(I don't actually have a specific question to ask so forgive me this gripe.)
I recently took a chance on an estate Peterson Standard System 307 XL on the bay. Foolish for a comparative noob, yes, but I had been coveting a System for a while and I was able to get this for 30 quid including shipping.
I got a bit stung in that the seller had described the stem as 'professionally cleaned' and 'ready to smoke', but when it arrived it (the stem) was full of such deathly black gunge that I'm suprised Customs didn't impount it as a chemical weapon. This stuff was somewhere in between tar and engine grease had an oily smell that wasn't necessarily reminiscent of tobacco.
Anyway, I cleared it out, gave it a bleach bath, scrubbed off the worst of the oxidation, went through literally two packets of vodka-soaked cleaners on it, but still the stem has this strange chemical taste that tends to turn my stomach, particularly if I take a dry pull on it. It's not as bad while smoking (I've been using only virginias and vapers in it) but I'm afraid it's tainting the tobacco too. Now I'm considering just getting a replacement stem from Peterson's.
Anyone have any similar experiences?
I recently took a chance on an estate Peterson Standard System 307 XL on the bay. Foolish for a comparative noob, yes, but I had been coveting a System for a while and I was able to get this for 30 quid including shipping.
I got a bit stung in that the seller had described the stem as 'professionally cleaned' and 'ready to smoke', but when it arrived it (the stem) was full of such deathly black gunge that I'm suprised Customs didn't impount it as a chemical weapon. This stuff was somewhere in between tar and engine grease had an oily smell that wasn't necessarily reminiscent of tobacco.
Anyway, I cleared it out, gave it a bleach bath, scrubbed off the worst of the oxidation, went through literally two packets of vodka-soaked cleaners on it, but still the stem has this strange chemical taste that tends to turn my stomach, particularly if I take a dry pull on it. It's not as bad while smoking (I've been using only virginias and vapers in it) but I'm afraid it's tainting the tobacco too. Now I'm considering just getting a replacement stem from Peterson's.
Anyone have any similar experiences?