Is this Mold on Kendall Plug?
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Looks like free penecillin :mrgreen:
Honestly it looks a bit wierd. Send the pictures to the seller and they will mostly likely give you a new one.
Honestly it looks a bit wierd. Send the pictures to the seller and they will mostly likely give you a new one.
To me, it is a bit suspicious because it is not uniform. But to complicate it, from the pictures, it doesn't look obviously fuzzy... the picture is fuzzy.
With plum, you will often see crystals. They obviously shine.
I ordered this bulk size (Gawith Bright CR flake) from a retailer and when I opened it up, it was almost like a dusting of powdered sugar. Obviously glinting in the light. It covered every flake (even in the middle of the block) and was entirely uniform. I don't age my tobaccos, but I have had some tins with age over the years by chance, and it is always the same. Crystals. But... I primarily smoke flakes. No idea what ribbon cuts might look like.
Your block, I think, should be similar.
Because it is not uniform, I'd think it is suspect. If it's not shining with crystals, doubly so.
With plum, you will often see crystals. They obviously shine.
I ordered this bulk size (Gawith Bright CR flake) from a retailer and when I opened it up, it was almost like a dusting of powdered sugar. Obviously glinting in the light. It covered every flake (even in the middle of the block) and was entirely uniform. I don't age my tobaccos, but I have had some tins with age over the years by chance, and it is always the same. Crystals. But... I primarily smoke flakes. No idea what ribbon cuts might look like.
Your block, I think, should be similar.
Because it is not uniform, I'd think it is suspect. If it's not shining with crystals, doubly so.
The picture isn't clear but plume would not stand out from the tobacco. Mold grows out and is 3 dimensional. Usually hairy. Plume usually lays flat and is two dimensional and often has tiny crystals that should shine when you move it under a good light. I have seen such an abundance of plume on old FVF that I wasn't sure. If you could post a high definition pic or send a high definition pic that would help.
Maybe put a chunk in a jar and wait a few days. I've had some weird experiences with mold on best brown flake where it was hard to tell when I examined it out of my jar but when it was sealed in my jar it had more fur and was more obvious. Very strange.
Still confused. Id does not smell bad, it is scratched easily by nails and on the eyes it looks 2D and not hairy 3D. However at high pics resolution it looks a little bit flurry and it is strange the location in two well defined areas.
I try to post two higher res pics.
I try to post two higher res pics.
I say no. It looks like something very common to Virginias from Gawith. Does it smell musty ? If you have a magnifying glass, mold will have stalks. To this looks fine.
Mike S.
Mike S.
Damn it's still really hard to tell even with higher resolution images. It's hard to tell in person sometimes. Hmm... I have a few thoughts nonetheless. First I don't really like the look of that. I don't understand why there would be that much plume on a new product. I've never seen that much plume on a freshish Virginia. Maybe if it was a few years old. My bright CR flake is covered in plume but it's not really white yet. It seems to be isolated to a couple areas. If it were me I would err on the side of caution or find a trusted pipe smoker in your local area to check it out. To be fair I'm not normal though.
Those photos may have lots of pixels/hi-rez, but the focus is soft. (Camera phone? You may be too close.)
Having no funky odor is a good thing, but doesn't assure it's not mold. But my bet is it's bloom.
Having no funky odor is a good thing, but doesn't assure it's not mold. But my bet is it's bloom.
[I've never seen that much plume on a freshish Virginia. Maybe if it was a few years old.]
It's purchased new but the box code is 07 261 which, if I am correct, the production date would August 7, 2017, so it is actually more than 1 year old.
I will look for a good magnification lens as I don't have one on my hands.
It's purchased new but the box code is 07 261 which, if I am correct, the production date would August 7, 2017, so it is actually more than 1 year old.
I will look for a good magnification lens as I don't have one on my hands.
I seriously doubt that is mold. Not sure it is plume either. I have some 6 year old tins of BBF and FVF that look similar. I've smoked a number of them. Perhaps you're overthinking it.
I got better pictures with better lighting on the sun which I uploaded below at different magnifications. Well still confusing as most of the stuff appears crystals but at high magnification there are some structures I pointed with the arrows I don't know if they are the hairs/tubes we are talking about. What do you think?
Looks like mold to me.
I am naturally suspicious on the age old mold vs plume/bloom debate. In the cigar world, people often say their cigars have plume/bloom and in 99% of the cases it is some sort of mold or fungi. One cigar forum site even sent a large number of different cigars to a lab and all came back as mold/fungi, although different strains were found. They have yet to find plume or mold. I hope pipe tobacco is different, but until I see a laboratory analysis, my natural inclination is to assume mold.
I am naturally suspicious on the age old mold vs plume/bloom debate. In the cigar world, people often say their cigars have plume/bloom and in 99% of the cases it is some sort of mold or fungi. One cigar forum site even sent a large number of different cigars to a lab and all came back as mold/fungi, although different strains were found. They have yet to find plume or mold. I hope pipe tobacco is different, but until I see a laboratory analysis, my natural inclination is to assume mold.
Yeah, well, it looks like there's a fungus among us. Been waiting since the 5th grade to use that in context.
Yes, those photos say mold to me, though far far from an expert in fungi.
Yes, those photos say mold to me, though far far from an expert in fungi.
Thanks for the higher quality pictures. I'm sorry to say that it doesn't look good Alex. I wouldn't smoke that it it were me. Some people would smoke it anyways but I think that's a very poor risk benefit analysis. Mold can have severe health effects. Hope you find some more dark plug that's good. Personally it's pretty high on my list. I love dark flake and their other dark fired bl blends.
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