A Proposition
- Thread starter aldecaker
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Just for the record, the reasons I wanted the pipe drilled for a standard MM filter were:
1) For the low, low, price of fifty cents, each interested party could provide their own new, unused stem. I am one of those people who will gladly eat with plates and silverware at a restaurant, but am completely revolted by the idea of estate pipes with anything other than a brand-new stem. The plates and silver may have been used a half hour ago; the pipe may have been untouched for a century since its last use. Don't care. It's one of my idiosyncracies.
2) Some members prefer a filter; some do not. It was the only way I could think of to accomodate both tribes.
It's starting to look like this experiment has some factors (like stem construction) that would make it non-viable. Which is sucky, because I wanted everyone to test drive a Maserati at least once.
1) For the low, low, price of fifty cents, each interested party could provide their own new, unused stem. I am one of those people who will gladly eat with plates and silverware at a restaurant, but am completely revolted by the idea of estate pipes with anything other than a brand-new stem. The plates and silver may have been used a half hour ago; the pipe may have been untouched for a century since its last use. Don't care. It's one of my idiosyncracies.
2) Some members prefer a filter; some do not. It was the only way I could think of to accomodate both tribes.
It's starting to look like this experiment has some factors (like stem construction) that would make it non-viable. Which is sucky, because I wanted everyone to test drive a Maserati at least once.
These two points... but this also doesn't take into consideration the tobaccos that everyone smokes, I don't smoke aro's at all and I can just imagine the flavors of your favorite tobaccos being contaminated with what so many others have smoked. I do believe that the more you smoke a pipe the better it gets, but also the type of tobaccos that you smoke out of said pipe will also affect it. Like a meerschaum will darken more with aromatics than with Virginian or english blends, they too affect a briar pipe.
just my .2¢ as well
So, while noble and all, it turned out to be..... Wait for it...
Don't shoot me!
A pipe dream.
:P
omg....
Don't shoot me!
A pipe dream.
:P
omg....
Yeah, but test driving a Maserati with wagon wheels retrofitted to it would tell you nothing about its performance.
Aldecaker, you can still commission a brand spanking new briar fron Mr. Cannoy. The fact that it would be filterless and would have a hand cut stem are actually a good thing, believe me!
Oh, don't think I haven't considered it! A nice velvety-blasted Devil Anse would be just the ticket for some of my birthday money. Problem is, I need another pipe like I need another hole in the head (and I already have one more of those than come standard issue).
Aldecaker, you're a helluva guy. Sincerely.
I think you'd have better results by commissioning a handmade stem for a cob instead of a briar bowl for a cob stem. Stem aside, what you're paying an artisan carver for is well cured wood with minimal critical defects (we hope), and the time/skills to make it look pretty. What we're hoping for is a pipe that makes anything it smokes taste great. The wood plays a major role in this equation and is totally unpredictable. There's simply no way to know what impact a pipe will have on the taste of the tobacco without smoking it. Engineering only gets you so far. Cannoy (aka Cannot according to spell check) might make you the best pipe he's ever made but it may turn out to be a dud once smoked and there's no way he'd know what went wrong.
A handmade stem on a cob, on the other hand, will do nothing but refine the cob experience. And let's face it, every one of us has a pipe we bought for under 30 bux that out smokes and tastes better than our monolithic, awe inspiring, drool inducing mega pipes. It's the nature of the game and the nature of the material.
It's obvious to everyone I'm sure, but there's a lot more to like about a pipe than the way it smokes, otherwise, we'd all be smoking cobs...or after a most unfortunate night in my college days, tin foil!
I think you'd have better results by commissioning a handmade stem for a cob instead of a briar bowl for a cob stem. Stem aside, what you're paying an artisan carver for is well cured wood with minimal critical defects (we hope), and the time/skills to make it look pretty. What we're hoping for is a pipe that makes anything it smokes taste great. The wood plays a major role in this equation and is totally unpredictable. There's simply no way to know what impact a pipe will have on the taste of the tobacco without smoking it. Engineering only gets you so far. Cannoy (aka Cannot according to spell check) might make you the best pipe he's ever made but it may turn out to be a dud once smoked and there's no way he'd know what went wrong.
A handmade stem on a cob, on the other hand, will do nothing but refine the cob experience. And let's face it, every one of us has a pipe we bought for under 30 bux that out smokes and tastes better than our monolithic, awe inspiring, drool inducing mega pipes. It's the nature of the game and the nature of the material.
It's obvious to everyone I'm sure, but there's a lot more to like about a pipe than the way it smokes, otherwise, we'd all be smoking cobs...or after a most unfortunate night in my college days, tin foil!
Well of course the stem matters. That's why I pony up $24.99 for a Forever Stem to put on a $6.50 Legend! By the way, I would probably (only at home) drink a good whisky out of a Taz mug. 'Course when you're at the point where you're ordering a mug of whisky, your best bet is to do it at home. With all your shoes hidden and your car keys frozen in an ice block...
I think it is a noble idea, I really do. I would love to smoke a Walt Cannoy pipe, to see if it were all that I have heard. Alas, my only experience with high end Pipes has been from the estate.market, and I have not seen any of Walt's pipes there. From the practical perspective, however, I feel one should try and own several pipes, and at least one should be a briar, one a clay, one a cob, etc. That is the journey that I took, I think it paid off.
Now, the enterprising pipe carver might want to contribute a sample of his wares to the box pass, simply because sampling the work, caressing the aged briar, and clenching a hand cut stem might result in future sales for said contributors. I know enough to clean a pipe before I smoke it, and I would be game to try it.
Or maybe a lend-lease kinda program........
Now, the enterprising pipe carver might want to contribute a sample of his wares to the box pass, simply because sampling the work, caressing the aged briar, and clenching a hand cut stem might result in future sales for said contributors. I know enough to clean a pipe before I smoke it, and I would be game to try it.
Or maybe a lend-lease kinda program........
Still waiting around for the new run of forevers. I read somewhere eta was to be 8/1, but still no news.
Since briar is so variable, and every block from Bo to Beo has a nearly the same chance to reach greatness, why not grab a diy block and drill it to take a cob stem? I know you are way beyond qualified to nail the drilling. That wouldn't be playing fair though, would it?
That reminds me, I did drill out the stem of my most constricted pipe up to the slot. The slot itself is so small it get's choked by a 3/32 drill bit. Will need to get a file for that. Interestingly, the larger diameter made a larger than anticipated impact on the taste of the smoke.
I'm not convinced that changing the stem on a Cob is the right way to go, as far as I can tell the Missouri Meerschaum stem is the primary reason Cobs are so good.
Drilling an average briar to take a Missouri Meerschaum plastic stem should improve performance.
Drilling an average briar to take a Missouri Meerschaum plastic stem should improve performance.
The porosity of the corn, in tandem with the huge gapping hole, i.e. airway, both contribute to the positive smoking qualities of the cob imo. Yet the stem material is so heinous, it really degrades the the smoking experience. People complain about acrylic but it's like the finest silk comparatively.
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