Well my new Big Ben arrived a day early. It took me about 3 minutes to unpack. Extremely well packaged. I took it out of the packaging and took a good look at the briar. No fills or imperfections that I could find. Then I tried the draw. WTH, nothing! I then took out the 9 mm BB filter and still no draw. So I took a pipe cleaner and ran it through. Presto, damn briar shavings were blocking the draft hole. First time, I had ever seen this. I cleaned it out put back the filter and drew. Pretty nice draw, but the filter kept moving. I think I may have put it back in the wrong direction. I decided to turn the filter around, presto! No movement or jiggling, nice and solid. Guess the BB filter is like the Vauen 9mm, where you need to know which end to place it into the tendon. OK, I haven't smoked it yet. Still haven't ordered the tobacco and other supplies, but so far I'm impressed. They could of had better quality control to keep the draft hole open, but it appears perfectly centered and again the draw is more than I was expecting. Better than a Cob with the 6mm paper filter for sure. I's say 10 to 15% less than a Boswell or Radice and close to a Viprati and new Caminettos with no filters and their 5/32" draft hole. I will have my supplies next week and order do a more thorough review on how she smokes. Thanks!
