Doug Finlay Flat-Out Kills It

[georged]

My latest acquisition.

A perfect blend of classic shape derivation, practicality, elegance, and flawless execution.

Large bowl capacity w/overall compactness; great balance and hand feel; beautiful without being blingy/flashy.

This is the pipe searched for for 50 years, but never found...

Until today.

 

[OzPiper]

Love those stubby chubbys

 

[verporchting]

The guy is a genius craftsman and his pipes smoke as good as they look. Lovely pipe, George.

 

[kcghost]

Wow, that is one fine pipe!! I have one Doug Finlay and it is sweet smoker.

 

[ssjones]

Hootchie mamma, thats a hottie!


I love sandblast and smooth top.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Congrats George; breathtakingly beautiful pipe.
Everything about it is perfect, I'm moved.

 

[MattRVA]

That’s an interesting shape, it looks like it would clench effortlessly.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I've posted up my commissions from him when I've gotten them and they are high quality. Likely will jump back in the water come fall!

 

[ron123]

High praise from a discerning eye...thinking I need to try one from him.

 

[georged]

First smoke report ---

I like to break in pipes the old fashioned way, which is 2 or 3 bowls every day for a week. Show 'em what their life is all about, and build some cake. Get acquainted with each other to the point of bonding. Become best friends who will always have each other's back...

Last night it was G&H Dark Plug followed immediately by another of G&H Brown Bogie. ( yum! )

What it looks like you're gonna get is what I got: fantastic hand feel, outstanding "clenchability" (a big deal when a pipe weighs 80 grams), and the usual eyeball playground between puffs that interestingly textured and finished briar is famous for.

The bowls lasted a good while, too (the chamber is .85" wide and 1.85" deep), which has become more important to me as I get older. Likin' them biggies these days. Big chambers taste better, and stay at cruising altitude a lot longer.

My four Douggie pipes before this one all had names---The Jug, LC Dog, The Dome, and BooBelge---so I thought this one would probably tell me its name after a bit, and it did: Chonky Boi

Couldn't be happier, the me.

 

[AroEnglish]

Doug is completely underrated as far as I'm concerned and this is just more proof.

 

[didimauw]

I like em tiny. That's a great looking pipe. What's the length?

 

[Elric]

That is one gorgeous piece of briar!

 

[georged]

What's the length?

5.5"

 

[upnorth1]

She’s a beaut!

 

[Snakeseye]

Doug does fantastic work!

 

[PaulRVA]

Doug makes a great pipe with extreme attention to detail !
Beautiful pipe !

 

[georged]

Something I forgot to mention ---

Chonky Boi's stem is neither vulcanite nor acrylic, but a proprietary material called "Eldritch". (I assume that's the name of the guy who makes and sells it, but am not sure. He's a chemist-type in England who also supplies the pen making world.)

How good is Eldritch AS pipe stem material? One of my other Dougpipes (the one called LC Dog) that I've had and smoked the crap out of for a couple years also uses it, and I've been 100% impressed. Stays jet black with zero effort, has a vulcanite(ish) tooth feel, does not develop tooth "dig pits" like rubber, polishes to a glass-like shine, and---so far, anyway---doesn't develop a faint orange peel texture with age like some acrylic formulas do.

 

[georged]

Update ---

I smoked Chonky Boi for seven days straight, 2-3 bowls per day, then gave him a well-deserved rest starting this past Monday.

Last night w/book in hand, I scanned the racks in time honored PipeWorld fashion to see which one flipped my switch.

Approximately 130 to choose from that range considerably in size, length, and capacity.

Then my damn brain touched on the thought of Chonky Boi's smoking machine perfection---the weight, balance, comfort, chamber size, and hand feel/texture---and the decision process was over before it started.

Thanks, Doug.

Now I have five of your pipes, and 125 wooden sculptures that might not ever be smoked again.

You suck