Kicking myself for not taking a before photo...
Anyhow, I have a very nice blasted billiard shape McArris (Ashton made, I believe) that has been frustrating me for awhile now. The stem has a very steep tapered shape down to a very small and thin fishtail at the tip. As a result, I have a hard time holding this one in my teeth when smoking and I can see me biting through that small fishtail anyday now. Being the clencher I am, I'm tough on stems to begin with.
A quick phone call to Tim West and out in the mail it went. As much as I like keeping my pipes as original as possible, I have not been enjoying this one and it would be shame to not give a qualified repairman a shot at making it more user friendly. Can't wait to see how it comes out!
Anyhow, I have a very nice blasted billiard shape McArris (Ashton made, I believe) that has been frustrating me for awhile now. The stem has a very steep tapered shape down to a very small and thin fishtail at the tip. As a result, I have a hard time holding this one in my teeth when smoking and I can see me biting through that small fishtail anyday now. Being the clencher I am, I'm tough on stems to begin with.
A quick phone call to Tim West and out in the mail it went. As much as I like keeping my pipes as original as possible, I have not been enjoying this one and it would be shame to not give a qualified repairman a shot at making it more user friendly. Can't wait to see how it comes out!
