Peterson 999 Shape and it's relation to tobacco.

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

shutterbugg

Lifer
Nov 18, 2013
1,451
21
See, for me this is not "a hobby", so I don't put stock in a bunch of malarkey concocted by guys who weren't even born yet when I started smoking a pipe. Like all the pipers I knew as a kid, now long gone, I buy a pipe for esthetic reasons mostly. If I like how the pipe looks, or how I feel I look smoking it, I'm going to enjoy the smoke better than if I buy a pipe because it's popular with "hobbyists", or for example if I think I look like Popeye or a barefoot hillbilly smoking a corncob.
True, some pipes smoke poorly for one reason or another. If it gurgles. If it won't pass a pipecleaner down to the draught hole without removing the stem. If it's improperly drilled and the draw is either too open or too restricted. Stuff like that. And I have a preference for sandblasted or rusticated bowls because the extra surface area allows for better heat dissipation and a more positive finger-thumb grip with less fatigue. I also have a preference for small bowl capacity because I prefer a shorter smoke, but I can simply underfill a larger pipe without having an anxiety attack.
I have not found any need to form or follow rules as to what types of blends to smoke in what chamber shapes, but I find that all blends light and stay lit better in a narrower chamber. That only makes sense.
I happen to like the Peterson 999 esthetically. Assuming it's not one that slipped past Peterson's questionanble QC with some fatal flaw, I would enjoy any blend in it.

 
Shutter, I've noticed a drastic change in a blend's taste when smoked in that shape. I think I need to clarify a bit more. When I mean the 999 shape I am actually referring to the bowl's internal shape, width etc. I actually taste less when I smoke a blend in it. I hope that clarifies my query a bit more.
Cheers,

Chris

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
I'll go along with shutterbug at least so far as to say that any particular pipe might smoke a particular blend well despite it not being thought to be a prime pipe for that blend. You have to go by trial and error. However, I have a Peterson 999, their Rhodesian, and I like it best for Va/Pers or Virginia-only blends. For English blends, usually a broader bowl brings up the various constituent tobaccos a little better. For burley blends or single leaf, a deep bowl that is cylindrical works best for me, like MM freehands or a tall Ferndown bent billiard with only an average chamber diameter works best -- a stack or chimney would be the idea. But as shutterbug says, try around. You might get great results with any unexpected blend in your 999; try and see. I was around and sentient when Harry Truman was President, but I'm not sure how this relates to pipe lore.

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,428
11,336
Maryland
postimg.cc
My sense of taste is not as keen as many pipe smokers. I smoke MM965 daily, in a variety of shapes (including several 999's). I can't discern any real difference between my various pipes.

 

ericusrex

Lifer
Feb 27, 2015
1,175
3
The 999 is one of my favorite Peterson shapes...though, for some strange reason, I don't currently own one!

 

rigmedic1

Lifer
May 29, 2011
3,896
75
A 999, in my humble opinion, is very close to a 1:1 ratio of height to width, functionally very similar to a pot, but with more style. The burning characteristics are a little different than a billiard, which is closer to 2:1, and a stack, which may be closer to 3:1. The ember heats the surrounding tobacco, releasing the volatile elements that carry the flavors through the smoke to the tongue. Without factoring in the airway, how well the briar is seasoned, and of course the tobacco, one type of tobacco may smoke differently in all three.

Engineering aside, I like some tobaccos in some pipes, and other tobaccos in other types. I will experiment between pipes to find which ones smoke a blend best. Aesthetics, time of day, relative humidity, and the phases of the moon also have some effect, as does one's personal chemistry.

Ultimately, however, taste is somewhat subjective. If it works for you, go with it.

 

workman

Lifer
Jan 5, 2018
2,793
4,222
The Faroe Islands
Bump. My 999 likes ribbon cuts, but especially Royal Yacht. It brings out the topping, which I happen to like, and mutes the harshness that sometimes follows with a strong blend like that.

 

bassbug

Lifer
Dec 29, 2016
1,112
906
I've noticed a drastic change in a blend's taste when smoked in that shape.
Unless the same difference can be confirmed in multiple pipes, can it not, just as reasonably be deduced, that it’s the briar and not the shape that is creating the difference?

 

bassbug

Lifer
Dec 29, 2016
1,112
906
A 999, in my humble opinion, is very close to a 1:1 ratio of height to width, functionally very similar to a pot, but with more style. The burning characteristics are a little different than a billiard, which is closer to 2:1, and a stack, which may be closer to 3:1. The ember heats the surrounding tobacco, releasing the volatile elements that carry the flavors through the smoke to the tongue. Without factoring in the airway, how well the briar is seasoned, and of course the tobacco, one type of tobacco may smoke differently in all three.
I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone with this and of course, everyone should enjoy pipe smoking in whatever way they choose to...but for me, this sucks the joy and comfort out of enjoying a smoke, never mind the "magic" of a great smoke.

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
733
As far as chamber sizes, I just think of them as narrow, standard, wide with some variations. I then also consider deep, standard, shallow, and conical. The 999 is in my opinion a somewhat standard width, shallow chamber. Mine does well with ribbon cut or coarse cut blends. Judging flavor to chamber size and shape, it's on par with most standard sized chambers I think. It does well on flavor for both aromatic or balkan/english blends, but doesn't open up the flavor the way I think a wider chambered pipe (such as the Savinelli 320) does.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,735
27,330
Carmel Valley, CA
All your base are belong to us.
In other words, all my pipes like all my blends. I don't like pots, so the few I have see little action. I fancy a stack every now and then, but have only two.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.