I've been admiring the Castello and Ferndown pipes but had no clue I'd be able to acquire one of each on the span of a few days.
Getting the Castello was pure time and place good fortune. It is a Sea Rock KKKK, shape 65 and was described in an ebay ad as "near mint". The white-bar stem pipes are my preference. I thought that meant it was a European pipe, but is stamped "US". The full pipe pictures were very fuzzy, but some of the close-ups showed promise. The auction ended Tuesday afternoon (note to self: never end an auction on a mid-week afternoon...) and I just happened to boot my laptop from the road and take a another peek. With 15 minutes to go, it did not have a single bid. I put in an opening bid of $149 and thought it would surely evaporate. I was surprised to win the pipe, but was a little anxious as I was not at all familiar with the seller (who also had a Ferndown ad). I thought it would surely require some clean-up and I half expected to most likely clean and resell it, hoping to break even. It arrived yesterday and I don't have any idea why he added "near", as it was brilliant. Nary a scratch on the mirror stem and the rest of the pipe was immaculate. It must have been smoked, as I reamed just a touch of cake. A salt/everclear soaked yielded white salt. This shape is what come to mind when I think of a pipe and it is wonderful to hold and smoke. It is fairly large, but surprisingly light. I loaded up a bowl of Magnum last night and after nearly 90 minutes, I am one happy chap. Now I see what the hub-bub was all about. Wow, the draw is hard to describe, just smooth, cool and I think that it required two relights in 90 minutes. If this first smoke is indicative of all Castello pipes, count me in the fan club.
The Ferndown caught my eye a few weeks ago at Pipes2Smoke.com, a site sponsor. Maxim's Ferndown prices were nearly $100 less than every other internet vendor. His reputation was excellent and he delivered in spades. For that price, I couldn't resist. No issues shipping from Canada and I had it in exactly seven days. The pipe met my specific requirements:Bent, polished bowl top, Cumberland stem with modest silverwork. This is no pocket pipe and easily one of my larger pipes. I'm going out on the patio to smoke it this morning and hope it can live up to the expectations set by the Castello. If you are looking for a Ferndown, stop at pipes2smoke.com
I promised the wife I'm done buying pipes for the remainder of the year.....
Getting the Castello was pure time and place good fortune. It is a Sea Rock KKKK, shape 65 and was described in an ebay ad as "near mint". The white-bar stem pipes are my preference. I thought that meant it was a European pipe, but is stamped "US". The full pipe pictures were very fuzzy, but some of the close-ups showed promise. The auction ended Tuesday afternoon (note to self: never end an auction on a mid-week afternoon...) and I just happened to boot my laptop from the road and take a another peek. With 15 minutes to go, it did not have a single bid. I put in an opening bid of $149 and thought it would surely evaporate. I was surprised to win the pipe, but was a little anxious as I was not at all familiar with the seller (who also had a Ferndown ad). I thought it would surely require some clean-up and I half expected to most likely clean and resell it, hoping to break even. It arrived yesterday and I don't have any idea why he added "near", as it was brilliant. Nary a scratch on the mirror stem and the rest of the pipe was immaculate. It must have been smoked, as I reamed just a touch of cake. A salt/everclear soaked yielded white salt. This shape is what come to mind when I think of a pipe and it is wonderful to hold and smoke. It is fairly large, but surprisingly light. I loaded up a bowl of Magnum last night and after nearly 90 minutes, I am one happy chap. Now I see what the hub-bub was all about. Wow, the draw is hard to describe, just smooth, cool and I think that it required two relights in 90 minutes. If this first smoke is indicative of all Castello pipes, count me in the fan club.
The Ferndown caught my eye a few weeks ago at Pipes2Smoke.com, a site sponsor. Maxim's Ferndown prices were nearly $100 less than every other internet vendor. His reputation was excellent and he delivered in spades. For that price, I couldn't resist. No issues shipping from Canada and I had it in exactly seven days. The pipe met my specific requirements:Bent, polished bowl top, Cumberland stem with modest silverwork. This is no pocket pipe and easily one of my larger pipes. I'm going out on the patio to smoke it this morning and hope it can live up to the expectations set by the Castello. If you are looking for a Ferndown, stop at pipes2smoke.com
I promised the wife I'm done buying pipes for the remainder of the year.....
