Well, I've always been a guy who drifted toward bent pipes....never really tried straight pipes to be honest. Any corn cob (MM) I smoke is always a bent variety. Well.....I think I found my new favorite!
I bought a couple estate pipes from a guy in my town who has a large collection he refurbishes, cleans, and sells. I hadn't really jumped into the briar world because I just didn't think they were for me. And, the Peretti bent apple pipe I have I just haven't bonded with. So, I sort of just stuck to my cobs, and the few bent shaped Mr. Brog pearwoods I have. But still wasn't in love with how the bent Brogs hung either.
Yesterday I bought an estate Lovat pipe (has a shield on it with a lion in center....at least I think it is...darn small) and says selected imported briar on it. I LOVE THAT LOVAT! Holy cow....it feels like it was made for my face. I don't know who made it, and I've been looking online all day to try to get some clues, but it is a traditional Lovat shape with saddle bit, big bowl, and only 5" long. Had an hour long smoke with it today and I nearly fell off the park bench out of total joy and satisfaction. It smoked even better than my cobs, and better than the Brogs. I also purchased a 1960-1970 era Dr. Grabow billard which fits my jaw perfectly. I'm going to smoke that one later tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.
Oh boy.....the briar bug has bitten big time. My plan is to build a rotation of 7 briar pipes. I want to take my time to build the rotation....in meantime I'll use my cobs for now to round it out. Never thought I would have a straight pipe be such a perfect match for me.
So...have you ever had a drastic change in what your prefer, or have you suddenly realized a shape you thought you could never like was actually the perfect shape for you?
And....I'll try to get pictures up of my 2 new pipes as soon as I can (actually.....the picture in my avatar is me smoking the Lovat today!)
I bought a couple estate pipes from a guy in my town who has a large collection he refurbishes, cleans, and sells. I hadn't really jumped into the briar world because I just didn't think they were for me. And, the Peretti bent apple pipe I have I just haven't bonded with. So, I sort of just stuck to my cobs, and the few bent shaped Mr. Brog pearwoods I have. But still wasn't in love with how the bent Brogs hung either.
Yesterday I bought an estate Lovat pipe (has a shield on it with a lion in center....at least I think it is...darn small) and says selected imported briar on it. I LOVE THAT LOVAT! Holy cow....it feels like it was made for my face. I don't know who made it, and I've been looking online all day to try to get some clues, but it is a traditional Lovat shape with saddle bit, big bowl, and only 5" long. Had an hour long smoke with it today and I nearly fell off the park bench out of total joy and satisfaction. It smoked even better than my cobs, and better than the Brogs. I also purchased a 1960-1970 era Dr. Grabow billard which fits my jaw perfectly. I'm going to smoke that one later tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.
Oh boy.....the briar bug has bitten big time. My plan is to build a rotation of 7 briar pipes. I want to take my time to build the rotation....in meantime I'll use my cobs for now to round it out. Never thought I would have a straight pipe be such a perfect match for me.
So...have you ever had a drastic change in what your prefer, or have you suddenly realized a shape you thought you could never like was actually the perfect shape for you?
And....I'll try to get pictures up of my 2 new pipes as soon as I can (actually.....the picture in my avatar is me smoking the Lovat today!)
