I recieved a Brigham pipe the other day. I have been wanting to try one for quite some time now, so I finally got around to ordering one.
The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was that it was smaller than I thought it would be, judging from the pictures I've seen. It's about a Dunhill size 4.
It appeared well made, although the stem did not meet the shank exactly flush. There was a very small gap under the stem. The top of the stem was flush though.
The pipe cost me $85.00, but I ordered some filters for it and some filters for some Savinelli's that I own, to bring the total to just above $100.00 so I could avail myself of the free S&H.
I noticed that the interior of the bowl was coated in a brown substance, to protect the walls and help with forming a cake, I suppose. It did not alter the taste of the tobacco in any way.
I promptly set about putting a filter in it and filling it with some Middelton's Cherry blend, thinking that it would be a more wet smoking tobacco than an English blend, as I wanted to see just how well the filter would work.
My first smoke was great! Not once did it gurgle. No pipe cleaners required.
I finished that first bowl highly impressed with their filter system.
I put the pipe down, and came back about 2 hours later to have another bowl. After cleaning the ashes out, and running a cleaner down through the stem, I found that the cleaner would not go all the way into the bowl, although the filter has a hole through it for that purpose. I pulled the pipe apart and found that the air holes did not align properly. There was no way to run a pipe cleaner down the stem and into the bowl, unless you had the pipe apart and took the cleaner and hunted around for the hole into the bowl.
Not a big problem, but very disaponting.
My second smoke was a disaster. Nothing but gurgles and bubbling from the pipe. I got so frustrated I pulled the pipe apart without letting it cool down first. I took the filter out and noticed it was saturated with moisture. I set it aside and put a new filter in, and continued to smoke. Even with a new filter in, I would sometimes get a gurgle.
I took the pipe apart again and cleaned it all out with another pipe cleaner. There was moisture all in the stem. After that, it smoked great again.
I guess they forgot to include a step in the instructions on the filter box. They do say to remove the filter often to shake out moisture, but then they say to just replace filters every 2-3 weeks. They didn't say you had to have another filter handy if you wanted to smoke the pipe again, or that you had to let the filter dry out in between smokes.
Maybe I'm just not that smart, but I thought I was following the instructins. Oh well.
Here's the pipe taken apart and the filter system. The filter on top was after one smoke, and still wet. The filter below it is a new filter.
Conclusions: mmmmmmm ........ I have mixed feelings. The first smoke was great. No gurgles, no pipe cleaners needed, the filter did not affect the tobacco taste.
I like the feel of the pipe, and the looks well enough, but all in all, it's kinda fidly.
I have also smoked it without any filters, but not being able to run a cleaner into the bowl is just frustrating.
I really wanted to like this pipe though. I will keep trying it with different tobaccos, and now that I know to always have a dry filter in it, I hope to get some enjoyment out of this.
I don't think I will buy another though.
The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was that it was smaller than I thought it would be, judging from the pictures I've seen. It's about a Dunhill size 4.
It appeared well made, although the stem did not meet the shank exactly flush. There was a very small gap under the stem. The top of the stem was flush though.
The pipe cost me $85.00, but I ordered some filters for it and some filters for some Savinelli's that I own, to bring the total to just above $100.00 so I could avail myself of the free S&H.
I noticed that the interior of the bowl was coated in a brown substance, to protect the walls and help with forming a cake, I suppose. It did not alter the taste of the tobacco in any way.
I promptly set about putting a filter in it and filling it with some Middelton's Cherry blend, thinking that it would be a more wet smoking tobacco than an English blend, as I wanted to see just how well the filter would work.
My first smoke was great! Not once did it gurgle. No pipe cleaners required.
I finished that first bowl highly impressed with their filter system.
I put the pipe down, and came back about 2 hours later to have another bowl. After cleaning the ashes out, and running a cleaner down through the stem, I found that the cleaner would not go all the way into the bowl, although the filter has a hole through it for that purpose. I pulled the pipe apart and found that the air holes did not align properly. There was no way to run a pipe cleaner down the stem and into the bowl, unless you had the pipe apart and took the cleaner and hunted around for the hole into the bowl.
Not a big problem, but very disaponting.
My second smoke was a disaster. Nothing but gurgles and bubbling from the pipe. I got so frustrated I pulled the pipe apart without letting it cool down first. I took the filter out and noticed it was saturated with moisture. I set it aside and put a new filter in, and continued to smoke. Even with a new filter in, I would sometimes get a gurgle.
I took the pipe apart again and cleaned it all out with another pipe cleaner. There was moisture all in the stem. After that, it smoked great again.
I guess they forgot to include a step in the instructions on the filter box. They do say to remove the filter often to shake out moisture, but then they say to just replace filters every 2-3 weeks. They didn't say you had to have another filter handy if you wanted to smoke the pipe again, or that you had to let the filter dry out in between smokes.
Maybe I'm just not that smart, but I thought I was following the instructins. Oh well.
Here's the pipe taken apart and the filter system. The filter on top was after one smoke, and still wet. The filter below it is a new filter.
Conclusions: mmmmmmm ........ I have mixed feelings. The first smoke was great. No gurgles, no pipe cleaners needed, the filter did not affect the tobacco taste.
I like the feel of the pipe, and the looks well enough, but all in all, it's kinda fidly.
I have also smoked it without any filters, but not being able to run a cleaner into the bowl is just frustrating.
I really wanted to like this pipe though. I will keep trying it with different tobaccos, and now that I know to always have a dry filter in it, I hope to get some enjoyment out of this.
I don't think I will buy another though.
