Antique + Modern = High Performance Smoking Machine

[georged]

This is the sort of thing that would have driven me a bit crazy 20 years ago, but now makes all the sense in the world.

Take an old pipe---in this case a factory replica of an old pipe---and combine its best features with the ergonomic sensibility that made high end Scandinavian carvers famous... and then do the modern "optimized airway" thing on top of that.

So...

--- Medium-sized, half-bent stummel with practical-shaped (pot-billiard hybrid) bowl and chamber made from quality briar

--- Super durable silver-capped shank that will never crack if pipe is dropped

--- Short(ish) super durable military style stem whose tenon will never break if pipe is dropped

--- "Super contoured" (i.e. everything radiused, no sharp edges) button and bite zone, a la Bo Nordh

--- Conical stem airway (yes, really) with horn-flare to better "gather and compress" smoke from the dead air space in the shank

Does it work as intended?

You betcha. I find myself reaching for it a LOT, even though the fancier and purtier pipes in my rack screech and holler when I do.

That's how you know when a pipe truly is good.

 

[georged]

 

[crusader]

I'm not an expert, but that is the most perfect button I've ever seent!

 

[ashdigger]

Totally agree I have several pipes saved with new stems.

Worth the effort and time for sure b

 

[georged]

I'm not an expert, but that is the most perfect button I've ever seent!

Mouth feel plays a big part in pipe smoking. As in, if a stem is bad---sharp edges, too thick, etc.---it will spoil the entire experience.

(There is no "good" feel, as such. Good is more the absence of bad than anything else.)

The reason you don't see fully radiused "sculpted" buttons very often is because---big surprise---they're more time consuming / more difficult to make.

 

[OzPiper]

I want ! I want ! I want !

 

[didimauw]

I'm picky about my stems these days. And since I discovered hand cut vulcanite, I'm even pickier.

What's the specs on that one?

 

[georged]

Since I like this pipe so much and a few of you guys seem to as well, I took a few more pics.

The stem close ups show the SUPER comfortable curvature and taper rate, as well as the end (face?) of the button. Since your tongue touches it, even that must be "streamlined" and have no sharp edges.

 

[ssjones]

Ah, the 1909, a great shape and one of the four pipes included in the 1995 "Antique Collection" release.

Here's the original. I'm not a big fan of the space-saver stem in general,so I think your stem is a huge improvement (even though I am a P-lip fan). Like you said, "mouth feel is everything".

That tenon is amazing and no doubt an easier to maintain solution vs the factory screw-in chimney.

 

[captpat]

There's a lot to like about that pipe.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Now THATS a tenon.

 

[verporchting]

That’s just so much better than the original in every aspect that it’s a thing of grace and beauty! Wow!

 

[georged]

Ah, the 1909, a great shape and one of the four pipes included in the 1995 "Antique Collection" release.

Here's the original. I'm not a big fan of the space-saver stem in general,so I think your stem is a huge improvement (even though I am a P-lip fan). Like you said, "mouth feel is everything".

That tenon is amazing and no doubt an easier to maintain solution vs the factory screw-in chimney.

View attachment 173209

Yup, it's part of a set.

Somehow I have FIVE, though, not four. (Maybe one was released on its own?)

Anyway, I always liked the turn-of-the-century finish that ran to a purple-ish Cordovan, along with the yellow amber that was not uncommon then, so restained 'em and replaced the P-lips with tortoise shell acrylic.

Couldn't be happier. They get smoked regularly and perform well.

 

[FurCoat]

Works of art, beautiful

 

[snagstangl]

How far back does the tenon funneling go into the stem? Also what tools did you use to do the funneling?

 

[Piping Rooster]

That Jap is sexy! The grain reminds me of tiger stripe camo.

 

[ssjones]

George, somehow, I have the case for that set. I think Mark Peterson may have given it to me?
If you would like it for your set, let me know.

 

[georged]

How far back does the tenon funneling go into the stem? Also what tools did you use to do the funneling?

All the way to the base of the button-end funnel.

It's done with something that looks like a drill bit at first glance but is actually a tapered reamer. Meaning the SIDES cut, not the tip.

I can only be used for pre-existing parallel-sided holes.

NOTE: "cone cutting" airways cannot be done by hand. (The surface/cutting engagement increases the deeper it goes, and the torque required to turn it after an inch or so is more than an human is capable of). Either a lathe or drill press is required.

Spendy, too. But VERY well made. They leave a mirror-smooth surface.

The catalog page shown is McMaster-Carr.

(They do not deliver outside the USA, btw)

 

[georged]

George, somehow, I have the case for that set. I think Mark Peterson may have given it to me?
If you would like it for your set, let me know.

Muchacho gracioso for the offer.

I haven't the space for retail display type stuff, though.

If I lived in a mansion with a "time machine" type B&M tobacco shop adjacent to my 19th century mahogony-paneled wingchair-filled mancave, though, I'd be all over it.

PS --- The room would also be a Faraday cage but that's another subject. lol

 

[simong]

Exemplary work, as always. A pleasure to see!