred to as a Ladies' pipe. So when I found this beauty on eBay I didn't hesitate (more than two hours) to bid on it. I seem to have been the only one interested so I won! It's a Savinelli STARLET Lady Pipe, of the KINGS CROSS FEATHER WEIGHT persuasion.
I think it's a great looking pipe and the rhinestone ring around the stem/tenon only makes it cooler IMO.

Got some new Ornsby Bowls!

2007-05-14T17:27:00.001+02:00

Found these on eBay. Got them at a good price, and by now I have almost every known bowl design (and some duplicates).
When I packed the parcel up I found a handwritten letter saying that the (very kind) seller had found an extra bowl, and that he added it to the deal at no extra cost...!
The extra bowl was a Smooth Natural, which I haven't seen before, so it was extra nice.
I have given them all a Paragon/Halcyon waxing and they have taken over a pipe stand of their own. I'm thinking of ordering/making one that will display the 2 stems separately and have 6 bowl slots.

Won a Comoy (my first!)

2007-05-09T00:41:00.000+02:00

In a storm flood of generosity, previously unheard of, one of the members of the smokersforums started sharing out pipes, tools and tobacco by literally pulling names from a hat. Anyone interested in participating was given an equal chance. And it was not just a couple of pipes, but probably well over forty pipes! What a guy, huh? I hesitated a (little) bit before submitting my name to the Comoys thread.

Said member would here give away four jubilee Comoys to the first four members pulled out of the hat. I was number two! This means I get second call to pick one out of remaining three pipes as soon as they arrive. I am know anxiously awaiting the package ...

Sampler Tobacco Pack from 4noggins.com

2007-04-18T18:45:00.000+02:00

I suggested to the good Rich at www.4noggins.com that he should offer sample packs of different sorts and even suggested a couple of themes to him.

He kinda liked the idea and promised he would consider it. In the meanwhile I should feel free to order 1 oz. packages of anything I wanted to try out...

I was the proverbial kid in the candy store with so many bulk blends to choose from. After some cross-surfing with www.tobaccoreviews.com I decided on the following order (1.oz/each).

Now the question is where to start...?

Off-Topic - but kinda fun! For me anyway...

2007-04-17T14:10:00.000+02:00

http://www.myheritage.com

Toscana (Tuscany) vacation over Easter

2007-04-17T10:00:00.000+02:00

Spent the entire week over Easter in Toscana, halfway between Firenze and Arezzo in the Val d'Arno. We stayed in an Agriturismo called Podere Madonna, where the kind owner welcomed us for the second stay.

One reason we went was the Toscana Tour, an international horse jump contest going on for three(!) weeks in Arezzo. I am not really interested in it but K is fanatical... So, while she was watching horses and riders jumping over obstacles to her heart's desire, me and E went in to check out Arezzo medieval city center.

I tried to find a pipe shop, and asked for artisans or pipe factories in the neighborhood at the tourist office. They pointed out one store on a map and we went in that direction, checking out architecture and street life on the way.

Once we got there it turned out they had stopped selling pipes a year or so ago, due to declining customer support :(. The guy pointed out two more possible sources on th map, but didn't really give me much hope. They were in opposite directions so I chose the one on the way back to the car park, obviously.

It was the same thing there, all cigars and cigarettes, no pipes. We went back to get the car cause the ticket expired. On the way out I realised that the second place pointed out on the map was only a kilometer or so away so I drove there, parked haphazardly on the sidewalk and ran in while E stayed in the car.

I asked the guy for pipes holding my breath and he nodded towards a wall stand shock full of them! They were mainly Stanwells and Petersons so I asked him for Italian Artisan pipes. Sure, Brebbia and l'Anatra! I found a chubby yet elegant Billiard with a price tag of 130€, and I thought to myself "this could be my last chance so what the ...". All the time the car on the sidewalk with E inside, nervously chewing her nails waiting for the cops to turn up...

I asked if I could pay with credit card, fully expecting a "yes"? No. I started to sweat, checking my wallet and pockets. All in all I could muster up 94€. He wouldn't sell it to me at such a rebated price, understandably.

