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  1. stanlaurel

    Haddo's Delight - Anything Similar?

    I really love Haddo's. When I open a tin it is gone in no time. I never seem to want anything else. Are there any similar blends I should try? I want to expand my horizons.
  2. stanlaurel

    Preben Holm Repair

    In January I purchased this Preben Holm Estate. I was very happy with the choice. I had been looking for a nice freehand for a while and this was it. It was even more beautiful in person when it arrived and it fit perfectly into my hand just like it had been designed for me. I noticed...
  3. stanlaurel

    New Savinelli Bing

    I love the Bing shape and have collected a number of them but I have so far never been greatly tempted to pick up a Savinelli "Bing's Favorite"....until now. Smoking Pipes has offered about a dozen of these over the last month. I grabbed one of them. The color, the rustication, the faux...
  4. stanlaurel

    Cleaning Cobs?

    Do you clean your cobs? I have 3 favorites that I have smoked 35-40 times each. So far I have only just passed a pipe cleaner through, scraped the bowl and then wiped it out with a paper towel. I have never used any alcohol or done any more rigorous cleaning. Am I supposed to do more...
  5. stanlaurel

    New Preben Holm

    Well...I was getting pretty smug. 6-Months PAD free. The pressure was starting to build, but my will power was still pretty strong so when I started getting worked-up about various freehands, I was able to resist. But then I made the mistake of visiting Briar Blues for the first time in a...
  6. stanlaurel

    2 Years

    Last night I sat down and smoked a bowl of Odyssey exactly 2 years after lighting up my first pipe. It has been a fun journey and I still consider myself a novice. I just wanted to thank this forum for all the great advice I have received. I'm sure I would be very far behind my current...
  7. stanlaurel

    Cleaning House

    Six months ago, I realized that I had 16 tins open (bulk purchases excluded) and in progress. I decided that this was too much and that I would not allow myself to open any new tins until I brought this number down. As of a few days ago I had reduced this number to 4 open tins. This allowed...
  8. stanlaurel

    The "Last Bowl" Phenomenon

    Why is it that again and again, it is the very last bowl of a tin when the "magic" happens? It seems that that is when a light bulb goes on and I realize what a great blend I have been smoking. Does this happen to anyone else?
  9. stanlaurel

    Praise for Ryan Alden

    I commissioned 2 pipes from Ryan Alden this year. They have quickly gone to the top of my rotation and are among my most favorite pipes. They are wonderful smokers with wide open draws and perfect ergonomics. They fit great in the hand. I have smoked each of them 20 times now. The Bing...
  10. stanlaurel

    Inhaling?

    I have been smoking a pipe for almost two years now. I have recently developed the habit of doing a lot of inhaling. Do many pipe smokers do this? Is this a bad idea? Should I stop doing this?
  11. stanlaurel

    Aging Sixpence

    I just bought 11 2oz tins of Sixpence. Some of them are 14 months old and the rest are 8 months old. The thing that surprises me is that all 11 of these tins are already bulging. This is good right? I think that I will open one of these soon.
  12. stanlaurel

    Pre 2007 Blends - Are They Really Safe?

    Are pre-2007 blends really safe from all this FDA nonsense? Might we be blindsided if we make this assumption?
  13. stanlaurel

    Haddo's Delight - How Do You Smoke It?

    I just discovered Haddo's this summer. I have smoked a dozen bowls and I really love it. I have smoked it fresh from the tin and I have dried it a little and dried it a lot. I think that I like it best so far dried a moderate amount. I have also been smoking it in fairly small bowls. It is...
  14. stanlaurel

    Tsuge Ikebana Kikuchi Volcano

    This Tsuge Volcano showed up on SPC last October 1st. I loved it immediately but I just could not get past the $540 price tag. I went back to look at it frequently. The price never moved and no one bought it. Suddenly a few weeks ago, SPC cut all of their Tsuge Ikebana pipes by 15%...
  15. stanlaurel

    Missouri Meerschaum Blends Back in Stock

    Most of the Missouri Meerschaum Blends are back in stock at P&C. Just in time before the July sale ends. American Patriot is a real favorite of mine. I grabbed 6oz. Based upon the current environment, these may be an endangered species.
  16. stanlaurel

    Oriental?

    I know that this definition is subjective but I am trying to see what people think. It seems like there are some blends that are sometimes called "Oriental" and sometimes called "English". Examples are things like Red Rapparee, London Mixture, Presbyterian, etc. These also tend to be blends...
  17. stanlaurel

    A Few Balkan Sobranie Questions

    When I see the words "Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture" (B.S.O.S.M.), this means White label correct? The stuff that Marquee WhiteKnight is a match of correct? Balkan Sobranie 759, the stuff that BlackHouse is a match of is not referred to as "B.S.O.S.M." correct? One last question...
  18. stanlaurel

    Ghosting Experiment

    I just finished a 50g tin of Ennerdale. I smoked all 20+ bowls in a MM Diplomat that I dedicated to this purpose. Since I am not opening another tin right now and I wanted to see if I could keep using this pipe, I decided to see how bad the ghosting really is. I loaded it up with a bowl of...
  19. stanlaurel

    Smoking in the Rain

    Yesterday and today, I have smoked 5 or 6 bowls while sitting in the garage while a steady rain was falling. I find this to be one of my favorite things. One of life's simple pleasures.
  20. stanlaurel

    Haddo's in a Bing - A Match Made in Heaven

    This stuff is awesome. What a beautiful Smoke!! I have read that Haddo's Delight needs to be aged and that it is not that good when fresh. Well this tin is not even 3 months old. If it gets better than this, then I have a lot to look forward to. It was good to the last drop. Nothing but...