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redbeard

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 2, 2013
841
4
Like always my girlfriend spoiled me again... had me look on the bay for a estate and found a Curtis Draper Bulldog. The description was alright, 5 1/2" long bowl diameter 1 1/2" but one thing... that is the outside diameter and they neglected to reveal that it is almost 2" tall which makes it a pretty small pipe. One of my best smokers is a small pipe that I use for aeros and seems to make the flavor POP so I am hoping that this one will fair well.
I soaked/sanitized the stem and retorted the pipe about 4 times. Still has a small ghost so once it dries I will give it another cleaning. This thing was DIRTY! Had very little cake but once I removed the steam I realized the previous owner neglected to ever remove it as there was a considerable amount of build up on the tenon, throughout the shank, and blocking the stem from even passing a pipe cleaner! 5 or 6 pip cleaners later it was clean. The rim had a scorch mark but came off fairly easy with saliva and a q-tip. Although I may of scrubbed a tad too hard and faded the finish a little :roll: Well, luckily it doesn't seem to me to of been a latakia forward blend or something else that will ghost badly so after my last retort and it dries I will be able to try it out!!
Here are pics as I opened it up: (was excited so the pics were rushed.... and I am not too savvy with this big thing, too many knobs and settings)


You can see there are some small chips in the wood, dont seem to be fills to me, but should be fine.

And once cleaned up:


ok... now I notice this pic is kinda blurry, too lazy to take another :rofl:

And off topic a bit...
She also picked my brain like a sneak and found out I couldn't wait to have some PS LBF (aging) in a few years and she asked why I didn't just smoke it now. So she went and got 8oz along with her other findings of me wanting to try 1Q and PS LTF she got me some samples :D
My thoughts so far:
1Q- very wet... its alright. My B&M blends better stuff for less

PS Luxury Twist Flake- WOW, smells like butter!! It might just be me but man it does. Also tastes great but smokes a tad hot for me. Relights will happen with this one

 

numbersix

Lifer
Jul 27, 2012
5,449
53
First of all, congrats on a great pipe. Second, great girlfriend you have. Third, nice job on the restore!

 

hodirty

Lifer
Jan 10, 2013
1,295
2
Great job on the restoration. I like that fishtail stem, too. All at a great price, kudos on the gf as well. You are one lucky man! Enjoy and thanks for sharing!

 

fnord

Lifer
Dec 28, 2011
2,746
8
Topeka, KS
Red:
I like the bulldog shape and I'm a huge fan of fishtail stems. You did a superb job bringing this old soldier back to life and I hope this burner serves you well for years to come.
But, what impresses me more than anything else, is that your friend bent over backwards to obtain presents that would please you. She listened to you, man, and she tried to get things that would make you happy.
How wonderful is that?
Fnord

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
Luxury twist flake is great, just let it dry a bit and it shouldn't smoke so hot. I found it to be great, just tried it for the first time and found to be a great smoke. Definitely has a nice cavendish scent. Nice pipe, especially for 5 dollars.

 

jah76

Lifer
Jun 27, 2012
1,611
35
Red, good on you for cleaning that old pipe up. Feels good doesn't it?
Every time you pick it up, you'll remember taking the time and effort to make it usable again. We live in such a disposable culture anymore where we can replace anything instead of putting the time in to fix it.
Ditto Andrew's advice on the flake. Sometimes I have too remind myself to slow down...I catch myself chasing flavors and smoking too hot instead of settling back and letting them come to me.

 

redbeard

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 2, 2013
841
4
Thanks for all of the kind words! Yes, she is a very special person! Thank you all
About the restoration, I have so much fun doing this, I wish I could find a job doing it!! I did what I could with what I have, no wax, no buffing wheel. As for the fishtail stem... I finally put it in my mouth to see how it feels and wow! That is different, in a good way though. I like that there is more surface area to clench onto. Still yet to test drive it.
And lastly about the LTF, I had a very nice smoke out of my cob last night and it was nice. I don't know if I like it enough to get more but I enjoy LBF.

 
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