By Golly, I Think I've Figured It Out!

[moses]

So, I got this sexy and huge Philip Trypis billiard with a plateau rim and about 1/8 bent stem off BriarBid from forum member Pruss, and have pretty much sat on it for the past month.
Problem was: I couldn't figure out what I wanted to break it in with. I wanted it to be neutral (in case I changed my mind about what types of baccy I wanted to smoke in it), but I also wanted to ENJOY the process. A lot of people say Carter Hall. Problem was, I just wasn't a fan of straight CH. Still aren't. It's pretty good for adding into things like the couple of sample aromatics I've accumulated, or other more sinister experiments, but straight it just isn't for me.
So today, I think I've come up with a neutral enough substitute that I actually enjoy smoking. GL Pease Cumberland! Favorite VA/Bur/Per so far, and it's got a pleasant cedar-y note to it. Probably not as neutral as a straight burley, but infinitely more enjoyable to me, the smoker.
SO! Inaugural bowl in my still NOS Trypis! Enough typing, I'm going to get to smoking!
Thanks Greece and Canada! And Pruss! :clap:

 

[brdavidson]

Enjoy that pipe, it's a beauty! All three of my Trypis pipes smoke wonderfully, very nicely made pipes.

 

[moses]

Just for funsies, and because I don't feel like dicking around with my crappy phone camera, THIS is what it looks like.
Okay, I'm really going to smoke it in this (finally) lovely southern Maine weather. Update pending! :mrgreen:

 

[moses]

Last sidenote, then I'm really going out: that rim is freakin' captivating. lol

 

[mso489]

That sounds like fine tobacco for breaking in your pipe. You can't go wrong there, I don't believe. Main thing is,

it is something you enjoy. I hardly see the point otherwise. But also, Va/Bur/Per isn't going to ghost the pipe,

and especially the Va will give you the wanted cake. So sit back and enjoy.

 

[teufelhund]

Sounds like a good selection to me... Enjoy your new pipe!

 

[moses]

It was a mite breezy, and since I only went with about a one third fill for the first, this went really fast lol. I think my goodnight bowl will be the same.
But I learned some stuff! The Cumberland smoked better in this pipe than it does even in my cobs! Going for a decent enjoyable cake builder, I may have found love at first light! The pipe and the blend compliment each other so well, I very well mayn't be bothered to try anything else in it just to keep the experience pure and innocent, much like a tobacco smokey lamb. Unwieldy simile aside, I may have lucked into my own personal magic bullet.
High fives (in spirit) all around!
Remember when you found a magic combination of pipe and leaf? Yes? Then you know what I'm talking about. No? Then, god willing, you will. While I was smoking, I was hoping it would be the bowl that never ends.
Thank you Philip Trypis, Greg Pease, and pruss. You've all unwittingly come together to give me one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable smokes I've had thus far.
Also Diamond Greenlight Strike Anywhere matches. :D
*edit:
The funny thing is: I bought the Cumberland sight unseen in an attempt to appreciate burley. I'd smoked a lot of lat blends and a handful of Virginia based blends and some Oriental-forward blends, but lacked any reasonable experience in burley-forward blends. When I tried it, I liked it, but it didn't sing to me regardless of what it was smoked in. Like I mentioned, CH left me totally underwhelmed, but made me think burley in deft hands could be something special. Cumberland pushed me further in that direction, but it felt like there was a piece missing. Turns out I had the missing piece for a month lol.
Now it's time to stock up on Cumberland.

 

[waznyf]

Enjoy! That tobacco sounds neutral enough to use! Let us know how the pipe treats you!
-Frank

 

[pruss]

Hey Moses, thanks for posting your inaugural smoke and thoughts on your Trypis! Have fun with that beautiful briar... and don't worry, your cobs will forgive you for occasionally cheating on 'em with briar!
-- Pat

 

[ciderguy]

Enjoy! Not everyone can love CH. I normally break in pipes with CH or McClelland No. 5100 Red Cake. I'm also impressed that the first smoke in it was better than your cobs. It sounds like you truly have found one of those magical combinations.

 

[gwtwdbss]

I just saw this thread. Congrats on a fine looking pipe Moses!

 

[allan]

Moses
Enjoy that pipe!