When the conversation has come up, that I skipped last year's Saint Patrick's Day pipe, when I've made it my yearly tradition to purchase one, because I just wasn't a big fan of the look, a few fellow members have stated that I should grab one instead of breaking that tradition. Well... there was actually a bit more to it than that. I also didn't really want a year dated pipe to remind me of my father's passing away at the very beginning of January last year. So that, the fact that I really kind of thought the pipes were ugly, and then I never bought one, breaking my tradition that I've held since I first started smoking a pipe at the tail of of 2012 going into 2013. My first decent pipe after a couple of those Ukrainian made pear wood pipes (they both cracked in the shank) was the 2013 Saint Patrick's Day XL90, beginning my love for the brand and my yearly tradition.
I renewed that tradition this year with the 2019 in a 307. But that made the hole in my collection that much more evident. And it was really nagging at me... and a few comments about going back and getting last year's was nagging at me... and then having a year to occasionally see the leftover 2018 pipes, making them seem perhaps not so bad (but still ugly) was also nagging at me.
International Pipe Smoking Day came around, and I found myself browsing pipes and tobacco... I was really just going to order some tobacco and no pipe.... and just as minor curiosity I thought I'd do a search of Saint Patrick's Day 2018 106. Well crap. I found a few, although I was partly hoping I wouldn't. I found one at four different sites, three new and one estate. The best deal was a new one at Tobaccopipes.com, where I just couldn't turn it down anymore after their IPSD discount. So I finally pulled the trigger.
Well the pipe arrived yesterday. It was another one of those instances where I suppose the photos just didn't do it any justice, which has happened to me a couple times before with the St. Patty's Day pipes, and then they looked great once in hand. I really like this pipe, and I'm kicking myself for not ordering it last year. I loaded it up today with Old Toby from The Country Squire while watching the NASCAR race and it performed magically with no relights in the first 2/3 of the bowl.
And now, that hole in the collection has been closed, I've added another 106 to the 106 collection, the Saint Patrick's Day collection has become a seven day set, and I think my dad would have wanted me to have this pipe without breaking my tradition because of the year date... I think he'd have told me to suck it up.
And so here it is, keeping the tradition alive.
I renewed that tradition this year with the 2019 in a 307. But that made the hole in my collection that much more evident. And it was really nagging at me... and a few comments about going back and getting last year's was nagging at me... and then having a year to occasionally see the leftover 2018 pipes, making them seem perhaps not so bad (but still ugly) was also nagging at me.
International Pipe Smoking Day came around, and I found myself browsing pipes and tobacco... I was really just going to order some tobacco and no pipe.... and just as minor curiosity I thought I'd do a search of Saint Patrick's Day 2018 106. Well crap. I found a few, although I was partly hoping I wouldn't. I found one at four different sites, three new and one estate. The best deal was a new one at Tobaccopipes.com, where I just couldn't turn it down anymore after their IPSD discount. So I finally pulled the trigger.
Well the pipe arrived yesterday. It was another one of those instances where I suppose the photos just didn't do it any justice, which has happened to me a couple times before with the St. Patty's Day pipes, and then they looked great once in hand. I really like this pipe, and I'm kicking myself for not ordering it last year. I loaded it up today with Old Toby from The Country Squire while watching the NASCAR race and it performed magically with no relights in the first 2/3 of the bowl.
And now, that hole in the collection has been closed, I've added another 106 to the 106 collection, the Saint Patrick's Day collection has become a seven day set, and I think my dad would have wanted me to have this pipe without breaking my tradition because of the year date... I think he'd have told me to suck it up.
And so here it is, keeping the tradition alive.
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