Recent content by Wade H
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Cellaring
Lawdog, I have been smoking a pipe since 1979, and I have always put tins and canning jars away for a rainy day. I keep a comprehensive cellar reaching back 15 years. I concentrate mainly blends that are high in Virginia content. Contrary to what some might think, latakia blends age quite well...- Wade H
- Post #52
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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How Long Should a Bowl Last?
Relax, you're doing a great job of smoking slow and enjoying the experience. I typically have smokes that last from one to two hours. Pipes are funny, a bowl twice the size of another one, doesn't last twice as long. It's maybe 1.5 times longer. My mid size pipes all can give very long smokes...- Wade H
- Post #62
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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Corncob Conundrum
I don't break my cobs in with expensive tobacco. I use OTC blends like Half and Half or Carter Hall (typically some type of Burley). They really do get better after a dozen or so smokes. I have a little MM Huck Finn, that I only load with very slow burning compressed tobaccos. It's probably my...- Wade H
- Post #49
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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More Flavor in a Cob Than My New Briar. Breaking In = More Flavor?
This is my 'Magic' pipe. It's a 100 + year old House of Lords (Made in England) sandblasted Canadian billiard. I got it as an unsmoked estate pipe for $40 about 15 years ago. It has a fairly small chamber, and is quite unattractive, but it delivers a superb smoke no matter what I put in it. I...- Wade H
- Post #25
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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Flake Tobacco
I prefer flakes, kakes, and plugs over loose leaf tobacco, but I didn't always. I had difficulties with all of the above when I first began smoking a pipe. I had to get totally in tune with the pipe smoking loose leaf blends, and being confident in airing out (drying) tobacco, before I could...- Wade H
- Post #36
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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Second Half of the Bowl
Harvise, it sounds like you are on the right track with drawing it out. One thing that has been mentioned, and is of the utmost importance, is having the tobacco dried to the proper level before smoking. Nearly all tobacco comes from the manufacturer too wet, and it needs to be spread out thin...- Wade H
- Post #12
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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15 Year Old Esoterica Penzance!
Yeah pitchfork, I was pretty surprised too. I gave my brother a bunch of slices, that's why the tray isn't full, they begin full loaded. I'm really liking this particular tray very much. All tobacco is fickle, it seems to do well for some but not others. There are blends I just can't get the...- Wade H
- Post #12
- Forum: Pipe Tobacco Reviews
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15 Year Old Esoterica Penzance!
I find that there is an art to smoking Penzance, and it took me a while to discover it. I really didn't like it the first time I smoked it, but I had bought 8oz's of it so I had to give it a go. For me, it doesn't do well in large chambers. The Barling African Meerschaum pipe I chose to use (the...- Wade H
- Post #8
- Forum: Pipe Tobacco Reviews
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15 Year Old Esoterica Penzance!
I just opened an 8oz mylar package of Esoterica Penzance. I laid away four 8oz sealed mylar packages back in March of 2005. I opened one at five years, another at 10 years, and now this one at 15 years. The last one will be opened at 20 years. These are the original Penzance with Syrian latakia...- Wade H
- Thread
- Replies: 24
- Forum: Pipe Tobacco Reviews
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Removing the Stem of a Warm Pipe
David, both the mortise and tenon, of a meerschaum pipe, are made from Teflon. Since Teflon has near zero thermo reactivity, it is safe to remove the stem while the pipe is still warm, without causing any damage. Always remove and replace the stem by twisting the stem clockwise. This will...- Wade H
- Post #61
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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New Cob, New ‘Baccy, New Piper
Welcome to the pipe club, Dan! I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your pipe tobacco. I've not tried Old Toby yet, that name is from The Lord of the Rings. Old Toby grew the first true Pipe Weed, as it's known in the Shire, how old Toby came across it, has been lost in memory, but story has...- Wade H
- Post #27
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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Meerschaum Pipe Issues- or Operator Error?
I hear you, bmdfm. I started smoking meerschaum pipes in the early 1980's, after being stationed overseas in Turkey. I brought back a large collection of meerschaum pipes. I was told all that stuff about "holding by the stem" etc while smoking, but that just wasn't enjoyable. I found that all I...- Wade H
- Post #63
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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Meerschaum Lined. Best Of Both Worlds? Or, "Drawbacks Of Both Materials"?
I believe that they fell out of favor, especially with high end pipes, because they don't hold up. Every meerschaum lined pipe I've owned, eventually had the lining crack and fall out in chunks. It didn't happened overnight, but over the course of a decade (or so). I've thought about why it...- Wade H
- Post #69
- Forum: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
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***What Are You Smoking? February 2020.***
I'm smoking GL Pease Chelsea Morning right now, in one of the pipe that I make myself. This pipe is reserved for lighter blends and does particularly well with Chelsea Morning. I made it from a nice piece of Spanish Plateau Briar, and used an old Nording 7.5" stem that I got from Erik Nording...- Wade H
- Post #1,735
- Forum: Pipe Tobacco Discussion
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How Would You Repair This?
Epoxy is, and was the correct type of adhesive to use. I'm a pipe maker, and I use 2 part epoxy exclusively, for gluing stem pieces together. My preference is the clear resin and activator, that takes 24 hours to cure. It forms a permanent bond, stronger than the material that is being glued...- Wade H
- Post #17
- Forum: Pipe Repair and Maintenance