I checked out the other pipes, they were all of a larger, clumsier stature, and not appealing to me except for one Peterson which I COULD afford in cash. But I wanted an Italian pipe, dammit! I reluctantly put the l'Anatra back in its box and backed out to the waiting car.

"Finally", sighed a relieved E.

N.Y. Pipe from Ed Burak

2007-04-17T09:42:00.000+02:00

I went to N.Y.C. for a conference, and had the first day(which also coincidentally happened to be my birthday) off, mainly due to the way airline companies put their prices on their services. I wouldn't dream of complaining, on the contrary I am a happy camper.

Thus, I received one of the finest birthday gifts ever! A day's strolling about Midtown Manhattan looking for a pipe maker's shop around Radio City Music Hall is really a well spent day, and finally I found Ed's little shop in the basement labyrinth. In spite of what the guards told me, it DOES exist, and Ed himself gave the (probably sound) advice to enter directly from the street level instead of going down next to the Hall...

I spent a good hour in the shop chatting away with the very friendly and pipe savvy Ed, and came out with a lovely Prince of Wales and a pound of two different tobacco blends, Turkish Black and Scottish Ribbon. The choice of blends was on Ed's recommendation after he had interviewed me on my tastes, and they were spot on, I am happy to report after having tried them both in his (my) pipe!

More man cave ...

2007-03-12T08:43:00.000+01:00

Books and mags

ManCave

2007-03-12T08:31:00.000+01:00

For lack of space I have designated a corner of a room to be my ManCave. This is where I sit "puffing like a maniac"(according to the S.O. :) ) . Pipes in current rotation handy(10 in the round stand, three in the window airing out, a few more on top of the stand just in case...
Books in the shelf closest, fly fishing, next antiquity, religion/philosophy. In the smoke table latest two years worth of fly fishing mags (FiN, FlyFishing&Tying, Trout&Salmon ...) , in the "Ploing" corner my guitars and darbukka.
On the archive (filled with adult oriented comic albums, and my vinyls), an old tube radio from the fifties with a warm humming sound and a yellow light.

Tobacco and more pipes (and reels and flies) in the cupboard four steps away.

Meer Colouring

2007-03-09T09:10:00.000+01:00

One of the goals with a Meerschaum pipe is to colour it all the way down to a chocolate brown, since the Magnesium Silicate (Meerschaum) is porous and readily sucks up surrounding gases, fat, wax and whatever it gets in touch with.
This happens with age and regular smoking of the pipe, but it can be a loooong process. So I cut corners by keeping my meer in a can and fill that with the smoke from whatever pipe I am currently smoking.

I should add that I DO smoke the Meer also. It's just that it doesn't color much by smoking it. It has now turned a bone yellowish in less than a week!

What I do is I have this tin cylinder that I bought Ginger Snaps in for Xmas. It gives a snug fit to my Meer. I keep it in there between smokes and whenever I light up another pipe i just lift the lid a little and blow a huge cloud in there and then close it back on. No hassle, no tedious methods or anything, I just light up, see the tin and remember "Yep, the Meer" do the above, and sit back and enjoy my pipe while the Meer is silently turning browner

Sometimes I fill the tin with the first puffs and then do it again with the last few puffs. If I smoke the Meer I end each session by slipping the pipe - still lit - into the tin, puff vigorously into the tin and close the lid. I think the hot bowl absorbs even more than when it's cold. The hot Meer goes in bowl first, after it's cooled off I rinse it and return it stem first - to help a more even coloring, I noticed after a while that "bowl first" would give more colour to the side facing the stem...

More Candy store pipe pics

2007-02-11T22:40:00.000+01:00

Well here's some more close ups of the markings.

Candy store pipe

2007-02-11T22:25:00.000+01:00

Today for some strange reason I walked into the candy store where they have the occasional tin of Orlik and just a few pipes (mostly corn cobs), only to find a complete stranger behind the desk. Apparently the old owner sold and this guy took over. I noticed a pipe stand with three pipes in it and asked to have a look.

