New Pipe: The Whistler?

flux · Jul 25, 2013

First of all, hello everybody! I've been lurking, reading and learning a lot from everybody here for some time now, but this is my first post. I've got a question for y'all.
I'm very new to the hobby--probably about a month in now. I've been smoking a used cheap briar a friend gave me, rotating it with a cob. It's been working well for me. But now that I've fallen in love with pipe smoking and am certain there's no going back I decided that it was time to buy myself a little early birthday present :D I ended up with a Peterson's 2012 Pipe of the Year. It's beautiful, I love it; I've had two bowls out of it, and it seems to smoke well; it feels magnificent in my hand. The only thing is that it whistles. Anything but the most gentle, mild kiss elicits a high-pitched, irritating whistling. It even gets the attention of my dog!
Is this normal with a new pipe? Will it go away with time? Is there anything I can do to mitigate the sound?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Oh, and it's a pleasure making all your acquaintances :wink:

smokeybear · Jul 25, 2013

Interesting. First off Welcome to the forum you made a right decision joining us on here there is no better place to learn and share your pipe experience.
I had a Peterson with a P-lip that did the exact same thing, and i think it had something to do with my packing of the tobacco in the pipe. I found when the Tobacco was packed in to loosely i would have access air flowing into the shank and causing a whistle like you described. Of course i may be wrong it was just my observation at the time but try different packing methods and see if that helps.
Andrew

flux · Jul 25, 2013

Thanks for your reply, and thanks for your welcome.
I don't think it's a packing issue, as I get the same sound when the bowl is empty and while I'm smoking.

smokeybear · Jul 25, 2013

I don't think it's a packing issue, as I get the same sound when the bowl is empty and while I'm smoking.

Then no it is not a packing issue at all.
Stupid Question but Does a pipe cleaner pass through the stem straight to the bowl easily?
im thinking there might be an issue with the drill hole as in something possibly a piece of tobacco stuck in there.

flux · Jul 25, 2013

Yeah, it passes a pipe cleaner just fine. And it's clean--nothing obstructing the air flow.
Interestingly, I just pulled it apart and took a draw from the stem while it was disconnected from the wood. It whistled, so that's where the problem is. Perhaps the stem is misshapen. I may contact smokingpipes to see what their warranty policy is.
Thanks for the help.

smokeybear · Jul 25, 2013

There ya go lol i didn't help much but your on the right track i would contact them also.

boudreaux · Jul 25, 2013

Ditto on your idea of contacting SP. I own several new and one older Peterson p-lips. None of them whistle, and I'm sure that I'm not a pro packer (yet).

flux · Jul 25, 2013

Reading through those posts now. Lots of very helpful advice. Thank you, sir!

pipestud · Jul 25, 2013

Howd flux, and welcome to the world of pipe smoking. You're in trouble now, pardner!
As for that pipe; stem whistling is actually more common than one might think. Just the smallest little roughed portion of the air chamber interior or slight obstruction can cause this. The only sure fire way to correct the problem is to have the stem professionally re-drilled and smoothed. Sometimes, simply increasing the diameter of the air hole to allow for more air flow can correct the problem.
I have an old Caminetto (notorious for whistling), that smokes wonderfully but that dadgum whistling noise drives me crazy, so I don't smoke it much.
Unless you are quite good at drilling, I would take the time to send the pipe to a professional and have him correct the problem. I once tried to open the air chamber on a stem that had a tight draw. When all was said and done, the stem had three air holes; one at each end and one on top about halfway down. Trying to keep that buggar lit after that was a real problem.
Pipestud

flux · Jul 25, 2013

Ouch pipestud! A hard lesson learned!
Thanks for the suggestions.

pjhicks · Jul 26, 2013

Whistling in a pipe drives me absolutely nuts!! Had a "club" pipe once that whistled. I sent it back to be fixed and got the pipe back. No note or anything. Loaded it up, puffed a few bowls, whistled like a train. Needless to say, after a lot of angry emails, I got my money back and would never buy from this maker again. At least coming from Peterson and Smokingpipes, you will be taken care of without much hassle.

flux · Jul 27, 2013

Thanks again to everyone for their input. I'm too nervous to attempt any repair on my own. But the good folks at SP have agreed to take the pipe back and look it over to see if they can fix it. Fingers crossed...

joeahearn · Jul 27, 2013

Bottom line, whistling is a sign of a problem with the construction of the pipe. You did the right thing by sending it back. I am sure SP will do the right thing and replace the pipe. Sorry you had this problem. You shouldn't have.

cigrmaster · Jul 28, 2013

You did the right thing by coming here and asking for opinions. A pipe should never whistle period, and you should never put up with one that does. If it were my pipe, I would ask SP to just replace it since it was brand new. You should not have to take a pipe that was improperly made and then have someone fix it to make it right, it is a brand new pipe after all. I am sure if you contact them and let them know you want a replacement and not a fix for a defective pipe, they will honor your request. If they do not give you a new pipe, let me know and I will contact them for you.

pipedreamer · Jul 29, 2013

The slang Germans use for a pipe is (( A whistle)) Usually indicates something caught in the stem or shank.Drilling is off, or in a lot of cases the bore is too small.I agree with Cigrmaster.Send it back.If this is a problem enlarge stem slightly on pipe side after checking for the obvious,i.e.tobacco ,piece of stem material etc.best to have a pro do it.acrylic is hard for many,ebonite is easier to work with.Make sure your draft hole is at least 5/32.9/64 and 11/64 are better.Hope this helps.

flux · Jul 29, 2013

Well the pipe is on its journey back to smokingpipes. They're going to look at it and get back to me with my options. Hopefully I don't have to send cigrmaster after them! lol!

flux · Aug 9, 2013

Just an update.
I got my pipe back from smokingpipes.com today. They found a small piece of vulcanite in the stem that was lodged in the stem. They were able to remove it, and I can now say that this pipe is whistle-free! I'm a happy piper : puffy

:
Thanks all for the advice.

oldredbeard · Aug 9, 2013

Glad to hear it worked out right for you sir.

New Pipe: The Whistler?

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