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  1. michaelmirza

    Forever Stems are Back

    What are Forever Stems? They're high-quality stems designed for Missouri Meerschaum cobs, designed to replace the cheap plastic stems that come standard with most MM products. Forever Stems were made by Walker Briar Works, and then production was transferred to Old Log Cabin Pipeworks. I've been...
  2. michaelmirza

    R.I.P. Pipe Smoker Don Hogan Charles, Civil Rights Photographer

    R.I.P. Don Hogan Charles, the first black photographer hired by the New York Times and a crucial documentarian of the Civil Rights Movement. Story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/obituaries/don-hogan-charles-dead.html
  3. michaelmirza

    Which Phoenix/Scottsdale B&Ms are worth visiting?

    This weekend I'll be visiting my parents in Scottsdale, Arizona, and hope to be able to visit a B&M in the NE Phoenix area. If I was only going to hit one, which shop has the most interesting and unique selection of pipes and tobacco? - Ye Old Tobacco Shoppe - Stag Tobacconist (if so, which...
  4. michaelmirza

    Two New Workhorses for Under $100 Total - Tsuge Tasting and Nording Sailor

    I'm always on the lookout for great deals on pipes, and when I say great deals I mean less than $75 per piece. I'm convinced you really don't ever need to spend more than $100 to get an amazing pipe. I recently picked up two new pipes from SmokingPipes that cost me a total of $91, and they both...
  5. michaelmirza

    Shoutout to User Stickframer for Surprise Generosity

    Somehow I've been the recipient of random acts of kindness on these forums multiple times. It's quite humbling. The latest person to go out of their way to make my day was stickframer, AKA Rob. I posted recently about some thoughts related to the recent birth of my first child, a daughter...
  6. michaelmirza

    Help Me Choose a Blend to Cellar for 18 Years as My Daughter Ages

    I recently mentioned celebrating the very recent birth of my first child. In that thread, txpiper07 suggested I buy tins from this year to cellar. That got me thinking... what if I bought 18 tins of the same tobacco, and opened one each year on my daughter's birthdays? Now, I'm not much of a...
  7. michaelmirza

    First Pipe as a Dad

    On Friday, September 29 at 1:04pm, I earned the title of "dad" for the first time as my daughter was born. She's eating well and sleeping well, and her mother and I are head-over-heels swooning over her. My work was kind enough to give me two weeks of paternity leave, and that's been so helpful...
  8. michaelmirza

    Iwan Ries 160th Anniversary Pipes by Savinelli

    Noting that there is another thread about Iwan Ries' annual customer appreciation sale, this thread is about limited edition pipes for the 160th anniversary of Chicago's Iwan Ries & Co., the oldest tobacco shop in the country and a mecca for pipe smokers around the world. IRC commissioned...
  9. michaelmirza

    Attractive Irish Pencil-Shanks

    Stumbled across a new pipe maker from Ireland on Etsy and thought I'd pass it along: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JPPipes He's got some incredibly handsome pencil-shanked pipes for very reasonable prices... too bad I stubbornly refuse to buy ebonite stems! But at those prices I might consider...
  10. michaelmirza

    Do Juma stems oxidize?

    I've completely purged my pipe collection of all vulcanite/ebonite stems because oxidization is not worth my time or anyone else's. That means I now only buy pipes with stems made of acrylic/lucite, and maybe horn. With that said, has anyone had experience smoking and owning a pipe with a stem...
  11. michaelmirza

    Ultra Modern Stone and Briar Pipes by Kubik House

    When I first came across the Kubik House Etsy store maybe a year ago, each of these pipes was listed for roughly $200 more than what they cost now. Now the prices have been slashed. Really intriguing designs using soapstone as the base material. Whether or not you like the look, you have to...
  12. michaelmirza

    Savinelli Tag - An exclusive pipe model for the Instagram community

    For those of you who don't yet follow Savinelli on Instagram, you may not know that they designed a limited edition pipe just for their followers. It's sort of a squat tomato with an extra long shank. Whether or not you use Instagram, this is a great way to add a very unique (and kinda weird)...
  13. michaelmirza

    St. Louis Pipe Show and Swap - February 18, 2017

    Who's going? After burning my Christmas money on four new pipes I told myself I wouldn't buy any more pipes until the Chicago show in May... but with St. Louis only a five-hour drive from Chicago, I'm tempted. Info copied/pasted from Pipedia:
  14. michaelmirza

    Accidentally Made a Radioactive Stain

    I got really lucky and found a Sasieni 4-Dot Ruff Root at an antique store for $7. It was in really rough (or perhaps Ruff) condition, however, with an oxidized stem and a heavily charred rim. So I began the process of doing a full restoration on it. After scrubbing and scrubbing to work the...
  15. michaelmirza

    12 Days of Christmas at Cup O Joes!

    I just visited Cup O Joes casually and noticed that it looks they're starting a big "12 Days of Christmas" deal series, with new deals every day. Looks like they had fun making it! They have given me fantastic customer service and selection over the years, so check out their new deals each day...
  16. michaelmirza

    Making New Pipes From Old Stummels

    Recently I've noticed that a few craft pipe makers have been releasing "side" lines in which they acquire very old, factory-turned pipe stummels from defunct European factories, and then finish the stummels by hand to make new pipes. I don't have the longevity in this hobby to say whether or not...
  17. michaelmirza

    No More Burning Tires

    I have decided that I will never buy a pipe with a vulcanite, ebonite, or cumberland stem again. I've had one too many of my pipes with the aforementioned stem materials start to taste like burning rubber from oxidization after just a few smokes. Even after I do the recommended soak and scrub...
  18. michaelmirza

    If You Had to Buy Pipes From One Country for the Rest of Your Life...

    I think this question has been asked before... but never with a poll! I like the flair of Italian pipes, the simplicity of English pipes, and the ingenuity of American pipes, but for me the pipes I most consistently fall in love with are those from France. How about you? Take the poll...
  19. michaelmirza

    Loose Stem on an Unsmoked Pipe

    I recently found and bought an unsmoked but no-name pipe at an antique store. The tenon, which is metal, is a tad too small for the mortise, so the stummel twists if you wiggle the pipe (but doesn't fully fall off). I tried rubbing a bit of beeswax on the tenon, but kinda just smeared around and...
  20. michaelmirza

    LJ Peretti vs. Leavitt & Pierce: Upcoming Boston Trip

    For Thanksgiving week I'll be in the Boston area visiting my wife's family, and it looks like I'll have time to explore the city on my own for a bit. Planning on visiting LJ Peretti for sure, but also thinking of popping over to Leavitt & Pierce as well, as it looks to be only about a 20-minute...