The first pipe was a Mastro de Paja bulldog and the tag said 3550 SEK (app 500$), and I was a bit taken aback, I had never seen that pipe (or indeed that kinda price tag) in the candy store before!

The second was an uninteresting no-name at 359 (app 50$) but the third one was a stunning straight grain freehand kinda pipe in a natural colour and I picked it up.
The tag said 999 (app 140$) and the stamping said "Mastro de Paja 3c" among other things. It had a golden ring and a golden spot in the stem but it was bleached from (probably) standing in the window for too long, yet I had never seen it!

The new guy told me that when he took over he was offered a whole bunch of different pipes some ranging as far as 5000 SEK (some 800$) but he had turned them down cause he didnt really have the interest of selling expensive pipes (hence the cobs)... However he did take over that stand which had at one time been in the window but now had been stowed away for a good many years, cause he got it cheap.

"If you are interested I'll give you a good price on the one you're holding" he continued. I walked out of the store 699 SEK (app 100$) poorer, but with my first Mastro de Paja!! Wohoo!! I think I may have made a real find here!

Holland revisited

2007-01-22T13:05:00.000+01:00

Spent Thursday and Friday in Holland on a business trip. Tried to acquire some Dutch tobacco (no not THAT kind) but didn't have the time to step into a tobacconist's...

At the airport I searched through the former "tax-free" shops (no more for us inside the EU) but the would only sell one brand called Amphora which I thought looked a bit dodgy. I wanted Troost slices which had been recommended to me on the smokersforum.org. Also, they only old it in five-packs which made me more hesitant to buy since I had never tried it (still have most of the SweetDublin 100g tin that I got from another airport).

So I decided to buy a couple cigars instead. In the walk-in humidor there was plenty to choose from, but hefty prices, so I ended up buying a three-pack of MonteChristo #4, and a liter of BlackBush.

Not bad all things considered but still, no Troost...

Rate my rack

2007-01-12T14:39:00.000+01:00

Cruised eBay and found this. I bid the starting bid and got it! For $9.95! Only thing was I bought it from the US... Shipping this heavy piece cost app $23 ...
Ah well. I needed a pipe rack and this one looks SO good! It's cheaper than any ordinary rack I've seen even including the shipping so what the heck.

The one that got away

2007-01-08T10:50:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I sat in front of finepipes.com looking for a birth year Dunhill, just for fun.
Then I saw it - the 1962 Cavalier, and Samuel had even named it a "computer pipe".
I don't know if I told you , but I make my living out of IT and computers and this pipe had that name and was from '62 and...

I sat for five minutes in agony looking at the pipe and the price tag, to and fro.
I decided to just add the pipe to my order basket, only to see how that felt.

That felt mighty good I can tell you, brethren and sisthren of the briar, so I decided to go to the checkout just to see how THAT felt! This gave me a few alternative payment methods and before I knew it I was at my PayPal account and suddenly the $225 price tag didn't look that bad.

It didn't take too long 'til I had convinced myself that I really had earned a birthyear Dunhill - and a Computer Pipe at that! I pressed the Buy button with pounding heart.
I got a rush of adrenalin and at the same time a terribly guilty conscience - you may be familiar with the feeling - guilty pleasure. After having ordered the pipe I just had to shut down the computer and go to bed - the strain was too much.

Woke up with a gnawing feeling from spending all that money on that weird/beautiful pipe, maybe I shouldn't have ... But of course I deserved it! Went to work and couldn't help but take a peek at finepipes.com to see if it had changed its status to "Sold" like all the other nice pipes there, but no? It was still for sale?

I hurried to hotmail to send a mail asking Sam to update the page, only to be met by this email from him:

"Unfortunately, you have fallen victim to a problem I had with my site that required me to back all the pipes up from an archive. In the process, some of the pipes that were already sold were listed as unsold, of which the Cavalier was one."

I'm going through some mixed emotions right now, for sure...

