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  1. Zeno Marx

    Canted Bowls ?

    I have a couple Italian billiards (they love to cant the shape) and another canted pipe from an old British maker. This has never been an issue. Like the others, me thinks it is an airway issue that has nothing to do with the shape. I love my Stanwells, but I wouldn't classify them as...
  2. Zeno Marx

    Pipe bits taste?

    The tubing they use on water softeners etc. Another user, and a youtuber or two, mentioned vinyl tubing as an alternative to pipe bits. I've found 3/8" and 1/2" cover a large range of pipe stem sizes (inner diameter tubing specs). Less expensive and more durable, though it requires a little...
  3. Zeno Marx

    Tobacco type vs pipe type, a beginner question

    Keep it simple. Dispense with the rules, especially those of others. And I don't say this flippantly. Too much information in regard to a hobby such as pipes is not a good thing. Too much guidance in regard to a hobby such as pipes is not a good thing. It's all about trial and error. Piping is...
  4. Zeno Marx

    How much do you cellar?

    too bad it doesn't remain like when you cellar it. I personally don't care for the loss of the grassy and hay notes. Nothing I can do about it, but I know with each passing day, the tobacco I like is losing more than it is gaining, other than potential economical value.
  5. Zeno Marx

    Purchase amount with frequency of smoke

    I wish I could buy as needed. That's how it used to be, and I'm someone who prefers tobacco without age. Buy a tin. Smoke the tin. Go buy another tin. But discounts, shipping, and availability prohibit that kind of process, at least for me. I'm not a regular smoker either. Two bowls in a...
  6. Zeno Marx

    Ghosted Pipe Recipes

    I always forget to mention this little tidbit in these conversations, and I did again here. Theoretically, when using running water, temperature being a key variable, it is said that you could make the wood swell and lose some of the depth of the stamping. I've not experienced this, but I DO...
  7. Zeno Marx

    Bulldog vs Rhodesian

    The bulldog tends to be more aesthetically pleasing...in ways, but the rhodesian has a couple things going for it: 1a) they tend to have more wood at the bottom of the bowl, which I like in a pipe 1b) have a more robust/hardy look to them. More working class, if you will 2) feel better in...
  8. Zeno Marx

    Why are estate pipes ok?

    It is indeed a control thing. The only thing men love to do more than control other men, is control women, and we know where we get the guidelines to do that.
  9. Zeno Marx

    Why are estate pipes ok?

    It really is all about what is on the hands. We could wax poetic about surface materials all day long, but without proper handwashing protocol, a lot of that goes out the window (and I got news, most people don't know how to wash their hands...or how to keep those washed hands from not...
  10. Zeno Marx

    Why are estate pipes ok?

    I'm confident that once I'm done cleaning an estate pipe, that if you did bacteria and virus cultures on it, you wouldn't find anymore cooties than you would from a new pipe having been handled at the factory, by various distributors, shipping departments, looky-lou customers, and whoever had...
  11. Zeno Marx

    Ghosted Pipe Recipes

    I do, but I go into it knowing that I'll probably have to do some polishing afterwards. It all depends how much of a bird you are (how fixated you are on shiny things). I use a Durable Magic Eraser (somewhere around the equivalent of 1200 grit micromesh) and then old school toothpaste with a...
  12. Zeno Marx

    Ghosted Pipe Recipes

    yes, good particulars here. with each substance, you work a little differently. Soap for acrylic. ISO for vulcanite (unless you're going to have to polish it anyway. if so, then you might as well soap it too).
  13. Zeno Marx

    Ghosted Pipe Recipes

    Someone on one of these boards did a little test. They ran a bowl through a full cycle in the dishwasher. Then they used a bandsaw to split it in half to see how deeply the water soaked into the wood. After two hours, it was only 1-2mm. That's after two hours, with very hot water, hot...
  14. Zeno Marx

    Ghosted Pipe Recipes

    I feel 95% of a ghost is in the shank draft hole. Dawn dish soap, warm running water, and a small tube brush (and a Scotch scrub pad for the bowl). Scrub, rinse, and repeat until it the brush comes out clean. You can play around for days, or you can take 10 minutes with this method. It works...
  15. Zeno Marx

    What Was Your First "I Gotta Buy 5 Pounds of This Stuff!" Tobacco?

    It took me 30 years to get to that point, but that was more about the lesson learned with McClelland than anything else. Though I rarely smoke English anymore (oh, how the palate changes), latakia made me take to the pipe for a lifetime (Rattray 7 Reserve). We didn't stock up back then. Very...
  16. Zeno Marx

    Bad Good Advice

    to each their own is the mantra of the pipe smoker. it's the unfortunate darkside to the "I want it all...yesterday" internet mentality. Getting pointed in directions is very different than wanting someone else to take the journey for you, and piping is very much a You journey. Getting there is...
  17. Zeno Marx

    Sour Pipe

    another instance where Dawn, a tube brush, a traditional Scotch pad, and warm running water are your friend.
  18. Zeno Marx

    Tinbids Observations

    In this rabid consumer climate, It only takes a couple people to set new precedent. I've waxed poetic about this in the past, so I'll spare everyone that again. Today's market is very fickle, easily influenced, and accepting. In the past, people could live without it, so they held the line...
  19. Zeno Marx

    Tinbids Observations

    I've bought records since I was a kid. They were the first thing I spent my own money on. I've never been a collector, but if you do anything long enough, and dedicated enough, you inevitably end up with things worth money. I once got into a heated argument with a retired record shop owner...
  20. Zeno Marx

    Heat Shrink or Softy Bits

    Neither. I've been using food grade tubing they use on things like water softeners. A good corner hardware store will sell it by the foot. I've found 3/8" and 1/2" cover a large range of pipe stem sizes (inner diameter tubing specs). Can be found in black, clear, and possibly other colors...
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