Bought A Falcon

[verporchting]

Been looking at them for quite some time and decided to pull the trigger. Ordered from GQ Tobaccos in England and it arrived fairly quickly and the price was cheap as chips even including two extra bowls.

So... is it any good? Yes. Unreservedly yes. Absolutely. Love this pipe.

At first I wasn't keen on the looks, but it has a certain period charm that I've seen in countless 60s & 70s films and TV shows and frankly, at this point, it's starting to be a classic in my opinion. Always been a briar guy, but this metal pipe thing had me curious so I decided to try it. Glad I did.

Smokes easily and with no fuss. Dry, cool and simple. Lightweight and easy to clench. Load up the bowls and smoke as many as you like, the pipe doesn't care. Cleaning is dead simple.

One concern was metallic or flat taste, which I have read about in various posts and reviews. Didn't notice it myself. Each bowl is better as the briar seasons up a bit. The stem seems neutral to my palate. I also recently got a Wiebe and it certainly does have a metallic flat taste - it's getting better but I'm not sure it will go away completely. Not a hint of it with the Falcon. Might just be my palate, because others have found it to be metallic tasting but so far I have not.

I might order additional bowls or maybe even another stem. Really digging this pipe and I am even becoming a fan of the funky look, since as I said above, it's getting long enough in the tooth to start being a classic of a certain age.

If you have any interest in these pipes, you might want to check them out. They're worth it.

 

[lightmybriar]

I love my two falcons, and I even have a meerschaum bowl as well. Nothing bad to say about them! Not everyone’s preference, but I’m very happy with the ones I have. Glad you like yours!

 

[BROBS]

Great pipes do you use the dry rings? They are a nice addition. I’ve never tasted metal from them at all, it’s just easy to make them smoke hot if you aren’t careful because they have such a huge draw at the bowl.

 

[sandollars]

Don't waste your money on buying Falcon dry rings. You can make your own out of the tapered or thin pipe cleaners. Just coil it around a thin pen, slide it off then clip each circle and Voila' instant Falcon rings! Don't worry if they don't fit perfectly. They aren't filters, they are there to absorb moisture.

And yes, the pipe works better if you use them.

 

[verporchting]

I tried one bowl without the dry rings and found I prefer the smoke with them installed. Pipe came with 3x but I've got hundreds of pipe cleaners of all shapes and lengths so just figured I'd sit down this weekend with a pen and a pair of cutters and make a bunch myself.

The Falcon really excels at keeping aromatics from becoming a goopy mess to smoke. Been craving some Sleepy Hollow (have a large jar in the cellar) but always got annoyed with the dampness of the tobacco and the dottle - and yes, I have tried leaving it out for 5-10 years to "dry out". The stuff defies any attempt at drying, honestly. Banged a pinch into the bowl and fired it up and ... dry smoke, no goopy mess. I don't often smoke Aros but do occasionally still enjoy several tasty blends and this was a big factor in wanting to try a Falcon. Quite pleased with the result.

 

[ray47]

I started my journey with metal pipes back in the 70's when I bought a Dr. Grabow Viking. Fell in love with the concept and ease of cleaning. Since then I switched to the Falcon and went on a serious PAD. Today I have 8 stems and 20 bowls which include two block meerschaum bowls and two corn cob bowls. I have a chimney bowl but hardly smoke it because it gets too hot and I'm a very slow smoker. The two bantam bowls I have are great for flakes that smoke slow. I could go on and on, but you made a great decision in getting a Falcon. You may even develop a Falcon PAD like I did. Enjoy.

 

[ukbob]

You can’t go wrong with a Falcon, I got 3 stems and 8 bowls . Use them most of the time the other pipes don’t get a look in.

 

[oldmansmoking]

Love my Falcon’s I make dry rings with pipe cleaner, you don’t need a pen or pencil just cut an inch of pipe cleaner and use your hands to form into a rough circle.
I get as much as 5 rings to 1 pipe cleaner.
some bowls crack on the bottom of the bowl, but not all. Believe it’s the heat from the metal humerlater.

 

[paulfg]

there is a very good article by Falconeer about the upkeep of falcon pipes google it. as it is on another forum so wont post direct link

They improve after the initial bowl break in

 

[verporchting]

I bought 3x bowls but I’m already thinking about buying additional ones. There are some blends that would ghost a bowl but excel in the Falcon - I’m thinking about Exotic Orange, Cult Blood Red Moon, G&H Rich Honeydew, Erinmore, etc.

Might be worth a few extra bowls. I’ve got several dedicated briars for Lakelands but have been using a meerschaum for the above blends (or a cob). I think the Falcon is the way to go now. I see a second order in the future.

 

[mso489]

Amazing collections of Falcons have been pictured on Forums, scores or more in one place. It looks as if that is all some members smoke. If you get in step with them, they seem to be real work horse pipes.

 

[JMcQ]

Sooooo...... No pictures? Really?

 

[verporchting]

Lol, I’ll post some pictures tonight when I get home. Everyone likes pipe pictures, right??!!

 

[lightmybriar]

Here are some shots of my Steel Birds:

 

[verporchting]

Nice looking birds!

 

[verporchting]

Any problems with the threads on the meerschaum bowls? Love the idea but that made me wonder about how often the bowls get swapped and the usual concerns with thread stripping.

 

[JMcQ]

Those are definitely interesting. Might be a future present to myself.

 

[anotherbob]

my favorite thing about the falcon is that it smokes really cool. If you over do it there is more wiggle room between that first off puff and the tongue bite. Never got a metallic taste from it either. Maybe if you try real hard to smoke every shred of tobacco you'd get that near the end?

 

[anotherbob]

oh my falcon is my least favorite pipe and it's a great pipe.

 

[ray47]

Any problems with the threads on the meerschaum bowls? Love the idea but that made me wonder about how often the bowls get swapped and the usual concerns with thread stripping.

I've had my two block meerschaum bowls for four years now and smoke them several times a week and no problems with the threads. As a caution, you should not remove the bowls while the bowls are still hot. Let them cool down slightly before removal. With the briar bowls it's not much of a problem.