Pipe cover for 25 SEK

2006-12-29T15:46:00.000+01:00

Since I mainly smoke small pipes when I am "out and about" I have tried to find a solution which optimizes the carrying-around of pipes without risking to break them or drop them or anything.

For a while I've been using a case which was meant for my daughter's glasses, but which just housed two small pipes and a bunch of cleaners. It did become a bit dirty inside and the lining was spotted with tobacco juice from a freshly smoked pipe, but nonetheless I grieved its loss which occured right after I had been SantaClausing for some friends' kids (I might get it back one day after they clean Xmas out of the house...).

I went out scouting for some kind of canteen or casket that could hold pipes and ended up in the book store's pen department, trying to find pen cases(yeah I smoke small pipes remember?).

The sales guy shook his head and said that the only cases he had were those that expensive pens came in and were not sold separately. For some reason I didn't tell him that I was gonna store pipes in it, it felt kinda awkward. He then opened a cupboard saying "We've got these of course" and pulled out the handiest leather case with three compartments!

It only cost 25 SEK (app 3.50$) so I bought it on the spot and took it out to fit the pipes inside. It was perfect! Two pies and cleaners in the middle compartment! Happy as ever!

Funny little pipe

2006-11-27T15:56:00.000+01:00

Bought this unsmoked 60's pipe in the pot shape from Ebay. Took me some time to get it 'cause the post had sorted it wrong for me.
When I finally got to pick it up the package was light as a feather. Really funny! When I pulled it out I thought: "What is this! For ants...?"

It weighs 14 grams. The chamber is 15 mm wide and some 20 mm deep.
I think I may have FINALLY gotten my "lunch break pipe" ;D

Yesterday

2006-11-23T22:08:00.000+01:00

For those of you who know. The tobacco. Alone.

Got my first Ornsby today!

2006-11-02T13:59:00.000+01:00

And it is in Excellent Shape! Straight stem on this one, and a bent to come!

Hazards of Ebay buying

2006-10-28T23:25:00.000+02:00

The estate (used) Dunhill that was going to be my first and long-lasting friend in the smoking world finally arrived only to break down at the first inspection. It had a hole throught the stem on the overside of the button and the whole thing sort of swayed and gave way to pressure. I noticed the hole and the crack running alongside of the top part of the button and intended to take a picture showing the seller what he had sold me. I put the narrow end of a pipe cleaner through the hole and laid the pipe down. The cleaner stood up at a strange angle so I tried to push it back a little but then the top part of the button just popped out... Ouch!!
Am trying to get hold of the seller and start a discussin with him what he considers to be "bitemarks" (or Gebissspür as he wrote in German)...

Combo drink/read/smoke (Wednesday)

2006-10-25T22:47:00.000+02:00

Today I forgot to take a picture before I started, then suddenly remebered! I then enjoyed about half an hour in the company of this : Liv och död i Antiken Rom (as below), Zlatopramen and a lovely, lovely bowl of Mc Baren's Dark Twist in the Big Ben Brandy that was gifted to me by P.

This evenings read/smoke/drink combo (Tuesday)

2006-10-25T22:37:00.003+02:00

This evening I enjoyed about an hour in this company: Tillbaka till stjärnorna (app:"Back to the stars"), McConnell's Oriental Mixture in my Big Ben Lectura and a Fuller's ESB.

This evenings smoke/drink/read combo (Monday)

2006-10-25T22:34:00.000+02:00

This evening I spent a good hour in the following company:Liv och död i antikens Rom(app:"Life and death in Rome of Antiquity"), Dunhill's Standard Medium Mixture in my Peterson Emerald XL 31 and a Falcon Ale.

Balkan Sobranie from Roma

2006-10-23T15:03:00.000+02:00

THE tobacco - I got it !

2006-10-23T08:59:00.000+02:00

T returned from Rome with a small package of two pouches. They were white and had crude depictions of Balkan women by the side of a road packed with mule carts heavily loaded with crates of Balkan Sobranie tobacco...

I'm into E-bay!

