Help With My Peterson

[imperialist]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and have been smoking for about six months now. So far, I have three pipes. A Savinelli duca carlo bent brandy, a Luna hobbit style pipe and a peterson poker. I have no problems smoking the savinelli or the luna pipes, only having to re-light twice while smoking those but cannot for the life of me keep my peterson lit. I have to smoke the thing like a cigarette in order to keep it lit and then it becomes too hot. I've tried packing it several different ways and no amount of drying the tobacco helps. Anyone have any idea what I may be doing wrong? I can't seem to figure out.
Thanks! Glad to be here!

 

[crpntr1]

Welcome to the forums

Is it new? Maybe its not broken in yet..

 

[cigrmaster]

Hi imperialist, welcome to the forum. I would suggest packing the pipe much firmer. After packing, test the draw and make sure you have some decent resistance. When you pack too loosely it will go out all the time. Let me know if this helps.

 

[imperialist]

Thanks for the advise and input, gentlemen. I really appreciate it! It is still pretty new and I haven't smoked it as much as my other pipes because I can't keep it lit. I've tried smoking both aromatics and English blends with the same result. I guess I'll just have to keep at it and I'll try packing it a bit firmer next time.

 

[rhogg]

I try to hold back on commenting about new Petersons. Mainly because I want to be positive. I recently recieved a new flame grain ($160ish retail) with visable fills. I wouldn't resell it unsmoked for fear of dissapointing the buyer. I'm done with Peterson pipes. Their lower end pipes suffer from major quality control issues, and it does not get much better from there. I have resigned to not buying anymore.
The worst part is I'm Irish, and I like the look of their pipes. The quality leaves something to be desired. My money is much better spent elsewhere.

 

[nsfisher]

Sorry mate, I can't help you out, I am not a fan of Petersons so I avoid them.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I've never had a problem with my Peterson staying lit while breaking them in. My guess would be packing method and or tamping. After you pack the pipe give it a test puff before lighting making sure the draw is easy with a tad bit of resistance. As for tamping make sure you're occassionally tamping the ash down to keep the embers on the unburnt tobacco.

 

[imperialist]

Just got done smoking it and had much better luck this time around. Packing it firmer helped a whole lot, so thanks to cigrmaster for that advise. I also started paying much more attention to my draw which also helped a heap. Kind of a "aha!" moment for me. Again, thanks for all the advise!

 

[Perique]

I have what I suppose is a low-end Peterson: a Shannon billiard. Very pretty pipe. A bitch to break in. I hated the bowl coating. I hated how hot it smoked, despite having relatively thick walls for the shape. But when I finally got a good cake built up it became a different pipe. It's now married to LBF in that "aha" pipe moment way. So my advice: be patient with it. Break it in. Unless it truly has engineering/craftsmanship problems (probably unlikely) it'll be worth it.

 

[taerin]

My Pete smoked hotter than I would have liked until it was done being broken in. I had to let it cool down several times a smoke (didn't want to risk burnthrough), but now it's fine.

 

[brassonly]

I've been smoking a Peterson 2012 St.Patricks Pipe now for a little over six months now & must say its a wonderful pipe to smoke. Be patient & I'm sure with time you will break it in & learn how to properly pack it. Pipe smoking is an art that takes time to aquire, relax & enjoy it will all come together eventually.

 

[foggymountain]

Petes are not made from well aged briar. So if anything crawls out of the bowl and asks "why are you burning my home", relocate it and expect a very long breakin.

 

[4dotsasieni]

Sorry to disagree, but I just don't see all these talked-about alleged problems with Petersons. They make up the bulk of my collection: Systems, Donegals, Arans, Flame Grains, even a Killarney and a Dublin Filter, and I've had absolutely NO quality, craftsmanship, breaking-in or smoking issues with them. And at least half are recently purchased.
Maybe it matters where you buy -- my recent purchases are mostly from 4noggins, and, I think, one from Iwan Ries. Maybe some sellers just do a better job of inspection before sale.
A happy Pete Smoker. ::

 

[instymp]

+1 4dot

 

[lordofthepiperings]

+1 4dot

 

[numbersix]

Sorry to disagree, but I just don't see all these talked-about alleged problems with Petersons.

I am a fan of Peterson pipes, but I definitely had some quality control issues with my Rosslare Royal. Still, Peterson made good on it and it's now a fine smoker and one of my favs. Still, I can see from my experience and the experiences of others that Peterson is not consistent with their Q/C.
My other complaint is that they are still dip staining to expedite manufacture and while Managing Dir Tom Palmer said that they now cork the bowls, it's either not working or they are not corking them all. Break-in on two of my new Petersons was a b*tch.

 

[yazamitaz]

Hey Imperialist, I have a similar thread open. It annoys me when I hear lower end and paid $100 for something. Anyway, some other advice I received on the Pete is that you want to make sure your tobacco is dry. It helped me a bit but I find some $30 -$40pipes I own significantly outperform my 2013 St. Patty's Day Pete. I got it from 4noggins (VERY reputable supplier with great QC) and am still having the same issues you are. I have acquired 5 other pipes since obtaining my Pete so I will just be patient and keep it in the rotation and hope building up the cake will help

 

[yazamitaz]

OBTW - Harris, packing my Peterson helped out tremendously. I actually just finished my first full bowl in it. I new it was user error