Black Billiard

[sparrowhawk]

Yeah, I'm an old (well, not yet chronologically but I'm getting there) dude who likes classic stuff. I once accidentally bought a black Dunhill that was squared off, very modernistic but you couldn't tell because black just doesn't photograph well amd returned it (although that was a little difficult to do--I didn't know about their "restocking fee"). It was just as well. $400 for a pipe, unless it's exceptionally special, is just insane. I'm getting that Ropp black bulliard tomorrow, by the way. Then I have to leave town for a few days, so I have to put off breaking it in until Wednesday.

 

[mso489]

Sparrowhawk, I'm happy for folks who are comfortable with high end pipes, but I do revel in being able to

buy some really good smokers at "working man's" prices. I'm spoiled by having a few really nice pipes,

no Dunhills, but very respectable briars, but I'm often well-pleased with pipes I've bought for considerably

less.

 

[sparrowhawk]

I'm with you, mso489. A good pipe shouldn't cost a body part. I've managed to get my pipes at reasonable prices, although I must admit I don't have many compared to some of the other gentlemen here. On the other hand, sometimes a great pipe comes along and price becomes secondary. A pearl of great price, you might say.

Anyway, my black billiard arrived today, and it is beautiful, with a generous bowl and long stem with a "stinger" attached. I asked SP what this was and what it was for (I guess it circulates the air and makes for a cooler smoke, and it's removable), but regardless I'm very happy with this pipe and can't wait to break it in.

 

[numbersix]

Big congrats to you on that Ropp - it's a beauty. Let us know how she smokes.

 

[sparrowhawk]

RE: Black Billiard. Well, this is interesting. The pipe, when I took it apart to inspect, expecting to blow through the components as I have learned to do to inspect a pipe for hidden cracks and flaws (I have found flaws this way that the experts missed with estate pipes), had at the end of the tenon (is that the right word?) a curious metal pin that looked rather like a old-fashioned wooden clothes pin, the kind with a ball at the end. After a call to SP to ask what the heck it was, she explained that it was a "stinger," designed to circulate air and make for a cooler smoke. Well, it does impede air flow a bit, but not seriously, but I'm still breaking the pipe in, and I'll know better in a few days. I did note, however, that with the pin removed (easily done--just grab it and pull), the air draw is easier and the pipe smokes very well. The lady at SP said she didn't know the pipe had a stinger, and would inform the upper management people that they would update their description of this pipe to mention the stinger.

By the way, I sometimes am unclear on the some components of pipes, so watch for a thread requesting information about this: I plan on doing a drawing of a universal pipe's anatomy for PM users.

 

[sparrowhawk]

Breaking in the black billiard was delayed for a day, but I found the stinger not worth the trouble it was causing, so I just removed it. After that the pipe smoked wonderfully. And SP is sending my Ashton tomorrow--they found some cotton, probably from a Q-tip left over from a previous cleaning in the stem, blocking up the airflow--will arrive by Friday, I would think. Once I have that pipe, with the Hardcastle and the Ropp, I will have the core pipes for rotation. Finally!

 

[sparrowhawk]

The stinger is already in plastic and in my cedar cigar box of pipe miscellanea. I wonder, given the enormous length of the tenon, if this pipe was some sort of experiment to lengthen the pipe to create a cooler smoke, and make it more stable at the same time. Thanks for the link; I was planning on a somewhat more refined drawing of a pipe's anatomy. By the way, are you familiar with a pipe's "plateau"? I saw it in a posting, and I suspect, in context, it refers to the area occupied by the rim, which as you know can be quite wide, as with a "pot" pipe.