Falcon Pipes Question

[captainian]

Hello, hope you all enjoyed your international pipe smoking day!

Anyway, i used to really hate falcon pipes (as many of you stated in other topics) because of their looks, but this year my father gave me a falcon pipe as a gift, when i saw it in person it actually looked interesting,

now i got 2 falcon international stems one bent one straight, but i never tried a 'normal' metallic falcon stem.

Do they smoke way different/hotter/wetter e.t.c ?
Thanks
:puffpipe:

 

[plateauguy]

You will love the cool smoke that a Falcon gives. I've never had a bad smoke yet out of a Falcon - I own 6 of them with several bowls.
All of mine were estates that I cleaned by soaking them in oxyclean initally, then scrubbed out the stems with Everclear. Then I polished them with aluminum mag polish. Even if you don't fall in love with them, they make a great travel pipe with extra bowls.
Your dad gave you a jewel, enjoy it in good health!

 

[mrenglish]

No difference at all between the regular line and the International. If you do not like the silver stems, there is a fella on the ebay out of Estonia that sells all black stems. I believe Rich at 4Noggins can custom order them for you as well.

 

[theboz]

Mine has been good with blends that misbehave easily.

 

[billypm]

I love my Falcon-- especially since I found out how beautifully Lakeland style British scented tobaccos smoke in it. A perfect pairing.

 

[captainian]

It's true, Falcon seems to make almost every blend smoke nicer!

I'm on a hunt for bowls now though, i had 2 but unfortunately my meerschaum bowl broke :?

I may get the hyperbole cause i like big bowls when i sit around at home.

 

[jah76]

I think the natural air pocket has a lot to do with it. I actually air pocket a lot of blends I smoke in my normal briars and cobs too.
I love my falcon. I can set it down anywhere and not worry about banging it up. I'm really tempted to pick up a few more bowls.

 

[billypm]

Yup, the fact that the straight versions are such stable sitters is a real plus for me. The best driving pipe ever made by man.

 

[mrenglish]

I know I was surprised at how well they smoked. I worked at a B&M for a couple years and we could not keep them in stock but I was still relatively new to pipes and figured they were a gimmick of sorts. Fast forward many years later and I picked up a black Shillelagh and was blown away by how good it smoked.

 

[captainian]

Talking about air pockets... Anyone tried the meerschaum pebbles that you put in the bottom of the bowl?

 

[mrenglish]

They are OK if a pipe smokes wet. They will be problematic for a Falcon though, the smaller ones can clog the air hole. A cut piece of pipe cleaner would work better in a Falcon.

 

[unluckysouth]

Hi everybody, I am new to pipe smoking but been a cigar smoker for years now and decided to try something new. My father has been a pipe smoker ever since I was a kid, so I called him up and ending up being well over an hour call. I just bought my first pipe which your replays helped me out, it is a Falcon Coolway Dublin with a verity of

Peter Stokkebye blends. Now its between 2-6 days, thanks for the info!

 

[shutterbugg]

I have a couple Falcons, straight-stem, regular bit, smallish bowls. I bought them for traveling. Normally I smoke at home, outdoors, alone, where the omnipresence of a grimy pipecleaner doesn't elicit gagging from non-smoking observers The Falcons obviate the need for mid-smoke pipecleaning. I cut my own dry rings from pipecleaners.
The only downside I found with them is unless I clean the bowl's bottom hole and the humidome after each smoke, eventually the gap narrows with sludge and restricts the draw.

 

[ahmadothman]

I have two pipes, both were my father's.. One of them is a falcon extra straight and the other is Morel, and of the two I ALWAYS enjoy the falcon more.. It gives a very cool smoke, never a bad one actually, it is durable and easy to pack..And it is the easiest thing to clean.. even if if overburns or gurgles, you just unscrew the bowl, give the stem a couple of blows and you're back in business.

 

[ahmadothman]

Another update to this, I got another Falcon, An extra bent with Istanbul bowl.. And I've had my first smoke in it, and it is divine.

 

[mawnansmiff]

" The only thing that represents a con for me is, because there is no briar shank, the tobacco taste is less evident..."
Guyrox, as I pointed out on another Falcon thread, the shank material has absolutely no bearing on the taste of the tobacco. Briar or aluminium, it will taste the same. You are suggesting that a briar shank somehow enhances the flavour, utter hogwash my friend.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[thespuckler]

Hi, I've just taken out membership to this site & coincidentally stumbled over this Falcon pipe forum. I've smoked a pipe for 45 years, all sorts of makes & materials & without doubt the best of them all has to be a Falcon! I favour the International bent model with dental piece & my favourite bowl is the Plymouth Rustic (gives additional cooling). A persistent problem I find is that if you drop tar into the condenser it can migrate up the bowl threads & of a sudden you find you have tar all over your fingers! Putting in a soaker cartridge or a ring soaker in the bowl of the condenser seems to detract from the smoking flavour though. Does anyone else experience this? Only a minor irritation though I feel. Lastly, they are brilliant with a Lakeland tobacco & the flakes are best. I find that, instead of rubbing the flake out, taking a flake & rolling it up & filling the bowl that way gives a much superior smoke. I couldn't believe how much better it was done that way! A bit harder to get it going but worth the patience.

 

[darwin]

Few pipes have a wider range of possible looks. Falcons can even look techno-sexy. Witness this one I got a few years back.

 

[menuhin]

... without doubt the best of them all has to be a Falcon! ... a ring soaker in the bowl of the condenser seems to detract from the smoking flavour though. Does anyone else experience this? ... a flake & rolling it up & filling the bowl that way gives a much superior smoke. I couldn't believe how much better it was done that way! A bit harder to get it going but worth the patience.

I like my Falcons too, they are my outdoor pipes, and I must use the soak rings (made by myself out of pipe cleaners) to achieve a decent smoke that usually last for 25-45 minutes, but probably not longer.
They are roughed: for one of them I dropped it countless number of times and it is still surviving well.

One key aspect that I like about the Falcon is that the brand seems to been surviving well, and that the bowls are virtually dispensable - not that I want to throw away 20+€ which I can use to buy a very decent French estate or sometimes even a savable European meerschaum, but that I can get the exact same Falcon bowl in case I char one.
They have been my "go to" pipe for quite a few years for occasions that I cannot expect a comfortable place to sit down and smoke for a longer time.

 

[condorlover1]

My opinion on Falcon's is well known and I am not going to repeat it again. That being said the old silver penny or button at the base of the pipe does create a space that results in a very cool smoke. I have written about it extensively on here over the years and I would image 'pipe pebbles' also serve a similar function.