2006-10-23T08:32:00.000+02:00

Just in time for the weekend, My Peterson arrived. Man, it was pretty! It had a few knock-offs in the rim though and some oxidation left on the P-lip. I decided to clean it up a bit and color those bare wood spots with black dye.

I doused a cleaner with pipe sweetener and showed it all the way throgh the stem and let it lie for a half hour, then repeated with new doused and dry cleaners til they came out white(ish).

Took some cleaning paste and went to work on the button of the P-lip and the stem. Wiped it off and smeared with a drop of olive oil and let that rest for a few hours.

Wiped the entire pipe off with a clean cloth and lo and behold... it was a beauty!

I'm into E-bay(help me somebody) II

2006-10-18T11:15:00.000+02:00

Yep, I got my first cheap-o pipe, and it looked okay, only I'm not even sure it's made of briar wood or some weird plastic or sumthin'... I'll use it as a knockabout pipe 'cause it smokes well, was cheap and the rustication forgives any damage and scratches.

BUT. The E-bay possibilities of buying has gotten its claws deep in my soul, and the other day I bought my very first Dunhill (the "Rolls-Royce of pipes") on a German/Swiss Ebay auction... It is a rare '73 Size 4 Author in Bruyere finish, but it cost me what I pay for a Stanwell in my B&M...

I have paid and the seller claims to have shipped, but I'vve yet to see my pipe... Holding my breath for the Peterson as well.

I'm into E-bay(help me somebody)

2006-10-12T22:49:00.000+02:00

For the last week or so I have suddenly realised that I can buy "estate" (fancy word for "used") pipeson E-bay at a fraction of the prices I get to pay for new ones.

A lottery? Sure. Russian roulette? Not quite that drastic, but yeah I guess you could suffer some losses buying used stuff off of the Internet. Considering I bought my current CAR that way without hesitation, I feel FAIRLY content with doing it this way.

My first buy ("Bay"?) was a really cheap new rusticated Canadian under the name of "Golden Bark 7001" and I've yet to see it in IRL, even though I paid 182 SEK in the Nordea the day before yesterday...

My second one was for a Peterson Emerald XL 31 from the UK, only ten minutes ago and I'm still excited from the "sniping" session at the end of the auction...

Let´s see where this leads, I am a lamb in the jaws of global Internet consumetristic ultra capitalism :O

L.O.F. now it's happening

2006-10-04T23:10:00.000+02:00

I am reluctant to write down details as I suspect that the "other party" may be reading this, but... I today fulfilled the "Leap of Faith" part II.
The package is in the mail so to speak. I might get back with details later on depending on the outcome. *hush hush*

Tobacco pass finished

2006-10-04T22:55:00.000+02:00

G left his reviews today and I answered with the true identities. G liked the Sweet Dublin more that the KongFredrikIX, contrary to how I rank the two, but there you go...
Tried to cross-post the pictures below to the smokersforum but it wasn't all that easy it turned out...

Smokers cabinet

2006-10-03T17:53:00.000+02:00

Here's how I store my tobaccos and pipes at home.

Pipe collection

2006-10-03T08:58:00.000+02:00

Here's my collection of pipes. Clockwise from top:
1. Nameless meerschaum
2. Bjarne Golden Apple (semi-rusticated)
3. Chacom Prince
4. Brebbia First Gala spigot Bulldog (my 1st pipe!)
5. BigBen Lectura semi-churchwarden
6. HC Andersen III smooth Dublin churchwarden
7. Chanterelle churchwarden (Own production)
8. Booklet churchwarden (Own production)
9. Li'l Abners Mom (Own production)
10. Alco Meerschaum lined Golden Algiers + briar Algiers bowl
11. Peterson smooth Tankard (P-lip)
12. Big Ben Brandy (Thanks P)
13. Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob
14. Big Ben Bora Flair horn
15. Gigi collection pocket pipe

Almost got a Dunhill

2006-10-02T20:59:00.000+02:00

On a business trip with colleagues T and J, we visited Uppsala an ancient Unversity town up North. On the way to the meeting we passed a B&M and I just slipped in to have a look. Among all the Stanwells and Ratos was a single Dunhill Bruyere size 2 Billiard in a lovely condition, oxidized stem and a "20" marked as Year. This was labeled 595 SEK (App 80 $)!

