I have had several magic inch pipes in my time and I always hated the stem. It seemed that just a bit too much pressure on the stem closed them up and at the time I was a clencher. I usually would just put tape over the holes in the magic inch portion because I could never get a good draw from the pipe when the holes were open. If I had one of the Carey pipes today I would find a way to replace the stem with something better.
Carey Magic Inch
- Thread starter shaintiques
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I remember the advertisements in the Sunday Express newspaper for the pipes. It always featured a guy wearing an ascot and sports jacket that resembled your best friends Father who was totally cool and could fix anything that your own Father couldn't seem to do! They always said you could try the pipe for two weeks and if you didn't like it you could smash it with a hammer and return the bits and you wouldn't be charged a penny. I often wondered how many people took them up on their offer just to wallop the pipe with a club hammer! :rofl:
I owned a Carey for a number of years. It was a drab little apple shape pipe with a brownish finish and no grain at all, but the shape and light weight were appealing. However, the little vent on the top of the stem didn't seem to function in any way except to diminish the flavor too much. I finally gave it away. The price is good. Carey should just offer a cap that clips over the stem opening for people who don't find it useful. Probably most.
I'm really happy to hear they're stil making them and selling them, because that means there are newbies coming into pipe smoking. Yes the vent holes draw in air that cools the smoke, but it also means there's less smoke in the draw, which makes most people puff faster/harder, which ramps the smoke temp back up, but also kills the taste of decent tobaccos. Not that people who bought Carey's smoked decent tobacco 
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