With a slight tremor in my voice I asked the young lady behind the counter whether that was actually the price of "the pipe with a white dot" as I sneakingly innocently put it. -Sure, she answered at picked it out of the cabinet. Does it come with a sock or bag or something, I continued. "Sure" was again the answer, "I just gotta check for it" and she went behind the counter. She soon returned with a wrinkled little taped paper note in her hand. "I found another price in the bowl" she said. My spirits sank. "995" she said (app 130 $). "OK" said I, still thinking it would be a bargain at app half the prize, and at the same time a bit less of guilty conscience.

Then she folded the note up once more "Oh, its 1.995 SEK!" (app 275$). Blast. No more bargain, even though the pipe surely was worth it...

Tobacco pass finished - almost

2006-09-27T11:04:00.000+02:00

I smoked the unmarked samples from P and found a new favourite, which, if given enough supply, I could dedicate the BigBenBrandy to. It may be hard to find in Sweden though...
Got the first one (Wessex Slices) about right though I didn't know brand or blend, I could tell it was a flake (d'uh) made out of mostly Burley and VA and so on. Not too hard given P is a great Burley fan. It was an OK smoke but a bit too strong in nicotine in the end giving me a dried out palate.

He fooled me on the second one though. I could've sworn it was a Balkan/English, but it was a Burley/Latakia/Perique(Crowley's Best). With that name of course it was destined to become a favourite of mine, even if I did't know it at the time of the testing.

Anyway, my part is done, and I've sent of two new samples and a corn cob to G in the UK for his pass. Once he's reviewed them, I'll let hom know what they actually are, and then that is that...

Tobacco tin pouch

2006-09-19T16:20:00.000+02:00

Found this some time ago in an antiquity store. It is probably from the late fifties or so, made out of brass and engraved with a stylized picture of a happy naked lady.
Tobacco in this one doesn't stay moist for long, and that's fine with me. It carries app. rour-five bowls worth of tobacco, and I use it for unusual mixes, like Lancer's Slices and Fresh&Elegant (70/30; try it if you like sprinkled lemon over your smoked salmon).

Package fom US - I

2006-09-16T10:09:00.000+02:00

So I got notice from (what's left of) the post office that a package from P had arrived. Having the day off I was on my way to go fishing the day after the ad agency party. Being a little slow in mind I hesitated to drive and slept a few more hours, then picked up the package and went off to the coast.

I did have some expectancy for this package since P had hinted that he would put some "goodies" in there besides the samples to review, so I didn't want to open it there in the dirty parking lot next to the supermarket. Once I had gotten to the coast I parked the car in an nice spot and turned my full attention to the package.

I was so eager to get it open that I snapped off the cheap tamper from my lighter trying to get throught the meticulously taped box. Once I got it open an intense aroma that somehow made me think of Christmas filled the car.

It was nicely stuffed with plastic bags to fill up the empty space surrounding a bundle of ziplock bags and some bubble wrapper through which I could just make out the contours of a corn cob pipe.

But, wait ... what the ... there's a bag in jet black naugahyde in the bottom of the box! I reach down and pull it out. I can feel through the sock that there are two parts in there. My God, is there something in there that has broken even though the box is undamaged? No, it can't be?!. My eyes fall upon a folded sheet of paper, and I decide to read the letter before I open the sock.

P writes about the tobacco sampling and instructions on how to go about it hmm yes, and more? He then tells me about the extra tobaccos that he has supplied me with and they are made out of, and then, in a very matter-of-factly way, as if it was the most natural thing in the world : "The BigBen Brandy is for your collection. Dedicate her to one of your favourites."

With trembling fingers I open the pipe sock and pry into it to find first the stem. It is a full saddle black ebonite, with a decoration ring of some lighter wood, and most importantly it is NOT broken! P has been foresighted enough not to put down the pipe mounted! Phew!